When Johnny Holifield and Jimmy Quick left their reliable jobs as project managers for a local turnaround welding company to start a competitor, they hardly flinched at the thought of the risks ahead.
As Business Report details in its new Entrepreneur feature, their motivation was building a company on their own terms and values. They wanted to be part of a business that cared more about its people than its profits.
“We felt that with the work in the industry at this moment, it was time for us to branch off and start our own group,” Holifield says.
In April 2014, the duo opened the doors of SWAT (Special Welding and Turnarounds) with the goal of performing highly productive and elite services. Within its first six months in business, SWAT, located at 211 E. Industry St. in Gonzales, managed to complete 185,000 man-hours of work.
With 2016 revenue of $50 million-plus, the duo believe they made the right decision and see diversification of the company in the near future.
“It was just a natural thing to leave,” Quick says. When they did, clients followed. “We started off by getting clients we’ve built relationships with, but now it is a trickle-down effect from word of mouth inside the industry,” Holifield explains.
Today the partners pride themselves on their ability to connect with each of their employees, talking football just as easily as they discuss turnarounds.
Quick says what sets SWAT apart is that the company is more specialized in its services, while many other turnaround companies have become more like general contractors.
For Holifield, SWAT’s biggest differentiator in the industry is that it’s not a big corporation. “We are more personal with the projects,” Holifield says. “Our supervision and safety is what separates us from everyone else, no doubt, and hiring the right people.”
With continued growth on the horizon and jobs lined up through 2018, the duo has its sights set on diversifying the company by building out smaller specialty groups within SWAT—such as a newly created a mechanical division—while remaining small enough to maintain its personal touch.
Read the full Entrepreneur feature. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
