In 2005, Angel Ortiz, the owner and president of ZITRO Construction Services, had been out of the construction business for three years. He was working in New Orleans as a pressman for a printing company when Hurricane Katrina hit. After the storm he returned home to help repair the break in the levee.
“That turned into people saying, ‘Hey we need your help,’ so we started gutting houses, and I naturally got back into the industry,” he tells Business Report for its new Entrepreneur feature.
Hurricane Gustav brought Ortiz to Baton Rouge when contractors called him to help with the recovery.
“I ended up meeting so many good people and the business community was so strong here, I decided to stay,” he says.
Ortiz ended up working as an independent contractor for six years, and in 2011 he opened ZITRO Construction Services.
In the wide world of commercial construction, Ortiz finds his passion in a market niche. Instead of going after big projects like apartment complexes or industrial plants, ZITRO likes to work with its own kind: entrepreneurs.
“When I meet an aspiring entrepreneur, whether they are getting into business or expanding, I know how they feel,” Ortiz says. “I will lay it out on the line for an entrepreneur.”
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