Downstream offers shelter from storm
The oil slump didn’t drag down revenue for the Brock Group, which builds and services industrial facilities near Houston and around the world.
Even as the drilling giants that form the foundation of Houston industry slipped on the Chronicle 100 rankings, the Brock Group jumped up two spaces to seventh place, thanks to the resiliency of the downstream industry that actually benefited from cheap oil while the upstream suffered.
“I would say that we’ve weathered this period pretty well,” said Daryl Johnson, vice president of marketing for the group. “Rather than reducing capital spending, major refineries and chemical plants have been expanding capital outlays, and indications are this will continue for the next couple of years.”
The company, founded in 1947 in Beaumont and now headquartered in Houston, does industrial construction and maintenance, including scaffolding, insulation, specialized coatings and capital projects. The Brock Group has worked with more than 600 local customers, including 26 of Houston’s largest refineries and chemical facilities.
Johnson said a key to the company’s success has been a long-term specialized workforce with honed expertise. Even the Brock Group feels the pressure of a tight labor market and skill shortage that has put a drag on most sectors of construction, but has developed a system that makes it competitive in talent acquisition, Johnson said. That includes an online portal for employment applications and partnerships with various safety councils to promote workforce training.
The company also runs an internal training platform, Brock Academy, with courses delivered for employees both online and in person.
“With our growth and the growth of our industry, we are continuing to promote and train from within to help meet his ongoing expansion,” Johnson said.