Alterman Electric featured in San Antonio Business Journal

April 3, 2024


James McCandless, Reporter
San Antonio Business Journal

Two years after breaking ground, a local contractor has opened its new home in Live Oak.

Alterman, an electrical contractor that has its fingerprints on the Frost Bank Center, the Alamodome and other high-profile projects around the city, has moved most of its employees into its new headquarters campus at 7805 N. Loop 1604 E. The employeeowned firm — founded in 1923 — is now perched on about 20 acres in the booming suburb.

Megan Moshier, principal at Studio8 Architects, led the project’s design. Maryland-based The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. was the project’s general contractor. Moshier told the Business Journal the company wanted to create a space that fostered connectivity between its different divisions after coming from three separate offices throughout the city.

The overall circulation of the campus has helped with that interconnectivity,” she said. “Also (there are) the overall community opportunities with the courtyard and being able to host different community organizations.

To Greg Padalecki, Alterman’s president and CEO, the new campus represents a number of strategic and symbolic initiatives. It’s a recruitment tool, an employee appreciation effort, a training hub for the next generations of tradespeople and a celebration of the company’s first 100 years.

There was a whole lot of emphasis put on making this a place where people feel valued and feel happy to go every day,” he said in an interview. “When we used the word ‘campus,’ what that meant to me was that’s a place where you go when you don’t necessarily have to go. This is not like an 8 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.) place. … The idea is that you come here and you stay here. It’s an enjoyable place.

He pointed to the courtyard between the two buildings as an example of fostering interaction between employees in different departments. Bricks with the names of current employees line the walking trail around the campus, further highlighting an emphasis on worker appreciation, he added.

This is really an investment in how we think things will be built in the future,” he said. “It’s a statement. We’re communicating to the people we work for, owners, general contractors and even our own employees that we see a different future. We’re putting our money where our mouth is, investing in this process and we’re going to see a lot of fruit from it in the future.

He said the second building is essential for sustaining Alterman over the next 100 years. With many longtime employees aging out and retiring, the company is producing bundles of materials and equipment called PACKs (Packaged Alterman Construction Kits) to help younger, less experienced employees learn the ropes as they get onto more job sites. Manufacturing those PACKs, which are tailored to every job, is the primary focus of the second building and the company’s vision for continued growth.

Padalecki said the company has room to expand on the campus, with two more buildings in the works. Those are several years away from breaking ground, but he said it will need to happen to match Alterman’s growth trajectory.

Original article can be found here.