Vortech Contracting, Inc.

Building Relationships with Clients and Employees

By Gloria Roemer

“We are a family,” said Vortech Contracting, Inc. co-owner, Craig Wing.  “Our employees are our strength, and we depend on them to do quality work on our projects.  And, we in turn, continue to grow and provide them with work.”  Frank Abalos, Wing, and Steve Abalos are the three owners of Vortech Contracting, Inc. headquartered at 42408 IH-10 East in Winnie.  Frank and Wing worked together for years in the oil and gas industry and took a leap of faith to create their own contracting company.  “After some arm pulling, we talked my brother, Steve, to come join us,” said Frank.  Frank (Chief Executive Officer) specializes in capital projects, design and construction, Wing (Chief Operating Officer) specializes in plant maintenance, compliance, and safety. Steve Abalos (Chief Financial Officer) who has CPCU and AIC designations provide Vortech with leadership, risk management, and financial planning experience.  The trio have created a company that continues to grow.  “We operate in eight states,” said Steve.  “Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Mexico.  At any given time, we put 300 to 350 people to work.”

It is evident that the three men value their relationships with their clients and their employees.  “We are in a very competitive business,” said Steve.  “Relationships with our clients is critical,” said Wing.  “Our clients know that if they have a problem, they can call any of us directly and we will take care of it.  There are no “layers” of people to go through to get results.  We deal directly with our clients, provide them quality work, and everyone wins.”  “It is the same with our employees,” he added. “We hire top notch persons in their field, and if he/she has an issue, they call us directly”.  “We are a family,” reiterated Frank.  “We are loyal and committed to our employees.”  Wing added, “Our turnover rate among employees is so low, it is almost nonexistent.”

Why headquarter in Winnie?  Steve and Frank laughed, “We came back home.  Winnie is a great little town.”  “We were looking at other locations,” said Steve.  “We knew we wanted to be on IH-10.  Chambers County offered a tax abatement for us to get started here in Winnie, and Trinity Bay Conservation District worked with us to provide water and sewer.  The County is working hard to attract businesses, TBCD was on board, and the community was very welcoming to us.”  Wing also said that the location in Winnie is a central location for their business.  “We are doing more and more business from the Houston area, so this location is ideal.”

Frank, Steve, and Craig believe in being involved with the community.  “We strive to assist in any way we can when people are in trouble,” said Frank.  “After Imelda we helped rebuild over 20 homes.  We cooked countless meals for volunteers and workers. We still are assisting churches in getting back to normal.”  He added, “We do our best to give back.  They will call us if they need us.  They know we will be there.”  When I was in their office, I recognized a young man who graduated from East Chambers High School.  “We do our best to give our local young people opportunities to work.  This young man is home from college for a few weeks and we gave him some work so he could gain experience in the workplace as well as earn some money for when he goes back to school.”

Vortech Contracting Inc also sponsors community events in Winnie and Sour Lake (Wing lives in Sour Lake).  They are a major sponsor of Marshfest.  “We help sponsor lots of school projects, church projects, and kids’ ag projects.  It is good to give back.”

When asked about goals for 2020, Frank quickly replied, “Keep doing what we’re doing.”  Steve stated that Vortech continues to grow and Wing said that there are two things that have made Vortech a “standout company” and will continue to be the backbone of the company.  “It is knowledge of the industry,” said Wing. “And the relationships that we build with our clients and, always, our employees.  We truly are a family.”

Vortech Contracting Inc owns several other companies in Winnie.  They purchased Winnie’s long-standing Farm and Home last year.  “We are planning on celebrating its 50 years of service to the Winnie area,” said Steve.  “We will have food and prizes.  We hope to see everyone there in April!”

Posted in LatestNews.