n the beginning, Reece Albert did not envision a corporation that would someday specialize not only in paving but in earthwork, underground utilities, material mining and engineering and development.
    The original emphasis was on building parking lots. However, as company officials sought to capture their share of work from the phenomenal West Texas construction boom of the 1960s, they found there were insufficient local subcontractors to assist. To meet this challenge, the firm expanded to become an "integrated company" that now handles virtually every phase of heavy construction.
    Today, in addition to parking lots, it paves driveways, highways and airport runways. It also installs manholes, sewers, water lines, street curbs and sidewalks.

     With its more than 50 years of experience and a commitment to innovation, Reece Albert, Inc., is able to provide specialized technical services as well. It was the first to trouble-shoot and build customized pavements used to test vehicle tires, and it builds environmental liners to keep landfills from polluting underground water supplies.
    To fulfill these functions, the company has acquired impressive resources: limestone quarries throughout West Texas, a fleet of scrapers, graders, dozers and trucks, and a team of 300 highly skilled personnel.
    According to President Jack Albert, people are the company's most important resource. "We employ an innovative staff," he says. "We have five full-time estimators and five full-time project managers who oversee our superintendents. Estimators are responsible for the job in the office, as well as overseeing superin-tendents in the field. That way, there's always someone with authority in the office who can address a customer's needs. Most contractors our size don't have that, but customers like to have someone in the office they can talk to."

     While company officials are satisfied the integrated concept is meeting their internal requirements, customers are pleased for other reasons.
     Since a large slate of subcontractors is unnecessary, customers enjoy the convenience of working with a single company.
     "Reece Albert, Inc., is hard to beat," says John Schwab, former manager of San Angelo's Mathis Field. "They know this airport because they've done most of the work on it for the past 20 years. They can generally do it cheaper than anyone else, and we really feel like we get our money's worth."
     Ron Jones, president of Greystone Engineering, Inc., has worked with Reece Albert, Inc., on several San Angelo subdivisions including The Bluffs, Rio Concho West, Bentwood Country Club Estates, and The Citadel on the Concho golf facility.
     "For my clients, dealing with an integrated company like Reece Albert, Inc., instead of a number of subcontractors is a significantly simpler process," Jones says.