Houston firm doesn't have a problem

The latest sign of a burgeoning boom in the construction sector comes from Satterfield & Pontikes, a Houston-based construction firm that opened its first Florida office, in Lakewood Ranch, in March 2014.

Run by former DooleyMack and Zirkelbach Construction executive Craig Campbell, the firm has hired 11 people and booked more than $41 million in work in its first year. Projects overseen by the office stretch from Manatee County and Tampa to Mobile, Ala., and include medical offices, multifamily housing and a FedEx distribution center. The office has multiple bids out on other FedEx centers and several Walmarts.

“People are feeling better about the economy,” Campbell tells Coffee Talk. “People are able to borrow money and get things done.”

Satterfield & Pontikes is one of the 150 largest contractors in the country, with more than $750 million in work and offices in Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio. Past getting and overseeing work out of Florida, a priority for Campbell is to build the Satterfield & Pontikes brand in the region. Campbell has pounded the networking circuit, and he recently hired a marketing and advertising firm, Lakewood Ranch-based Grapevine Communications, to help the cause.

“We've got to get the Satterfield & Pontikes name known,” says Campbell. “Everyone knows the Halfacres, Willis Smiths and the Tandems. I want to be right there.”