Tom Whitehurst

Building firm names CEO and president

   Nothing has changed at Fulton Construction Co. except that Philip Skrobarczyk is president and chief executive officer, and a stockholder.
   He and founder Joe Fulton are continuing to run the company as they have for the past several years. This doesn't mean abdication, retirement, or semi-retirement for Fulton, 66, who retains the title of chairman.
   Nor will Fulton's longtime partner, Jim Barnette, founder of Coastcon Corp., be any less involved in the Fulton-Coastcon union that makes up Corpus Christi's largest construction contractor.
   Skrobarczyk, 43, has been exercising president-CEO-like authority for several years, Fulton and Barnette said Friday. Now, his title reflects his accountability for the $91 million in projects now under contract with Fulton-Coastcon, and its 150 employees.
   That employment total doesn't accurately reflect the scope of Skrobarczyk's responsibility, Fulton and Barnette said, because independent subcontractors outnumber Fulton employees at the job sites. The company may have 1,000 or more people working at any time, they said.
   "It's business as usual, so to speak," Barnette said, "except it's official that Philip's doing what he has been doing for a long time."
   Employees were told of the change on Thursday - told what they already knew, or fully expected, Fulton and Barnette said.
   Major projects
   Some of the major projects under way include a new high school for the Gregory-Portland Independent School District, a beer distribution warehouse for Andrews Distributing Co., a new terminal at Corpus Christi International Airport and an addition at Christus Spohn Hospital South. The company recently completed the new federal courthouse on the bayfront.
   The company has completed about 300 projects since Fulton and Coastcon became partners in 1982. The partnership has made Engineering News Record's Top 400 Contractors list twice, in 1990 and 1993. That list, which reflects dollar-volume of a company's projects, is the construction contractors' equivalent of the Fortune 500, Barnette said. Fulton-Coastcon's inclusion was of special significance, he said, because the company does almost all its work in its hometown and most companies that make the list are, at minimum, multi-state operations.
   With firm since 1983
   Skrobarczyk had been vice president for 12 years. He has been with the company since 1983. He is a 1976 graduate of King High School and a 1982 graduate of Texas A&M university with a bachelor's in building construction. He is married and has four children.
   He participated in vocational education in high school and worked as a welder before attending A&M. He worked in construction throughout college.
   He has served on the boards of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, Incarnate Word Academy and Coastal Bend Youth City, and is a former president of the Ronald McDonald House.
   Skrobarczyk and Fulton wouldn't admit to any noteworthy differences in management style. Both said they thrive on identifying strong performers and giving them a lot of responsibility, taking care not to micromanage.
   Preparing estimates
   Fulton describes Skrobarczyk as much more detail-oriented, especially in preparing estimates. However, those are the exact traits that Fulton's associates in business and civic activities use in describing him.
   While Fulton said he'd still be arriving at the office around 7 a.m. and not leaving before 6 p.m., he did say he'll travel more often to his ranch in Zavala County and his summer home in Santa Fe, N.M., spend more time in his capacity as chairman of the Driscoll Foundation, and less time with other civic duties.
   Asked how he'd proceed now that he's president and CEO, Skrobarczyk said: "They say in the NBA, 'Be like Mike.' So, be like Joe."
  
  

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