The original H. B. Zachry Company, was founded in 1924 by newly graduated Texas A&M University civil engineer Henry Bartell “Pat” Zachry. The 22-year-old entrepreneur soon landed his first project—a $40,000 bridge construction job in Laredo for the Texas Highway Department. The job was completed with dirt-moving mules and dedicated workers, starting a long tradition of finishing every job with integrity.

 

Not long after its formation, Zachry, like many businesses at the time, faced the effects of the Great Depression. In response, we chose to diversify in other markets to meet the needs of the company and the economy—a model chosen again and again. Contracts included work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture eliminating erosion for farmers and ranchers, as well as the first of many building construction jobs. At the end of the downturn we emerged with more skill and motivation than ever before. We continued to pursue government contracts during WWII with $50 million worth of defense work from 1942-1945 in addition to heavy civil projects. We also entered the refining and petrochemical industries and commercial housing markets in the same decade. Bases such as Fort Bliss/ Biggs Field in El Paso, Texas, were expanded, and dams, bridges, airports, pipelines, processing plants and railroads were constructed. Pat Zachry’s ability to adapt to the changing face of the nation and the construction industry paid off. From 1945 to 1955, our total annual revenues increased from $2 million to $30 million.

 

The great demand for power in the '50s led Zachry to pursue large scale opportunities in the power industry. Opportunities in San Antonio and beyond motivated us to expand from upgrading plants to constructing them from the ground up. CPSB’s new W.B. Tuttle Steam Power Plant became the first of some 110 power plants constructed by our team. Zachry purchased a property, which included two buildings on the south side of San Antonio in 1935. It was initially used for storage of construction equipment and offices for some of the construction personnel. As the construction company grew (especially during the days of WWII), San Antonio as a location for the company’s headquarters became more relevant, and in 1952 the accounting department, which had remained in Laredo until then, was also moved to San Antonio, completing the move from Laredo. The headquarters for all the Zachry operations has remained in San Antonio ever since then.

 

Our presence in the power industry flourished during the next 10 years, evidenced by the company’s completion of 17 major power projects, including the Zorita Nuclear Plant in Madrid, Spain. In 1965, the company reins passed from Pat Zachry to his son, Bartell, who in 1968, made history with the construction of San Antonio’s 500-room Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel in less than seven months. The rapid construction of the hotel, which was built to accommodate visitors to the 1968 World’s Fair, was accomplished through the innovative use of modular construction methods, including inserting fully decorated rooms into the structure by cranes.

 

Airports became a large part of our repertoire in the '70s and on May 21, 1973, the Zachry-South Prairie Joint Venture achieved a world record for paving 6,012 linear feet of 50-foot-wide, 17-inch-thick taxiway with 16,031 cubic yards of concrete in a single day at the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport. Meanwhile, our production in coal-fueled power projects grew to include seven plants worth $200 million, with the capability of delivering a total of 3,700 megawatts of power.

 

In 1980, we were awarded Texas Department of Transportation’s largest-ever highway contract. The $63.5 million project for reconstruction of San Antonio’s North Loop 410/ IH-35 interchange called for widening roadways, realigning curves, reconstructing interchanges, extending and improving frontage roads and building bridges. Only two years later, Zachry assumed its then-largest job when the company won the $64 million contract to construct the Richland Creek Dam for the Tarrant County Water Control District.

 

Since 1990, Zachry has focused on its core competencies to better serve construction and industrial maintenance customers. Extensive growth, opportunities in new markets and a broad base of management talent throughout the company set the stage for restructuring. In July 1998, Zachry Construction Corporation (ZCC) was formed and later that year, Bartell Zachry’s sons, John and David, assumed leadership of the new company. The company continued to aggressively pursue commercial building construction projects in the United States and overseas, and was awarded contracts to build U.S. Embassies in Beijing, China; Managua, Nicaragua; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

 

In August 2004, David S. Zachry was named president and chief operating officer of ZCC. John B. Zachry became chief executive officer, undertaking responsibilities within affiliated interests. In 2008, ZCC was separated into two distinct businesses with unique portfolios. David Zachry now leads ZCC while John Zachry is now CEO of Zachry Holdings, Inc., specializing in industrial engineering, construction and maintenance services. The recent restructuring of Zachry allows us to focus efforts on projects in the cement, power, petrochemical/refinery, pulp and paper and emerging energies industries.

 

Zachry continues to be a private, family-owned company employing nearly 20,000 men and women whose dedication to excellence drives our sustained growth and success. For eight decades and with the completion of nearly 6,000 projects, we've changed the face of American infrastructure.