American electrical contractor Alterman was founded in 1923 by its namesake, Nathan Alterman. In its earliest days, Alterman would push a shopping cart up and down the streets of San Antonio, Texas to provide service-oriented electrical work for the downtown core. His son Richard took over for his father in the 1950’s, and a decade later, Alterman began taking on larger projects for clients such as the Hemisfair ’68 exposition held in San Antonio. The company began to establish itself as a reliable electrical contractor for the area.
Today, Greg Padalecki, who began here in 1999 as an apprentice electrician and became President and Chief Executive Officer in 2019-2020 after a 20-year career with the company, purports that the company has seen even more growth in just the past few years, with about 1,200 workers active in the field and around 260 in its office…
A notable part of Alterman’s history is that it established itself as an employee stock ownership program (ESOP) business in 1985, eventually becoming a completely employee-owned company. Today, as a union contractor, Alterman’s field employees are part of a collective bargaining agreement and participate in an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ pension, whereas its office employees continue with ESOP participation.
Padalecki stresses that the company values all its workers and observes that the ESOP has given employees a greater sense of focus and vested interest in a company that they own as much as he does. The ESOP model has proven very successful since its initiation, as it has provided a growth business model internally. Whereas competition-based models often funnel profit to a single owner. Alterman is constantly reinvesting its profits into itself and looking ahead to future growth.
Highwire Recognizes its Safest Contractors & Vendors
Safety Assessment Program – Platinum Safety Award
06/27/2023
Lexington, MA: Highwire a cloud-based mobile platform that empowers clients to make smarter risk management decisions, has announced the recipients of its prestigious safety awards.
Alterman Inc has received the Platinum Safety Award. This award is presented to companies that register a safety score 95% or greater in the Safety Assessment Program administered by Highwire.
“Platinum status is not easily achieved. Alterman Inc has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to implementing safety management systems resulting in exceptionally low incident rates,” states Garrett Burke, CEO of Highwire.
The Safety Assessment Program reviews a company’s historic safety performance and current safety management systems. The platform normalizes data for vendor or contractor size and type of work performed.
The program provides thorough, objective and consistent evaluation of company performance so clients can identify, monitor, and manage risk smarter. The results provide a strong indicator of how a vendor or contractor values safety and a reliable predictor of future performance.
About Highwire: Highwire is a global SaaS company. Our cloud-based and mobile platform empowers clients to make smarter risk management decisions. Proprietary algorithms, developed at an Ivy League University, leverage safety and financial indicators to accurately pre-qualify vendors. The data captured by our suite of integrated solutions ensures that our clients, and their subcontracted vendors, can more effectively and accurately identify, monitor and mitigate risk to reduce potentially dangerous and costly exposures. Our solutions go beyond solely meeting regulatory standards and approach safety and risk in a way that reduces the number of injuries, loss rate, EMR, defaults, and insurance premiums, and positively impacts the overall financial health of the company.
Live Oak, TX. September 14, 2022: Texas electric contractor Alterman announced today that Austin and San Antonio-based Studio8 Architects will design its new 19.7-acre corporate campus to be located at the junction of Gateway Blvd. and M.M. Loop 1604 along IH-35 in Live Oak. The master-planned campus will include support functions for all Alterman locations, along with offices for its San Antonio staff and fabrication facilities that will allow the company to create opportunities for innovation and collaboration.
Alterman and Studio8 are working with Whiting-Turner Construction to break ground on September 15, 2022, with the anticipated move-in date of January 2024.
The employee-owned company is embracing its location along the growing San Antonio-Austin corridor and will be a major presence at this highway intersection, which is currently being expanded. The campus will include ample outdoor areas for employees to enjoy breaks, lunches, meetings and other gatherings as well as space for future expansion. A 27,000-gallon rainwater collection cistern will be used to irrigate the landscape. Alterman plans to be a community partner, not only as a great place to work, but also as a steward of the land and a friendly, outgoing neighbor.
“We didn’t know Studio8, and when they came in, they wowed us with their understanding of who we are,” said Alterman President /CEO Greg Padalecki. “Immediately we knew that we had found a group of individuals who completely aligned with our values and goals. Studio8 are driving progress in this build, and we wouldn’t be in this position we are today without their incredible work. The energy they bring to the table is unlike many others in their field.”
“Collaborating with Alterman and our consultants has been a lot of fun for the team,” said Studio8 Principal Megan Moshier. “Phase one of the campus is planned to have two buildings totaling roughly 200,000 (199,765) square feet. The campus will hold office space for all three of Alterman’s divisions and a logistics building. The design concept for these buildings and the site fully aligns with Alterman’s mission and its commitment to its employees and the community.”
Alterman plans to make the most of the campus as the company continues to grow. The campus will create training centers for office employees as well as electricians and technicians, which will expand the company’s current capabilities. Moshier said, “The thoughtful and thorough programming and master planning process was a result of getting to know Alterman’s employees. Seeing this project come to life and grow with Alterman is very exciting.”
The design also accommodates Alterman’s many employee events held throughout the year, including an area for the Alterman Beefmasters to hold cook-offs, and a large courtyard for family parties and holiday celebrations. “This campus not only allows a better workflow, but also the ability to cater to our employees more effectively and more open,” Padalecki said. “And, it reflects our commitment to innovation and anticipates the way we will work in the future.”
The construction team includes Project Control as owner’s representative, Pape Dawson as civil engineer, Rialto Studio as landscape architect, Clear Zimmerman as MEP engineer, and Dunaway as structural engineer.
About Alterman
Alterman is a Texas electrical contractor that performs the full scope of electrical construction. Starting in 1923 Alterman focused on building the city of San Antonio with electrical construction and service. In the past two decades, Alterman has expanded its capabilities through low voltage technologies along with industrial construction and system automation. More recently, the company has turned its sights on growing geographically across the state of Texas and being a progressive and innovative contractor.
About Studio8 Architects
Studio8 Architects is a full-service architecture and interior design firm founded in Austin in 2003 and in San Antonio in 2011. Studio8 takes a collaborative approach to design forming an alliance with clients that is founded in the environment they create for themselves They are experts at pairing people with places and known for process over style. Recipient of numerous design awards, Studio8 received the 2021 Firm Achievement Award from the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Studio8 and its team of creative, strategists and thinkers are committed to building equitable communities, sustainable design and people-centered architecture.
Texas electrical contractor Alterman recently completed work for the University of Texas DKR Memorial Stadium South End Zone project. The 240,000-sq.ft. addition fully encloses the stadium for the first time and provides dynamic experiences for fans, including new suites and seating, concessions, new weight and locker rooms, as well as meeting rooms and offices for coaching staff. Alterman is proud to have worked on one of the facility’s most prominent features, the Longhorn-shaped balcony. For the Alterman team, lighting this prominent aspect of the project brought unique challenges, including ensuring the lights emitted the perfect color in one continuous line. Visually striking during the day, the longhorn-shaped cut-out comes to life at night, clearly delineated and glowing in the school’s colors. It is the only such feature of its kind in any college stadium in the US.
Alterman was responsible for power distribution, branch power lighting and lighting controls as well as mechanical power for the entire facility. The nearly three-year project with Hensel Phelps as contractor presented a unique challenge as one of three major construction projects happening simultaneously and in close proximity. The Alterman team coordinated with the contractor as well as football and athletics operations to ensure continuity and avoid obtrusive shutdowns and power outages to ensure that training and recruitment could continue uninterrupted. “The football team was still working out, the coaches still had their offices, so coordinating power outages and shutdowns around their schedules was a huge priority, so we didn’t affect recruitment or training” says David Deschaine, a project manager for Alterman in Austin. In addition, the project presented particular safety challenges, with movement of students and faculty all around the campus site throughout the day and the use of the stadium for practice and games. To accommodate this, the job site was cleared and secured on Fridays before game days.
Alterman is a Texas electrical contractor that performs the full scope of electrical construction. Founded in San Antonio n 1923, the employee-owned company has grown to include offices around the state and expanded its capabilities through low voltage technologies along with industrial construction and system automation with a particular focus on innovation.
As the electrical contractor for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park project, Alterman is completing phase 2 of the four-phase project, which includes the first piece of interactive public art along the linear park. STREAM, by New York artist Adam Frank, is a massive lighted wall of water that interacts with a microphone, allowing people to use their voices to alter the lights’ colors and rhythms. Alterman installed the 250-foot system of color-changing fixtures, creating a one-of-a-kind experience for visitors. The lights can be programmed from a central controller and currently default to the audio feed from the nearby offices of Texas Public Radio when no visitors are interacting with it. Chris Blanton, Director of Construction for Alterman in San Antonio says “This project is a testament to the commitment of our field crews that have been on this project for the last 4 years. We are proud to say that we have been on this project since the beginning, and plan to see it through.”
In addition, Alterman installed lighting for the walking trails and murals along the creek, which traces the history of San Antonio and the region through art and interpretive exhibits. The project resonates with Alterman’s deep roots in San Antonio and introduces cutting edge electrical innovation to the modern experience of this historic site. “Alterman first opened in downtown San Antonio back in 1923.” says Alterman CEO Greg Padalecki, “working on projects such as San Pedro Creek is especially rewarding as it is a continuation of the work Alterman has been doing for the last almost 100 years. We are so excited to continue to be a part of the future of San Antonio as we grow and expand into new regions.”
When San Pedro Creek’s four phases are completed, the park will run for 2.2 miles through downtown, starting the flood tunnel inlet at Santa Rosa Street and terminating to the south at the confluence of the Alazán and Apache Creeks. The project will include 60,000 linear feet of new lighted walls, renovate or replace eight street bridges (including adding lighting under and above each bridge), and add four miles of illuminated walking trails and 11 acres of landscaping to the downtown fabric.
Alterman is a Texas electrical contractor that performs the full scope of electrical construction. Starting in 1923, Alterman focused on building the city of San Antonio with electrical construction and service. Since 2000, the company has expanded its capabilities through low voltage technologies along with industrial construction and system automation and has turned its sights on growing geographically across Texas with a focus on innovation.
