Demolition can sometimes be a topic of contention amongst community members. However, at Garrett Demolition, clearing space to welcome all that is modern and good for local economies is at the heart of its mission statement. Ensuring that projects are completed to top quality and safety standards are just two of the company’s main objectives.
Serving the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma with market-leading, complete structural and site demolition services, Garrett Demolition offers a diverse range of capabilities. These include asbestos, site and soil remediation; site restoration; and more. The company even creates lovely green spaces complete with irrigation on clients’ request.
As a favorite contractor amongst a select group of customers looking to make way for improvement, the company goes wherever communities and private clients request it across its growing footprint. With a keen sense of attention to detail, managing the finer aspects of each project to the benefit of its customers and the communities it works in is a skill the team has honed well. One could say that excellence is in their DNA.
Growing up as the son of parents with long family histories of running companies in the construction industry, Brad Garrett, President, knows the industry well. And, as many of the company’s larger projects run in phases over several years, there have been many proud projects in its time. One of many such projects was a large contract it completed in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex region on the I-35 freeway. Initially, the company had to clear the adjoining spaces parallel to a 14-mile highway before clearing the main infrastructure of over 15 bridges and 13 miles of pavement. The latter was removed through hand chiseling and hydraulic hammering, requiring much more than just patience and brawn. A complex job demanding the utmost skill and knowledge, the team set out to complete the titanic task with typical tenacity and a commitment to delivering the best service possible.
While demolishing such structures may appear simple at a glance, those in the industry understand the risks involved in smashing riprap walls, abutments, and superstructures in a way that protects all involved. To ensure minimum disruption to local traffic flow, bridge demolition during this project was arranged on nighttime schedules, demanding a high level of organization and logistics.
More exciting projects await. A recent collaboration with Lone Star Construction in Texas will see the company clearing old infrastructure across and around seven miles of Interstate 35E—a project that will run in five phases and will be completed over the next four to five years. The work comes with the added challenges of clearing rubble over brooks and creeks and the like.
Summer is an especially busy time for Garrett Demolition. While its commercial and civil clearing work continues, its chief business during this time comes from clearing outdated infrastructure at commercial schools. While these jobs are typically high-stakes projects with tight timelines, the team enjoys the visible impact it makes on the future of these educational institutions and their surrounding communities. While old school buildings and playgrounds are razed to the ground and turned into parking areas, construction typically continues where previous playgrounds were, surprising children with new schools when they return from vacation.
Here, teamwork is the mainstay of the company’s longevity. As such, Brad and Sydney Garrett, Director of Marketing and Communication, are tremendously proud of their people and the company’s high staff retention. Tenures are typically long, with some staff being here from the beginning. Reflecting on job satisfaction and loyalty, Brad and Sydney Garrett could not be more pleased with the people who form the backbone of this organization. “If one person’s not here, it affects the whole company. We’re a team. Every person here is a very important part of that,” Brad says of this hard-working team.
Safety is also paramount to the company’s continued success. As an unquestionable priority, its field staff all hold OSHA certifications, are equipped with personal protection gear, and commit to continuous safety education. Taking care of everyone’s safety is just one way in which the company proves its commitment to nurturing ongoing professional relationships with staff and customers. This level of care is part of the company’s heritage.
With his grandfather on his father’s side owning a house moving and demolition company, Brad learned the business from a young age. “You name it, [my grandfather] relocated it. And you name it, he tore it down,” he says. The young Brad Garrett was also mentored by his father, a prolific construction expert, in building everything from homesteads to multistorey buildings, while spending many afternoons on job sites.
On his mother’s side of the family, Brad spent a lot of time learning about dam and road construction as that was the business they were in. Going as far back as his great-grandparents, the family built roads, bridges, and highways alongside dredging sand and gravel from the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers between the 1930s and the late 1980s. After a few years of building roads and house pads for his father’s company, Brad decided that demolition was where his heart was.
While demolition can be an emotional subject in some rare cases, the Garrett team considers clients’ reasons for such requests important. “The cost to keep [old buildings] safe and functional is [often] astronomical. Plus, it can become a visual eyesore over time,” says Brad, who regrets not getting into demolition much earlier. When Brad and April Collmar, Operations Manager, started the business in 2005 as Garrett Excavation and Demolition, it was just the two of them in a small home office with two small machines and a dump truck. During this time, the demolition projects quickly outgrew the excavation projects, and by 2008, the company had grown exponentially, finding its destiny as a demolition leader. At first, focusing on residential properties took precedent, but today, its work pivots mainly on civil projects based on Federal grants for upgrading infrastructure.
That includes clearing bridges and roads in collaboration with general contractors for the Department of Transportation. Furthermore, the company does demolition on runways, water treatment plants, high-rise and commercial buildings, and much more.
For Brad, investing in decent infrastructure has always been a matter of pride and good business sense. Always ensuring that it secures the latest technology, Garrett Demolition has a fleet of its own trucks, quality equipment, and attachments. As its most precious asset after its expertise, ensuring that these metal beasts are well cared for takes center stage when they are not working hard in the field. “We are always looking for the newest, best equipment and attachments. That helps with [honoring timelines],” says Sydney, for whom the company’s commitment to staying ahead of technology sets it apart from its competitors.
By investing in the best machinery, Garrett Demolition is more efficient, sweeping sites clean with finesse and significantly higher safety ratings. Apart from improved site safety, its environmental mission statement is also honored as more materials are salvaged and reused, keeping them from entering landfills. Beyond equipment and safety, the company is now leveling up its public presence. Aiming to grow across the United States and abroad, Garrett Demolition’s next stops are Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, and beyond.
By improving its website and making it easy for customers to reach out, Garrett Demolition ensures its market presence is seen far and wide. “We reach for the stars here. We don’t put a stopping point on where we’re going,” Sydney says.
By offering customers everything they could ever need from a demolition expert, the company ensures that it continues keeping its clientele happy, knowing that no matter the requirement, the team has everything it needs to make way for the future.
