Technical skill, friendship, and family support are all vital company values that have shaped and influenced much of what Heavy Highway Infrastructure (HHI) strives to accomplish in its projects, says President Jennifer A. Flores. After more than a decade in business, HHI continues to uphold the highest levels of safety and quality control while never losing sight of its principles and ethics.
Embracing a daily goal to deliver the highest caliber precast goods in Florida and beyond, HHI has built a rock-solid reputation for manufacturing superior products while assisting contractors and guaranteeing safe highways throughout Florida.
Driven by its skilled employees and a strong sense of integrity, the company’s projects—including MSE retaining walls, top walls, sound walls, K-Walls, and light-pole bases—exceed the rigorous demands of an industry that prides itself on quality.
“I grew up in the industry,” says Flores. “My dad has two plants in Texas, so it’s a family business over there, and I’ve worked in different aspects of the company throughout the years.”
And even though she chose to attend law school, Flores’ father never pressured her to come work with him, she says. “He wanted me to pursue what I wanted, and I wanted to be a lawyer.”
From law to infrastructure
Following graduation, she practiced law for 14 years before HHI was “even a thought,” she says, although the Florida construction market was booming at the time and needed an additional precaster.
“I was approached by my father’s partner—who is now also my partner here—about the possibility of opening a plant in Florida,” she says. “I jumped right in. I took the opportunity and put in all of my life savings. We started immediately because there was an immediate need.”
Both her business background and law degree have helped “in so many aspects,” Flores says. “You think differently. You think about risk, about management, about labor law. I had a pretty good starting point, but I had a lot of guidance from my dad and my partner—collectively probably 80 years of experience—and they were great teachers when I needed it.”
Flores’ partner, who has numerous contacts in Florida, put HHI in touch with Cemex Inc., leading to HHI leasing one of their properties in Florida. “It’s how we got started and it’s been instrumental in helping us grow,” says Flores, adding that it’s “been a whirlwind from start to finish. It’s surprising because normally I’ll stop, I’ll sit, I’ll go home, I’ll think about things: is this something I want to invest my money into and be a part of and operate? This time I didn’t think about it.”
Does she have any regrets? “I’m not sorry in any way whatsoever. I’m really happy with that decision, because I love it,” she tells us. And it’s clear, 11 years later, that she made the right decision. “We’re doing well,” she says. “Opening up any kind of company is stressful and time-consuming. You pour your blood, sweat, and tears into it, which is what I did.”
By that December, Flores had moved to Florida, learning to navigate labor costs during a very stressful period. And while there were already jobs in place and contracts to fulfill for customers, there were still a lot of unknowns to calculate.
“Navigating through that for the first couple of years was difficult,” says Flores. She adds that it was 2019 when HHI got a grasp on total costs as far as what numbers should be, what needed to be included, what needed to be changed, and how to improve. “It took a good five years for us to get a handle and an accurate reading on everything, because sometimes you don’t know until you’re at full volume.”
And just when the business began to thrive, COVID-19 changed everything. “We had to navigate through that as well. We had material price increases all over the place. Our costs went through the roof. There were several increases per year on everything. We never knew what markets were going to do. We had to adjust our quotes weekly.”
Like father, like daughter
Navigating that period was a huge challenge, but HHI weathered those storms successfully, and the company is now proudly on the other side. But success for Flores also means acknowledging her father.
“My father is a big part of it. He’s my teacher,” she says. “I’ve had guidance throughout from my dad. He made it clear in the beginning, ‘If you ever need anything, if you have any questions, I’m a phone call away. You can always call me.’”
Flores took that suggestion to heart. “He’s an instrumental part of my knowledge, of me learning how to do this, how to operate this company. I take that and I run with it. All the knowledge that he can provide, I’ll take it.”
Leading by example
Additionally, while being a woman-owned and run company can be a challenge in a traditionally male-dominated industry, her leadership encourages more women to take the opportunity to explore a new path. “I love it,” says Flores. “I love that this is a woman-owned company. I love running it; it’s so important. We can do anything if given the chance.”
While she’s had moments where she gets “a side eye,” or hears rumblings that people don’t think she’s knowledgeable enough, since the beginning she’s worked hard to gain the respect of colleagues and feels HHI has earned its reputation as a solid company by doing good work within Florida. “I’m proud of the company, and my employees are proud of it,” she says. “They’re always very supportive of me, and that’s all that matters. We have a lot of women who work here, both outside and inside. My General Manager is a woman, and she’s in charge of a lot of these men. I’m proud of that.”
Flores adds that she likes to hire women who are eager to embrace new opportunities. “It is a male-dominated industry,” she says, “but I’m of the mindset that women can do it just as good as a man, and so I hire and build my team with women and men. I’m proud of us,” she says. “We’ve come through a lot. We’ve made it 11 years. Was it flawless? No. Did we make mistakes? Absolutely. But if we do make mistakes, I demand to know why that mistake was made and learn from that. I think that contributes to us being able to grow and be more successful every time.”
A challenge met
That commitment and care from employees hit a more personal note for Flores when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. While cancer-free today, that was a staggering obstacle for her and a challenge for the entire company.
“It was a concern for everyone,” she says, noting that HHI swiftly rallied around her. “Along with my own family, my HHI family gave me a big bear hug and didn’t let me worry about anything.”
They worked hard through all of it, she adds. While Flores would put in four or five hours before needing to rest while going through chemo treatments, her team filled in the gaps. “Sometimes it’s harder for the people you’re around every day because they see you going through that,” she says. “They were such a big support, and they traveled through that journey with me every step of the way.”
The entire company also made her smile, laugh, and took care of her throughout, even participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Orlando, bringing their own families as well. “That was so special for me. I just cried because I couldn’t believe the support I was receiving. They wanted to show up and do that with me. It meant so much to me, and I love them back. We’re a family in every sense of the word.”
Work is important, she stresses, especially when you’re sick and need a distraction from what’s going on in your life. And while her own family and doctor were amazingly strong and supportive throughout treatment, continuing to work helped keep Flores from “falling into despair and depression,” she shares. “That’s all I wanted to do; I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay here with my people and continue to do what we sought out to do,” she says. “I’m so happy I did, because they’re a big part of why I recovered and why I’m cancer-free.”
And her people at HHI carried her through the entire experience, she adds. “They didn’t let me worry about anything, and it made the journey that much easier.”
Time to grow
Now able to truly look ahead with hope and resilience, Flores says HHI is focused on expansion and increasing both its revenue and its footprint to support growth.
“That’s something we’re actively working on, along with expanding production lines to accomplish those goals,” she says. She also aims to employ more people to produce the company’s product for the state of Florida.
“Every day that we’re here is an accomplishment, and I’m proud of that,” says Flores. “We’ve weathered the storm on several fronts—whether it’s having so much work that we have to navigate through, having very low work and trying to navigate through that, or dealing with COVID and material price increases and figuring out our costs through the beginning years. Every single thing is an accomplishment for us, and we’re still here.”
