In This Podcast:

Mark Crockett

Mark Crockett, vice president, Crockett Facilities Services, explains the importance of technician training, the value of being a top minority-owned company in the U.S., current projects the company is managing, and much more.

Q: Crockett Facilities was recently named to Washington Business Journal’s top minority-owned companies list for 2015. What’s it like to get that type of recognition from the business community?

A: It’s always great to be recognized for the achievements of the company and the individuals who’ve worked very hard for the company. But, the byproduct of this recognition is more opportunities. And, with opportunities, we’re able to grow our company because people recognize us as an outstanding service provider and want to work with us more. Recognition serves as a great growth opportunity.

Q: Each of your journeymen techs go through more than 10,000 hours of on-the-job training and 1,200 hours of classroom training. What really goes into this training, and why is it so important?

A: We have industry partners who help train our techs. We feel the training they receive is well above and beyond anything you’ll see in the commercial world. They receive more than five years of classroom training, which equates to about 1,200 hours, and, during that time, the apprentices need to be gainfully employed through a five-year apprenticeship program. During that time, they receive licenses and training in air conditioning, refrigeration, heating, blueprint reading, computer-aided design, safety, rigging, welding, new technologies, energy-conservation methods, electrical, and plumbing. We feel our training sets our technicians apart from our competition, and we feel it benefits the customer because when we say a job is done, it’s done.

Q: What are some of the big projects Crockett is working on at this moment?

A: We have many different projects across different business sectors. In the federal contract arena, we maintain contracts with the Department of the Interior, Department of State, GSA [General Services Administration], the USACE [U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers], and others. On those contracts, we’re offering complete facility management services for their headquarters and federal office buildings. We provide skilled techs to maintain, operate, and repair all the electrical and mechanical equipment services, and, in some instances, clean the buildings and do grounds maintenance, as well.

Mark Crockett
Vice president, Crockett Facilities Services
Bowie, Maryland
http://www.crockett-facilities.com/

Click here to listen to the whole podcast.

Publication date: 5/4/2015