Houston Branch
Slam-Dunks for Three:
Adds Major Line, Scores on Arena, Rail Jobs
December 15, 2003. Houston, TX. By John Paul Quinn
The game plan of the Turtle & Hughes Houston branch has always
been all about adaptability and diversification ever since the location opened
in 1978.
At that time, company management made
the bold move of following its traditional oil
industry customers to Houston, an inbred marketplace about as hospitable
as the O.K. Corral.
But the people at the new branch toughed it out and secured significant
market share. Then, when the oil crunch of the mid-eighties
hit, they scrambled again, and were still standing
when the smoke cleared and at least a third
of the electrical distributors in Houston
had folded.
“The distribution scene here is in transition again,” says Mitch Pliner,
Branch Manager. “Heavy petrochemical industrial projects are definitely very slim and few and
far between. Less investment is being made in this sector locally, which led us to diversify once gain,
this time into more commercial construction.”
New Line, New Rail Line
Key to facilitating this move was the recent securing of the Siemens switchgear line and becoming a
franchised distributor of the multinational company’s products. The branch had long been a distributor of
Cutler-Hammer’s line, and that partnership will continue. Pliner points out that the two lines are basically
complementary and both will be supported aggressively.
“The new franchise allows us to pursue certain significant opportunities that we did not have before, particularly
in the commercial construction and transportation markets,” Pliner observes. “This adds a whole new
dimension to our business.”
One of these opportunities relates to the new commuter light rail system being constructed in Houston,
which is a turnkey Siemens Transportation Systems project involving everything from laying track to building cars.
Initially, this involves a downtown first corridor, but plans call for a vastly expanded network that will connect the
suburbs and surrounding communities.
GOING FOR THE GOAL
Meanwhile, in another development, T & H Houston has been
heavily involved in the construction of the new $175 million,
18,300 seat Toyota Center, the downtown home
arena for the Houston Rockets.
“We completed supplying the major construction phases of the job not long ago,” reports Assistant Branch
Manager Don Bartulla. “Interestingly, the site was only about two miles from our 80,000-square-foot warehouse
facility which the electrical contractor, Melton Electric, was able to use as a staging area for materials. Space in
this part of town is at a premium, so our ability to provide not only all the electrical equipment needed, but also
laydown yard space and storage facilities was critical to closing the job.”
All material was stocked at the location for the contractor and fed to the jobsite daily, with the contractor’s
logistics control director monitoring inventory and filling orders.
AT THE COUNTER
On yet another front, the branch is focusing on building its already busy Counter trade. The area was rebuilt
a few years ago, and now there is a major new promotional activity under the direction of Counter Manager
Audrey Brewer.
Audrey Brewer
Counter Manager
“We wanted to do something that would provide our people and our customers with some fun, and hopefully
increase traffic at the same time,” says Cris Austin, Human Resources Director and Branch Administrative
Assistant.
The basic idea was to emulate the David Letterman “Top 10” approach and to ask both employees and customers
to come up with an important reason to come to the Houston Turtle & Hughes Counter, as opposed to
shopping at one of the “Big Boxes” like Home Depot or Lowe’s.
“Our folks came up with a few suggestions to prime
the pump,” Austin notes. “For example: if you ask one of
our Counter guys for a hickey, all you’ll get is a pipebender.
Another good one: Our counter doesn’t think 500
MCM is the name of a rap artist.”
The point of the promotion, Pliner observes, is to have
fun but at the same time to get customers thinking
seriously about why they actually do come to Turtle &
Hughes instead of the do- it-yourself outlets.
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