Flintco Inc. proud of its Native American roots

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Lately, when people think of center-city construction, they also think of Flintco Inc.|ret||ret||tab|

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High profile|ret||ret||tab|

Flintco not only served as construction manager for Cen-tral High School's newly occupied $18 million expansion and renovation, but just across the street the company is at work as general contractor for Drury University's $14 million Trust-ee Science Center.|ret||ret||tab|

Directly south is more evidence of Flintco's presence this time as general contractor for part of Jordan Valley Park; pouring concrete, installing the fountain feature and developing the walking and biking trails. |ret||ret||tab|

A spin-off of Tulsa Rig, Reel and Manufacturing Company a 93-year-old Cherokee-owned company Flintco Inc. grossed $400 million in 2001 from its nationwide construction projects, according to Flintco area manager Bart Boatright.|ret||ret||tab|

Flintco, located at 2935 W. Chestnut, has had a Springfield presence since 1999 when it contracted to serve as project and construction manager for the $15.5 million Greene Coun-ty Justice Center expansion, Boatright said.|ret||ret||tab|

Since then, Flintco has performed either as general contractor or construction manager for several high-profile local projects, he said. |ret||ret||tab|

It offers full-service commercial construction capability, with design/ build, project management, pre-construction and general contracting services, too. |ret||ret||tab|

Flintco has an office staff of seven, including three female on-site project engineers, Boat-right said. |ret||ret||tab|

He has a construction staff of about 25 that he likes to keep working all the time.|ret||ret||tab|

Most recently, Flintco was awarded the $1.6 million contract for the new Fire Station No. 8 at Scenic and Bennett, Boatright said. Preliminary work was to begin last week.|ret||ret||tab|

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Roots|ret||ret||tab|

Flint Industries originated out of Tulsa Rig, which, during the oil boom of the early 1900s, supplied oil field equipment, lumber and rig timbers for wooden oil derricks.|ret||ret||tab|

When the industry need changed to steel derricks, Tulsa Rig founder C.W. Flint Sr., purchased the Tulsa Boiler Works to produce them, adapting the company. |ret||ret||tab|

Boatright said, "We've stayed in related industries, but moved from different areas" to where the business was. Flint Indus-tries supplies and maintains oil-field equipment worldwide.|ret||ret||tab|

It was the wood from Tulsa Rig's lumberyards that provided the raw materials that made for a perfect segue into general construction in 1938 when the federal housing boom took off. Then, the general construction branch which later became Flintco, was created to build military housing and training centers at Ft. Leonard Wood, and the Kansas air bases in Dodge City and Garden City.|ret||ret||tab|

In 1972, Flintco became a separate corporation, but like all Flint companies, it displays an arrowhead in its logo to signify the connection with the Chero-kee heritage of its founder.|ret||ret||tab|

Although Native American-owned, Flintco didn't branch into Native American projects until 1992, when it began an aggressive marketing campaign to tribes around the nation. Today, as a result of that nationwide connection, Flintco operates regional offices in Okla-homa City, Memphis, Albuquer-que and Sacramento.|ret||ret||tab|

"Flintco ... is conscious of the varied cultures and decision-making styles in different tribes, and includes traditional culture and religion in specific projects," its Web site said.|ret||ret||tab|

It has become the nation's leading commercial builder for tribal entities and in 2000, Flintco was honored by the U.S. Department of Labor as the National Minority Construction Firm of the Year.|ret||ret||tab|

Flintco keeps employees busy in Tahlequah, Okla., capital of the Cherokee nation southeast of Tulsa, "... constantly building tribal health centers, churches, all kinds of things," Boatright said. He estimated his firm has built 20 to 30 projects there.|ret||ret||tab|

"When there's an Indian project at hand, we better be there and do the right job," Boatright said. "That's everything for the Flint family. Any time there's an Indian project around the ... area ... I get an e-mail from Mr. Flint saying Check into that.'" |ret||ret||tab|

He said Flint looks for Indian-owned companies to work with as subcontractors, "but there aren't many Indian-owned companies like us." |ret||ret||tab|

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Institutional leanings|ret||ret||tab|

Flintco concentrates on large institutional projects, like the new county jail. |ret||ret||tab|

"I've spent eight or nine years studying the corrections industry, how it operates, how ... you build for that industry and how they operate in the facilities. It's more than just brick and mortar. It's what makes an inmate space manageable from the correction officer's viewpoint," Boatright said. He said he it was a "real pleasure to do that job."|ret||ret||tab|

Boatright is excited about the Central High School project. Keys were turned over on the expansion a few weeks ago and the auditorium has been renovated. But the most interesting part for Boatright is yet to come. |ret||ret||tab|

"I've spent a lot of time studying the (1890's era ) building ... getting involved in how it was built." |ret||ret||tab|

So far "we've encountered a few walls we didn't expected to be there plaster walls behind other walls." He described Cen-tral as "a very stout structure. The walls were built in an old-fashioned method. They built (load-bearing) brick walls with several layers of brick." Putting an opening through such a wall is "extremely difficult. We've got to worry about the brick falling out" as well as the difficulty in just "getting through it." Boatright said he works "hand-in-hand" with the architect, Sapp Design Associates. |ret||ret||tab|

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Flintco growth|ret||ret||tab|

A big break came to the company in 1990 when the Federal Bureau of Prisons awarded it the design/build contract for a $15 million prison camp in Forest City, Ark. The 68,000-square foot project included two buildings and was delivered 62 days ahead of schedule despite 40 days lost to bad weather and plan modifications. The bureau gave Flintco the highest rating and hired the company for more projects.|ret||ret||tab|

It salvaged the $100 million Federal Prison Hospital in But-ner, N.C., and then was awarded another $90 million facility in Forest City, Ark. |ret||ret||tab|

Flintco has had projects in 23 states including construction and renovation of office buildings, sports arenas, health care and research centers, and other facilities such as educational, correctional, aerospace hangars and support, manufacturing, re-tail and parking garages. [[In-content Ad]]