Williams Helps With Reese Business Growth 

by Jim Jarrett

When Eric Williams surveyed Reese Technology Center after taking the post of executive director in 1999, he didn’t see much. Only 5 percent of the 1.4 million square foot facility was being used. 

“It was practically a ghost town when I got here,” said Williams.

Things have changed.

Williams put in 50- to 60- hour weeks to help fill the center to 90 percent of its current capacity.

“We have quite bit going on out here,” he said.

What types of business are on campus?

“Thirty-four percent of the campus is education. Texas Tech has 60,000 square feet of research space. This is all grant and privately-funded research. We have South Plains College which has more than 4,200 students out here. Then we have the Lubbock Police Academy, which has 60-plus cadets each session. We also have the South Plains Association of Governments firing range out here.

“The rest of it we have a full-care day care center out here. We have a new gun manufacturer. ... We have WestTex Document, which is a document and shredding company. It’s expanding rapidly. We have SupaChill, a cryogenic freezing company for the animal husbandry business. Gene Messer Ford has all their accounting out here.

“We have a small group coming out here that is doing specialty research has in cell phones — E911.”

What attracted you to this job?

“It really falls in line with my research approach. I really like the medical field. I specialized in medical all my career with health care and research. I actually wanted to be a doctor for a long, long time. I wanted to be a plastic surgeon and do those kinds of things.

“I was working in Europe at the time for RTKL International (an architectural firm) and heard they closed Reese. When they told me it closed and may turn it into a research park, I called my friend Gary Boren and asked, ‘Get me an interview.’

“I was working over in Europe and starting to have grandkids. I thought, ‘I’m about to start on a 1,700-bed hospital and I’ll be here five years.’

“I really wanted to see the grandkids. I thought, ‘Maybe I can do some of the same things in Lubbock where I was taught my skills and help Lubbock. It was a coming home and try to help approach.”

Have you been surprised at the impact you have made?

“Yes. It’s been a team effort. It’s not just me. It’s amazing because of the 97 bases they closed in the opening round of BRAC, this is the only base that’s made it through the process that are debt-free, that are totally self-supporting, the ones that are 90 percent full and making a profit. Nobody’s ever done it.

“And we are creating a lot of good jobs here. That’s making an impact in this region for higher education and job creation. That’s what we are doing.”

What was the smartest business decision you’ve made?

“Probably not to follow the Pentagon guidelines for base redevelopment. We took an entrepreneur model approach. We did not do the usual approach most people take. We did it as if it was our money. We ignored the airfield and concentrated on what would generate money at first. We took it in small pieces. It proved to be a smarter move than tackling airfield issues and other things. We addressed environmental issues by taking out an insurance policy and giving our potential and current clients a sense of comfort at the time.”

How do you keep it going?

“By a lot of hard work. I tell a lot of people this is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. You do anywhere from 15 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. We only have a staff of five in the office and three in the field. We are three or four times smaller than the next smallest one, but we are the most successful. Everybody works really, really hard. We have really good people, multiple skills. I set the goal for what they do and let them do it.”

Where do you see Reese 20 years from now?

“I see Reese as a major employer in terms of jobs training and education. I hope that we will be able to impact people in high school who may not want to go to college or take an alternate path for high paying jobs and want to stay in Lubbock.”

Thursday, February 07, 2008 03:02pm

Photo by Jim Jarrett

FrenshipToday Link