Business View Caribbean - April 2016 27
reasonable and proactive in the solution of problems;
this gains us reciprocal treatment, plus rapport with
our clients. We believe clients look for the reasonable
and amiable problem solver. That, combined with our
track record of high quality and aggressive, fast-paced
construction, sets us apart from the rest.”
Up until about five years ago, Venegas says that a lot
of its work was for public clients, but the company
has since moved steadily into the private sector. “Be-
fore 2010, we did 80 percent public work, 20 percent
private. And the private work – we didn’t go out and
pursue it – it came to us,” he states. “From 2010, on,
we’ve weaned away from the government and now
100 percent of our work is for private sector clients.
Within these private sector clients, we experience con-
siderable repeat business.”
The company’s solid reputation as a reliable partner
helps explain why it has never needed to promote itself
widely, relying on word of mouth and public bids to gain
and maintain its market share. “For 50 years, we have
never had any marketing materials – never needed it,”
Venegas says proudly. “But now that we’re planning a
potential geographic expansion, we’re working on our
website and preparing marketing materials so that we
can introduce Venegas Construction to other areas
where we’re not known – outside of Puerto Rico.”
Venegas explains that the company has already built
on other Caribbean islands, such as Vieques and Cul-
ebra, the remote islands that belong to Puerto Rico.
“The short hops to nearby islands, we’ve done before,”
he says. “But in the past five years, we’ve acquired
stateside clients that have invited us to participate in
work far more distant from our headquarters, such as:
