Twelve years ago, Ray Waddell stood with 24 other CEC teammates. It was the first day of operations, and Ray clearly stated his mission for CEC: Become the most trusted trade partner in Texas.
In the decade-plus since that day, CEC has developed into CEC Facilities Group, a full-fledged MEP contractor with multiple specialty services. One thing that hasn’t changed is the spirit Ray brought to the company.
On our 12th anniversary, we want to look back on our progression. In this three-part blog, we focus on 12 aspects of CEC’s growth.
Core values
Loyalty. Passion. Preparedness. That’s how we founded our company, and how we continue to operate today. We remain committed to our customers and teammates, work with a drive to be the best version of ourselves, and enter every stage of work with a thoroughly thought-out plan. When we put these three values first, we can become the most trusted trade partner for our customers.
Through the years, we’ve grown and added to our mission. We aim to foster a work environment that encourages innovation and long-term, sustainable growth. We also provide a safe, responsive, and committed experience while delivering exceptional results to our customers. Both remain rooted in our core values.
Culture
CEC has always succeeded because of our teamwork. We hire the best, brightest, and most innovative teammates and surround them with the tools and support they need to succeed. Our employee-centered decisions help everyone grow – teammates, CEC, trade partners, and customers.
Our leadership takes the coaching part of management seriously. We provide one-on-one guidance and offer many types of training to help individuals grow in their careers. We actively encourage our teams to find better tools and methods to overcome issues effectively.
We believe healthy teammates build a stronger team. We are committed to overall health- mentally and physically. We offer Teladoc virtual doctor visits, free vaccinations, and flu shots, as well as a life assistance program to round out our wellness program.
Our benefits keep improving. This year during open enrollment, every CEC teammate will have access to licensed, trained benefits counselors to walk them through benefits enrollment. This ensures our employees can make the best decisions in the best interest of their health and finances for themselves and their families. As an enhancement to the open enrollment process, we are adding live, individual sessions with a licensed benefit counselor to answer your questions and personally assist teammates.
We like to have fun, too! We just held a CEC-only golf tournament. We’re celebrating our 12th anniversary this month, and we have quarterly appreciation events at jobsites.
Project growth
CEC has grown tremendously in the past dozen years, and our project selection has, too. Today, CEC serves the following verticals:
- Corporate office
- Higher education/K-12
- Government/civic
- Healthcare
- Hospitality/residential
- Industrial/manufacturing
- Infrastructure
- Data centers
- Recreation/retail
- Sustainable/renewable energy
Some of our largest projects include:
- American Airlines headquarters, IOC, and credit union
- UT-Arlington SEIR building
- UT Southwestern Clements Tower
- The Dallas Statler Hilton hotel
- Hotel Drover in Fort Worth
- Irving Music Factory
- Nebraska Furniture Mart
- Texas Instruments
- Louis Vuitton Manufacturing Facility
- Titan Solar
To learn more about our projects, visit our projects page.
Innovation
CEC isn’t just a contractor; rather, our company is an innovative, technology-driven company that performs construction work. We are continuously upgrading our methods and processes to drive value for our customers through our Operational Excellence program.
We begin every project by asking one question: How can we improve this project for our customers? We start with digital processes in mind. Our field leadership uses leading-edge procedures for training, manpower, safety, and communications. Our preconstruction and BIM teams work to find additional value through prefabrication, offsite assembly, and improved supply chain delivery. We even offer design-assist/design-build options. We have even grown our fleet to almost 50 vehicles, and we roll specialized trucks and vans for our varied offerings.
We’ve streamlined our office processes, too. We use Microsoft Teams and Mersive conference equipment for our meetings. WorkMax and Paycom platforms help our accounting and human resources team stay efficient, while we incorporate temperature-scanning software to protect our teammates from spreading infectious diseases.
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At CEC, we’re proud of what we have become. We’re not finished yet! We’ll celebrate our 12th anniversary on June 16, then immediately get back to work finding value for our customers. Check back next week for the second of three blogs on this topic.