FitzGerald Contractors, LLC becomes “a Harris Company”
(SHREVEPORT, LA) A legacy is a collection of principles, values, skills and dreams shared by a tight-knit community of believers. Sometimes that community is built by a family across decades or even centuries. Sometimes it’s built by a collection of families, neighbors, friends and colleagues.
And sometimes, when the right people come together at the right time, their community has the power to build legacies as well as preserve them.
On August 1st, FitzGerald Contractors, LLC, of Shreveport, Louisiana, will become “a Harris Company,” as they partner with Harris, headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
FitzGerald has built a flourishing legacy over more than a century since Irish immigrant and dreamer William FitzGerald started his business with one horse and one wagon in 1914. Through generations, FitzGerald as a business has become synonymous with excellent, hard work and community service. Maintaining the trust and support of the like-nowhere-else community of Shreveport-Bossier City is a duty they consider to be sacred, so suffice it to say when it comes to entertaining partnership, FitzGerald’s standards are stratospheric.
Enter Harris, a company that might not seem like a suitable match for FitzGerald, let alone Shreveport. After all, Harris is a big mechanical contractor with offices nationwide, working on megaprojects from NFL stadiums to data centers and almost everything in between. While that might be Harris’ current reality, though, it isn’t their story.
Harris is also the byproduct of generations. After 17 years of working with his brother, Aaron Harris, Charles struck out on his own to establish Charles Harris Plumbing Company in 1948. The company grew and expanded over the next three decades, with ownership staying in the family. Then, in 1983, Ron Harris and son-in-law Sheldon Stewart sold the company (then named Harris Stewart Companies) to a collective of long-term employees, among whom was Robert Hosch, who started as a journeyman pipefitter in 1968. This was the beginning of an employee-ownership legacy that would evolve and grow over the next four decades until it became the Harris that Chris FitzGerald and his team met.
What FitzGerald saw in Harris was not a “big name” mechanical contractor with sights set on expansion. Instead, Harris revealed itself to be a humble, passionate community dedicated to preserving legacy by weaving stories from all over into a tapestry they hope will eventually cover the nation. Every location has a story. Every division can trace their talent back decades. And at its heart, Harris insists that, like the country in which it operates, it will always be owned by its people so that it can continue to work for its people.
This partnership stretches beyond the on-paper joining of FitzGerald’s capabilities with Harris’ own (although one cannot overstate the extra power Louisiana’s markets will gain through access to Harris’ national network and talent). It’s about continuing a legacy that defines the construction industry itself: the American Dream.
“We’re gaining, not changing,” says Chris FitzGerald, FitzGerald president and CEO. “Shreveport isn’t losing anybody. We’re not even changing our name. What we’ve got with Harris is a partner that shares our values of being honest, working hard, serving our community and taking the best possible care of our teams, because our people are our most valuable resource. Add to that the expansion of our capabilities and resources and it’s just a really good decision for us and our community.”
“When you look at FitzGerald’s history, it blows your mind,” Bob Swanger, Executive Vice President of Service + Building Automation at Harris, said. “This is a company that’s survived two world wars, The Great Depression and everything else since then, without losing their name or leaving their community. On top of that, they happen to be really, really talented professionals who know their trades and how to build an incredible team. Everything about FitzGerald is everything we want to preserve and expand on in our industry. It was a no-brainer. We’re thrilled.”
Congratulations to FitzGerald and Harris, a match worthy of their combined history. Exciting developments are sure to follow!
Top: William FitzGerald, early FitzGerald plumbing prefab rack, Bob + Mike FitzGerald, Chris FitzGerald, current President and CEO
Bottom: Robert Hosch working w/pipe c.1960s, Robert + Greg Hosch, Michel Michno, current Harris CEO
Left: Early photo of FitzGerald Plumbing + Heating c. 1930s.
Right: Early photo of Charles Harris Plumbing c. 1940s
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