Seeking shelter: Members of the cabral family have worked together and apart to build roofing businesses that have found clients nationwide. (Small Business).THE Cabrals have an odd twist on the family business: spinoffs. Most of the members of the huge clan clan, social group based on actual or alleged unilineal descent from a common ancestor. Such groups have been known in all parts of the world and include some that claim the parentage or special protection of an animal, plant, or other object (see totem). , springing from 16 brothers and sisters, are in the roofing business -- and they compete with each other for the same customers through three separate companies. "It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have a free market," said Desi desi Indian English Adjective indigenous or local Noun informal a person considered to be of South Asian origin [Hindi] Cabral, sales executive for Cabral Roofing & Waterproofing Corp., the largest of the three firms. "Whoever can impress these buyers gets the contract." Since its inception in 1997, Montebello-based Cabral has grown into a 67-person firm that last year generated $9.7 million and is expected to top $11 million this year. It is run by company president Andrew Cabral, who started the firm after his brother, Jesus Jesus, persons in the Bible Jesus, in the Bible. 1 Jesus Christ, see Jesus. 2 Son of Sirach, author of Ecclesiasticus. 3 Jesus Justus, converted Jew in Rome. 4 Hero of the book of Joshua. , closed the original J. Cab & Sons Roofing Inc. in Commerce in 1997 due to health problems. Andrew's brother Fernando Fernando may mean:
Although the other two firms are far smaller than Cabral Roofing, all three compete for commercial and industrial projects. Just last week, representatives of Cabral Roofing and F.C. & Sons bumped into each other at a walk-through at Vernon City Hall. Both firms are expected to submit bids this week to upgrade the building's roof. Although family members acknowledged that competition is vigorous, they said they never let business get in the way of family unity. "There's no bad blood," said Fernando's son, Armando Cabral, F.C. & Son's project manager. "There's enough business out there for all of us. It's all in the family. We need to respect each other." Jesus Cabral gave Andrew and about a dozen of his brothers and sisters their start in the business. When Jesus become ill, Andrew, who at the time was J. Cab's general manager and controller, formed his own firm and brought the 35 J. Cab employees with him. Using a $200,000 loan, he bought his brother's four trucks and roofing equipment and leased a 1,000-square-foot facility in Bell Gardens. (Andrew moved the company to Montebello in 1999.) With a solid client base, Cabral Roofing generated $53 million in 1998 -- its first full year in business. Since then, Andrew Cabral has expedited revenue growth through government contracts. Government certification The company's big break came in late 1998 when it received Small Business Association-8(a) certification, which the other two firms do not have. The federal program mandates that military agencies set aside some of its contracts for minority-owned businesses that do not have to bid against other companies. Cabral Roofing has landed five government contracts totaling $30,000 to $2.8 million each; this year it's looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. six or seven large contracts totaling $4 million. "You get the opportunity to prove you can do as high quality work as non-minorities," said Andrew Cabral. "Without this, minorities would probably not get to do big work for the federal government or big corporations, who get references from the federal government." From the early 1960s through 1990, the Cabral family immigrated to the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area from their native Zacatecas, Mexico, where they raised cattle, corn and oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other . Jesus Cabral, one of the first family members to immigrate im·mi·grate v. im·mi·grat·ed, im·mi·grat·ing, im·mi·grates v.intr. To enter and settle in a country or region to which one is not native. See Usage Note at migrate. v.tr. , started out here in the meat industry, first at the Farmer John Meats processing plant in Vernon and later at a McDonald Corp.'s warehouse in City of Industry. When a friend suggested that roofing would provide a better living, Jesus and his three brothers made a career switch. Besides government contracts, Cabral Roofing recently landed a $1.3 million roof replacement contract at a Philip Morris USA Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. General information On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. changed its name to Altria Group, Inc. Even under this new name, Altria continues to own 100% of Philip Morris USA. manufacturing plant in Concord Concord, cities, United States Concord (kŏng`kərd, kŏn`kôrd'). 1 city (1990 pop. 111,348), Contra Costa co., W central Calif.; settled c.1852, inc. 1906. , N.C., where as many as 200,000 cigarettes are processed each minute. "They're doing something right to be able to build up their company that fast," said Bob Frye, vice president and general manager of Boyle Heights-based West Coast Roofing Inc., a Cabral competitor. Cabral flew a crew of 12 workers to the Philip Morris site where the four-month job should be completed in April. Cabral Roofing targets projects that will generate a minimum of $50,000 although it will occasionally take on a $20,000 waterproofing assignment. Its largest contract brought in $2.8 million in 1999 to re-roof housing facilities at the Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local Ventura County in 1999. RELATED ARTICLE: PROFILE Cabral Roofing & Waterproofing Corp. Year Founded: 1997 Core Business: Roof replacements and repair. Revenues in 1998: $5.3 million Revenues in 2001: $9.7 million Employees in 1998: 35 Employees in 2001: 67 Goal: To increase the number of $2 million-plus government contracts to seven per year, from three last year. Driving Force: Using its Small Business Association 8 (a) certification to generate large, no-bid government contracts. |
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