HispanicBusiness

Wendel Torres never expected any favors because he's Hispanic - he wanted a chance to bid big construction jobs and succeed on his merits.

His persistence won him not only the big contracts but also the Small Business Administration's regional award for National Minority Small Businessperson of the Year.

Torres, president of Springs-based Alliance General Contractors LLC, will receive an award tonight in Washington, D.C., as the top minority businessperson in the six-state region that includes Colorado. One of the 10 regional winners will receive the national title.

The SBA wants to recognize general excellence. Award committees rank businesses nominated by staff and community members based on questionnaires that evaluate the company's work performance, revenue trends and community involvement.

"Wendel has proven himself," said Juan Rosenbaum of the Colorado district office of the SBA. "Every time he's performed a government contract, he's done it professionally and the agencies have awarded him more."

Torres, 44, has done enough work on local military bases to win the 2002 Pikes Peak Region Small Business of the Year award from the Department of Defense. It's been a challenge to get there, however.

Torres was frustrated watching big companies sweep up all the bids. Large firms can make up in volume what they sacrifice in profit margin and usually can underbid the little guys. That's why the SBA developed its 8(a) Business Development program for small, disadvantaged businesses.

Small minority businesses with certification for that program can bid for government contracts of less than $3 million without competition from large companies. Certification lasts nine years, so businesses are encouraged to broaden their base beyond government contracting.

Resisting any semblance of a handout, it took Torres two years to apply for the certification once he learned about the program. He has no regrets.

"The 8(a) program is a great tool to jump-start your business into getting larger projects," he said.

"Colorado Springs is a good-old-boy town, and minorities don't get the same opportunities."

Torres graduated from Widefield High School in 1976 and earned a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He founded Torres and Associates in 1987. Friends soon told him he'd get more work in the Springs if he dropped the Hispanic company name.

Undaunted, Torres built the company from a one-man shop to a $15 million concern in 2001, merging this year with Gateway Construction Co. to form Alliance. As general contractors, Torres and his 28 employees spend most of their time managing projects and hiring subcontractors.

Torres laments he is the only Hispanic working for Alliance, noting there are far more Hispanics working in construction trades than in project management.

He finds the local Hispanic community fragmented, and although he's a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he finds the board has more representatives from large corporations than small businesses.

"We don't like to ask for help. We want to do it ourselves," he said. "We could be more successful if we just solicited each other."

Hispanic Chamber President Roman Tafoya agrees it's hard to recruit small-business owners to the board, but the chamber is making progress.