Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Pencarinha.
Todd, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up outside Columbus, Ohio and I could not wait to get somewhere I could see the sun beyond just the summer! I moved to Houston, Texas in the summer of 1988 to take a job with Exxon (now ExxonMobil) and I have been here ever since. I loved Houston immediately. Houston is a great place for people, business, and great food! I had never experienced a place with such friendly and highly intelligent people. Some folks from the Northeast and Midwest think southerners are not very smart. Houston proves they are not only smarter, they are nice enough to not correct the northern ignorance. Houston has a surprising international culture, perhaps driven by the energy industry, that helped me quickly broaden my understanding of the world. I also learned that Houston was a land of business opportunity like I had never imagined. Houston and Texas, in general, are an entrepreneur’s dream – with low taxes, opportunities everywhere, and readily available capital.
After setting foundational skills in engineering, projects, and chemicals, I ventured out with a friend to start a business in 2003. That business was very successful and grew quickly, but differences in the desired direction of the company between myself and my business partner soured the deal and caused a split. The split was devastating, but it taught me some of the most valuable lessons for business and helped me to have a much better understanding of my own strengths and weaknesses and also to understand what I really like doing and what I really don’t like doing.
Following the split, I partnered with a lifelong friend, fellow entrepreneur, and proven business leader Steve Marshall to start Altiras Industrial Services in 2010. The business-focused on finding ways to reuse chemical co-products and byproducts – materials that would otherwise be a waste and something the world desperately needed. While we had many setbacks along the way, including the loss of $100,000 in our first month of business due to a bad deal, we managed to grow the business to a leading beneficial reuse company. At this time, the company has grown from a single business to eight companies in the US and Puerto Rico – all focused on various aspects of beneficial reuse and recycling of chemical and petroleum products. All of this is possible because of the unique business environment of Houston and the phenomenal people of Texas.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If any entrepreneur tells you it was a smooth road then they are either lying or they just started that day. I speak with entrepreneurs all the time and every one has a story and every story has huge struggles – struggles where the business nearly dies. Most businesses fail in the first year, many more in the next 2-3 years. Businesses that make it 5 years are rare – and they are usually owned by entrepreneurs who are doing it for the second or third time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Altiras Recovery – what should we know?
Altiras is really a group of companies that primarily focus on the beneficial reuse of chemical and petroleum coproducts, byproducts, and materials that would otherwise be industrial waste. Altiras Holdings is the parent company that owns the rest and provides the strategic direction. Altiras Chemicals handles “as-is” beneficial reuse of industrial chemicals. Altiras Fuels handles “as-is” beneficial reuse of refinery products. Altiras Industrial Services, although the name of the starting company, today provides industrial services inside chemical plants and refineries to handle industrial waste projects with a focus on beneficial reuse and waste minimization.
Altiras Energy is a company that exports energy coproducts like certain distillates and petroleum coke from the US to other parts to the world. Altiras Recovery is sort of a research and development company that finds ways to turn unusable chemicals and fuel materials into something useful and then continues to work to create new companies to produce sustainable products. Two more companies bearing the Altiras name have just been started in Puerto Rico to do chemical recycling and international trading on the island.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Countless things contribute to the success of any business. The first thing is God’s will. Next, if a business is going to be successful, it requires the right people. Altiras has the best people – good people who care about what they do and how they do it. They are people who are trusted to do their job. That sounds simple, but it is really a matter of empowering them, developing them, helping them understand their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and letting them do their jobs. When they get knocked down, you help them up, help them learn from the experience, and encourage them to move forward. Over longer periods of time, you help your people achieve their own dreams – whether that means staying at Altiras or moving on. We love our people and wish they would all stay, but if Altiras is just a step towards their ultimate goals and both can grow and benefit from the experience, then that is a great success for both.
Contact Info:
- Address: 950 Threadneedle St.
Suite 120 Houston, TX 77079 - Website: www.altiras.com
- Phone: 713-568-3651
- Email: tpencarinha@altiras.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Altiras
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/altiras1
- Other: http://www.linkedin.com/company/1847459/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
