San Antonio-based MAPCO, Inc. has been tapped to join a team of contractors working on a $40 million Department of Defense contract to provide design and construction of anti-terrorism and force protection upgrades at U.S. military installations.

The company has received a $60,000 initial order that essentially serves to secure them as members of the team, says Abe Villareal, program manager for MAPCO, Inc.

"That is initial funds that they have to commit by the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30)," he says. "That allows them to hold on to us as a contractor. It is money that is being allocated for this contract that has to be committed before the end of the year, or they will lose it."

The contract work will involve redesigns of entry gates at U.S. military installations using anchored cables to prevent anyone from driving through the fences. Guard shacks will be reinforced with concrete barriers and made completely bullet-proof. They will also design other obstacles to protect against intrusions -- including pop-up barriers and automatic devices that puncture tires.

The contract work may also involve remediation work on older buildings, including asbestos removal as well as complete gut-outs and rebuilds, Villareal says.

"We are the general contractor, and we will design the projects," he says. "We have our own team of architects and engineers who put these pieces together, then we give them to our estimators who come up with costs."

Villareal says they try to come up with a product that the military will be happy with and that meets their budgetary requirements. The contracts are usually a pretty good size, he adds.

The contract, which was announced on Sept. 22, covers a five-state area -- New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas -- with the majority of the work being in Texas.

It is an indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery contract, which means that each project will be determined at a later date and bid upon by the nine members of the contract team.

Villareal says MAPCO, Inc. has five other government contracts pending that it is waiting to hear back on.

Other work

MAPCO, Inc. started out in 1992 as an electrical contractor before deciding to go exclusively into government construction work, Villareal says.

"We found that government construction was a good niche for us," he says. "That is what we do now, strictly government contract work."

MAPCO, Inc. has done a substantial amount of work for the U.S. Border Patrol Agency. They have also done work on dams and water areas for the International Boundaries and Waters Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency.

The company currently has a five-year contract for remediation and construction work at Fort Sam Houston. They have a similar contract at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio and three at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

Villareal says MAPCO, Inc. keeps a team of builders and construction workers on hand at all times for emergency projects that must be started right away. For other projects, they will subcontract the work out and serve as the general contractor.

"We also have our own estimators and engineers and we do everything from our own technical writing to putting our proposals together," he adds.