Born in Uvalde in 1901, H.B. “Pat” Zachry had his first business at the age of eight, selling the milk and eggs of the livestock that he raised and sold. He went to Texas A&M University during World War I to study animal husbandry and agriculture, but switched to civil engineering after learning that the courses he wanted weren’t offered. After graduation in 1922, Pat Zachry worked for the Texas Highway Department for two years before deciding to start his own business two years later in Laredo, Texas.

Pat Zachry established the H.B. Zachry Company in 1924. His first contract – a $40,000 Laredo bridge for the Texas Highway Department – was built with the assistance of mule-driven wagons. In the following decades, the company would evolve into a multifaceted, large-scale operation. David Zachry, grandson of Pat Zachry, leads Zachry Corporation, established in 2008 in a realignment of the Zachry enterprise. Zachry Corporation now includes Zachry Construction Corporation and Capitol Aggregates. More