WICHITA — The Butler continues to expand even though one of its recent new markets — St. Louis — has closed.
“We just did not get the work to sustain the financial cost of it,” says founder and managing partner Adam McCollough.
The company does plumbing, water damage restoration, roofing and remodeling.
McCollough has added offices in Houston, San Antonio and, most recently, Austin. He sees a lot more promise in those markets than in St. Louis.
“Texas is a whole different situation,” he says. “Just the economy in Texas is totally different. There’s a lot more money there.
“Whether it’s $2,000 or $20,000, people are paying us when we’re done. That’s very rare.”
In other markets, including Wichita, he says banks are causing problems with insurance payments customers receive for damages at their houses.
“The mortgage companies are still holding on to a lot of money and making sure there’s a lot of red tape before releasing those funds,” McCollough says.
Instead of asking for one inspection, he says, they’re asking for two or three.
In St. Louis, McCollough says he saw people trying to do restoration work on their own and, after not being successful, encountering mold problems that insurance companies wouldn’t pay for him to fix.
“I just got tired of trying to make things work up there,” he says.
McCollough gave up after 10 months.
In addition to Wichita and Texas, where the Butler also has Dallas and Fort Worth offices, the company operates in Kansas City and Oklahoma City.