'We were friends first'

Brothers, friends unite for new Moses Lake construction company

MOSES LAKE - When the wind picked up and the weather rocked the Columbia Basin last year, at least one good thing came out of it.

It was during the windstorm last winter when Tiger Davison got the idea to go into business with his friends.

"Every winter I would take it off to work with Tiger," longtime pal Duane Zamora explained. "This last winter, there was a windstorm and Tiger just goes, 'We should start our own company.' And that's what we did."

So Zamora and Davison decided to open Big Max Construction, LLC, with Duane's brothers, Charlie Zamora and Mario Zamora.

"The windstorm kind of got us out," Davison recalled. "It was the off-time of the season, we were out doing some repairs and we were realizing, we've been friends for a long time and worked together. We all have the skills - all of us have construction background and skills. It just seemed like such a good idea, we're friends already, anyways."

Charlie said the Zamora family settled in Moses Lake from Texas in 1957, with Mario graduating from Moses Lake High School in 1968, Charlie in 1969 and Duane in 1981.

"Our whole family has been involved in the wrestling program here in town," Charlie said.

"If you're a sports enthusiast here in Washington, especially wrestling, our name does come up quite a bit," Duane added.

Charlie retired from package delivery two years ago and serves as the company's bookkeeper.

"This is a lot different from delivering packages," he said. "I'm glad I'm doing what I'm doing now because I enjoy it and it's a lot easier on me."

Mario retired from Hanford, and also came on board.

The company opened in March, and specializes in seamless gutters, siding, windows, tile, bathrooms, decks, doors, roofing, repairs and remodeling.

"Business has been very, very good," Duane said. "We started off pretty scared - we didn't know whether we were going to make it. We didn't have a feel like how it was going to go in the future, but it turned out to be real busy for us."

Davison attributes it to the company's ability to offer a complete package of maintenance-free products and the experience involved.

"We can offer the whole package and deliver it with a high degree of quality, and that's really been the secret to our success, because we're able to do so many different things and do them well," he said. "We all bring something to the table."

The Zamora brothers and Davison are finding they enjoy the work.

"There's nobody that tells us what to do," Duane enthused. "We have fun at work every day, and it's just like we take a break whenever we want. Nobody's hollering."

"We're just having a blast, building what we're doing," Mario said. "We just have a good time, working all together."

"It's all about respect," Davison said. "There's a mutual admiration and respect. It's a pleasure to go to work every morning, and it's been liberating. We are able to do what we want to do, at a high degree of quality, and enjoy it while we're at it. Every day's a joy."

Before, Duane said, he worked with hard asphalt.

"That's hard work," he said. "What we do now is fun work."

Davison feels appreciated at the company, and Charlie called him the Zamoras' right-hand man and technician. Duane said they've been learning every day from Davison, improving each day.

Davison has known the Zamoras for about 15 years, first meeting Duane through a mutual friend and then meeting Charlie and Mario.

"We always connected," he said. "We were always just friends - we were friends first."

The community responded well to the business.

"We weren't even in the phone book until just a month ago, and we've been booked solid," Davison said. "These guys know a lot of people, the name's getting around. We've got a very fast-growing reference list."

Charlie wants to see the company grow to the point where it can take on some more employees in addition to the four partners, and maybe expand the business from there.

Davison is already anticipating the day the business moves into a new generation.

"This is a family business, and we've already had family members come out," Davison said. "Our sons, that's where it's going. This company's heading for our sons. We all have sons and they've all come out and gotten to help and partake in the business. That's where I see the company going."

Big Max Construction operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

For more information, call 509-771-3595.