Precision 2000, a general contractor in the concrete paving industry and a Georgia MBDA Business Center client, was named national Minority Construction Company of the Year
ATLANTA — During the recent national MBDA Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week held in Atlanta, Georgia Minority Business Development Agency Business Center (Georgia MBC) client Precision 2000 was named national Minority Construction Firm of the Year. The MBDA, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, hosts the National MED Week conference each year for policymakers, minority business enterprises, and their advocates to collaborate on strategies for economic empowerment and long-term wealth creation.
Precision 2000 (P2K) is owned by CEO and co-founder Guiomar Obregón and her husband, Carlos Sánchez, who is president and co-founder. The pair hail from Colombia and are long-time Atlanta residents whose roots in the city — and at Georgia Tech — go back more than 25 years.
“My husband and myself are both alumni from Georgia Tech,” Obregón said. “We both obtained master’s degrees before starting the company.” Sánchez has a master’s in the management of technology and Obregón has an MBA and a master’s in civil engineering.
The award-winning firm is a general contractor building civil infrastructure projects. A market niche is concrete paving for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s taxiways and runways, in addition, they have worked on projects for the Georgia Department of Transportation, and done extensive work for other businesses, organizations, and agencies.
Georgia MBC Project Director Jennifer Pasley said it was a thrill to see the MBC client receive this national recognition. “They’re a great company to have as a part of our portfolio,” Pasley said. “They just celebrated their 26-year anniversary. They have consistently scaled their company since its beginnings. They are very community oriented. They have an association to bring together Latino construction companies to share information as to how they can scale their companies.”
For her part, Obregón said that working with Georgia MBC has been very helpful to her business.
“The Center provides great assistance to minority companies at no cost,” she said. “Over the years I got assistance with certifications, access to government agencies, access to capital, and networking. Recently they added round tables with construction companies to learn about opportunities where the owner desires to increase minority participation.”
Through their work at Georgia Tech, Obregón and Sánchez are also doing their part to increase minority participation in their field. “We feel that our time at Georgia Tech and the graduate degrees we received prepared us for our entrepreneurial journey, and we wanted to pay it forward,” she said. “We wanted to help other students like us, Hispanics and women interested in engineering and construction. P2K sponsors a fellowship program at Georgia Tech’s School of Building Construction and scholarships in civil engineering.”
In recognition of the support Obregón and Sánchez have provided to Georgia Tech students, the Institute dedicated classroom 3133 in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering to P2K in 2022.
“The space commemorates the achievements of Precision 2000 and recognizes our commitment to creating opportunities for the next generation of civil engineers,” Obregón said.
While Obregón recognized the importance of creating opportunities for the next generation, she also understands that her company and others like it continue to need support as well.
“Although much progress has been made in leadership diversity, the construction industry is still male dominated. As a female, Hispanic-owned firm, P2K must consistently overcome barriers and biases,” Obregón said.
“To combat this, we rely on the strength of our brand and the caliber of our work, but we also find support from organizations like Georgia MBC, which is designed to address the specific challenges faced by minority companies. Georgia MBC has enabled us to gain visibility, expand our network, and identify opportunities for capital investment. The Georgia MBC understands our challenges and is the helping hand that we need.”