Dec 2006 Industry Leader:

Julio Hallack: Bilingual Ambassador of Decorative Concrete

Juliet Farmer,ConcreteNetwork.Com Columnist

Coming straight from Mexico in 1973, Julio Hallack had a dream. So he pursued an education while he worked nights to put himself through school, because Hallack says, "I felt that was what I needed to achieve my goals."

Today, Hallack owns Concrete Innovations by Hallack in Turlock, Calif., which boasts a showroom filled with almost 8,000 square feet of flooring samples.

But the road from Mexico to Turlock was indirect, taking Hallack to Colombia, Venezuela and back to Mexico before he met his wife. Next, he lived in Texas, where he had lower-management jobs, before coming to California in the mid-80s.

"I had a hard time finding quality jobs," he recalls of his early years in Calif. "I found a job in landscaping in 1986. Then I realized I could learn quickly, and I liked to work with my hands and be outdoors."

Hallack says that realization led to him becoming a licensed contractor. Which led to work installing concrete pavers in the late '80s.

Then, the ball got rolling. Hallack says he got in contact with L.M. Scofield. "Bob [at Scofield] was instrumental in educating me," he adds.

Then, in the 90s, Hallack says he looked into stamping while at the World of Concrete, where he sat in on some training seminars. "In the 90s, I was fascinated with anything to do with concrete," Hallack explains. "I saw and still see endless possibilities in concrete...Coloring was being offered, but there was a lot of failure in it at that time. Thanks to the work done in casinos in Las Vegas, that got coloring going."

Looking back, Hallack credits his education with much of his success. "I've learned a lot from the best, and I use my bilingual services to teach other contractors in both English and Spanish," he notes.

One thing Hallack says he's very happy about is the change in mindset about concrete contractors in general. "The hard work done by many publications and seminars has helped change the image of contractors in consumers' eyes—they are now recognized as artisans. They have always been contributors, but they never got respect before," he observes.

While much of Hallack's time is spent training other contractors for Scofield, Hallack still finds time to meet with his staff and travel for jobs. In fact, Hallack says he tries to always bring his whole crew on jobs (they recently returned from an 80,000-square-foot restoration for a commercial mall in Hawaii).

Hallack also says that teaching seminars all over the U.S. for Scofield has presented many opportunities for him. "These are the opportunities I've been looking for," he explains. "To tap into the Mexico market...My goal is to help contractors avoid mistakes and lose money unnecessarily, as well as help people understand the products they are using."

And according to Hallack, there's much work to be done. "We haven't even seen the beginning of it yet," he laughs. "There are so many millions of square feet of concrete that can be restored. We still have a long way to go but we haven't seen anything yet...there's so much you can do with concrete."

In addition to spending time with his family and giving back to his local community through charity work, Hallack also wants to send a message to other contractors.

"There's a new labor force that's primarily Hispanic that should not be taken for granted," he implores. "Instead, train them and encourage them to get an education. Treat them well and they will be loyal."

"All of us can make the decorative concrete industry one of the most successful industries in the world," Hallack concludes. "I see myself as a key person in this. I foresee a future where I'm known as a consultant bridging the language barrier."

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