“I take great pride in providing quality products and customer service to our clients. I believe that UNINTECH employees have this fundamental attitude, as well, and that it is one of the core strengths of UNINTECH’s success.”
Over the nearly 30 years that Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc., (UNINTECH) has been serving the San Antonio community, the state of Texas, and the United States, Structural Division Director Brad Aldridge has steadfastly remained an integral member since the company’s very beginning.
Brad began his impressive 25-year career shortly after graduating from UTSA with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in 1995. Months after graduating and getting married, Brad saw a newspaper ad — “Yes, that long ago when there were ads in newspapers,” Brad quips— for a brand-new company, about three years old, called Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc., and began working as an Engineer-In-Training (E.I.T.).
With an engineering degree and experience as an E.I.T. under his belt, Brad was able to master his engineering skills and earn his Professional Engineer (PE) license in 2004, all while working under the watchful eye of UNINTECH’s founder Min Chow ‘Clifford’ Hew, PE. As he looks back on his career’s journey, venturing up the ladder from E.I.T. to licensed engineer, project manager (PM), supervisor, and, currently, his prestigious position as Structural Division Director and shareholder, Brad attributes learning much of his applied engineering knowledge from Clifford.
The wisdom that was passed down from Clifford greatly influenced how Brad works and operates as an engineer. Clifford’s great leadership and knowledge continues to be seen in the company as both he and Brad pass down their expertise to new employees and future engineers.
“I have always looked up to Clifford,” said Brad. “I remember while taking a structural class at UTSA, he substituted for a session and I learned more during that time than the rest of the semester in that class.”
Brad credits the leadership of Clifford and President Elisa Chan as essential to how UNINTECH has grown and changed since he joined the team. “[Clifford and Elisa] have always had an open-door policy to bring up any new ideas or issues,” Brad said. “That attitude has permeated throughout the company down to our PMs, supervisors, managers, and directors.”
Throughout his 25-year engineering career at UNINTECH, Brad has worked on numerous structural projects, including the recently completed and award-winning KFOR News Studio for an Oklahoma City news station. The news studio was awarded the 2020 PCI Design Award for Best High Tech and Laboratory Building for being able to withstand an EF-3 tornado with the help of precast concrete.
“I have always liked working or playing with puzzles and Legos,” Brad remarked. “Precast concrete is similar in construction where you are taking a lot of different pieces and putting them together to create something new. I get satisfaction in seeing everything come together and fit to form a completed structure. Each project that we work on is unique.”
While getting recognized locally and nationally for impressive works is always a highlight of a person’s professional career, Brad cherishes when the structures he helped design and build are recognized by his family, especially his son. He thinks back on the Heritage Plaza Parking Garage that was completed in 2009 and has now become part of the Houston skyline.
“Every time we drive into Houston you can see it from the highway and my son says, ‘There is that big garage that you did!’ There are many projects throughout the years that I was able to be part of a team that helped change the world for the better.”
Brad has also been project manager on several extraordinary projects including the Project Champion Garage in Hughes Landing in The Woodlands, Texas. Brad, along with fellow UNINTECH engineers Kieran Noone, PE; Uttam Bhurtel, PE; and Fermin Medina, PE.; provided design and detail for the 13-story parking garage. With 662,444 sq.ft. of all precast beams, spandrels, slabs, and many other incredible features, the Project Champion Garage is one of the tallest precast parking structures in Texas.
As he continues to work on many structural projects in his 25th year and beyond, Brad looks back on what has made his career at UNINTECH memorable.
“I take great pride in providing quality products and customer service to our clients,” Brad said. “I believe that UNINTECH employees have this fundamental attitude, as well, and that it is one of the core strengths of UNINTECH’s success.”
While achieving a 25-year career anniversary with one company is a feat within itself, all engineers must start somewhere. When asked if he had any advice to share with new engineers, or those aspiring to become engineers, Brad remarks that the advice he can give is not that different from any other life endeavor.
“Be honest, be patient, be humble, be kind,” Brad said. “Treat others as you want to be treated. Treat each client as the most important. Take pride in your work and perform your work as if you were the client. Make connections and learn from others that have gone before you.”
UNINTECH is grateful for the exceptional work and dedication that Brad Aldridge brings every day. Outside UNINTECH, Brad enjoys travelling and spending time with his family. “Traveling,” Brad said, “helps to gain perspective, knowledge, enjoying life, and having shared experiences with my family to be remembered during our short span in this world.” Brad notes that the greatest influences in his life who have helped him along his journey are God; his wife, Pethrie; and son, Caleb, who was adopted from Kazakhstan when he was one year old and is now a freshman in high school.
Brad Aldridge is a professional engineer and Director of the Structural Division at Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc., in San Antonio, Texas. He is a seasoned professional in structural engineering design. Projects include bridges, retaining walls, city-owned facilities, office buildings, stadiums, and garages. He has specialized and become an expert in the precast industry.