In this edition of The Painting Life, we introduce five of the charter members of Hispanic Customer Advisory Board, created under the auspices of Sherwin-Williams. This is Juan C. Banda.
Juan Carlos Banda De Leon was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was nine years old when his family immigrated to the United States, settling in the state of Georgia. After graduating from high school, he began working at a construction company installing drywall and metal structures, in the company of his father.
“I worked there for five years, where I acquired knowledge of plans,” he says. “Some time later, I began working at a painting firm, where I was given the position of project and estimation manager. During this time, I improved my experience in administrative management and other matters. At the age of 27, I started my own company with my wife.”
Founded in 2013, the Herban Group has achieved enormous growth working with construction companies in residential subdivisions and new multifamily projects in southeast Georgia. They employ about 55 to 60 people, and with subcontractors his operations involve about 500 workers.
“Forty percent of our job is installing drywall, 40 percent is painting, and 20 percent is final cleanup before delivery,” he says. “The builder installs the insulation, plumbing, electrical
and air ducts, and then we get to drywall installation, sanding, painting, molding and painting.
Last year we did about 1,000 to 1,200 houses. And we completed about 3,800 apartment units across 16 projects, each with 200 to 300 units.”
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Sherwin-Williams, he says, is practically his business partner. “We buy paints, materials, ladders and equipment from them.”
The Hispanic Customer Advisory Board is a very valuable initiative, he says, because it tries to help Hispanics who are starting out in the painting business.
“When I started, I received a lot of help from people older than me, and now Sherwin-Williams gives me the opportunity to help the Latino community that has the same passion as me to be successful in this business,” he says. “It is a way of giving back to others for the help I have received.”
This article was written by Jorge Arboleda, Pintor Pro senior editor, and was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of Pintor Pro. ©2024 Fusable. Photography courtesy The Herban Group.
