Jobs of all sizes all over the state keep Upchurch Plumbing employees busy all the time, but the business is looking for more work in the Delta.
The business now has about 160 employees, and 17 of them have worked there for 20 years or more.
A company statement describes Upchurch as being able to handle "any job as small as a leaky faucet or changing air conditioner filters to a multimillion-dollar job."
It also has a service center in Oxford that works with plumbing and heat and air conditioning units, mainly in central and northern Mississippi.
Mike Upchurch, the company's vice president, said the company typically has about 60 projects going at once. The range of sites stretches from Jackson to Memphis and from Alabama to Arkansas.
Most of the company's business is outside Greenwood.
The Delta was the strongest area of business until recently. For the last two years, Upchurch said, most of the work has been in east Mississippi locations such as Starkville and Columbus.
Because 70 percent of Upchurch's employees live in the Greenwood area and the Delta, the company bids on jobs in that region whenever possible.
"We hope the Delta will soon be our strong region," he said.
The largest project going now is a $5.5 million one at Baptist Memorial Hospital - Golden Triangle in Columbus, where a new five-story tower is being built. The work is expected to be done in January 2005, Upchurch said.
Twenty-four of the company's employees are licensed in medical gas piping - more than any other company in the state.
Hospital work usually requires more qualifications than other types of construction, and Upchurch Plumbing pursues it aggressively.
"We try to chase it anywhere in north Mississippi, from Jackson up," Upchurch said. "We definitely keep an eye open for any medical fields that come up."
The business was founded in 1970 by Vennis Upchurch, who served as its president until his death in 1997.
It remains a family operation. Brothers Robert Upchurch, 45, president, and David Upchurch, 40, treasurer, coordinate project management and labor. A third brother, Mike Upchurch, 44, vice president, handles daily operations and bidding jobs.
Their sister, Cindy Hawkins, 39, secretary, is in charge of accounting.
All four are natives of Greenwood.
Mike Upchurch said having the family all together has worked well over the years. They have varying responsibilities and don't all work at the same time, although the schedule might vary if someone has to fill in for someone else, he said.
"Everybody has different jobs to do, so we don't all try to do the same thing," he said.
