Picture this scene: You’re on a ladder, 60 feet in the air, paintbrush in hand, when word comes that the boss is here to meet you.

That’s how Juan Medina met Bill Harrison, the patriarch of Harrison Contracting. Juan climbed halfway down, a bit reluctantly.

“I didn’t want to lose the whole day going down and back up again,” Juan recalls with a smile.

Before Juan got to the bottom, Harrison waved him off. Where some might have worried about insubordination, Harrison instead saw Juan’s strong work ethic.

“I always called Juan my Superman,” says Harrison, who has since sold the company but remains involved. “He helped mold Harrison into what it is today.”

The anecdote that speaks volumes about the man who rose to become the backbone of the company’s nationwide operations. From that first encounter, to coordinating 200 jobs a week, Juan’s journey is as extraordinary as he is unassuming.

“It’s a hell of a story,” says Chris Murphy, co-owner of Harrison Contracting. “A guy who came to this country barely able to speak English and now he’s running a team of people that are 2,000 technicians deep across the country.”

Learning to paint

It all started in Georgia, where Juan’s dad found him his first job as a painter.

“He told the guy I was the best painter around,” Juan says. “I didn’t even know what a spray gun was.”

Determined not to fail his father, Juan found some painters on a nearby job site and asked if he could observe. By morning, Juan was ready to bluff his way through his first day..

“I showed up like I knew what I was doing,” he says. “I learned on the go.”

That drive to succeed—and adapt—would become a hallmark of Juan’s career. As an inexperienced Hispanic worker in the predominantly American construction workforce 20 years ago, earning respect was no easy task.

“I was young, I was Hispanic, and I was in charge of crews full of older American workers,” Juan recalls. “I knew I couldn’t just walk in and give orders. I had to show them that I was there to help them succeed.”

Juan built trust by being present and proving he knew the work. When crews called at 3 a.m., Juan answered. When problems arose, he showed up with solutions.

“I told them, ‘You’re in charge of the job. I’m here to support you,’” Juan says.

Step by step, he moved up through the ranks—earning respect, learning the trade, and laying the foundation for the leader he would become.

“Juan makes the magic happen,” says Harrison Contracting co-owner Calvin Pate. “I never worry when I know Juan is on it.”    

Building a team

Before joining Harrison Contracting, Murphy was in sales for PPG when he met Juan. The future owner quickly saw that Juan was operating on another level.

“This guy’s different,” Murphy recalls thinking. “This guy is not a painter, he’s an organizer.”

Scaling from 20 jobs a week to 200 doesn’t happen without a strategy, and for Juan that strategy centers on people.

“Your team is everything,” Juan says. “If they don’t know what you expect, how can they give you what you want?”

As Harrison Contracting rapidly grew, there were naturally all kinds of novel difficulties to overcome. Juan was the person to call if a job went sideways.

“He’s the red phone,” Murphy says. “He’s the guy that can take a situation that seems untenable, and make it acceptable, and in most cases, exceptional.”

Juan tackled one of the biggest challenges in painting—workforce consistency—by creating a system that combines training, logistics, and loyalty.

“I don’t let my people stay at home,” Juan says. “If they’re ready to work, I’ll fight to keep them busy.”

Juan’s approach to leadership is rooted in creating opportunities. He identifies hard workers and helps them grow, in some cases teaching them how to start their own businesses.

Recognizing that many employees—especially Spanish-speaking workers—struggled with paperwork, insurance, and financial planning, Juan brought in outside experts. Now safety days include help on how to navigate insurance, accounting, and vehicle financing.

“I tell my guys: You want a new truck? Let me help you figure out how,” Juan says. “Education makes them better workers and better providers for their families.”

Juan’s methods have built a network that is efficient, loyal, and scalable. In his always humble way, Juan smiles at how it all comes together.

“The company wins, the crews win, and the work gets done,” Juan says. “That’s how you scale a business without losing the heart.”

Overcoming challenges

Being part of a business as large as Harrison Contracting hasn’t come without its challenges. From logistical nightmares to costly jobsite mistakes, Juan has seen it all.

Juan recalls a particularly cringe-worthy incident at a retail store. The painter failed to account for the wind and accidentally oversprayed onto 50 lawnmowers out for sale in the parking lot.

It was a six-figure blunder, but instead of pointing his finger, Juan used it as a teachable moment.

“If something goes wrong, I don’t hide it,” Juan told the crew. “We fix it. We start over if we have to. That’s how you build relationships that last.”

This focus on trust and transparency paid off. Juan fondly talks of workers who left Harrison Contracting for other opportunities but came back because they missed the culture of loyalty and support Juan helped build.

“I tell everyone, ‘If you leave on good terms, the door is always open,’” Juan says. “But if you lie to me or burn the bridge, that’s on you.”

Reflecting on his journey 

For Juan Medina, the ledger of success isn’t solely written in profits—it’s about the impact he leaves behind. After more than two decades with Harrison Contracting, Juan takes pride in the people he has mentored and the opportunities he helped create.

“I started here with nothing—no truck, no tools—just a chance,” Juan says. “Now I look around, and I see guys I trained running their own businesses, buying houses, and providing for their families. That’s what matters to me.”

Looking to the future, Juan and the leadership at Harrison Contracting are focused on continuing to accelerate growth, while staying true to the culture they’ve built. Juan hints at the company’s next audacious goal: international expansion.

“Why not?” Juan says with a grin. “Paint is liquid everywhere. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere. It’ll be hard, but we’ll figure it out.”

For Juan, Harrison Contracting isn’t just a company. It’s his family, his life’s work, and a machine he’s proud to have helped build.

“The day I’m too slow or too old, I’ll step aside,” Juan says. “But I’ll leave knowing I helped build something great—and I helped a lot of people along the way.”