Improve pricing discipline, gross-margin visibility, job-level accountability, cash collection and financial reporting so growth has a better chance of producing healthy profit.
- Operating signal
- Pricing / margin / cash
Founder / Operator / Houston, Texas
Started in the truck.
Built beyond the founder.
Building the next.
Ben Pacheco started with Central Hydraulic Supply in a Houston service truck, helped build the operation that became Core Hydraulics, and completed a private-company sale in June 2026. Today, he is applying those lessons while building Upstanding Roofing.
2017 Houston origin/Multi-market Core platform/Sale completed June 2026/Now building Upstanding Roofing
01 Origin / Service Truck / Central Hydraulic Supply
2017
Houston, Texas
Before there was a platform, there was a service truck.
The operating philosophy did not begin in a boardroom. It began in the field, carrying the customer promise personally.
After earning a Business Management degree from LSU and working in fluid power, Ben launched Central Hydraulic Supply as a RYCO 24·7 mobile hose service at 26. He answered calls, went into the field and learned the operation from the ground up.
The next nine years were spent turning that field knowledge into people, standards, numbers and leaders capable of carrying the work forward.
Read the 2017 origin story
02Building Core Hydraulics
Field knowledge became
an operating platform.
The Core story is the record of learning the work, adding structure one layer at a time and helping build a company that could operate beyond its founders.
2017
Central Hydraulic Supply
Launched as a RYCO 24·7 mobile hose service in Houston and learned the work firsthand from the service truck.
2018–2019
Hydraulic Solutions of Texas
Helped build the next operating layer and the broader foundation required to support a growing service business.
2022
Core Hydraulics platform
Brought the customer-facing operation together under the Core Hydraulics brand and developed a hub-and-spoke service model.
SCALE
Multi-market operating platform
Added the standards, scorecards, economics and leadership needed to support teams across Texas and Florida.
JUNE 2026
Private-company sale
Completed the sale after nine years of company building. Transaction terms remain confidential.
TODAY
Lessons applied at Upstanding
Applying the operating lessons to a focused residential roofing company serving Greater Houston.
Team / Fleet / Hub-and-Spoke
Built in Houston. Replicated across two states.
The model placed a hub at the center of each operating region, with field service extending into the surrounding markets.
Texas hub
Houston, Texas
- Houston
- Dallas–Fort Worth
- Austin
- San Antonio
- Beaumont–Port Arthur
Florida hub
Pompano Beach, Florida
- Pompano Beach
- South Florida
- Central Florida
Case result / Core Hydraulics
Nine years of building—and lessons that continue forward.
- Build period
- Nine years
- Operating scale
- More than 100 employees
- Sale completed
- June 2026
Transaction terms remain confidential.
The most useful result is not a transaction graphic. It is the operating knowledge now being tested again at Upstanding Roofing: clear roles, visible numbers, repeatable standards and leadership beyond the founder.
Nine operating systems
The system is the scaling strategy.
Consistent execution, useful information and clear accountability turn founder knowledge into a company the team can run.
- 01Responsive service
- 02Clear roles and ownership
- 03Repeatable processes
- 04Written standards and SOPs
- 05Scorecards and visibility
- 06Pricing and margin discipline
- 07Leadership development
- 08Customer trust
- 09Performance beyond the founder
03Operating outcomes
What stronger systems
make possible.
These are operating objectives—not promised results. The work starts with the owner’s priorities, the current constraint and the next system to strengthen.
Create a clear lead-management, consultation, follow-up and sales-accountability system that can be taught, measured and improved.
- Operating signal
- Lead response / conversion / follow-up
Document handoffs, scheduling standards, material-ordering procedures, quality controls and customer-communication processes.
- Operating signal
- Handoffs / schedule / quality
Use scorecards, dashboards and meeting rhythms so leaders can identify problems early, own the response and make informed decisions.
- Operating signal
- Scorecards / rhythm / exceptions
Develop leaders with clear decision rights, measurable outcomes and responsibility for results—without every answer coming from the founder.
- Operating signal
- Decision rights / accountability / bench
Strengthen workmanship standards, communication and follow-through so the reputation behind long-term growth remains intact.
- Operating signal
- Standards / communication / follow-through
04The current operating build
Lessons applied.
Tested in practice.
Current company / Residential roofing / Greater Houston
Building the next company with a more focused model.
Upstanding Roofing is a fast-growing residential roofing company serving Greater Houston, built around customer trust, repeatable sales, disciplined operations and leadership development.
This is where Ben is applying Core’s lessons to a focused residential service model and testing them in daily operations.
05Operating principles
Four decision rules.
Applied consistently.
- 01
Systems before volume
Strengthen the process before adding volume, people or complexity.
- 02
Clear ownership
Give each important outcome one owner, a useful scorecard and clear decision rights.
- 03
Healthy economics
Protect quality, margin, cash and the customer promise as revenue grows.
- 04
Trust over shortcuts
Keep the promise—especially when doing so is inconvenient.
06Roofing-owner introduction
A private introductory conversation
for roofing owners.
If you own a residential roofing company and are thinking seriously about growth, leadership, succession or what comes next, you do not need to arrive with a proposed deal. The first conversation is simply to understand what you have built, what you want and whether there may be mutual fit.
The starting point is respect for what you have already built. Share a few high-level details so both sides can determine whether a conversation makes sense. There is no predetermined structure or outcome.
INTAKE STAGE 01 / 03 — THE OWNER
This conversation may be relevant if you are:
- Looking for perspective from someone who understands field-built service companies
- Working to reduce the company’s dependence on the founder
- Building a stronger leadership team and operating system
- Thinking seriously about succession, partnership or a future sale
Introductory intake / Three stages
01The ownerContact and authority
02The companyHigh-level operating profile
03The next chapterPriorities and timing
This introductory form is private but is not covered by an NDA. Please submit only high-level information.
Submitting this form does not create an offer, investment, acquisition, partnership or other commitment.
07A practical secondary path
The Roofing Owner’s
Scale-Readiness Field Guide
A practical 16-page self-assessment for finding where the company still depends on the owner—and which standards, scorecards or leadership systems should come next.
Ten operating systems. One honest look at what still depends on the founder.
- 01Ten operating-system reviews
- 02Founder-driven and system-driven comparisons
- 03Three first actions for every system
- 04A 20-point scale-readiness assessment
08 Careers and culture
Own the work.
Grow as a leader.
Upstanding Roofing is building a team that values ownership, coachability, customer care and disciplined execution. The goal is to develop capable leaders who make sound decisions and improve the company.
Explore Upstanding careers
09 Connect
Current work.
Professional updates.
Follow Ben’s company-building updates or visit Upstanding Roofing to see the current business.