Joe Swinbank
Joseph B. Swinbank, a successful Texas entrepreneur, graduated from Texas A&M in 1974 with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics. Development, growth, and entrepreneurial spirit are three key aspects of his life and career. Even while pursuing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Swinbank was already serving as president of the Petroleum Express Company, a wholesale and retail petroleum product sales firm. After graduating from A&M, he accelerated his business development and built a company that installed self-serve gas pumps at convenience stores. He sold out to his partner in 1976.
Joe Swinbank next co-founded Sprint Sand & Gravel to produce sand and gravel for ready-mix concrete producers in the Houston area. Later, Sprint Waste Disposal Company was formed. Within six years, the three departments of the company grossed a combined revenue of $20 million after beginning with a mere $300,000 investment. This company was sold in 1986 to Tricil Environmental Response, Inc.
His acquisitions and expansions during the 1990s included co-founding Sprint Industrial Services, which was an amalgamation of several transportation and industrial companies. This was followed by investments into 10+ startups or struggling companies that, through his and his partner’s efforts, have been able to survive and expand within their individual markets. Today, he has investments in multiple businesses in the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast area in fields such as transportation, landfills, waste collections, sand mining, tank leasing, valve distribution, and commercial real estate.
Committed to nothing short of excellence, Joe Swinbank has participated for more than twenty years as a “Prof-for-a-Day” in the Department of Agricultural Economics Agribusiness Entrepreneurship classes and as a mentor of students and former students interested in start-up operations. In 2018, The Association of Former Students and Texas A&M University jointly presented Joe Swinbank ’74 the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest honor any Texas A&M University alumnus can receive.
Running a family-owned group of companies in the town he grew up in, Joe feels a strong tie to the community. Over the years he has donated time, resources and money to various organizations throughout the Greater Houston region. His leadership in local community organizations includes the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, where he is an active participant in Sunday School and Men’s Life. He has served on several bank boards, including being a Founding Director of Vista Bank (from 2006 until its merger with the Community Bank of Texas in August 2013), and he currently serves as a Director of Community Bank.