A National Painting Contractor Sets Its Sights On Texas' Booming Industrial And Data Center Markets

Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the state’s industrial and data center markets. 

Austin and San Antonio’s combined under-construction activity more than quadrupled in 2024 to 463.5 megawatts. This year, Google announced plans to invest $40B in three new data centers in Texas. Meanwhile, Texas delivered 14.4M SF of industrial space in Q3 2025 alone.

These large facilities require power, loading docks, ample parking and several other features that are key to their day-to-day operations, but there’s something else they need that may not always be top of mind: a durable and consistent paint and sealant job. 

“When you’re building at the scale Texas demands, every detail on a job either protects uptime or puts it at risk," said Alec Kinard, CEO of Graydaze Contracting. "A paint job isn’t solely cosmetic — it’s part of the building’s performance layer. Our job is to deliver these projects on time, on budget, and with the highest level of quality. That’s why we’re investing in Texas, to bring a higher level of customer service to our new and existing clients.”

Graydaze began as a residential painting contractor in the 1990s and quickly expanded into commercial work, completing its first industrial warehouse in 1996. From there, Kinard said, the company “found its niche” and made the decision to focus on commercial properties exclusively and become a single-source, one-stop shop for painting and sealant installation for warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, cold storage and data centers. 

Today, Graydaze is ranked the sixth-largest painting contractor in the nation on the ENR top 600 specialty contractors. The company completed 700 jobs nationwide in 2025, working with seven out of the top 20 data center builders in the country and all of the top 10 largest industrial real estate developers, Kinard said. After building a decade of experience on data center projects, Graydaze launched DataCoat in early 2025, the first nationwide commercial painting division exclusively focused on data centers. 

Originally starting in Atlanta, Graydaze opened its second headquarters in Salt Lake City in 2020. Now, Graydaze is setting its sights on the Lone Star State, establishing its third HQ in Dallas. Graydaze has had a strong presence in Texas for years, Kinard said, partnering with some of the largest general contractors and industrial and data center developers in the state. Graydaze's investment in a Texas HQ will pave the way for a more local, boots-on-the-ground approach. 

“Establishing a Texas headquarters is a natural next step for us,” Kinard said. “It was one of the leading warehouse construction markets this year, which is our bread and butter. Our Texas HQ allows us to deliver that same level of speed, quality and expertise that our customers expect and deserve, while also becoming a more deeply rooted local partner in the state.”

Customer service is at the heart of Graydaze’s business, Kinard said, and the firm prides itself on the many repeat customers it has maintained for more than 30 years. He said it’s rare in this industry to see contractors and subcontractors who have worked together for decades, but that’s common for Graydaze. Many of those customers also have offices in Texas, and the company is excited for the opportunity to not only strengthen those relationships but also establish new ones, he said. 

“We’re 100% employee-owned, and we are the largest employee-owned painting contractor in the nation,” Kinard said. “This means that every single customer engages directly with an employee-owner who is personally invested in delivering consistent, exceptional customer service, ensuring that projects are completed with the highest level of craftsmanship, efficiency, reliability and on or ahead of schedule.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between Graydaze Contracting and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.