Ruben Saravia

W.B. Hopke Recognizes Foreman, Ruben Saravia for 24 Years of Dedication and Service

W.B. Hopke has an excellent team of managers, superintendents and foremen and each month we try to pay tribute to our employees for their years of service to our company. This month we recognize W.B. Hopke Foreman, Ruben Saravia for his continued commitment and dedication to our projects and our business.

It’s not easy leaving one homeland for another then arriving and making an impact. But Ruben Saravia certainly made an impact for W.B. Hopke. Ruben came to America in 1999 from his home country of El Salvador. In his first year here, he worked for a construction company doing concrete work. Then, his father told him about a job opening with W.B. Hopke. That was more than 24 years ago. He applied for a job and has been working for Hopke ever since.

Like so many other foreman before him, Ruben started at the bottom. He began as a laborer back in 2001 and he moved his way up the company ladder. “You have to learn the other jobs first to be able to move up and to get more pay. I worked as a laborer for a while, then I moved into a tailman’s position laying pipe. From there I learned to run the loader, then took a position as a backhoe operator, and finally moved into the foreman position that I’m in today,” said Ruben.

Ruben gives much of the credit to his success to Chuck Johnson who helped him learn the ropes at Hopke. Charlie guided Ruben when he needed help, especially at the foreman position.

As a foreman, Ruben has lots of responsibilities, and apart from keeping up with production and keeping the projects moving along, none are more important to him than the safety of his crew. Ruben said, “We dig some deep trenches to lay the pipe and heavy concrete structures, and I have to ensure that the trenches are shored up properly and according to regulation. I have taken many classes to learn the safety processes, traffic safety, safety for digging and shoring up trenches and maintaining a safe work environment for my men.”

Ruben loves his job at Hopke. He said one of the aspects that brings him the most joy is teaching the employees how to do their jobs and how to stay safe while they work. “I tell my crew how to do this and how to do that. I try to teach them how to do their job better and encourage them to work hard, to come to work on time, and to keep on learning new things at work. Then they will move up in the company and make more money.” said Ruben.

When asked what has kept him at Hopke for all these years, Ruben indicated that he likes the work and he likes the people.

Ruben and his family live in Prince William County, VA. Ruben and his wife have been married since 2014. They have two sons. His eldest son, Anderson is 18 years old and going to Virginia Tech to specialize in cybersecurity. His younger son Garik is 13 years old. Both boys have played soccer, and Ruben and his wife enjoyed going to their games. For fun Ruben and his family like to go to the river and go camping.

W.B. Hopke is a fourth generation, family-run construction business focused on building high quality utility infrastructure and lifelong careers. Hopke is located in Alexandria, VA and works throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. With almost 70 years of experience, Hopke prides itself on repeat customers across all kinds of market segments – schools, churches, data centers, distribution facilities, multi-family, mixed use, residential subdivisions, senior living, self storage, heavy highway, retail, commercial office, automotive, stream restoration, and parks.

Contact W.B. Hopke about a career in utility installation and site work at 703-971-0404 or info@wbhopke.com.