Covering the Industry’s News
Texas
Style
San Antonio Austin
Dallas/Fort Worth
P.O. Box 791290
San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290
PRSRT. STD.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
DALLAS, TX
PERMIT #1451
Change Service Requested
Houston
Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasons
Greetings
DFW
www.constructionnews.net
CONSTRUCTION
™
The Industry’s Newspaper
(972) 517-4703

Home Ofc: P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, TX 78279 (210) 308-5800
 DEC 2009

Vol. 7 
No. 12
Word up
Roofmates
Stephanie Rogenski and David Jarr share the language of laughter at work.
L-R: Ron Snouffer and Dave Custable’s friendship survived a roommate experience
brought about by – and comparable to – Hurricane Ike.
W
hat’s the word at Briggs Equipment in Dallas?
It’s hard to say.
For example, just try to decipher the
greeting marketing manager Stephanie
Rogenski chirps as a co-worker walks by.
David Jarr, manager of business development for U.S. operations, can’t help
but smile and shake his head at Rogenski
as she babbles excitedly to her friend.
“Half of the time,” he admits, “I have no
idea what she’s saying.”
Turn around is fair play then. While
this is only one example of how Rogenski
has injected her own unique vernacular
into the workplace since she took her post
six months ago, Jarr has his own special
brand of vocabulary as well, sent out in
emails to co-workers like Rogenski.
“I can read backwards,” Jarr says,
grabbing some copy to prove his point. “I
had a boring seventh-grade teacher and
to keep myself busy, I started reading everything backwards, from street signs to
people’s names to menus… it just became a habit. I almost went on Johnny
Carson.”
“I get emails from him all of the time
with one or two words spelled backwards,” Rogenski says, “and I’m always
saying, ‘What is this?’ Or we’ll be proofing
something and he’ll start reading something backwards. It sounds like some
crazy Nordic language.”
“I drive people crazy with it,” he admits. “My sister used to have a sticker on
continued on Page 21
W
hen Hurricane Ike blew through
Houston last year, a lot of patience was tested, and Dave
Custable’s and Ron Snouffer’s were no
exception.
“Being as crazy as we are, we thought,
why don’t we go down there?” Custable
says. “Ron researched it and learned we
could be licensed insurance adjusters
within a couple of days. We could take
the knowledge that we have about construction and go see what we could do.”
The pair ended up spending two
months taking some deep breaths and
counting to 10 during what Custable describes as a “pretty interesting time.”
“Sixty days in a one-room hotel,”
Snouffer explains, laughing.
“I had to clean for him, cook for him
…” Custable remembers.
“And do my laundry,” Snoufffer reminds him.
“Well, I had to show him how to do
laundry,” Custable says. “And I didn’t even
get flowers.”
Fortunately, the two had a strong
friendship already in place, helping them
survive their roommate experience. The
pair originally met at a mutual friend’s
suggestion. Custable and his wife, Sherry,
owned a real estate investment and renovation company, called TriVAN, as well as
a property management company;
Snouffer was a real estate investor who,
continued on Page 21
Laws of design
I
t was, David/Marsh Construction Corporation owner Mark Lafargue says,
a “one-room job”: A 6,000-sf auditorium with a stage on one end. Before the
renovation, it resembled most auditoriums one might see in any public school
built in the mid-20th century.
Except this wasn’t just any auditorium, and it certainly wasn’t for a public
school. The project was to renovate the
interiors of Southern Methodist University’s Karcher Auditorium, which is encapsulated in Storey Hall at the university’s
Dedman School of Law.
And the “one-room job” needed to
be started in July and completed in only
five weeks, just in time for commencement ceremonies ­– and all for a budget
of $300,000.
“It was a very tight schedule for the
scope of work that we had, and there
were a couple of items on the project that
we saw might be a problem with the
schedule,” says Lafargue. “But we kind of
worked out those items with the owner
in the bid process, agreed to a schedule
and proceeded after we were awarded
the contract.”
One of the items was the specialmanufactured light fixtures; these presented a cost challenge the electrician
resolved by offering an equally elegant
but less-expensive alternative. The other
was a 40-ft.-long custom fabricated folding door unit manufactured by Nanawall
in Germany, in which the lead time was
past the schedule for the job.
“So we had to get everything to a finished look without that door on the project so that they could utilize the space for
their commencement ceremonies – before the door even shipped from Germany.”
The plans called for an elegant and
classic look that resembled how the
The folding doors were a special feature of the project, and the component
that took the most time.
continued on Page 21
Page 2 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 3
I
Time keeper
Having a paintball
L-R: Gideon Travis, Kevin Travis and Chuck Sowders
don’t see much company time slip down the drain.
L-R:David Stuckey, Robert Kalkofen and James Stuckey put the guns down.
t’s before dawn, and he’s at his desk.
It’s Saturday, then Sunday, and there
he is working away.
Does Kevin Travis, owner of Dallas
Drain Company Inc., ever go home?
“I love working here,” he says. “There
are a million things to do. On weekends, I
don’t let anyone come to the office. Those
are my days – no one asks questions, no
one calls me. When I get here at 5, it’s
quiet; I can get the day organized. It’s
wonderful.”
Since he purchased the then fiveperson company in 2004, he has multiplied the staff – and profit – by eight. And
while he can tip his hat to his work ethic
for that, he says his fear of failure has
played a huge part in the company’s
growth.
“It’s good motivation,” Travis says.
“For people who don’t have that fear, I
think failure can happen to them a lot
quicker. It makes you work harder. Like
my dad always said, ‘The harder you
work, the luckier you get.’”
He says his business also thrives because he surrounds himself with nearly
40 people who work as hard as he does,
with two of those being the closest people in his life.
One is son Gideon Travis, who drafts
projects and gives his dad a reason to
leave work once in a while – the two have
been known to enjoy a ride in a B-17, a
passion of the elder Travis.
The second is company vice president Chuck Sowders, who was Travis’
study buddy when the two were earning
their engineering degrees from A&M.
When Sowders reminisces about their
regular study hours – 10 pm to 3 am – he
smiles at his friend.
“He’s pretty much the same,”
Sowders says, laughing.
Dallas Drain Company Inc. specializes
in water problem resolution and is a certified installer of French Angle Slotted Pipe
(FASP) drainage systems. –mjm
W
hen special projects manager
Robert Kalkofen walked into
the welding shop at Hot Shot
Metal a few weeks ago, he wasn’t sure
what in the world had happened. Random splashes of paint were everywhere
– on the floors, the walls, the ceiling. Had
paint cans exploded – in a welding
shop?
No, it was just the result of two brothers - owner James Stuckey and office
manager David Stuckey - letting off a
little steam. It seems the two like to pack
a little paintball heat from time to time,
and when the tensions of siblings working together in an office run a little too
high, it’s time to take aim on each other
out in the shop.
“It usually happens right after we
have an argument,” James jokes. “Usually
I have him on the ground with one of my
feet on the back of his neck.”
Kalkofen laughs because he says the
brothers are two of the most gentle and
www.constructionnews.net
publishing the industry’s news
Dallas  Fort Worth
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
Editor — Melissa Jones-Meyer — DFWEditor@ConstructionNews.net — 972-517-4703
Construction News Ltd. Home Office
P.O. Box 791290 • San Antonio, Tx 78279
210-308-5800 Fax 210-308-5960
www.ConstructionNews.net
Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy Doebbler
Editorial/Production . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler
Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Debra Nicholas
Production Mgr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue Johnson
Sales Representatives: . . . . . . . Kent Gerstner
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Maloto
Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Hughes
San Antonio Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathie Fox
Austin Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allison Peacock
Houston Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abby BeMent
Reprints: Send email and indicate you
would like to purchase a digital reprint
(credit card only)
Reprints@ConstructionNews.net
We will email an Order Form for you to
complete and return.
Extra Papers: Go to our website at
ConstructionNews.net, and select Rack
Locations for a location near you for pick up
of an additional copy. Once the newspapers
are bulk-mailed from the printer/mailhouse,
no copies are available for mailing.
© 2009 Construction News, Ltd.
Want to be in Construction News?
Simply contact your city editor.
We also welcome your outdoor stories
and photos (hobbies, trips, talents, etc.)
Publishing the
Industry’s News
Texas Style
San Antonio • Austin
Dallas/Fort Worth • Houston
If you are a construction-related company
in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin or Denton counties
and are not receiving a free copy of the
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News, please call
for a Requester Form, or visit our website.
The Dallas  Fort Worth Construction News
(ISSN 1547-7657) is published monthly by
Construction News Ltd., dba Dallas/Fort Worth
Construction News, and distributed by mail to
construction related companies in the Dallas/
Fort Worth metropolitan area.
All submissions should be mailed to our
editorial offices. We reserve the right to
edit any materials submitted. No fees for
materials, copy or photographs submitted
will be due unless agreed upon in advance in
writing. Submissions will be published at our
discretion on a space-available basis.
Construction News, Ltd., dba Dallas  Fort
Worth Construction News, will not be liable for
errors in copy or in advertisements beyond
the actual cost of space occupied by the error.
Publisher reserves the right to reject any
advertisement at any time.
All Construction News
publications are audited
for circulation by
generous guys he knows.
“They both have a really big heart,”
Kalkofen says. “These guys – the Stuckeys
- are in the same boat as far as that is concerned.”
When they’re not engaged in all-out
paintball warfare, the brothers enjoy the
outdoors together. James hops in the
passenger seat sometimes when David
races cars, and the two are planning a
fishing trip. They genuinely enjoy spending time together in and out of the office,
and quickly forget any tiffs between
them. In fact, that was why James, who is
a certified welder, brought David, who
formerly ran automotive shops, on board
one year ago as office manager. James
knew he could trust him.
That is, James can trust David in the
office, if not in the shop after a brotherly
spat.
Established in 1994, Hot Shot Metal is a
structural steel, metal fabrication and demolition company in Fort Worth. - mjm
Texas
Style




San Antonio
Austin
Dallas/Fort Worth
Houston
Page 4 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
T
Full circle
Sticking with brick
L-R: For Huzefa and Mark Tinwala, Texas has proved to be the Lone Circle State.
L-R: Ed Howle and his son Blake keep the brick pattern going.
o immigrate to the United States
from India is culture shock enough,
but then to immediately settle in
Texas – practically a country unto itself
stuffed into a nearly 269,000-square-mile
state?
For brothers Huzefa and Mark Tinwala, partners in Viva Architectural
Hardware, the Lone Star State felt more
like home than other parts of the country
the pair tried on for size.
“I came here to earn a master’s in
construction management at Texas A&M
University in 1998. I went from A&M and
lived in Florida, New York and California,
each for a year. But,” Huzefa asserts, “we
like it better here.”
Mark concurs. “I came to the States
two years later than Huzefa, when he was
working in Florida and then we went to
New York,” he says. “I had been living in
Bombay, which is not very different from
New York. I saw the lifestyle there and
said that wasn’t the way I wanted to live a
good amount of my life – in pigeonholes.
We came back to Texas and we liked it.”
The duo felt so much at home they
put down “roots” here, establishing their
business in Flower Mound five years ago.
Decorative hardware had been a family
business in India since 1971, with Mark
taking over for his father in 1984 and expanding the business from its comfort
zone of cabinet handles, knobs and security door chains to include modular railing systems.
With Texas now as their home base,
the pair has found a way to stay in touch
with their other “home.”
“We recently opened up an office in
Bombay, since we wanted to grow internationally and British architects are building projects in India,” Huzefa says. “So
we’ve made a complete circle, starting
over there and coming back.”
Viva Architectural Hardware offers
commercial stainless steel modular railing
systems. –mjm
“W
hen I was a teenager, I didn’t
think about what I was going to do when I was 45 or
50 years old. Fifty? What’s that?” says Ed
Howle. “That was the furthest thing from
my mind.”
That’s why the third-generation
bricklayer didn’t bat an eye when his dad
and uncle recruited him at age 16 to help
them out with the family masonry business. It was a way to pay for his hotrodding habit, and it had other perks as well.
“I did it to get out of school early,” he
remembers. “I got out of school at 11
o’clock and was on the job by 12 o’clock.
At the time, being a bricklayer was one of
the highest paying construction jobs
there was. It was just supposed to be a
summertime job.”
A few decades later, he now owns
Dadson Company, and has recruited his
own 16-year-old son, Blake, to help him
out in the business (hence the name).
While Blake, who is home schooled,
doesn’t get to cut out of class early for the
job, Ed says he hopes his son appreciates
learning a skill that he can always fall back
on if needed.
Ed says that as he gets older, the
physical demands of the job become
harder to endure, and so he has created a
back-up plan for himself as well.
“I don’t want to lay brick the rest of
my life,” Ed says. “I’d like to sit at a desk
and let my son run the bricklaying jobs.
We’re opening up a used-brick business,
Southern Brick, at our house on five acres
in Mansfield – we have the brick, we just
haven’t put up a sign yet.”
As for what Blake thinks of all of this,
when asked if he has any plans to do this
as a career, he just shrugs and smiles.
“I haven’t really thought that far
ahead,” he admits.
Dadson Company is a masonry company serving the D/FW metroplex. –mjm
Industry FOLKS
Bill Krueger
TNT Equipment Company
T
NT Equipment Company sales representative Bill Krueger is happiest
when every day holds something exciting and new, which means last January, Krueger was ecstatic – in one day,
he went from being a grandfather of
one child to being a grandfather of six.
“My daughter had quintuplets!”
Krueger says, with a bit of shock still in
his voice. “They’re doing great. The babies are a little more than nine months
old, and all of them are healthy and
growing like weeds, crawling around,
getting their personalities.”
Which means his weekends now
are full of surprises. Although he travels 70,000 miles a year for his work,
Krueger and his wife regularly make
the nearly four-hour trek from their
Lake Lewisville home to Austin to see
their grandchildren – and, of course, to
watch the Texas Longhorns play.
“I’m a big Texas Longhorn football
fan, and have been since I was in high
school, when they won the first national championship back in 1963,” he
says.
Krueger isn’t kidding. He’s only
missed one Texas-OU game since 1970,
and that was because of knee surgery.
“I have a closet full of burnt orange,” he says. “I hang a flag outside of
my house on game day. I have Texas
Longhorn stickers on my mailbox. I’m
your basic proud-but-humble Texan.”
Krueger actually attended a different college, but with tensions in Vietnam escalating, he enlisted for four
years in the Army’s security agency’s
intelligence group. Three tours of duty
took him to Korea, Germany, and then
Vietnam until 1970.
“It’s a different kind of life, very
disciplined,” Krueger says. “You’re living with a bunch of people that come
from all different parts of the country
and everybody has to get along. It was
a challenging four years, but I look
back on it now and I gained so much
from it. I can’t imagine that not being
a part of my life. It was full of life lessons and just opens your mind up. I
feel sorry for people who don’t get to
have that experience.”
Krueger credits his time in the military with being able to adjust to all
different kinds of situations, especially
work-related ones.
“I love sales,” Krueger says. “I like
new challenges, doing something new
every day. It would kill me to be behind
a desk.”
It should also help him adjust to
holiday shopping for five new grandchildren.
“It’s going to be an experience,
like everything else this year has been!
We’re constantly adjusting!” Krueger
says. “But it has been wonderful.”
Sunnyvale-based TNT Equipment
offers new and used construction equipment –mjm
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 5
L
Oh what a night!
Construction News ON LOCATION
Freeze frame
ate November in 2009… what a very special time for
more than 25 Metroplex general contracting companies! Managers, estimators, and superintendents
set up booths at Eddie Deen’s Ranch Downtown Dallas to
meet with area subcontractors and suppliers. Five hundred attendees networked, noshed and netted door prizes such as tools, firearms and a diamond necklace at the
Nov. 19 event, hosted by The North Texas chapter of the
American Subcontractors Association (ASA). – mjm
L-R: Matthew Smick, Matt Hammer, Katie Stoneham,
Greg McClure, Manhattan
L-R: Herman Post and Sara Kelly, Walton Construction
L-R: Corey Sanders, Julian Nahan and Pete Shaffer,
Beck Group
L-R: Rodger Jones and Kelly Williams, Austin Commercial
Cornerstone Framing superintendent Bryan
Sutton pauses for a picture before revving up
his truck for the trek to Allen. – mjm
L-R: Roger Pavlovich and Glenn Denham,
Cadence-McShane
L-R: Micah Davenport, Misty Riggs, Zac McGuire,
Schwob Building Company
Page 6 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Rosa Maria Montalvo
Montalvo’s Masonry LLC
Haltom City, TX
W
ant something done? Dare Rosa
Maria Montalvo to do it. Or better yet, tell her it can’t be done.
When the going gets tough in the
masonry business – or in life for that matter – Montalvo is the first to drive the
truck, take a second job, or go out and
get the business she knows she deserves.
Her husband, Florentino, and her kids
work for her, but, really, it is she who
works for them, and especially for her
grandchildren.
Most specifically, she is an example
for her granddaughters of how women
can be strong in business when they
need to be, and still expect to be treated
like a lady.
How long have you been in business?
Thirty-four years. My father-in-law
was in construction, and I think his father
was in construction as well. My husband
was working with him, and then my father-in-law retired, so we started running
the business.
In 1984, we started doing cleanup as
well of residential construction; we did
our own hauling because we had our
own dump trucks, and I used to drive the
dump truck myself.
When the kids were little, we used to
do a lot more ourselves, and we had 13
crews working for us. But ever since 9/11,
everything just went downhill. We
stopped doing residential, since the pay
was very low, and we started doing work
in the commercial construction industry.
How different was it to go after the
commercial work?
My husband dared me to get out
there. And I told him to not dare me, because if he did dare me, I would do it! I
told him I could do it, too! I’m not embarrassed; he said he was embarrassed to go
out there and find work. I said, “Why
would you be embarrassed to sell your
trade?”
And so I got out there and did it. I
started calling and asking competitors
how much they would charge for certain
work, so I could price myself, so I wouldn’t
go so much over or so much under. I
would ask them how much they would
charge to do, say, a Sonic, and they would
say “We can do it for this much.” So I knew
I could do it for this much.
My husband would do the plans and
I would do the proposals. I got my first
commercial job in North Richland Hills,
an apartment complex that was burned
down and was being rebuilt. I had my
guys go out and do the job, and that’s
how we got started.
Is it wonderful to work so closely with
your family?
It is, it is. And it’ s not that I wanted it
to happen like that, it just happened to
fall in place like that. I told them they
weren’t going to work with me, and they
all wanted to work with me!
My oldest son is 34; his name is Jose.
Monica is 30, and then there is Tino the
Third, he’s 28, and then Rosa, who is 26.
My oldest works out in the field because
he’s an estimator. My oldest girl is a bookkeeper.
I feel so blessed having my kids work
for me. And I know God put all of this together for my family and me.
How have you handled the recent recession?
My Tino was born in the ‘80s, and the
industry was so slow. But I’m the type of
person that wants to experiment, so I
sold Avon then. I was selling over $1,000
a week! My husband and I did it together.
We don’t like just to sit around and wait
for our luck to fall from the sky. We don’t
depend on anybody. We depend on ourselves. If you don’t depend on yourself,
you’re going to get nowhere.
I was talking to this guy in the con-
Accounts playable
Rosa Maria Montalvo believes strong women run strong businesses.
crete business, who was asking me how
work was right now. And I said, “I’ll tell you
one thing – I feel so blessed because I have
work all of the time. The guys who work
for me never run out of work, even though
we’ve slowed down just a tiny bit.”
the best of my knowledge. They act like
they like my answers, so that’s probably
why I check my job myself. I do most of
the talking with the superintendents; my
husband can speak English but doesn’t
like to. He says for me to do it.
What have been your experiences as a
woman working in the construction
industry?
Superintendents can cuss you out,
and talk to you like they have no respect
for you at all. I’ve run across that, and I put
a stop to it. I say, “Hey, you’re not talking
to any guy. You’re talking to a lady, and I
expect respect from you. I don’t cuss, and
I don’t intend to start cussing, but nobody starts cussing at me, so you hold
your horses.” Or I just hang up. I do and I
have.
Also, some superintendents on the
field don’t even know 2+2, and there
should really be someone out there who
knows about construction, and not just a
wannabe superintendent. I know more
than some of those superintendents out
there. I’ve been in the business many
years. I come across superintendents who
say, “What do you think we should do
here?” or “How do you think this is going
to work?” and I answer their questions to
Does you husband depend on you to
keep the business going?
Nine years ago, he got lymphoma.
He went through all of this testing and
treatment. He said, “If it hadn’t been for
you, I don’t know what would have happened to the company. I said, ”Well, I
wasn’t just going to let it go down the
drain just because you got sick. That
would make this even more of a challenge for me to really go out there and
work with the guys.”
Do you enjoy your role in the construction industry construction industry?
I like it. Ever since I was young, I liked
hitting hammers and working with things
like that. I love construction. It’s fun. It’s
great when you enjoy what you do. You
have to do it – and love it – in order for
the business to grow.
Montalvo’s Masonry is a womanowned masonry business in Haltom City. mjm
“No, I’d pursue other interests, like aviation,” he says. “The reason I got involved
with flying is because two of my passions are hunting and fishing, and I learned to fly
to get to destinations quicker and more conveniently. I have property down at Aransas
Pass that we use the plane to travel back and forth to. I’ve flown the plane all the way
to King Salmon, AK, to go hunting and fishing and have been as far as the Baja peninsula going south.”
“You work so you can play,” Shaw continues. “You have to take care of business
first, but that allows you to enjoy the other things in life, including family.” And with
that said, it’s time to put the invoices down – Adams must fly off to a certain family
member’s game.
Shaw Bros. Welding is a custom fabrication company in Fort Worth. –mjm
Construction News ON LOCATION
Lucky charm
David Adams counts on keeping his work and play balanced.
A
t the moment, David Adams is elbow-deep, nay, knee-deep in invoices, and needs to finish them so
he can attend his daughter’s game, but
fear not – the Shaw Bros. Welding owner
has a degree in accounting.
“I grew up in a welding shop; my father had a welding shop out in Saginaw.
I’m actually a ‘third-generation,’” he says.
“But I went to college to be an accountant. When I went to college, I quit working for my dad and I actually worked for
[Shaw Bros. Welding] while I was going to
the University of Texas at Arlington.”
How did the would-be accountant
end up welding? After graduation, Adams soon learned that he could make
more money as a welder. And when he
was approached in 1993 to buy Shaw
Bros. Welding, Adams knew he could
make a go of the business since he worked
there during his college years.
Adams says he intends to stay in the
business for about 10 more years until his
kids graduate from college. Will he then
go back to his beloved accounting?
His good-luck charms include a small rubber chicken, a miniature alligator
and a silver angel given to him by his daughter, but driver/mechanic/operator
Dan Simmons, Brown Excavating in Fort Worth, doesn’t need luck –
he can get by on his charm alone. –mjm
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 7
Quite the fright
F
or some souls in the construction industry, it’s the
one day of the year when “What will I wear to work
today?” takes on a whole new meaning. Halloween is the perfect excuse to put away the hardhat, name
badge or work boots and let the inner ghoul shine
through. On Oct. 30, Construction News haunted some
spooktacular construction-related businesses, such as
Morrison Supply Company, PCL Contract Bonding
Agency and Pella Windows and Doors. We just haven’t
been the same séance – um, we mean, since! –mjm
Morrison
Supply Co.’s
Rick Perry
wants to be
a different
politician
for a day.
PCL Contract Bonding Agency’s Clem and Pauline Lesch
with grandchildren Sophia and Evan
L-R: Morrison Supply Co.’s Amy Johnson and Lois Scanio
L-R: Morrison Supply Co.’s Sherry Pitts gets
hooked by pirate Linda Sockwell
Morrison Supply Co.’s Chuck Atkinson
calls a “foul” on his candy bowl.
Gina Self, Morrison Supply,
wants her ball back.
Peace out!
Tammi Villanueva, Morrison Supply
No place like work: Morrison Supply Co.’s
Rachel Walden
L-R: Heidi Lara, Terri Wages, Roxanne Barron, Alma Garcia and Jennifer Workman,
Pella Windows and Doors
Morrison Supply Co.’s Mark Standard
at your service
PCL Contract Bonding Agency’s Eric Lesch, Steven Lewis, Jim Waldorf,
Lisa Borhaug and Michael Ross “meat” their patient.
Page 8 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
INSURANCE
ACCOUNTING
What’s all the fuss about
different additional
insured endorsements?
So, when do YOU plan to RETIRE?
Patricia Quintana-Perron, MBA, CPA,
Director and Partner
BKD,LLP
San Antonio, TX
Erin Simpson, Director of Marketing
Lucien Wright Insurance Services Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
T
here seems to be a lot of fuss within
the insurance industry as it pertains to
the use of additional insured endorsements.
In fact, some parties to construction
contracts seem downright “persnickety”
as to specifically “which” additional insured endorsements should be included
on the other party’s insurance policies.
Of course, depending on which side
of the fence that you stand, the endorsements may not necessarily seem all that
“persnickety.”
Here is the deal:
The problem really began back in
1993 when the “standard” additional insured
endorsement
(affectionately
known as CG 20 10 11 85) was dramatically changed.
For the purpose of this explanation,
consider a contract between a general
contractor (GC) and a subcontractor
(Sub). In such a construction contract, it’s
obviously quite normal for the GC to want
to be an additional insured under the
Sub’s Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL). The standard additional insured endorsement of years past that
would be found on the Sub’s CGL policy
provided coverage for the GC with respect to liability arising out of “your
work.” This particular wording (i.e. “your
work”) provided the GC with coverage
for claims arising from the Sub’s operations and completed work.
The endorsement then changed in
1993, and the words “your work” were replaced with “your ongoing operations.”
In other words, the newer version eliminated coverage for the GC arising from
the Sub’s “completed work.” Coverage
was only retained for the GC for the claims
arising from the Sub’s “ongoing operations.”
Nevertheless, this dilemma was
quickly resolved by a new endorsement
that’s entitled “Additional Insured – Contractor – Completed Operations” (i.e. CG
20 37 07 04). By virtue of this endorsement (introduced in 2001), subcontractors were provided with a means that allowed them to provide additional in-
sureds with coverage arising from their
“completed operations.” This has been
an extremely useful endorsement – especially when combined with the standard endorsement that already provided
coverage arising from the Sub’s “ongoing
operations.”
A more recent “fuss,” however, pertains to the request by some general contractors (or owners) requiring older editions of the aforementioned endorsements in lieu of the most current endorsements dated in 2004. The reason
for this is because there have been some
legal cases across the country dealing
with the older endorsements (i.e. prior to
2004) that actually provided additional
insured protection for general contractors even when the injury or damage was
caused wholly from the GC’s negligence
(and not the negligence of the Sub).
The “intent” of the additional insured
endorsement provided on a Sub’s policy
was “never” to provide coverage for a GC
when the injury of damage arose from
the GC’s sole negligence, but nevertheless, some court cases ruled otherwise.
Therefore, in 2004 the additional insured
endorsements were amended to make it
perfectly clear that a GC would only have
additional insured protection on the
Sub’s policy if the GC is sued as a result of
the negligence of the Sub.
So what’s the bottom line?
The appropriate additional insured
endorsements that should be required in
construction documents are those endorsements with an edition date of 2004
unless, of course, it is the intent of the
parties to the contract to provide coverage for an additional insured even when
the injury or damage is caused wholly
from the additional insured’s sole negligence.
Erin Simpson is the director of marketing for Lucien Wright Insurance Services Inc.
in Fort Worth, TX. Lucien Wright was established in 1937 and has professional agents
with expertise in construction risk. Simpson
can be reached at ErinSimpson@LucienWright.com
R
etirement signals the end of something and the beginning of something new and different and can be
contemplated at any age. You are probably considering
several questions. Below are a few you might be contemplating.
When will I retire?
Retirement or transition is a personal
decision. Many people have an age in
mind for retirement.
Under Social Security laws, you may
choose early retirement at age 62 and
draw reduced Social Security benefits
(this requires limited earnings; 2009 limits are $14,160 to qualify), full retirement
at age 65 (or up to age 67 depending on
date of birth) or late retirement at age 70
for a premium benefit.
The Social Security Administration
generally pays retirement benefits to individuals who have contributed for at
least 40 quarters of past employment.
When do I need to start planning for
retirement?
You should start planning for retirement as soon as you can financially afford
to set money aside through tax advantaged retirement plans and generally at
least 15 years before retirement.
Many employers offer 401(k) plans,
which allow you to contribute up to
$16,500 for 2009 and 2010. Many other
retirement plan options are available and
should be sized to your business's needs.
Do I have enough money saved for retirement?
Your comprehensive personal financial plan should include education planning, retirement planning, estate planning, asset allocation, risk management,
budgeting and coordinating your investment assets.
You should analyze your current cash
flow needs and your expected cash flow
needs for retirement. In doing so, you
can determine the amount of money you
will need for a comfortable retirement.
What do I do with my business? Can I
sell my business?
During the course of your financial
planning, you will determine what you
need to do with your business.
In many cases, you will find the need
for business continuity through succession. Succession planning should begin
at least eight to 10 years prior to your expected retirement age.
You should assemble a team of professionals with a good understanding of
the construction business, including a
certified professional accountant (CPA),
attorney and certified financial planner.
You should create a plan for your
business’s continuity, including choosing
the right entity type, evaluating buy/sell
strategies (covenants not to compete,
partial retirement, seniority issues), transitioning your business to younger associates or selling your business to another
 Location

Location
 Location
 Location
Publishing the Industry’s News . . .
TEXAS Style
entity, developing formula approaches
to compensation, addressing risk management, management succession and
operational succession.
With proper succession planning,
you can position your business for continuity by establishing methods, timelines
and intermittent goals to get you to your
intended goal.
If I sell my business, what am I selling?
It depends. The answer to this question partially depends on the entity type
of your business (i.e., C corporation, S corporation, partnership, etc.).
You could be selling your common
stock, partnership interests, fixed assets,
accounts receivable, contracts in place,
intellectual property, investments or
goodwill, just to name a few. The way
you structure the sale of your business is
critical since it will determine the tax implications of the sale; tax on such a transaction can range from 15 percent to 35
percent.
Therefore, it is critical to evaluate
your business’s entity type and what you
expect to sell during your succession
planning, so you can design a tax advantaged sales situation.
What is my business worth?
The age-old question! The business
should be professionally valued to determine the selling price. Keep in mind, buy/
sell agreements may dictate how the
buy-out price will be determined. You
should hire a qualified accredited valuator who has expertise and experience in
valuing construction businesses.
Given today’s challenging construction environment, two important points
in valuing construction businesses remain:
1) the strength of the business’s income stream
2) the continuity and expectation
the business’s income will not be significantly affected in the future
As you can see, answering the question, “when should I plan to retire?” is
complicated. Getting ready to retire is
lengthy process that requires your personal attention, knowledgeable professionals and action.
Do not let happenstance decide your
retirement future and that of your business: PLAN IT.
Patricia Quintana-Perron is a Regional
WealthPlan Director and partner with BKD,
LLP, with 19 years experience specializing in
tax and financial planning for closely held
businesses. She may be contacted at pperron@bkd.com
Dallas/Fort. Worth
Austin
San Antonio
Houston
Home Office
(210) 308-5800
www.constructionnews.net
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 9
LEGAL
Lessons from the courthouse
Todd Nectoux, Partner
Thomas, Feldman & Wilshusen, LLP
Dallas, TX
L
esson #1: Juries understand you don’t get something for nothing.
A mechanical contractor installed an air-conditioning unit on a home, but the homeowner was dissatisfied with the unit’s performance (there was testimony that the
unit was undersized) and refused to pay the contractor. The homeowner rejected the
contractor’s attempts to address its complaints claiming that the contractor could not
be trusted. After informal attempts to resolve this payment dispute failed, the contractor filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the homeowner.
The homeowner testified that it did
not pay the contractor because it did not
feel it owed the contractor anything. In
response the contractor, in general, argued that homeowner should not get
the air-conditioning unit for nothing.
The jury determined that the homeowner had to pay the contractor for the
air-conditioning unit. After the trial, one
jury member stated that the jury ruled
against the homeowner “because [the
homeowner] didn’t pay for the air conditioner, we felt that [the homeowner] really had no remedy to any damages because [it] hadn’t fulfilled that part of the
obligation . . . [The homeowner never
paid the [amount owed]. If it had paid
the [amount owed], we might have a
very, very different view of the outcome.”
See
www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1745277.html.
While not all juries are the same, it is
good to know that Texas juries, in general, realize that contractors should be paid
for their work, and you don’t get something for nothing.
Lesson #2: On state public projects
unpaid subcontractors and suppliers
can sue a prime contractor and its officers for violating the Texas Construction Trust Fund Act.
The Texas Supreme Court recently
held that on state public projects a payment bond was not an unpaid supplier’s
exclusive remedy against the prime contractor, but rather, the supplier could sue
the prime contractor for violating the
Texas Construction Trust Fund Act. Dealers Elec. Supply Co v. Scoggins Constr. Co.,
292 S.W.3d 650 (Tex. 2009).
Under the Trust Fund Act, construction contract payments made to a prime
contractor are trust funds for which a
prime contractor and its officers are trustees. Subcontractors and suppliers are
beneficiaries of such trust funds. Generally, a trustee violates the Trust Fund Act
by diverting trust funds without first fully
paying all current and past due obligations owed by the prime contractor to
subcontractors and suppliers for work on
the project. However, a prime contractor
does not violate the Trust Fund Act if it
uses the trust funds to pay its actual expenses directly related to the construction of the project.
In this case, on a state public project
a prime contractor hired a subcontractor
who purchased materials from a supplier.
After the supplier provided the materials
to the project, the subcontractor walked
off the project. While the prime contractor was paid trust funds for the materials
provided by the supplier, it never paid
those trust funds to the subcontractor or
the supplier.
The supplier sued the prime contractor and its president for violating the
Trust Fund Act by failing to pay the supplier out of the project’s trust funds (it did
not have a perfected bond claim). In response, the prime contractor and its
president argued that since a payment
bond existed, the supplier could not
claim they violated the Trust Fund Act. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that
on state public projects subcontractors
and suppliers can pursue a Trust Fund Act
claim against a prime contractor – even if
a payment bond exists – for nonpayment.
The lesson to remember is that while
subcontractors and suppliers on state
public projects should make every effort
to perfect a payment bond claim, the
Trust Fund Act provides subcontractors
and suppliers with another remedy
against the prime contractor and its officers for nonpayment.
Todd R. Nectoux is a partner at Thomas, Feldman & Wilshusen, LLP, which represents all segments of the construction industry in mediation, arbitration, litigation,
contract reviews and perfection of mechanics liens and bond claims. He may be
reached at (214) 369-3008 or tnectoux@
tfandw.com.
Cowering below the tower
Recognize the rubble? Lying at the feet of the Dallas skyline’s iconic symbol,
Reunion Tower is an equally recognizable venue, if not by sight, then by name.
Reunion Arena, built in 1980, sheltered sparring hockey and basketball teams
and Hurricane Katrina evacuees and showcased music giants The Who and
Journey. But for all of its greatness, A&R Demolition was easily able to bring
down the roof on Nov. 17 - two days earlier than expected - with a few taps of
a bulldozer to the second support column. RIP, Reunion Arena. - mjm
OSHA
High visibility apparel
Joann Natarajan, compliance assistance specialist
OSHA
Austin, TX
Q
uestion: Construction employees working on
highway/road construction work zones often risk
being struck by traffic. Do the OSHA standards require
high-visibility apparel for these construction workers?
Answer: Road and construction traffic
poses an obvious and well-recognized
hazard to highway/road construction
work zone employees. OSHA standards
require such employees to wear high
visibility garments in two specific
circumstances: when they work as
flaggers and when they are exposed to
public vehicular traffic in the vicinity of
excavations. However, other construction
workers in highway/road construction
work zones are also exposed to the
danger of being struck by the vehicles
operating near them. for such workers,
section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, 29 U.S.C.
§654(a)(1), also known as the General
Duty Clause, requires similar protection.
The Federal Highway Administration's
(FHWA) recent issuance of a final rule
(Worker Visibility, 23 CFR Part 634)
demonstrates the need for all workers
who are exposed either to public traffic or
to construction vehicles and equipment
to wear high-visibility apparel. Section
634.3 of the Worker Visibility Rule states:
All workers within the right-of-way of a
Federal-aid highway who are exposed
either to traffic (vehicles using the
highway for purposes of travel) or to
construction equipment within the work
area shall wear high-visibility safety
apparel.
The purpose of this requirement, as
stated in section 634.1, is "to decrease
the likelihood of worker fatalities or
injuries caused by motor vehicles and
construction vehicles and equipment...."
In the preamble to the Worker Visibility
rule (Volume 71 of the Federal Register,
page 67792), the FHWA stated:
High visibility is one of the most
prominent needs for workers who must
perform tasks near moving vehicles
or equipment. The need to be seen by
those who drive or operate vehicles or
equipment is recognized as a critical issue
for worker safety. The sooner a worker
in or near the path of travel is seen, the
more time the operator has to avoid
an accident. The FHWA recognized this
fact and included language in the 2000
Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices (MUTCD) to address this
issue.
The FHWA's rationale underlying the
rule well illustrates that the industry
recognizes that construction workers in
highway/road construction work zones
need protection against the hazard posed
by moving traffic. The FHWA's recent
mandatory standard for workers on
federal-aid highways shows that struckby hazards in highway/road construction
work zones are well recognized by the
construction industry. Furthermore, the
standard indicates that a feasible means
of addressing that hazard is the wearing
of high-visibility apparel. Accordingly,
high-visibility apparel is required under
the General Duty Clause to protect
employees exposed to the danger of
being struck by public and construction
traffic while working in highway/road
construction work zones. Typically,
workers in a highway/road work zone are
exposed to that hazard most of the time.
natarajan.joann@dol.gov
512-374-0271 x232
Thank you cards
Construction folk and surety company partners were the honored guests at PCL
Contract Bonding Agency’s annual and always loud-with-laughter “Thank You!
Party” Nov. 19. The event also gave everyone a chance to admire the company’s
newly decorated offices. L-R: Nicole Rigueira, The Hartford Financial Services
Group; PCL’s Clem Lesch; Sonia Lara and Cam Fletcher, SureTec;
Melissa Lesch and Wayne Justice, CNA Surety. – mjm
Page 10 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Construction News ON LOCATION
Construction News ON LOCATION
Good neighbors
The three R’s
L-R: Mechanic Luis Garcia and helper Rene Reza, Cooper Sheet Metal in
Saginaw, aren’t just co-workers, they also live in the same Fort Worth
neighborhood. –mjm
Miguel Barrajas, Regmund Renovation Restoration in Fort Worth, is
qualified to do an extreme makeover on the company’s office, but he
doesn’t think it needs it. –mjm
Construction News ON LOCATION
A woman always
remembers her first
Red roofer
W
Driver Casey Guerrero, Ramon Roofing in Fort Worth, enjoys tooling around in
the company’s red pickup, which is a refreshing color departure from the usual
white trucks seen in construction! –mjm
hen I began working as a writer
and photojournalist in the Arabian horse industry several
years ago, it was a gorgeous white stallion named Shahir. Gathering photos was
the easy part. It took digging into the
feelings of the people who knew and
worked with this gorgeous horse to get
the real story, since unlike Mr. Ed of classic
television fame my lovely subject didn’t
talk!
And when Cox News sent me on assignment to Jefferson, TX, for the
Longview News Journal, it was a vivacious
descendant of one of the town’s founding scions of industry that was my first. I
was assigned the task of writing about
the town’s history and finding descendants of the people that forged the town
into what it became. And boy, did I find
some interesting characters.
Now I have a new “first” to add to my
memory banks. Recently I conducted my
first interview for Austin Construction
News. The fact that it was a historical
piece is probably no accident. I love writing about history; therefore, it was a plea-
Allison Peacock, Editor,
Austin Construction News
sure to learn of the 100-year anniversary
of Heldenfels Enterprises and have the
pleasure of looking over the old photographs and clippings that mark the company’s history.
When asked if I would enjoy writing
about the construction industry in Austin
and the people who make it what it is, my
answer was an emphatic “yes.” Actually, I
think the phrase I used was “I could be
happy writing about dirt!”
And I could.
But what really keeps me happy to
go to work every day for Construction
News is the photography duties in my
new job as editor of the Austin edition.
As a little girl, I was lucky to have a
father who worked for Kodak. He obliged
me many a weekend with cameras and
film to soothe my obsession with taking
pictures. So when I was interviewed as a
fifth-grader by a local newspaper it was a
natural for me to answer “photojournalist” when asked what I wanted to be
when I grew up.
Although I began my working years
in the commercial construction and design industry, after I began having children it didn’t take long for me to return to
my childhood passion. And when my
four children got tired of being my subjects I decided that getting paid to do
what I love would make a lot of sense.
And now here I am, having come full
circle, once again involved with commercial construction and design. However,
this time I have camera and digital recorder in hand.
What a life! –ab
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 11
necessary. Take your time by having a good breakfast or
that extra cup of joe and make sure you have everything
you will need for an extended day on the water. Many
days during the winter, the fish bite might not start till
late afternoon. Also be aware that you will be sharing the
water with avid duck hunters. Steer clear of duck blinds
near shorelines and spoil islands as these outdoors
men are masters at concealing themselves and may
unintentionally pepper you passing by.
As I prepare my wade box for the day, I make sure I have
all the bases covered. Winter fishing requires a slower
presentation and a smaller offering. Top Pups and
Spook Jr’s are at the top of the list. Your favorite soft
plastic should be readily available with either a 1/16 oz
or 1/8 oz jig head. Another bait that I always carry and
is the one that gets the most press is the original Corky
and Corky fat boy. These hard-to-come-by baits are top
producers of trophy trout during winter months. Other
lures I add to the arsenal are the MirrOlure Catch 5 and
Catch 2000. These are proven favorites of mine and I
seldom leave the boat without them.
Fishing during the holiday
season
by Capt. Steve Schultz
Sponsored by:
Trans Sport Boats, Mercury Outboards, Chris’s Marine,
MotorGuide Trolling Motors, Power-Pole Shallow
Water Anchor, Pure Fishing, Pflueger Reels
All Star Rods, MirrOlure,
Bass Assassin and Columbia Sportswear
Capt. Steve spent one of his days off fishing with
his wife Jodi and his boys Carson and Connor.
W
ow! Can you folks believe that we are in the last
month of 2009? How time flies when you’re
having fun. After some much needed rain in
October, a moderate case of red tide, and a late season
hurricane (Ida) that passed through the Gulf in November,
the Laguna Madre is shaped up for some prime winter
fishing. The turn of the season is finally noticeable and
fishing should improve as both water temperatures and
levels start to drop. This is the time of year when I am
torn between casting plugs for trophy trout and glassing
South Texas brush for Bullwinkle. Either way I’m living a
dream that most outdoors men envy.
Predicting winter patterns can be some
what tricky to say the least. Weather
conditions can change every few days
moving fish deeper during falling
temperatures and shallower during
warming trends. Higher than normal
tides that have scattered fish should
start to recede, pulling shrimp and other
bait fish from back lakes and tidal flats.
Look for bird activity to spark-up during
sunrise and mid-morning feed times and
before and after cold fronts in December
and January.
As we make our way into the early stages
of winter, pre-dawn starts are not so
STEVE SCHULTZ
OUTDOORS, LLC
BAFFIN BAY
LAGUNA MADRE
LAND CUT
SPECKLED
TROUT
REDFISH
FLOUNDER
FISHING AND
HUNTING TRIPS
(361) 949-7359
www.baffinbaycharters.com
steveschultzoutdoors@
gmail.com
U.S. Coast Guard &
Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed
Sonny Herring of Austin caught this multi spotted redfish
on a recent outing with Capt. Steve Schultz.
As I prepare to close, I’d like to thank the good Lord
for keeping us safe on the water throughout the 2009
season. I also like to thank all my clients and friends who
made this season one of the best in the 11 years I’ve
been in business. I look forward to seeing you all for the
2010 season and burn memories that will last the rest of
our lives. Please keep in mind that I get booked up early,
so don’t wait too long to get your dates to me.
For information in booking your next fishing trip,
give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-949-7359 or visit
Baffinbaycharters.com. Also please make note of Steve’s
new e-mail address: SteveSchultzOutdoors@gmail.
com. Good Luck and Good Fishing.
Page 12 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Ken Milam’s Fishing Line
Sponsored by Tropical Marine and Honda Marine
My name is Ken Milam and, for the past 26 years, I have been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on
Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity of getting to know
a good many folks in the construction trade.
Pickup stuck in the mud on the way out to launch
Yeah, it’s kinda like that!
B
The back side of a pretty sunrise over the dry lake
oy, the recent rain has sure
been nice. When I was just a big
knuckleheaded kid, I worked on
a turkey farm. I’ll never forget how the
turkey farmers dreaded a good downpour.
It seems that domesticated turkeys, being
the highly intelligent creatures that they
are, will actually look straight up and
watch it rain until they drown. After such
a dry spell, I had to remember the turkey
story to keep myself from just standing in
the rain for the joy of seeing it fall.
We have had enough rain to get the
ground caught up on rainfall and just
about any rain now will get the creeks
running. We still are waiting for the right
rain in the right place to benefit the
Colorado River watershed and bring our
Lake Buchanan water levels up again. We
are about 25 ft. low. The good news is
that Lake Travis has come up quite a bit
and so have a lot of the other lakes. It is
just typical for Texas that we can see such
extremes in rainfall amounts.
The front side of the same sunrise over the dry lake
We are still fishing and catching. Anytime
we get a little shower and some fresh
water hits the lake the cat-fishing gets
good. The cooler temperatures have
the stripers and hybrids biting pretty
good again, although most of them we
are getting on right now are just a little
bit too small to keep. We are doing a lot
catching and a little keeping. It translates
into lots of action though, and it makes
a good time to get the kids hooked on
fishing.
Now about that picture above: that
is what we guides have been going
through for just about every trip we have
fished in recent months. To get our boats
into the water, we have been traveling a
mile or so across the dry lake bottom to a
natural rock outcropping to launch. Add
a little rain and the lake bottom is full of
little creeks and gullies that are usually
under water. You never know when
the little creek you splashed through a
couple of days ago will be a “bottomless”
pit the next time you bail off into it! Ah,
the perfect end to a perfect fishing trip!
Thank goodness the customers are
already halfway home by now.
Things really are looking up around
here, though. It is raining again. The
tiny little bluebonnets are sprouting and
promising to bring the Hill Country the
most beautiful crop of wildflowers we
have seen in a while for next spring. We
are catching scads of young, hungry fish
who just need a little more time before
we can start loading them up on future
fishing trips.
Yep, it’s about to get real good. For now
we are just gonna enjoy the Fall. We are
in for our first frost tonight and the bucks
are really starting to be fascinated by the
does and deer hunting is about to pick
up!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
"A lazy Sunday afternoon at the lake...sunbathing, napping and fishing."
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 13
B
efore Blake Howle’s dad, Dadson Company owner Ed Howle, got him into the bricklaying biz, he
introduced him to motocross mania, starting at
age three.
“My dad bought me a three-wheeler and I rode that
for a while, and then I just started working my way up,”
the 16-year-old says. “I was always hardcore into it, until
money got tight about five years ago and we laid off of
it for about two years.”
The break didn’t hurt Blake a bit – in fact, he says, he
came back really strong at age 12. He took first place
upon his return at a competition in Dallas and hasn’t
looked back since.
Ed says having a motocross track for his son in the
front yard helps a bit. The design of the track is so complex, Blake says, that his friends refuse to ride on it. But
Blake has no such qualms.
“I just love being first,” he says. “Hitting a big hill at
about 60 miles and jumping up about 150 feet is always
fun.”
Blake admits that his mom, who had a fierce nail biting habit at the beginning and through several of her
son’s broken bones, eventually came to spare her fingertips as he has progressed – as long as Blake stays out in
front of the pack.
And for the most part, he does. Last July at a competition in Ponca City, OK, Blake placed fourth in the
United States in his class. – mjm
N
Making tracks
Blake and his bike
Whip it good!
A T-eam
eed a hog-hunting helper? A buddy to bring down a buck? A fishing friend? There are a few to be found at AT’s Electric Company Inc. in Carrollton. President & COO John
Forsythe has been featured on Honey Hole All Outdoors TV, reeling ‘em in on Lake Comedero in Mexico. And employees Holly Ramsey and Anthony Apodaca could
definitely assist any first-time hunters; Ramsey recently shot her first big buck on hunting property belonging to the company, and Apodaca took his first wild hog while
hunting with his co-workers (and, later in the season, took a great whitetail). So if it’s a lonely fight in the battle of man vs. nature, know that the folks at AT’s might know of a
strategy or three. – mjm
Submitted to Construction News
In a bass of its own
A proud Hatridge shows off his prize, while his fishing companion looks on
Twenty pounds of pure peacock bass, and it’s all Gary Hatridge’s! The owner of
Hatco Electric recently pulled this monster from the deep of the Amazon River.
Hatridge obviously couldn’t be happier, but how did his fishing companion feel
about it? We say no worries … there are always plenty of fish in the sea! – mjm
Page 14 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
To the rescue
E
ven once was too much for Brookhollow Rental owner Julie Wilson,
but it was happening far too often.
It seemed Wilson couldn’t glance out the
window at the company’s Dallas location
without witnessing an animal being
“dropped off.” Finally, enough was
enough.
“I just got tired of seeing dogs getting hit by cars in front of my shop,” Wilson says. “I was taking them to the SPCA
and giving them shots and taking care of
them until I could find them a home. But
you end up running out of friends that
will take the animals! So I started with a
rescue group.”
The Frisco Humane Society, a group
that rescues animals from local shelters
and “fosters” them until they can be ad-
opted, wasn’t close to her home but they
“took her in,” she says. With their help,
Wilson was able to find homes for the
animals she hoped to save. She also began volunteering at a Seagoville pet shelter and has helped reduce the shelter’s
euthanasia rate by 40 percent.
Inspired, Wilson had an idea: Why
not use her Brookhollow Rental website
to help further her cause? Wilson created
a “Pet Rescue” tab for the site, where visitors could meet Riley, a sweater-clad
three-legged Chihuahua mix she adopted, as well as other pets needing homes.
She also offered to host an on-site pet
adoption at Brookhollow’s Seagoville location.
Wilson’s enthusiasm for pet rescue is
contagious: her husband, Skip, now
brings her animals, and she says the “big,
burly” construction workers who visit the
Seagoville location often melt when they
see Riley and ask how they can help. Wilson is happy to raise awareness.
“Someone has to watch out for these
animals,” she says.
Brookhollow Rental specializes in construction rental equipment. - mjm
Construction News ON LOCATION
Construction News ON LOCATION
Model employee
Don’t cry for him
Landmark Equipment Rental’s outside sales person Matt O’Donald generously offered to let the lovely ladies in the Irving office have his shot at a modeling
career (he’s usually out in the field), but they in turn threw him in front of the
camera, and for good reason – he’s a natural! – mjm
Although he hails from Argentina, Pedro Sauretti looks right at home
in Dallas at Metro Brick & Stone. – mjm
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 15
What do you want
Santa to bring?
Business!
Karen Lubinski, Boundless Network
I want Santa to bring me a nice saddle. I
busted the tree on mine.
Justin Young, Marek Brothers
I hope Santa can bring me peace and serenity.
Dwayne Shugart, Stone Legends
With the situation in our world, I hope we
can find a way to bridge some of those
gaps, and for the world to realize how really very fortunate we are. Not world
peace, because I don’t think we’ll ever
achieve that. But world happiness would
be a really good place to start.
Jim Hollis, Baker Drywall
I want Santa to bring more business, because if we get jobs, everyone else gets
more jobs – and then it’s a real Christmas!
Kyla Gay Schmeckpeper, Balfour Beatty
I want Santa to bring me a pair of UGG
boots so I can wear them in Ramah, New
Mexico at Christmas this year and keep
my feet warm.
Pat Meadors, TEXO
I want him to bring me a new cooking
pot, maybe a five-gallon cast iron or
Dutch oven, so I can cook some more chili
and fish fries.
Ken Dupree, LASCO
I want everyone to have what they want
next year, no matter what it is.
Justin Miller, C.D. Henderson
Construction Group
I want Santa to bring me Rodney Schrader of Acton Mobile Industries wrapped in
a big red bow.
Lori Chung, Johnston Products
I want Santa to bring enough work for everybody next year.
Gary Roden, Aguirre Roden Inc.
A better year, more work opportunities.
Jim Moore, Rentenbach
More jobs for our company, meaning
more money for us!
Carolina Garcia, Sedalco Construction
Services
My wife’s pregnant, so a healthy baby boy!
Brian Brookhart, TXI
I want Santa to bring my family health –
and I hope construction picks up.
Pete Shaffer, Beck Group
World peace.
Brian Shahan, Shahan & Son Ltd.
A boat. A ski boat. Any one will do.
Bryan Vassar, Core Construction
A Republican administration!
Brad Baylis, City Wide Mechanical
The Gators to win the Nationals!
Peter Ramstedt, Turner Construction
A vacation! I want to go to Acapulco!
Lupe Cruz, Cruz Cabinet Shop
I have everything I want between my
wife, two kids and my job.
Charles Akers, Orr-Reed Wrecking Co.
I hope Santa Claus could bring the nation
together. Since we got the new president,
we are more divisive than ever. If we
could be of one accord, we could do
greater things as a country.
Edward Shankle, Shankle Concrete
Bonds of steel
The bonds of friends and family are what are most important to owners Bowe Klish
and Jason Stayton (fourth and fifth from left, with their employees).
B
owe Klish and Jason Stayton see
a lot of each other, for several reasons.
First, and foremost, they’re best
friends, and have been since they met
each other in the 10th grade at a Grand
Prairie High School which means they do
the usual best friend stuff together after
work and on weekends.
Also, they happen to be brothers-inlaw; Klish is married Stayton’s sister, which
means holidays and celebrations throw
them together as well.
And then there is their business, Custom Stainless Inc., which they co-own
with their wives, Talanea Stayton and
Staci Klish. Running the Mansfield-based
company with its 10 employees adds, at
the very least, another 40 hours of togetherness a week.
But Klish and Stayton wouldn’t have
it any other way. In fact, it’s a bond they
hope their employees invest in and emulate.
“We have get-togethers,” Klish says
of their employees. “We go down to Lake
Whitney to a “Boy Scout” cabin every
once in a while and have a company outing. We do cookouts here. It’s think we’re
just more of a family-oriented business
where pretty much everybody here is involved; we all understand we either make
the company or we break the company.”
The “we are family” philosophy has
stayed with the pair since they started
their business out of Stayton’s garage in
2005 and through their move to their
Mansfield facility in 2008.
And it has trickled down to the employees as well. Shop foreman Milton
Brock, who has been on board since the
company’s beginning, actually brought
in his own brother and son to become
part of the Custom Stainless Inc. family.
Custom Stainless Inc. offers manufacturing and fabrication of commercial stainless steel kitchen equipment. – mjm
Industry FOLKS
Jon Steward
Acton Mobile Industries
W
alk into Acton Mobile Industries
sales representative Jon Steward’s Fort Worth office and you will be
in the presence of the former Marine’s
most prized possession – an American
flag he found in a trashcan while stationed in Japan.
“They had actually taken it down
from a trash building on an Air Force
base,” he says, explaining that sometimes flags aren’t disposed of properly.
“I walked in there to throw my trash
away and saw the flag. There really
wasn’t much wrong with it, so I cleaned
it up and took it back to my barracks.
“While I was in Japan, the Navy
flew me and the other Marines on the
base to Iwo Jima to take a tour of what
was left of the island. For Marines, it’s
holy ground,” he says. “I took this flag
with me, and when I got to the top of
Mount Suribachi I flew it there. As a
Marine, that was a big deal, and I keep
that flag in my office, so it’s always
here.”
The flag wasn’t the only thing he
parted with after concluding his four
years of service in 1998. He came back
to the States with a greater appreciation of Japanese culture, a love of rugby and snowboarding (he was stationed on the northern tip of Japan
near Siberia), and a massive CD collection.
“I’ve got of a lot of CDs,” he says.
“When you’re in the military, you either
spend your money hanging out and
partying, or you spend it on music, and
I spent more money on the music. Peo-
ple who know me know that I am a
big music fan. My passion is blues – I
grew up listening to Stevie Ray
Vaughan. I like a lot of the Texas blues
bands, and the Austin bands are what
I listen to now.”
So can Steward wail?
“No,” he says, with a hint of regret
in his voice. “When I was in junior high,
I did play in the band. I played the
trumpet, and I was terrible.”
He can make a mean martini and
margarita, though. After the service,
Steward became a bartender, finished
up his college studies at night school
and secured a job at an industrial plastics company before moving to Acton
Mobile more than a year later.
And his frozen concoctions
helped him find something else he
holds dear – his wife of six years, Chilet, who was also a bartender when
they met. The couple now lives in Euless with their 4-year-old son, Austin,
and two miniature dachshunds, Abbi
and Bailey.
Acton Mobile Industries specializes
in office trailers and temporary office
and storage solutions. –mjm
Page 16 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Chili con-struction
H
ow long had it been since the construction industry had a big, thick steaming bowl – make that 31
different bowls – of chili?
Far too long, and so the cook-off began Nov. 11.
While pots bubbled over with beans and super-secret
ingredients and “Sweet Home Alabama” blared through
the speakers, old friendships were renewed and new
ones forged.
Miss Texas International 2009 Jade Monfils handpicked the preliminary chili-tasting team from the crowd
of more than 250 attendees, who all had a burning desire
to narrow the choices down to the six best, and after
Charter Builders won for its concoction (and best booth),
the well-fed masses made their way inside to play a little
poker. The event, hosted by TEXO at its Dallas location,
benefited the organization’s Education and Research
Foundation and the North Texas Area Food Banks. –mjm
Baker Triangle’s Hot Rod Chili Team
L-R: Balfour Beatty hippie chicks Kyla Gay Schmeckpeper,
Kay Grant, Denise DeCasper and Peggy Adams
L-R: Preliminary chili judges Frank Pieschel, MDI General
Contractors, TEXO president Raleigh Roussell
and Cadence McShane’s Neal Harper
Charter Builder’s winning booth,
home of the champion chili
L-R: LASCO’s Fernando Lujan, Mollie Galindo and Ken Dupree
L-R: Royal West, Jeff Deets, Clayton Cain and Jon Donahue
The Charter Builders team takes two top trophies.
Chili with chips: Poker was the second course.
L-R: Johnston Products’ Bobby Armitage
and Donnie Johnson
Ryan Glonz, Cajun Constructors Inc.
Warehouse the heart is
L-R: It’s more than a warehouse for David Carbajal, Alfred Martinez and Oscar de la Mora.
Marek Brothers Systems Inc.’s Brent Ballard
M
ost of the time, the metal warehouse on East FM 917 serves as a
flooring and carpet showroom
and office space. Sometimes it’s a party
venue, or a place to store a slew of papermache creations. But all of the time, it’s a
dream come true for A Floors and Services owner Alfred Martinez.
“This is my work,” he says, smiling.
“I’ve been a carpet installer for 20 years.
Seven years ago, I got a good contract
doing carpet and wood floors and countertops for a restaurant chain. So I saved
up money and, after the contract was
over, I opened this business.“
Martinez, who started as a helper
cleaning up after carpet installers in
Houston, California and Florida, now relies on the best helpers he knows. Salesperson David Carbajal and installer Oscar de la Mora just so happen to be his
nephews, and another relative also helps
out with the business.
As a grandfather of seven, family is
important to Martinez and he is grateful
that he can offer his warehouse for their
use when needed. Often the space is
used for birthday parties or for his relatives’ business functions. And it’s not uncommon to look up and see piñatas
strung from the warehouse rafters; a rela-
"Trailer Trash" chili creators Rodney Schrader,
Rick Reyes and Jon Steward,
Acton Mobile Industries
tive who makes them out of her home
sometimes needs the extra storage room.
And although the place is big enough to
be a dance hall, Martinez, who loves to
dance, regretfully hasn’t gone that route
yet.
In two years, Martinez hopes to expand his dream and open a separate
showroom in Arlington, perhaps on Cooper Street, and dedicate his current space
to serve strictly as a warehouse. But for
now, the concrete floor and metal siding
represent everything important to him
and are enough.
A Floors and Services in Mansfield offers carpet, tile and wood flooring for commercial construction projects. - mjm
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 17
Construction Equipment
Margins have eroded
John Sheehan, Sales Manager
Sunstate Equipment Company
Carrollton, TX
H
ow would you describe the state of
the industry?
The construction industry is
experiencing a tumultuous period
fueled by an unprecedented state of the
economy.
We have seen construction projects
in the early stages come to a halt, typically
due to funding issues.
With the state of the construction
industry, it is more important than ever to
leave no stone unturned. Managing your
assets is more important in this difficult
time than ever before.
What are the major changes in the
industry in recent years?
At Sunstate, we see technology as
the most influential change. Information
is being dispersed more quickly
and to more people. In addition, the
consolidation of information and the
customers’ ability to use the Internet to
help them understand what we do has
moved the whole industry forward.
Most recently the economic
uncertainty has impacted our business.
Margins have eroded for both our
customer base as well as our competition
making it more challenging to do what
we do and do it well.
Sunstate has increased its fleet in the
Texas-Oklahoma region, particularly as it
relates to aerial. We have also expanded
our footprint in existing markets as well
as reaching out to new markets. Those
areas include Dallas/Fort Worth, Tulsa,
Buda, Killeen and metro Houston.
What are the rewards of the industry?
Our rewards come in the form of
compliments from our customers.
We take pride in our ability to
seek out hard-working, intelligent, and
committed employees. Everyone in our
organization has a sense of urgency that
is unparalleled.
What are the keys to being
successful in the industry?
When asked what you do for a living,
most people that work in this business
say they are in the equipment industry, I
have always held the opinion that we are
in the service industry and equipment
happens to be our product. I believe that
attitude is a key component in being successful.
In addition, any rental company is
only as good as its employees. At Sunstate, we have created a culture that permeates throughout the company. When
our phone rings, every employee has the
same goal in mind: Take care of the customer. That sense of urgency and pride
starts with the owner of the company,
Mike Watts.
Established in Phoenix, AZ, in 1977,
Sunstate Equipment Company sells and
rents tools and equipment to construction,
industrial and special event companies.
–mjm
Customer service is key
Cory Mancuso, Operations Manager
2-C Equipment LLC
Jarrell, TX
One of the biggest concerns for our industry lately
has been the state of the economy. Other industries have obviously been affected, but why do you
believe the construction industry is experiencing a
slowdown?
I believe that construction in general
has been hit due to the banking situation. Less money is being lent out to developers, and it creates a domino effect:
it affects the developers, which hurts the
contractors, which hurts the subcontractors and suppliers. It affects everyone.
Has any one area slowed down more
than another?
In Austin, we’ve seen the demand for
bigger pieces of equipment slow down.
Our smaller dozers and excavators are
renting out more in the Austin area, and I
believe that it’s because the smaller jobs,
which appear to be less risky, are still receiving financing. However, being a family-run business has allowed us to cross
some barriers and expand into wider
markets throughout Texas.
What are some of the hot-button issues equipment dealers face?
Suppliers now are doing drastic
things to attract customers. We try to stay
ahead of that trend, and we really work
with our customers to give them the best
deal possible.
It’s important to stay competitive
with your rates, which hasn’t been a
problem for us. But giving great service is
always vital for our customers.
Is it difficult to find people who understand the mechanics of large-scale
equipment that 2-C keeps on hand?
Luckily, we’ve had one head mechanic that has been with us since the
start of the company. He knows everything about the mechanical and hydraulic components of the equipment, and he
trains others who want to learn. We’ve
been very fortunate to maintain a great
team of mechanics.
What is the company’s most soughtafter piece of equipment?
It varies with customers. We have a
wide array of equipment from articulated
trucks, excavators, dozers, motor graders,
backhoes, water trucks and compaction
equipment.
However, my personal favorite piece
of equipment is the one that is out on
rent.
What are rewards of this industry?
I enjoy talking to different contractors, learning about the new developments, and listening to details about different projects before the general public
even knows. It is an honor to work with
people who appreciate construction.
What are keys to being successful in
construction equipment?
There are several things: first, always
keeping your customer first. All customers – if they are renting one piece of
equipment or 30 – want to feel that they
are taking their business where it is appreciated. We not only act that way but
we truly appreciate every rental from every customer.
Secondly, maintaining your fleet. You
can’t send something out there that is
going to break down or set the customer
behind. You need to have good quality
construction equipment on hand, and
you need to maintain it.
Communication and honesty are
also key. If you don’t have something that
the customer needs, don’t lead him on.
Make sure they know the truth from the
start.
It’s tough to tell a customer you don’t
have what he needs, but it’s essential to
be honest with them and keep the lines
of communication open.
Finally, always being accessible to
your
current
and
potential
customers.
How do you foresee the upcoming
year for equipment dealers?
We are keeping optimistic. There are
people who are speculating the worst,
but we are staying positive because really, that’s all you can do.
The companies that can grow in this
market are those who think positively,
and they will be in the best position after
we get out of this.
2-C Equipment is a family-owned company specializing in sales, rentals, trades
and buys for large-scale construction equipment and attachments. –va
NEXT MONTH
January 2010
Support Your Industry’s Feature Issue
Construction Forecast
2010
Schedule
Jan: Construction Forecast
Feb: Construction Safety
Mar: Construction Education
Call for Ad Space
Reservations
Apr:Women in Construction
May:Concrete Industry
Jun: HVAC & Plumbing
•
•
•
•
San Antonio
Austin
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Houston
July:Electrical Industry
Aug:Service Providers
Sep: Green Building Trends
(210) 308-5800
Oct: Specialty Contractors
Nov:Engineers & Architects
Dec: Construction Equipment
Page 18 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Construction Equipment
Equipment people
‘tell you like it is’
Andy Hotchkiss, Managing Partner
Alliance Heavy Equipment
Houston, TX
I
n your opinion, what is the current
state of the Houston construction industry?
Things are extremely slow these
days. It seems like there is more funding
for public or government jobs. Road construction is doing fairly well.
I think the smaller contractors are
suffering greatly. Our business is primarily parts and service and supporting
those types of customers.
Our customers say they are lucky to
get a bid on a job nowadays and that
they are not running at the same level
they were during better times.
They are dealing with reduced staff
so they have been bringing a lot of their
repair work internally. We are seeing
some aftermarket parts business increases because customers are looking for alternatives to going back to the original
now is primarily getting work. When
there is no work, there are limited opportunities.
equipment manufacturer or the dealer
for parts.
Do see any new trends?
I feel as though we may have hit the
bottom. I don’t feel our recovery is going
to be V-shaped. We are probably not going to see any drastic increases in recovery. I think it is going to be more of a Ushaped and a flat recovery.
I think people need to get acclimated
to the way things are now because it will
be this way for a while. I recently heard a
well-accredited forecaster speak at construction industry conference and his
thoughts were the same on the U.S.
economy.
What are the challenges in your industry?
A challenge for our business right
What is the best part about working in
the equipment business?
I enjoy working in the equipment
business because the people are straightforward. They tell you like it is. There are
no false pretenses behind anyone.
conferences and are involved in the Independent Distributors Association (IDA)
and the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED).
We stay up to speed with industry
news by having conversations with other
members and reading newsletters.
Do you have any advice for a young
person who wants to work in the
equipment business?
Typically, a young person should
start at a smaller construction equipment
company. He could work as a helper
around the jobs and also participate in
technical training school.
It would also be beneficial to hire on
with a dealer as a helper. It is a process.
The key thing in our industry is experience.
What is on the horizon?
It is going to be a long and slow recovery. I think the little bump we got
from the stimulus packet offered out is
creating somewhat of a false bump. I
don’t see it sustaining and I think we are
in a bit of a deflation period that is not
going to last too much longer.
What are the keys to success?
Don’t borrow too much money at
this time – if you can find anyone to lend
it to you. Banks are putting a strain on
things by tightening up their lending
practices. It is important to stay in a good
cash position.
How do you stay up to date in the industry?
We attend construction industry
Established in 2000, Alliance Heavy
Equipment provides heavy equipment
parts and services. –ab
down. I have bought several machines at
good prices. I think everybody is watching their spending instead of buying everything on credit.
price shopping than before. I don’t think
you have your loyalty customers that you
used to. If somebody is $30 a month
cheaper on a machine, they will go with
the cheaper machine. There are a lot of
national chain rental stores that are discounting quite a bit to get the market
share, and I understand that.
You have too much equipment chasing too few jobs. They are all competing
for market share and it’s dropping the
prices of rental equipment in half or 40
percent.
Rocky road ahead
Rocky Hill, Owner
Rocky Hill Equipment Rentals Inc.
San Antonio, TX
W
hat is your perspective on the
current state of the construction
industry?
I think we are in for more of the same.
I get the AGC reports and look at those,
and see what jobs are on the horizon.
There is a possibility that things might
look up, but what I see on jobs that are
coming up, it’s all public money.
There is going to come a day of reckoning for that, too. But as far as your private money being spent out there, there
is not any. The developers that have money aren’t spending it, and the ones that
don’t have money can’t get it. When you
look at the whole picture, until the banking industry loosens up and starts financing projects, I think it is going to be more
Komatsu
of the same. Fortunately down here we
have a lot of bases and government, but
there is not enough to keep that many
people busy.
When you get a federal a job down
here, and it’s slow all over the United
States, you have people bidding from all
over, which puts a bind on the contractors that are from here. There is a lot of
competition.
What types of positive changes have
you observed in 2009?
I know from my side of it, equipment
that I buy, it would go up 12 to 15 percent
every six months. Now, manufacturers
are hurting because they are not selling
anything. It’s bringing equipment costs
K
How is your company dealing with a
slowing economy?
Fortunately, and I am not an expert
and not the smartest businessman in the
world, but I started this business from
nothing 25 years ago. This is about the
fourth recession I have been through,
and this is by far the worst.
After about my fifth year in business
I paid off all my original notes, and I said,
if I ever get out of debt I would do my
best to stay out of debt. The last 10 to 12
years, if I could pay cash for a machine I
would try my best not to finance it.
I don’t have the big overhead, because it has always been my philosophy
to pay for it as you go. We are also watching our expenses real close.
Besides the economy, what are other
hot-button issues in the equipment
industry?
I am finding that more people are
omatsu America Corp. recently introduced the Hybrid PC200LC-8 excavator into the North American
market.
This excavator uses a newly developed electric
swing motor, power generator motor, capacitor and diesel engine.
Komatsu developed its hybrid system to work on
the principle of swing energy regeneration and energy
storage using the Komatsu Ultra Capacitor system.
The kinetic energy generated during the swingbraking phase is converted to electricity that is sent
through an inverter and then captured by the Ultra Capacitor. This captured energy is then discharged very
quickly for upper structure rotation and to assist the engine as commanded by the hybrid controller when ac-
What would you like to see change?
I would like to see construction go
back up and less of the discounting of
prices in our area. I would like to see
banks and companies start private funding again. I think it’s going to come, but
it’s going to come slow.
It’s not going to be a big bang, and
we wake up and everything’s fine again.
It will be a slow road back.
Specializing in heavy construction
equipment rental, Rocky Hill Equipment
Rentals Inc. was founded in 1985. –kf
celerating under workload conditions.
When compared in tests with the same model
standard hydraulic excavator, the hybrid model reduced fuel consumption by approximately 25 to 40
percent, depending on the application.
The hybrid model is powered by the turbocharged
and air-to-air after-cooled Komatsu SAA4D107E-1,
which provides 138hp. With an operating weight of
43,643 to 47,260 lbs., the excavator has a bucket capacity of 0.66 to 1.57 yd3.
It is also equipped with KOMTRAX technology
that sends information – such as operating hours, fuel
consumption, machine location and machine utilization – to a secure website for analysis.
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 19
Construction Equipment
Caterpillar
Ditch Witch
D
T
itch Witch’s most powerful directional drill, the
JT100 Mach 1 is equipped with a 268-hp engine.
The machine is designed so that rotation, thrust,
and drilling fluid flow can operate simultaneously at full
power.
The power of this model allows for the addition of
two optional features. One is an onboard crane, which is
used to load and unload pipe boxes, anchor the unit,
and handle downhole tools, especially drill pipe. Directional drills without an onboard crane require additional
equipment, such as an excavator, to perform these functions.
The other optional feature is an onboard anchor
system – an exclusive Ditch Witch equipment option –
that stabilizes the machine on virtually any terrain. Directional drills without this feature typically have to be
anchored to another heavier piece of equipment, such
as a backhoe or track hoe, to maintain stability during
drilling
operations.
Difficult conditions are not limited to the surface:
below ground is where the majority of directional drilling challenges lie, such as rocky soil. Ditch Witch says
that JT100’s heavy-duty, double rack-and-pinion thrust
drive is field-proven to push through the longest, toughest bores. Instead of a three-speed gearbox, the drill has
an infinitely variable rotary drive that can match spindle
speed and torque.
he Cat D7E Track-Type Tractor uses an electric drive
system that delivers 10 to 30 percent greater fuel
economy, greater productivity and lower lifetime service costs, compared with conventionally designed
crawler tractors of equal weight and horsepower.
The overall efficiency of the new model results from
its ability to better deliver engine power to the ground.
This efficiency means the D7E can use a smaller engine
than comparable competitive machines, yet it can outperform them. In addition, the engine runs in a narrow
speed range (1,500-1,800 rpm) to further reduce fuel
consumption and extend engine life.
Electric drive eliminates the torque converter, powershift transmission and related drive shafts used in allmechanical designs. Eliminating these components significantly lessens cooling requirements, decreases the
number of moving parts and reduces the volume of fluids required.
The care Caterpillar used in designing the operator
station is apparent in the details. The cab’s single center
post, for example, aligns perfectly with the exhaust
stack, air intake and single blade-lift cylinder to enhance
forward visibility, and the angled door and mating side
panel allow excellent sightlines to the blade. Interior
sound level is a quiet 73 dB(A), and an integrated display
screen provides a range of machine status information.
New Holland
Bobcat
R
anging from 140 to 205hp, with standard blade
lengths from 12 to 14 ft., New Holland Construction
motor graders are engineered to perform in every application, from ripping and rough grading to precise
and accurate finishing work.
The operator’s cab is mounted behind the articulation point, providing an excellent view of both ends of
the working blade, and enabling the operator to maneuver and respond quickly.
With heavy-duty, box-section construction, the
rugged frames of the G140, G170 and G200 (pictured)
motor graders are designed to endure the most rigorous working conditions. Durable front axles stand up to
the toughest grading jobs and oscillate up to 19 degrees
to manage rough terrain. An extra-long wheelbase
helps delivers an exceptionally smooth ride.
Featuring thin corner posts and doorframes, and
more than 62sf of glass area, the cab on New Holland
motor graders provides an excellent view in all directions. An integrated sunshade reduces glare, and standard front and rear windshield wipers/washers ensure a
clear view. Interior and exterior mirrors help the operator keep tabs on any activity behind the machine.
N
ew Bobcat M-Series skid-steer and compact track
loaders feature the most significant design changes
undertaken by the company.
This new design enables the operator to accomplish
more work through performance and durability enhancements that provide more power and keep the loader
working longer, while increasing operator comfort.
The first M-Series models are the S630 skid-steer
loader (pictured) and the T630 compact track loader.
The S650 and the T650 came out in August and additional models will be available in the future.
The hydraulic systems on the loaders have been engineered for higher standard flow and pressure that give
attachments more power to work more quickly. Hydraulic
horsepower has been increased more than 15 percent.
Bobcat increased the size of the cab by 10 percent,
redesigned the interior to allow operators to adjust the
environment to their individual preference and improved cab pressurization.
Keeping dirt and dust outside the cab keeps the operator clean and prevents fatigue. The loaders have a
best-in-class pressurized cab, with a new one-piece seal
that goes all the way around the door and fits into a special curved pocket. This pressurization minimizes the
dirt and dust that might enter the cab.
Vögele
V
ögele America Inc. has a new “clean sheet-design”
Vision Series of pavers.
Models include the 10-ft. tracked Vision 5200-2 (pictured) and 10-ft. wheeled Vision 5203-2, and the 8-ft.
tracked Vision 5100-2 and 8-ft. wheeled 5103-2. Together they represent the highest evolution of asphalt paver
design to date, and are quieter, cooler and more productive than either competing pavers, or Vögele America
predecessor models.
Operators are benefiting from outstanding forward
visibility, with unparalleled all-around visibility without
turning. The slope of the machine and hood has been
designed so the operator can see the sides, the hopper
and the conveyors in the back without having to move
around. The operator stations swing out from both edges of the machine, for superior visibility to the sides, behind and into the hopper.
Self-diagnostics are built into the new pavers. Fluid
levels and other inspection points need not be checked
each day. Instead they are monitored from a display
panel, part of the Vögele Ergo-Plus ergonomic design
for enhanced productivity.
Self-tensioning conveyors have hydraulic cylinders
that keep them adjusted. Like the paver’s self-diagnostics, the self-tensioning conveyors permit the crew to
spend less time working on the paver, and more time
placing hot mix asphalt.
LiuGong
L
iuGong Construction Machinery North America’s
new 816III Wheel Loader is designed to be compact
in size while maintaining the necessary power to get a
variety of work completed.
The wheel loader has an operating weight of 12,346
lbs. and comes standard with a 1.0 cubic yard loader
bucket. The bucket breakout force exceeds 12,000 lbs.,
which helps contractors get through even the toughest
of materials.
For added versatility, the machine comes with a
quick coupler as standard equipment. The loader is
powered by a Yanmar (Tier III compliant) engine, which
produces 64 hp.
“LiuGong’s dealer network is extremely excited by
the introduction of this compact wheel loader,” says Ron
Hargrave, president of LiuGong North America.
The 816III is a smaller version in terms of size to the
line of larger LiuGong wheel loaders, which range up to
65,000 lbs in operating weight and can support up to a
7.0 cubic yard bucket.
Page 20 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Construction Equipment
John
Deere
Link-Belt
T
J
ohn Deere’s G-Series motor graders offer users a
choice of console-mounted
industry standard controls
or armrest-mounted industry standard fingertip controls, as well as features like
cross slope control, automatic differential lock and a
rearview camera.
“With the G-Series, it’s not ‘one size
fits all’ – you’re free to choose the control
style that makes you the most comfortable and productive,” said Kent Stickler,
product marketing manager for motor
graders, John Deere Construction & Forestry. “And every grader has a steering
wheel, no matter which control pattern
you pick.”
Using extensive customer input and
the D-Series as a platform, Deere has introduced six G-Series models, ranging
from 185 to 275 net hp, each engineered
for increased productivity, reliability, durability, serviceability and low daily oper-
ating costs.
There’s also a choice of ground-engaging tools. G-Series graders are available with a front- or mid-mount scarifier,
or a rear ripper/scarifier.
Each grader has been engineered
with a convenient transmission, hydraulic
and differential filter bank for fast access.
There’s also ground level fueling and a
swing-out cool-on-demand automatic
reversing fan standard on every model.
“If you work in a dusty environment
or one prone to debris, the standard auto
reversing fan is going to save you time
and maintenance costs,” Stickler said.
he TCC-750, designed and built from
the ground up in Lexington, KY, has
the same features and hydraulics as LinkBelt’s lineup of telescopic cranes. The CE
compliant 8675 features outstanding maneuverability and capacities, and rugged
simplicity.
This model has a completely sealed
lower and hydraulically retractable side
frames for easy transport and onsite flexibility. The retracted gauge, good for
transport or work, is 8.4 ft. Two additional
working modes at 11.9 ft. and, fully extended, at 14 ft. add jobsite versatility.
And depending on local restrictions, it
moves in either one or two loads.
Link-Belt’s exclusive four-section,
full-power formed boom with greaseless
Teflon wear pads adorns the crane. Boom
length is 38 to 115 ft. with a maximum tip
height of 121 ft. Optional equipment includes a 35 to 58 ft., two-piece, on board
lattice fly with offsets of 2, 15, 30, and 45
degrees. The maximum boom and jib
length is 179 ft.
Case
SkyTrak
T
he newly introduced
Case crawler dozer delivers more performance, a
lower overall operating
height and weight, and superior maintenance features that boost productivity.
The 650L retains the
features of the Case crawler
dozer line, such as hydrostatic drive that delivers
precise variable power turning, a comfortable operator compartment, choice
of undercarriage options and superior
maintainability.
The 74 net horsepower Tier 3-certified, four-cylinder, 4.5-liter turbocharged
Case Family IV engine has electronic fuel
injection for maximum fuel efficiency
and easier starts in cold weather. A highpressure common-rail injection system
delivers excellent combustion. A charge
air cooler reduces emissions and provides
a cleaner and more efficient fuel burn. The lower operating height allows
S
the 650L to work around low overhangs,
while its lighter weight is ideal for work in
soft soil conditions. The shorter track
means easier turning, making the machine extremely maneuverable on the
job site. The compact size also makes the
crawler dozer easy to transport from job
to job.
“Case also offers a 90-inch blade for
more precise work in confined job conditions,” said Ion Warner, senior director of
marketing. “This allows for operation between buildings with narrow lot lines.”
kyTrak telehandlers are
available in five models
that offer lifting capacities
from 6,000 to 10,000
lbs., lifting heights to 53 ft.
2 in., and horizontal reach
to 39 ft. with outriggers
down.
The SkyTrak Model
8042 (pictured) has an
8,000-lb maximum lift capacity with a maximum lift
height of 41 ft. 11 in. and a
1,800-lb. maximum lift capacity at a maximum forward reach of 26 ft. 7 in.
Other features include:
• Drivetrain using axles with heavyduty inboard wet brakes for longer disc
and pad life, limited slip front differential
and a fully modulated power shift transmission.
• Weatherproof controls and functions in the redesigned cab allow for
greater operator productivity and comfort.
• No hydraulic valves under the cab,
and no requirement for hydro-filled tires.
Key functions that are standard on
this model include:
• The patented Stabil-TRAK rear axle
stability system
• Auxiliary hydraulics for added versatility with the use of many SkyTrak attachments.
Over on the Hill
True blue friends
Looking for the McCaslin-Hill Construction Inc. crew? Don’t make the drive
out to the company’s former Carrollton location on Beltline Road. The general
contracting firm recently moved their digs to 8112 Chancellor Row in Dallas.
To date, the company has settled in fine, and has even found a nice spot by
the office door to fly Old Glory. - mjm
L-R: Billy “Blue” Degrate earned his nickname when, as a youngster he beat
up a neighborhood kid and took his blue wagon. Fellow waterproofer and
Centennial Moisture Control co-worker Rufino Carreon needn’t worry though –
Carreon doesn’t have a blue wagon to take. ­–mjm
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 21
Construction News ON LOCATION
Construction News ON LOCATION
Survey says: Sunny?
Ever ready
L-R: Surveyors Lynn Harberson and Eric Epperson, Harberson Surveying Inc.
in Richardson, enjoy a respite from the fog that plagued them that morning
and hurry to get their surveying tools in the back of the truck before the sun
decides to slip away again. –mjm
L-R: Hide your drills and staple guns, because Aledo Viera, Chris Esquibel,
and Manuel Garcia, owner of Manuel Inc. in Fort Worth, are oh-so-ready
to remodel! –mjm
continued from Page 1 — Laws of design
continued from Page 1 — Roofmates
like Custable, had a real estate broker’s license. Snouffer needed someone to help
fix up some properties, and, as they
worked together, a friendship grew.
During their Houston stay, Snouffer
would tell Custable about roofs he had
inspected that badly needed repair. Custable, who was still running his renovation
business’ crews long-distance while he
was in Houston, had an epiphany: Take
his renovation crews off of Snouffer’s jobs
and bring those crews to Houston to fix
the roofs and turn it into a separate business. With the experience the pair had
gotten as insurance adjusters, they knew
they could fill a need.
“We realized we could do a lot more
good for people as a roofing and con-
continued from Page 1 — Word up
Karcher auditorium at SMU needed to go back in time to get an update.
building may have looked when it was
constructed in the early 20th century.
However, the multi-functional auditorium had been renovated in the 1950s or
‘60s. This was evident, Ludvigson says,
because a storefront of metal doors had
been added on the entryway to separate
the area, and the cloth-wrapped wiring
remained and needed to be replaced.
“We really gutted the room – all of
the carpet, the storefront doors, everything except for the large plaster crown
molding. We worked with that to keep
the style,” says project manager Todd
Ludvigson, who, with project superintendent Philip Grintz, oversaw the project. “Basically we went back to the original construction, and did the renovation
from that. We were adding stained cherry
hardwood to an auditorium that was like
your basic school auditorium you’d see in
an elementary school. It had original
woodwork, but it was painted. We upgraded it to the law school’s standards.
The blending of old, original work and
new finishes to create a different look is
what makes the project unique. Most of
this credit goes to the architect, who took
great care with the details.”
The new finishes and upgrades
showed consideration for needs the auditorium’s guests might have. A special
multipurpose table was built to meet the
space’s various event requirements, and
a custom-built wheelchair lift was discreetly cloaked in cherry hardwood paneling so that guests in wheelchairs could
easily enter and exit the stage.
Though the workspace was small
and contained, it presented several challenges. Students were around and the
building was occupied, which meant
safety was a major concern. The site also
proved difficult to work with due to lack
of parking, so everything needed for the
project had to be staged inside the room.
This meant any materials needed for the
project – including a 16-in., 34-ft.-long
beam for the folding doors – had to be
carried up two-and-a-half flights of stairs
without the benefit of a crane or lift.
The biggest challenge, however, was
the schedule. The customer actually occupied the space after the five-week time
period, with the doors being installed
and finished when they arrived later from
Germany. And though installing doors
might not seem like a huge part of the
work, it presented its own set of challenges.
“It was very tight specifications, close
tolerances for the product,” Lafargue
says, “but everything worked out.” After
installation, the doors were given the finishing touch of a logo on each pane of
glass.
Lafargue says he is pleased with the
end result, as well as the process itself.
“One of the biggest challenges, but
one of the biggest things that made it go
really well, was that the we worked very
well as a team with the owner, architect
John Sheffield and subcontractors Anchor Plaster, Austex Woodworking, Bollen Resources, Lift-Aids Inc., Limpede
Paint Contractors, Mechanical Air Design, Phillips Electric and Vector Concepts to get this project completed in
time,” says Lafargue – who said not only
was the project finished in time for SMU’s
commencement ceremonies, but it also
came in under budget as well.
Founded in 1999 by Mark Lafargue,
David/Marsh Construction Corporation is a
general contractor performing finish-out,
new construction and renovation of commercial buildings in the DFW area. –mjm
her car dashboard that said, ‘I Love My
Dentist,” and I would just say to her ‘I Evol
Eem Tsitned.’ My parents think I’m a real
freak of nature to this day. My kids think
I’m really an oddball, too.”
On a page of unrehearsed verbiage,
he points out words he knows from years
of practice: “noitacol” means “location”
and “dictionary” is pronounced “eranoitkid.” “Hannah” and “radar” are the same
backwards and forward. “Schizophrenia”
is too tough, he says, but words like “park”
make him laugh. He breezes through a
paragraph and it’s Rogenski’s turn to
shake her head.
“Welcome to my world – it’s kind of
creepy!” is all she can say in response.
“Imagine living this every day!”
But Rogenski is one to talk.
“She has a name for everybody,” Jarr
says. “With her, the U.S. president could
walk in and not be treated any differently
than the FedEx guy. There’s no intimidation factor. She has a hundred different
sayings, like ‘Bye, bye French fry.” Then I
have to explain to a person behind me
what she meant.”
“I have to email him definitions from
urbandictionary.com,” Rogenski jokes.
Rogenski says taking the actual work
seriously but having fun at work is a philosophy that trickles down from Briggs’
management, and the pair is proud to
work for a company that raises money for
charities in clever ways, such as setting up
an in-office miniature golf course or having employees pay a dollar to wear jeans
on Friday. It’s a message Jarr and Rogenski
and their co-workers hear loud and clear.
“The more fun you can have, the
better,” Rogenski says.
Briggs Equipment is an equipment distributor in North America and is a separate
working operation of Sammons Enterprises
Inc. –mjm
struction company together than we
could as adjusters,” Custable says. “Long
story short, we took a branch of TriVAN
and put the roofing and construction
company together.”
Now owners and principals of TriVAN
Roofing Construction, Custable and
Snouffer are glad to be out of the hotel
room and in their own separate offices in
Southlake, with no dirty socks on the
floor, and their friendship stronger than
ever.
TriVan Roofing Construction is a roofing contractor serving the Metroplex. –
mjm
Page 22 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009
Construction News ON LOCATION
Rock this town
Association Calendar
Content submitted by Associations to Construction News
AIA- Dallas
The Contruction Association
Unless otherwise noted events are at Dallas
Center for Architecture, 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Ste. 100, Dallas
Dec. 7: “New Solutions for Green Schools
in Texas – 3HSW/SD, 9am-12pm.
Dec. 11: Small Firms Roundtable Meeting: Building Insulation-Knauf Insulation,
12-1pm.
Unless otherwise noted, events are at TEXO’s
Conference Center, 11111 N. Stemmons
Frwy., Dallas
Dec. 4: Holiday Gala, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, 7-9:30pm.
Dec. 4: “Learn the Art of Questioning
and Improve Business Development, Negotiation Skills and Conflict Resolution,”
8:30am-11:30am. Cost $199 members,
$299 non-members.
Dec. 8: TEXO Member Orientation, 417
Fulton Street, Fort Worth or TEXO’s Conference Center, 11111 North Stemmons
Frwy., Dallas. 7:30-9am. Free.
Dec. 9: CSS #9: Steel Erection, 7:3011:30am.
Dec. 9: CSS #10 Excavation and Trench
Safety, 12:30-4:30pm.
Dec. 11: “The Ultimate Leadership Skill:
Learn How to Coach and Propel Your
People,” 8:30-11:30am. Cost $199 members, $299 non-members.
Dec. 14: First Aid/CPR/AED, 417 Fulton
St., Fort Worth, 8am-12pm.
Dec. 16: CSS#2 General Safety/Health,
OSHA Inspections & Citations, 417 Fulton
Street, Fort Worth, 12:30-4:30 pm.
Dec. 16: CSS #3 Personal Protective
Equipment, Tools, Signs & Signals, Material Handling, 417 Fulton Street, Fort
Worth, 7:30-11:30am.
Dec. 18: “Apply the 80/20 Principle and
Make More with Less,” 8:30-11:30am. Cost
$199 members, $299 non-members.
AIA- Fort Worth
American Institute of Architects
Dec. 11: Tracks to the Future: Rail & Economic Development in North Texas,
Downtown Sheraton, 1701 Commerce
Street, Fort Worth, 8am-3pm.
CSI – Dallas
Construction Specifications Institute
Plasterer Omar Ortiz, Reel Stucco in Keller, feels very much like a
rock star at the moment! –mjm
Construction News ON LOCATION
Warming up
TEXO
American Institute of Architects
Dec. 3: MFR Lunch, Crowne Plaza, Addison, 12-1pm.
Dec. 7: Board meeting, 5100 Belt Line,
Ste. 838, Dallas, 4:30-6:30pm.
Dec. 10: Holiday Party, Crowne Plaza,
14315 Midway Road, Addison, 5:30-8pm.
NAWIC – Dallas
Nat’l Assn. of Women in Construction
Dec. 21: Membership Meeting, MCM Elegante Hotel, 2320 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas. 5:30-7:30pm.
NAWIC – Fort Worth
Nat’l Assn. of Women in Construction
Dec. 8: Board of Directors meeting
Dec. 17: Business Dinner meeting, Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth, 5:30pm.
NTRCA
North Texas Roofing Contractors Assn.
Dec. 9: Holiday Party, The Ranch at Las
Colinas, 857 W. John Carpenter Freeway,
Las Colinas, 4:30pm.
USGBC
U.S. Green Building Council
Dec. 10: LEED Core Concepts and Strategies, Herman Miller-National Design Center, 1700 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas, 8:30am5pm.
Where’s the star?
L-R: The morning fog has lifted and it’s a sunny day, but there’s still a need for
chill in the air, so James Kirkpatrick and James Lee, J&L Air Conditioning
Heating & Refrigeration in Weatherford, get ready to heat things up. –mjm
On the flags! It was an early Christmas indeed for superintendent Joe Lovett,
Linbeck, who unfurled some flags and fir for the tree topping
on the new Carter Blood Center in Fort Worth Nov. 23. –mjm
Want Reprints?
Full Color, Press Quality Digital Reprints available on
any item in Construction News – $42 includes tax
Perfect for framing in the office, a promo
item, for the website or as a gift.
Digital Press Quality PDF is emailed to you. Print as many
as you like. Can also be printed by any graphics
service provider, on any paper selection, size, or finish.
To request a reprint . . .
• Email to: reprints@constructionnews.net
• Indicate you would like to purchase a reprint, and a credit card form will be
emailed for you to complete and return.
If you have any questions, contact the SA home office at (210) 308-5800
Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 23
Job Sights
L-R: Mohammed Contractor Plumbing’s Francis Ramirez and Angel Vasques pause and
contemplate the deeper meaning of their work on the 7,000-sf St. Mary’s Orthodox Church of
India, Dallas. Nu Build & Associates Inc. serves as general contractor for the project
which was slated for completion in November. –mjm
Business Flooring Specialists installer Brian Eckert gives the tile a sponge bath at the 2,800sf Woodhaven National Bank in Colleyville, scheduled for completion in December. Todd
Martin is the superintendent, and Pierce General Contractors oversees the project. –mjm
L-R: Marek Brothers’ Kent Brese and Daniel Finch discuss their progress on the interior of
Fort Worth’s newest Carter Blood Care facility, located in the hospital district.
Linbeck serves as the general contractor. –mjm
L-R: A.T.’s Electric Company Inc.’s superintendent David Moreno and project manager Bill
Parker discuss the next phase of their work on the 208,0000-sf Marriott Courtyard in Allen.
Crossland Construction Company Inc. is the general contractor,
and DJ McClenny is the project superintendent. –mjm
Page 24 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Dec 2009