TTS Engineering, Inc. Moves From Phase 1 to Phase 2 on Avalon Brea Place Project

By Brian Hoover, Senior Editor

TTS Engineering, Inc. has been serving the general civil engineering construction industry in Southern California for 25 years. Owner and President, Tim Wilson (Wilson) started the company in 1995 and procured his contractor’s license in 1996. He was never really new to the heavy construction industry, however, because he grew up in and around it from his youth. Wilson began working for his father’s contracting business straight out of high school before eventually starting Tim’s Tractor Service. His early years in the industry were spent as an owner-operator and primarily working from the cab of a skid steer loader for concrete contractors.

Wilson’s owner-operator business grew slowly but surely over the next few years and eventually hired his father as a dump truck driver and a few other individuals as laborers and operators. Fast forward to today, and you have a solid, reputable company that has learned much from its 25 years in business. TTS Engineering (TTS) now has 85 employees and has built a reputation for excellence and dependability with some of Southern California’s largest and most respected developers and construction firms. “You know we have never been about price or getting a job at any cost. We are about doing the best job possible and continuing to build on the relationships and trust we have with our select list of loyal clients,” says Wilson. “We are doing a lot of pipeline work and a great deal of civil work to include ADA compliance and restoration for great firms like the Irvine Company.”

According to Wilson, TTS primarily works throughout Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. Their contracts range from underground utilities, excavation, grading, demolition, concrete, paving, and ADA compliance type work in both the private and public works sectors. “We have experienced exceptional growth over the past several years, particularly in the private sector, and have recently begun efforts to get much more involved with public works projects,” says Wilson. “We serve as both a general contractor and subcontractor on a variety of projects, and our jobs continue to grow in size and complexity. This includes a recent $5 million project at Irvine Spectrum and a $2.5 million job at Jordan Downs in Los Angeles. We also have several new contracts coming up for big box stores like Costco, where we will be working six 10-hour days a week on a fast track project in Ontario that needs to be complete in 120 days.”

TTS has been on the Avalon Brea Place Project for the past 18 months. This is a multi-family residential project being constructed in and around a 30-acre mixed-use campus in Brea. The international real estate firm, Hines, is partnering with AvalonBay Communities, Inc. to develop a 653-unit apartment community. The job is being constructed in two parts, with 425 units in the southern building at State College Boulevard and Birch Street, and 228 units are going up to the north along the Tracks at Brea.

TTS has been contracted to perform utility construction work on both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Avalon Brea Place Project. “On the first phase, we relocated around 1,000 feet of 60-inch storm drain down State College Boulevard and also added a right turn lane on the corner of State College and Birch Street,” continues Wilson. “We are now on Phase 2 of the project, which is a $1.7 million contract to install all of the wet utilities for both new apartment building structures.” According to Wilson, this includes sewer, storm drain, domestic and firewater throughout the project for both Site A and Site B.

Above: TTS Engineering’s LiuGong 936 Excavator installing 60-inch RCP on State College Boulevard. Below: Installed and relocated 60-inch storm drain on the Avalon Brea Place project.

“We installed approximately 3,000 linear feet of 12 to 15-inch storm drain on Phase 1. We also put in close to 2,000 feet of 8” sewer line and 3,500 feet of domestic and firewater on this particular phase,” says Wilson. “The real challenge was getting it all done during the winter months last year. We installed a diversion to handle the stormwater during construction, and everything went very smoothly, considering the excessive rains our crews endured.” TTS is used to working on challenging projects like the one at Avalon Brea Place. Wilson explains that Phase 2 of the project is being completed within an active high-rise center, and it is essential that their work does not disrupt the existing utilities or business operations. “This job involves a lot of { Continued from page 14 } crossover work. We have relocated another portion or storm sewer on this phase, where we excavated down 14 feet. We utilized a combined trench shoring system because it was right up against a sidewalk,” says Wilson. “Our crews are staggering 18-inch RCP along with 8-inch sewer line. I think one of the biggest challenges has been running the sewer bypass for five weeks while we relocated the sewer for the apartments. This is a very tight site with everything being built from property line to property line, and it requires a great deal of phasing.”

The equipment TTS uses on their projects is vital to getting the job completed in a timely and productive manner. Their fleet is made up of everything from skid steers and mini excavators to wheel loaders, and on up to 80,000-pound excavators. “Our fleet is diverse, and we go with a variety of brands. Most of the equipment out there today is reliable and built to last. We look for the best prices and lowest financing opportunities,” says Wilson. “We just recently took delivery of our newest addition, our Hyundai 130LCR rubber track crawler excavator. I think we are one of the first contractors in California to take delivery of this new model, and we already have it out working hard on our jobs.” To keep up with CARB compliance and recent burgeoning growth, TTS spent more than $1 million last year on new utility trucks, a new mechanic truck, new Peterbilt dump trucks, along with new heavy construction equipment.

TTS Engineering, Inc. is positioned for more growth in the near future and has positioned itself through diversification to handle any necessary economic changes. “We purchased West Coast Backhoe around six years ago, and we have done a lot of ADA compliance work for developers through this division. We continue to offer operated rental services through West Coast Backhoe, along with our B license, where we proudly and regularly serve regular clients like the Irvine Company,” says Wilson. “We also recently hired a new project manager and superintendent, and that has brought even more expertise and experience to the growing list of work we are now performing as a general contractor. We are proud of our growth and recently added on to our Stanton office and facility to better serve our customers. I look forward to the next 25 years with hope and promise.” For more information on TTS Engineering, Inc., please visit www.ttsengineering.net or call (714) 840-6346. Cc