People in Construction Corporate News

Tricia Ruby, CAM Board Member and President/ CEO of Ruby + Associates, Bingham Farms, has been named a Judson Center 2022 Distinguished Volunteer of the Year. A Judson Center Board Member and past Board Chair, Ruby was honored at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Detroit Chapter’s National Philanthropy Day Gala on November 3rd at the Motor City Casino Hotel. Ben Maibach, Chief Community Officer, Barton Malow Company, received the AFP’s George W. Romney Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism at the Gala. He was nominated by the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. This award is given annually to one or more persons who have contributed many years of service to the community and who have simultaneously exhibited quality fundraising and personal giving. CG Financial Services’ Richard Adams CFP®, ChFC®, AIF® has been awarded National Association of Plan Advisors 2023 Aces: Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40. “Drawn from a pool of 600 nominations, the Aces are seen as the future leaders of the retirement plan advisor industry,” according to CG Financial Services. Marcus Ebenhoeh, BIM Manager of Dee Cramer Inc. of Holly, has recently obtained the Associated General Contractors Certificate of Management – Building Information Modeling (CM-BIM). Ebenhoeh joined Dee Cramer in 2005 as a Sheet Metal Apprentice. Since then, he has worked in the field, shop, and detailing departments. As BIM Manager at Dee Cramer, Ebenhoeh has led the virtual design and coordination of several large projects, and, according to the company, his willingness to try new technology has helped drive Dee Cramer to be a technology leader in their industry. Plunkett Cooney attorney

Ruby Nicholas W. Siewert was recently certified as a Fire and Explosion Investigator by the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI). Siewert is a member of the Bloomfield Hills office of Plunkett Cooney, focusing his practice on insurance-related work involving Michigan No-Fault law and motor vehicle litigation, commercial and residential property loss claims, as well as on coverage disputes, entitlement issues, and catastrophic personal injury claims. Maibach Siewert is also certified by the International Association of Arson Investigators as a fire investigation technician. Progressive AE recently announced the hiring of Jeff Roman, PE to fill the new position of Director of Engineering. Roman is a subject matter expert in full-service building and site engineering services. He is a professional engineer licensed in 18 states, with 20-plus years of experience in leadership, engineering, financial and project management, and community stewardship. Prior to coming to Progressive AE, Roman was a partner and engineering practice leader at a national architectural consulting firm. A new chair, vice chair, and two new members have been elected to APA – The Engineered Wood Association’s Board of Trustees. Ashlee Cribb, Vice President of Wood Products for PotlatchDeltic Corp., has been elected to serve as chair on APA’s Board of Trustees, succeeding Roy O. Martin III. Her areas of expertise include sales, marketing, strategic planning, and operations management.

Adams

Ebenhoeh Siewert

Roman

Cribb

Doug Asano, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Roseburg Forest Products Co., has been elected to fill the vice chair position. Asano leads Roseburg’s sales, marketing, logistics, customer service, and fulfillment teams. Asano joined Roseburg in 2020 as the Director of

Asano Sales Excellence. Before joining Roseburg, he worked at Huber Engineered Woods for more than 16 years in multiple commercial leadership roles, most recently as vice president of sales and marketing. The two new members elected to the board of APA – The Engineered Wood Association are Stephen Williams and Richie LeBlanc. Williams is the Executive Vice President and CFO of Western Forest Products, leading the company’s corporate finance, corporate development,

Williams investor relations, IT, shared services, and legal teams. Williams has more than 25 years of experience in the forest industry and extensive experience in acquisitions and divestitures. Richie LeBlanc is the President and CEO of Hunt Forest Products and has been serving the forest products industry for 22 years. He began his career with Willamette Industries in Ruston, LA, which Weyerhaeuser later acquired. In 2015, he was named Director of U.S. real estate operations

LeBlanc for Weyerhaeuser. LeBlanc was appointed president of Hunt Forest Products in 2016 and now oversees operations at the company’s Louisiana mills.

December ‘22 Issue – Corporate News

123NET, an internet, colocation, and voice services provider in Michigan, has purchased dedicated spectrum frequencies (LMDS 29-31 GHz) from GeoLinks, a California hybrid network provider in the fixed wireless space, to significantly expand its leading wireless internet service offering. The FCC controls the frequencies, or spectrum, used to transmit data through the airwaves — this spectrum is occasionally made available to internet service providers to deliver connectivity. 123NET’s spectrum acquisition will ensure its clients’ wireless transmissions are protected in an exclusive frequency, therefore free from interference or delay. “Having dedicated spectrum will usher in a new chapter for our wireless services,” said Justin Lampman, 123NET’s Director of Network Operations. “Spectrum is extremely difficult to obtain. Now that we have it, the competitive advantage we gain will benefit our customers immediately and in the years to come.”

On October 25th, AUCH Construction held “6 Glimpses of 2052,” a symposium with six dynamic speakers who discussed what the next 30 years may hold in their respective industries and participated in a panel discussion fueled by audience questions. The event was held at the historic Flagstar Strand Theatre in downtown Pontiac, just blocks from AUCH’s headquarters. The program was also livestreamed through reservations, which included 15 colleges and universities across Michigan. The full program is available AUCH’s website.

The program was driven by a desire to share optimism and enthusiasm for the future with industry partners, clients, and AUCH’s staff, especially those early in their careers. CEO Vince DeLeonardis conceived the idea after a challenge by AUCH’s President Jeff Hamilton, for DeLeonardis to take on a special project in his final year before retirement. DeLeonardis explained, “At AUCH Construction, we have always valued the power of forward planning in our work. Whether used on a construction project or in corporate governance, actions based on the early identification of challenges and opportunities are the best method to optimize the outcome… the ‘6 Glimpses of 2052’ program was developed to give our employees, along with our industry partners, community leaders, educators, and students, the tools to make our optimism for the future a reality.”

To show AUCH Construction’s appreciation for both educators’ and students’ participation in the symposium, the AUCH Construction Foundation has funded $5,000 in scholarships for students enrolled in an accredited college, university, or certified apprentice programs who attended the program and submitted an application.

The Scaffold & Access Industry Association (SAIA), the premier professional organization in the industry, recognized the extraordinary achievements of BrandSafway with three Project Awards during the SAIA Annual Convention & Exposition in Boston in August 2022. Through a network of 360 strategic locations across 30 countries and more than 40,000 employees, BrandSafway delivers a full range of forming, shoring, scaffolding, work access and industrial service solutions. The company has several offices in the metro Detroit area. BrandSafway was honored with the following awards:

• Mast Driven Hoists and Platforms

Project of the Year Award: Central

Park Tower, New York City. Provided tallest hoist on a common tower and world’s largest continuous rack and pinion hoist.

• Supported Scaffold Project of the

Year Award: Barnes-Jewish Hospital,

St. Louis, Missouri. Designed and installed debris shield and plywood barrier to withstand winds up to 90 miles per hour

• Innovation Award: Fort St. John,

British Columbia. Engineered custom motorized carrier combined with a hydraulic self-leveling platform for water-intake conduits at hydro dam.

“We thank SAIA for recognizing the efforts of the BrandSafway teams whose work goes above and beyond the ordinary to provide our customers with the safest, most productive, and innovative access solutions,” said Karl Fessenden, BrandSafway President & CEO. Cochrane Supply, a smart building controls distributor located in Michigan, has acquired Control Tech Supply in Dallas, Texas. The move to acquire Control Tech Supply started at the 2022 Niagara Summit where joint interest and common goals led to an agreement; this process took six months to complete. As of November 1st, Cochrane Supply has taken over all operations of Control Tech Supply and plans to offer the same service Control Tech's customers are

used to receiving, according to the company, plus the 55 years of Smart Building Controls experience offered by Cochrane Supply. The acquisition of Control Tech Supply will broaden Cochrane Supply’s national footprint and start a new chapter in smart building controls products and services to customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Global architecture firm Ghafari Associates has recently unveiled a new office in Grand Rapids. On November 8th, Ghafari opened the doors of its new 8,500-square-foot office located at 37 Ottawa Ave. NW. Ghafari started in 1982 in Dearborn and has expanded to 12

“What we love to recognize the firm for is their constant push on new frontiers of sustainability,” said Metropolis Editor-inChief Avinash Rajagopal during the magazine’s live in-person and webstreamed awards ceremony on October 7th. “In addition to the building work that the firm creates, we’ve been so appreciative of their generosity in sharing their expertise, in framing tools, in creating frameworks, and in sharing the output of the investment they’ve put into sustainable architecture and design.”

The Planet Positive Awards recognize “the most creative projects and products from around the world that benefit people and planet, as well as firms and professionals leading the way to a better built environment,” and winners “represent the highest achievements today in design that addresses climate change, ecosystem health, human health, and equity.”

ALFA International (ALFAI), one of the world’s leading law firm referral networks, has selected Plunkett Cooney as its “2022 Law Firm of the Year.” ALFAI’s leadership team announced the firm’s selection as its top law firm during the organization’s annual business meeting held recently in Dublin, Ireland.

“We are truly honored to receive this award,” said Plunkett Cooney’s President & CEO Thomas P. Vincent. “I am proud of our firm’s ALFAI team members, all of whom have worked tirelessly to advance this outstanding organization and to help deliver training, information and resources to ALFAI clients and other member firms.”

In selecting the firm, ALFAI noted Plunkett Cooney’s attorneys serve on nine practice group steering committees, including the organization’s Business Litigation, Construction, Hospitality & Retail, Insurance, Labor & Employment,

markets across the globe. “This is the exact type of space our new talent is drawn to, and as a growing company, we recognize the importance of attracting the next generation.” said Tom Tooley, Ghafari Executive Vice President.

Global design firm Perkins&Will has earned the highest distinction in Metropolis’s 2022 Planet Positive Awards for its research-based contributions to climate action and healthy design. Jurors awarded Perkins&Will “Firm of the Year” for its efforts to scale up the decarbonization of buildings, pursue social equity both within and beyond its studios, and freely share its in-depth research and knowledge with the design profession at large.

Product Liability & Complex Torts, Professional Liability, Transportation, and the Women’s Initiative practice groups.

In support of the company’s strategy to achieve goals far beyond its job sites, Turner Construction Company hosted an ESG Sustainability Summit on November 2nd. The event brought together a diverse range of industry participants to exchange ideas to advance the sustainability of its operations and its supply chain. At the one-day summit facilitated by Deloitte, approximately 45 industry leaders representing 18 companies came together to drive positive change and share sustainability visions and journeys of their organizations.

“This Summit is an integral part of a broad strategy to expand the definition of sustainability in our company that is informed by environmental, social, and governance criteria. This strategy is directly connected to our culture of active caring for people and the planet,” said Tom Reilly, Executive Vice President of Turner. “Our people are committed to work with others in the industry to meet the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations.”

Turner is recognized as a leader in the delivery of green building projects that achieve environmental sustainability goals across multiple rating systems. In addition, the company has stated that it is committed to providing an active caring environment for the more than 100,000 people who enter its workplace each day. Turner has a network of offices across North America and a presence in 20 countries; its Michigan headquarters is located in downtown Detroit.