ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
May 1 2013
65
231
43 84 431 331
84
84 52
Vol. XXV • No. 9
31
45
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Dothan
65 98
Mobile
10
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Mobile Area Contractor Builds Biz on Solid Reputation If you see a major municipal utility job going on in the Mobile, Ala., area, chances are Hughes Plumbing & Utility is involved. The local utility contractor has completed a number of projects for the Mobile Water Department during the past 10 years, primarily dealing with heavy underground utility construction, including lift stations, water and sewer, and other pipe work. Hughes Plumbing & Utility owner Preston Hughes went into business on his own in 1997 with a foundation in the plumbing business. “My father was believed to be the first African American master plumber in the state of Alabama,” said Hughes. “My first experience in the business was in Livingston, Alabama, working for one of my brothers. Eventually, I began bidding on jobs myself and hired my first employees, who were all brothers of mine. I started out with just three employees and now, 15 years later, I have 25.” During those years, Hughes Plumbing & Utility has built a solid reputation for quality work, done right and done quickly. “One of my main philosophies is we try to do it right the first time. I don’t take any shortcuts, even if it costs me money,” Hughes insisted. “My reputation means more to me than the bottom line. I’ve instilled that in my employees and they know that even if it costs more, our intention is to do it right the first time.”
A Hughes Plumbing and Utility operator uses the company’s Komatsu WA250PT loader to carry pipe at the Wright Smith Wastewater Treatment Facility.
see HUGHES page 2
Here, an operator uses a Komatsu PC200 excavator to lay pipe at the North Mobile Wastewater Treatment Facility in Mount Vernon, Ala.
Hughes Plumbing & Utility Supervisor Jamar James (R)and TEC Mobile Branch Manager Chris Howard.
Page 2 • May 1, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Hughes Takes On Its Largest Project to Date in Mobile HUGHES from page 1
That outstanding reputation is a major reason why the company has been awarded so many jobs for Mobile Water, according to Hughes. “They don’t award a contract just because it is the low bid. The contract goes to the “lowest responsible bidder” as they call it, so a good reputation is key, especially here in the Mobile area.” Its positive work record has kept Hughes Plumbing & Utility working primarily in the Mobile County area during the past several
years. However, Hughes notes that he has a general contractor’s license for Mississippi as well as Alabama, and has done some work in that neighboring state. “Depending on the work that’s required, we will go wherever we have to.” Largest Job to Date Right now, the contractor is focusing its efforts on its largest job ever, the Wright Smith Wastewater Treatment Facility outfall. The $6.7 million project for Mobile
Hughes Plumbing & Utility Owner Preston Hughes (R) turns to TEC Mobile Branch Manager Chris Howard for his equipment needs.
Water is also one of the largest jobs the municipality has let out. “We’re laying a 42inch forced main on this project, so that requires some deep digging. We have a year to do this job and we are on track to finish it in six to eight months, so we’re well ahead of schedule,” Hughes said. Hughes Plumbing & Utility crews are micro-tunneling under railroad tracks as part of the Wright Smith project. At the same time, Hughes Plumbing & Utility is working on the North Mobile Wastewater Treatment Facility for the town of Mount Vernon, a $975,000 job. The project is what Hughes describes as a packaged wastewater system. “Three sets of tanks are installed; one is basically a storage tank where all the influent enters, the second is a large septic tank, and the final stage of treatment recirculates into the third tank before it’s discharged.” In addition to laying pipe, Hughes Plumbing & Utility handles excavation, trucking, concrete work and asphalt work. “We do about 95 percent of the work of our contracts,” Hughes said. “The only thing I sub out is electrical work or major road paving. Other than that, we do everything ourselves.”
Using a Komatsu PC300 excavator with an extended stick, a Hughes Plumbing & Utility crew digs a deep trench at the Wright Smith Wastewater Treatment Facility jobsite in Mobile, Ala.
Right Equipment Needed Completing such major, complex jobs on time and on budget requires experienced, dedicated workers and reliable, productive equipment. That’s why Hughes turns to TEC Mobile Branch Manager Chris Howard. “The Wright Smith Wastewater job has cuts ranging from 15 to 25 feet deep, but it’s no big deal to me,” Hughes commented. “It’s just having the right equipment to get the job done, and that’s where Tractor & Equipment Company comes in. The first thing I did before I started this job was to buy
a Komatsu PC300 excavator and a WA250PT loader because I knew what we were going to be doing on this job. I knew we would have deep excavation and I wanted to make sure we had a lead hoe (the new PC300) and a secondary hoe for backfilling— the PC300 we already owned. It takes just about everything I have on a job this size to do it in a timely manner. I believe in getting the equipment that we need for the job.” Hughes Plumbing & Utility has a large number of Komatsu machines, including 10 excavators (two PC300s, a PC200, a PC228, a PC138, two PC78s, a PC50 and two PC35MRs), a WA200 and a WA250PT wheel loader, and a D31PX-21 dozer, among others. Hughes conducted his own field trial comparing the Komatsu PC78 excavator with another brand machine of the same size. “One of my operators got on the Komatsu and I was on the other machine from 8 a.m. to noon,” Hughes said. “We were putting in a water line, digging at a four-foot depth. In those four hours, he dug 60 feet more than me. At lunchtime, we switched machines and dug for another four hours. In the afternoon, I used the Komatsu and dug 60 feet more than my operator using the other excavator. That was a real-world comparison — same dirt, same ditch. For that scenario — four-foot depth, digging a water line with 18-inch buckets on each machine — the Komatsu outperformed its competitor with close to 15 percent more production.” While productive equipment is critical to completing jobs in a timely manner, Hughes says the relationship he has with the dealer is also important. “We have a good relationship with TEC,” he reported. “We can call TEC Mobile Service Manager Richie see HUGHES page 6
Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • May 1, 2013 • Page 3
Birmingham, AL 205-841-6666 Mobile, AL 251-633-4020 Montgomery, AL 334-262-6642
Volvo Construction Equipment
www.cowin.com
Huntsville / Decatur, AL 256-350-0006 Oxford, AL 256-832-5053 Pensacola, FL 850-479-3004
Page 4 • May 1, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • May 1, 2013 • Page 5
Page 4 • May 1, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • May 1, 2013 • Page 5
Page 6 • May 1, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Alabama Contractors Fight Over Public Work Legislation By Phillip Rawls ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) With the construction business still struggling to recover from the recession, contractors in Alabama are fighting over legislation that would allow the construction of public buildings without going through the traditional competition with sealed bids. A bill awaiting a vote in the Senate Commerce, Transportation and Utilities Committee would create a new option. A government agency would pick a construction manager and then agree on a maximum price for a project. If the project came in over the maximum price, the construction manager would have to pick up the extra cost, rather than the government entity. “Contractors on the job have a little more skin in the game, which will give the taxpayer the best value,’’ said Jay Reed of Birmingham, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama, which is backing the legislation. The bill has become one of the most contentious issues in the 2013 session, pitting large contractors against some medium and small contractors. That recovery is going slow. The state Department of Labor reported 79,100 workers on construction jobs statewide in February. That’s down from 80,600 in February 2012 and from 110,602 in February 2007. Opponents say the legislation will benefit the largest con-
tractors with big marketing budgets and staffs. They also say it opens the door to no-bid deals, like the state warehouse construction project that led to guilty pleas by Montgomery lobbyist Lanny Young and one of Gov. Don Siegelman’s top aides, Nick Bailey, in 2003. “It’s basically the same thing. From a taxpayers’ standpoint, it’s a bad bill,’’ said Brad Norris, secretary-treasurer of Norris Building Co. in Montgomery. Reed said it’s an open process used by many states for projects that are complicated, involve historic preservation or have a short deadline. It would be an alternative to the traditional method of the government entity seeking sealed bids and then awarding the project to the lowest responsible bidder. It would be used on buildings, but not roads and bridges. Called “construction manager at risk,’’ the bill provides for a public board or agency to prequalify construction management companies. Each one would submit a proposal, and the government entity would pick a winner based on several factors, including experience and personnel. Then the government entity and the top-ranked company would work on building plans together and negotiate a contract. Reed said the legislation limits the amount of the actual work that the construction manager can do on the project, which would allow for plenty of subcontractors, and it requires that all proceedings and records must be public. Jeff Rogers, a manager of Alabama Associated General Contractors, said the selection process still allows subjectiv-
ity. His organization is pushing for a threshold of $25 million that projects would have to exceed before using the construction manager at risk. Rogers said that would allow smaller general contractors to continue to bid for smaller projects, which kept many of them afloat during the recession. Reed said his group is opposed to a permanent threshold because if the new method is good for a project over $25 million, then it should be as worthwhile for a smaller one. The sponsor, Republican Sen. Slade Blackwell of Mountain Brook, said he believes the bill will end up with a threshold, and that it will get approved by the Legislature once that happens. He predicts it will be used for complicated projects, like a research building at a university or a sports arena, but not for routine projects, like a parking deck or addition to city hall. Blackwell has come under criticism from opponents because ABC’s political action committee was a major donor in 2010, providing him with $100,000 in the Republican primary, where he upset an incumbent. Blackwell, who is in the medical real estate business, said his sponsorship is based on the bill’s merits. “It’s been done in the business world for 30 years. You can save tons of money and time on the length of a project,’’ he said. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Hughes Plumbing & Utility Continues Its Growth Streak HUGHES from page 2
Sievering on his cell phone whenever we need something. I don’t even call the TEC office anymore, I communicate directly with Richie. I wouldn’t ever second-guess what he says, that’s how much confidence I have that he will do the right thing.” Comfort Zone Preston Hughes is not only comfortable with his equipment dealer, he is satisfied with the direction his company has taken. Through the years, Hughes Plumbing and Utility has been able to take on more work and complete increasingly larger projects. “I’m comfortable and content with managing around $5 million to $7 million worth of work, although this year we’ll end up with about $9 million,” he said. “The way the market has changed, I have to do $9 million to make the same percentage as I used to doing $4.5 million. But I’m very pleased with the work we are doing and I’m hopeful that the future will bring more of the same. (Reprinted with permission from Tractor Times.) (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
Although Hughes Plumbing & Utility has a number of large excavators, it also relies on compact units, such as this Komatsu PC35MR, for smaller-scale tasks.
Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • May 1, 2013 • Page 7
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Page 8 • May 1, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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