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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net
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Volume 3
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Number 1
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JANUARY 2015
Upgrading to RAM
What’s old is new
L-R: Mike Johnson, branch manager, and nephew Daniel Johnson, operations manager, are ready to do what it takes to keep their customers happy.
Matt Ezell and Keith Webster are proud of this project that recycled an old dairy plant into an auto body and paint shop.
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ike Johnson knows Corpus Christi. And he prides himself on knowing the construction industry inside and out in the southern part of Texas. As the former owner of Otto Dukes Tools (recently bought by RAM Tool Construction Supply Company), Johnson has been at the forefront of the bay city’s tool industry since 1991, when he was hired by Otto Dukes as a salesperson. In 1998, he became an owner. In June 2014, that location became RAM Tool’s 31st store and Johnson was pleased to stay on as branch manager. “It was a great opportunity for me and my family,” he says. “I still get to do what I love to do.”
The fact that people in the construction industry have come to know and trust him for many years hasn’t hurt either. “Corpus Christi is different,” he says. “It still functions as a small town.” He can’t say enough about RAM Tool and the people he answers to these days. “It’s good people,” he said. “The executive team is top flight. I’ve never had the pleasure of dealing with people that are so open and receptive. I cannot speak highly enough of the people we work for.” A woman-owned company, Ram Tool was founded in 1967 in Birmingham, AL and is privately owned. There are six continued on Page 14
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att Ezell, owner of South Texas Building Partners, and Keith Webster, project manager and estimator, are thrilled they had a big hand in helping recycle an old, dilapidated building into a renovated space for another business. Ask anybody who has lived in Corpus Christi for any length of time about the Hygeia Dairy Company and they will know exactly what you are talking about. For many years, milk was gathered from area farms and trucked to the dairy plant, where it was packaged into plastic containers made on site and shipped out to stores and customers. But the buildings had not been used in almost 25 years when STBP got the job
to renovate it for another well-known name in town, Lundquist. The Lundquist name had been associated with cars – selling them and various offshoots from that. Now, Lundquist Paint and Body has moved into the 40,000-sf space. That experience has been so rewarding for STBP that they want to search out and find other opportunities to turn something old into something new. “When you do something like this, you can get added value for your clients,” Ezell says. “And, it’s green.” He points out with the cement tilt walls and other features of the building, the owner has gotten a new home with good bones for a lot less than he would continued on Page 14
‘Pharr’ and away the best
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. Wilson Construction Company, located in McAllen, recently finished a unique project, the first Honda prototype facility of its type constructed by the company. The project is Clark Knapp Honda, owned by Clark Knapp Properties, Ltd. The dealership is located in Pharr. Since it’s founding in 1957 by Darrell Wilson, D. Wilson Construction has built scores of the most recognizable structures in the Rio Grande Valley, including three museums, major hospital facilities and numerous churches, including the remarkable Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. The Honda dealership project was a $6,354,563 project with a start date of July 1, 2013 and a finish date of May 17, 2014. The construction consists of 46,309sf. The project an expansive, two-story Honda auto dealership that includes a
show room, administrative offices, sales, repairs and service departments and a separate used car facility. This new facility consists of a show room, administrative offices, sales, repairs and service department. The facility front utilizes a thick concrete curtain wall, with curved wall covered with Aluco-Bond™ panels. Features include the company’s signature blue cylinder entry and wave canopy, designed by Interbrand Design Forum. Interior finishes include metal stud and drywall-curved walls covered in vinyl. Porcelain tiles, VCT, carpet squares and rubber Pro- Cote™ flooring was used throughout the new facility. Interior and exterior lighting are Honda design. According to D. Wilson President and CEO Bill Wilson, the project did not incur any challenges that affected the construction progress as the owner, architect and engineers were all local and The dealership project by D. Wilson Construction Company was a $6 million job.
continued on Page 14