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Volume 13
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Number 3
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MARCH 2015
Way to go
First response roofers
Joeris’ San Antonio and Fort Worth employees know the way.
Dale Tyler says NRP won’t let severe weather hamper national businesses.
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hen San Antonio-based Joeris General Contractors Ltd. established a Dallas/Fort Worth office in 2012, one goal was to implement the kind of golden rule atmosphere the San Antonio office had always enjoyed. It was important to establish that morale, especially since the six locally-hired employees were opening an office that did not have any local work on the books for the first nine months. “We pride ourselves very much on the culture of our company,” Stephen Walter, executive vice president, adds. “It’s always about making it better for the people, whether it’s about our people or the clients’ people.” However, as director of operations Scott Lee, who helped start the Dallas/
Fort Worth office, explains, “It’s tough, as you’re bringing a new team together working within a new culture to try to develop that [culture].” Fortunately, the company created a way to get everyone on the same page. “We have something called the ‘Joeris Way,’ which is actually sort of a code of conduct that we have published a book about,” Walter, who joined the San Antonio office in 1990, explains. “Every employee that works for us gets one and learns about the history of the company, how the Joeris Way came about, and how we expect them to conduct themselves in accordance with that. It’s important to us; it’s based on being good people and continued on Page 18
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hen severe weather hits, major retail, financial and healthcare businesses strive to support others as they try to get back on their feet, but who helps these white-hat hero businesses when they become damaged in those same storms, affecting their ability to assist others? Repairing those crucial businesses in record time is the mission of National Roofing Partners (NRP) in Coppell and the concept behind its First Responder model. Operated by 42 Tier 1 roofing contractors with more than 120 service locations and 8,000 employees nationwide, NRP boasts the resources to address these types of repairs no matter where in the U.S. they happen. The concept behind NRP’s First Responder Model
is to deploy the crews and resources needed to get weather-damaged businesses restored and back to supporting their local economies as soon as possible. Despite the severity of the storm, NRP’s First Responder Model process is the same. NRP assesses the situation and determines an appropriate response. It then notifies NRP’s network of commercial contractors that have teams available so they can stay updated on resources. The NRP Home Office team, thanks to its structure of concentric response team rings, outlines the number of teams and resources available to handle the jobs within the storm area. Dale Tyler, NRP president, says the continued on Page 18
A work of part
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hen Bob Tomes, owner of Bob Tomes Ford in McKinney, decided to transform his warehouse at 410 Industrial Blvd. into a useful auto parts distribution center, he had two requirements for general contractor Bud Howard of Incept Construction. “The client had a really good idea of what he wanted to accomplish and he also had a really good idea of how much money he wanted to spend,” Howard says. “We had to marry those two to be able to accommodate all of the things he wanted to do, as well as stay within his budget.” Howard, who had previously constructed a Subaru dealership for Tomes, knew he could meet the two requirements, but there was a third he needed to carefully consider. The renovation of Tomes Texas Star Parts Building would be a design/build project, something Howard had never before offered a client. For-
tunately, he knew just the experts to help him out: Fort Worth architecture and interior design firm Roe Design Group LLC. “This was our first design/build project where we actually designed the facility and the architect actually worked for Incept Construction,” Howard says. “We were in charge of design, as well as the actual construction of the project. This brought on some new challenges that I have never been personally involved with before.” Howard says good coordination, having the right people in the right situation and picking an architect that his firm shared history with helped them avoid pitfalls and overcome any hurdles. Working together, the team designed and constructed an additional 20,000sf of space to be added to the 25,000-sf building. The construction, which began in July 2014, consisted of adding nearly A second-floor steel mezzanine floor adds valuable space to the renovated building.
continued on Page 18