Austin Construction News May 2018

Covering the Industry’s News

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The Industry’s Newspaper Page 15

www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 15 H Number 5 H MAY 2018

Impacting your safety

Getting it back

Lisa Taylor, regional manager of Impact Fire Services.

L-R: Andre Huynh, Kennon Robbins, Dan Woerner, Jack Greeson, Cody Gaines, Ron Fluke, Bob Polito, Chip Chambliss, and Shayne Terry.

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ven though fire protection systems are a staple of modern life, one really doesn’t notice them on a dayto-day basis.

Until they’re needed.

For Lisa Taylor, regional manager for Impact Fire Services in Austin, fire protection and safety are non-negotiable.

“It’s 100 percent life or death,” she said.

The Houston native originally wanted to go into police work, but started working for her father in the fire protection business when she came home early from college. That was 24 years ago.

Even though it’s a different line of work, fire protection still results in the same thing as being a police officer: public safety.

Taylor went through the apprenticeship program from the ground up, continued moving up through the ranks and was asked to be a regional manager last April.

Impact Fire Services began in 2009, and was acquired by Caltius Equity Partners in 2012. This has enabled Impact and their partner, Academy Fire, to expand beyond Texas to Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.

Here in Texas, Taylor is one of two regional managers. She covers Waco, Austin, San Antonio, College Station and Dallas. She has five general managers continued on Page 17

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ouldn’t it be nice if every day the weather was just perfect, not too hot or too cold? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case so we all look towards the comfort of our homes and businesses as we all spend most of our time at work.

Realizing this in 1983, David Schimsk humbly established AirCo Mechanical, specializing in air conditioning and plumbing in both residential and commercial.

Direct Energy publicly acquired the company in 2008 until 2016 when AirCo Mechanical went back to being a privately owned company.

Now 35 years later, AirCo is an employee-owned company seeing substantial growth expanding their offerings and their footprint.

The transition from publicly-owned to privately-owned was a smooth process and quickly evolved considering the size of the company, which at the time, employed 350 employees. In just two years the company has grown to 450 employees and is 100 percent employee-owned.

“People don’t generally realize how capable we really are. AirCo’s focus for the longest time was somewhat limited doing small to medium commercial. In reality, we are doing 35-story office towers in downtown Austin and everything in between. Being in the $100 million range mark, we’re doing a genre of work.

We’re not just dipping our toes in the water, we are waist-deep in school buildings, continued on Page 17

Parking for growth

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pawGlass Contractors teamed with project architect PGAL to deliver a new parking garage that will provide a parking solution to accommodate future growth for The University of Texas at Austin east of IH-35.

This solution was accomplished through early studies conducted by the SpawGlass team, PGAL, project engineers Datum Engineers and parking consultant Walker Consultants to determine the best design elements to meet the needs of the university, students and patrons in the most efficient way.

The new 725,000sf East Campus Parking Garage located at I-35 and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. incorporates the use of cascading ramps, allowing users to traverse multiple levels without having to travel through the parking area. The parking garage also includes offices for the University’s Parking and Transportation Services Department, as well as bike

racks and bike lockers.

The cast-in-place parking garage was built in two phases that operate as a single unit. Because the site is within view of the Texas State Capitol, it was subject to height restrictions. Phase 1 is seven levels with one below grade. Phase 2 is five levels.

About halfway through Phase 1, the university added a retail space on level one of Phase 2 to allow for a small grocery store that will serve the future student residents in the area.

Due to the location of the project it faced challenges from heavy traffic and constant congestion. SpawGlass worked with TxDOT to secure a lane to feed the project’s materials and trucks to the site as efficiently and safely as possible.

In addition, the 22-month project schedule was complicated with heavy rainfall as the project team was doing West elevation of the East Campus Parking Garage, The University of Texas at Austin

continued on Page 17

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Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

From ashes to light

In balance

The Phoenix Electric Inc. team

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ut of the ashes of the former Modern Electric came Phoenix Electric Inc. Tom Roland founded the company in 1986. Roland retired in Dec. of 2016. His retirement days are spent at home on Inks Lake with his wife Liz. During the time of Roland’s retirement, Michael Riley, who started with the company in 1997, assumed control of the company and became president.

Phoenix Electric focuses exclusively on multi-family. It was in the year 2000 that Roland diversified the company by moving into multi-family electrical construction. Since inception, the company has completed over 160 multi-family projects with over 35,000 units in cities all over the state of Texas.

Riley said, “We focus our work within the IH-35 corridor between Dallas/Fort Worth to San Antonio; however our growth has us exploring new markets in the state in the near future.”

Phoenix Electric is located in Hutto, TX and the team is in support of their community. Riley mentions that you’ll

find Phoenix employees as youth coaches and active volunteers at every level of the education system.

“I’m extremely pleased that Phoenix Electric is also very active in the philanthropic work within the communities we serve,” said Riley.

The team also donated time, money and material to help people recover from natural disasters in the areas, such as the Bastrop fires and Hurricane Harvey.

They’ve also provided housing for veterans coming home from war.

Phoenix Electric continues to build long-term relationships with employees and customers. “Phoenix Electric strives to provide a family atmosphere that nurtures and provides personal development and growth,” adds Riley.

What Tom Roland started and what Michael Riley continues is more than an electrical contractor company, it’s an ongoing flight in Texas. You too can see the Phoenix fly.

Phoenix Electric Inc. is an electrical contractor. –lv

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Denise Bendele

SM US LLP, the nation’s fifth largest public accounting firm, came to Austin in August 2016 after acquiring local firm Padgett Stratemann & Co. RSM, which boasts around 9,000 employees, may be large in size, but it also focuses largely on construction industry clients.

Today, 85 of those RSM employees work in the firm’s Austin office, where Jeff Anderson, Joanna Just, Cathy Miles and Robert Notley make up the office’s construction leadership team.

Their help isn’t limited to the office, however; RSM’s annual conferences in Austin (scheduled for Jun. 19) and San Antonio are a valuable resource for contractors.

“We really strive to bring nationallevel and local speakers to go over industry, accounting, consulting and tax matters affecting contractors,” partner Denise Bendele says. ”A big topic that we are working on is helping contractors

implement a new accounting standard around revenue recognition, which all contractors will have to implement by 2019.”

Stewardship is also an important focus for RSM, which supports charities at a local and national level – and not just financially. Company members sit on several philanthropic boards and employees use “volunteer days” to help the charity of their choice.

“Our culture has always been to provide quality service to our team and our clients,” Bendele adds. “We want to be first-choice advisors to our clients, which means we have a deep understanding of their industry – in this case, construction – that we’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Our team is highly trained and versed on these issues.

We really strive to help our clients with their businesses.”

RSM is a nationwide audit, tax and consulting service provider. –mjm

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 3

50 golden years

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Building Austin

Raba-Kistiner Inc.’s Austin leadership: L-R: Wendy Dickey Danzoy, Business Manager; Yvonne Thomas Garcia, PE, Associate, Geotechnical Manager; Gabriel Ornelas, PE, PMP, Senior VP; Devin Williamson, Association, Business Development; and James Stearman, Safety Manager.

arl and Bunny Raba had a vision and in 1968 they began laying the groundwork to become an industry leader among engineering consulting firms. Together with Ronald Tolson, Raba & Tolson Consulting Engineers was established as a geotechnical engineering practice in San Antonio. By 1974, Dick Kistner joined the firm leading it into the expansion and practice of construction materials engineering.

Four short years later, the firm would change its name to Raba-Kistner Consultants Inc. to reflect the development into major non-engineering services including geosciences and environmental sciences.

By 1980, the firm established an office in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico to help U.S. firms execute projects throughout Mexico. And Raba-Kistner didn’t stop there; with offices in Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Freeport, Houston, McAllen, New Braunfels, Nebraska and Utah. “We’re a small business, but we are spread across the U.S.,” says Gary Raba, chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

From the humble beginnings of offering geotechnical engineering services to construction materials engineering, the firm incorporates a wide array of services to include project management, infrastructure, building envelope, forensics, archaeology and more.

“We would not be here right now if it weren’t for Bunny and Carl Raba and what they did in 1968. It really laid a pretty interesting and unique foundation for our company and the people that work here, that has allowed us to do a lot more things on top of what the original service lines were back then,” says William Raba, president and vice chairman of the board.

Since Gary and William haven’t been with the firm for 50 years, they can’t really talk about 50 years. But they can talk about the last 30 years or so, and what they’ve seen and all the different subs,

people that have made their mark on the state, the different architects and contractors, people that have grown successfully, and people that are gone or have sold their businesses or merged.

“It’s been pretty interesting, at least within our 30 years in our markets and seeing the success. We see a lot of opportunity based on what has been going on the last couple of years and the mindset of people that want to do something better, and want to see the city be better and change the perception that San Antonio, for example, cannot provide a workforce to Fortune 50 companies when they relocate here,” adds William.

After a name change or two, Raba Kistner Inc. is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a very big way by giving back to the communities they serve. “We are looking to do, throughout our offices across the country, 500 community activities during our two-year celebratory period,” said Gary.

How can they do that you wonder?

Well, according to William, “When you think about it, we already do quite a bit of outreach but I just didn’t think about counting everything before now.” Meaning all the charitable events the firm is involved in throughout the firm’s different locations. “At seven months in, we’re on track to hit the 500 events mark. And, we are very much involved in social issues as much as we are in the engineering and consulting world,” adds William.

You can follow the success of Raba Kistner’s 500 goal online. “We are charting it on our website, so you can see how we are doing,” says Nancy Parker, director of marketing and the mastermind behind the 500 community activities, 10 for each year in business.

Raba Kistner Inc. is a geotechnical engineering and testing, project management, forensics engineering, building envelope and construction materials firm headquarted in San Antonio. -cmw

Larry Pucket, president and owner of Trimbuilt Construction, Inc.

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uestion: When is work no longer work? Answer: When you love what you’re doing so much, work is just a joy.

“I have always loved the construction business,” said Larry Puckett, president of Trimbuilt Construction.

Puckett remembers being around 10-years-old on his family’s farm in Bellton, TX. They had this old barn that had seen better days. The energetic youth simply tore down and rebuilt that barn.

“I just like building stuff,” he said.

Puckett later moved to College Station, where he dabbled in most every trade in both residential and commercial construction. He had a six-man drywall crew that would subcontract out to general contractors.

Then, seemingly overnight, the work stopped. “One day there was so much work we couldn’t keep up with it; the next day there was nothing,” Puckett recalled.

Austin, however, was beginning to really take off in terms of construction. All the workers in College Station moved to the Austin area to apply their trades.

Puckett and his team subcontracted out to the new Trimbuilt Construction Company, then eventually worked for them full-time.

And, as they say, timing is everything.

A University of Texas, Austin, student named Michael Dell was building computers in his dorm room. He eventually formed a company called PC’s Limited.

Then it became Dell Computers. The rest, as they also say, is history.

“We grew as Dell grew.” The PC giant kept Trimbuilt busier than a one-legged man in a kicking contest.

So did the Trammel Crow Company, which had its hand in almost anything

being built in Austin. Trammel Crow took note of the quality work Trimbuilt was being known for, and also kept the construction firm hopping.

“We have grown with the city of Austin,” Puckett said.

Today, Trimbuilt has 78 full-time employees, but also sub-contracts out to meet its demands.

After 18 years with Trimbuilt, Puckett went to work for another business, but was asked by original Trimbuilt owner Scott Trim to consider buying the company, as he would soon be retiring.

“The timing was perfect because I was about to go out on my own anyway, and it felt natural to come back to a place I helped build. It was the right fit,” Puckett explained.

Thus, Puckett has gone from building barns on a farm to building a city as a construction company’s current owner and president.

Being president doesn’t mean that Puckett stays desk-bound. “I am very hands-on when it comes to our projects,” he said, because being on a project, seeing it grow, then finally done, still gives him a joy like none other.

“It’s just so satisfying,” he said.

Someday Puckett will hand off the reigns of Trimbuilt to someone else in the company. But he proudly stated that “Trimbuilt’s going to be around for another 100 years.” That’s because the person to whom it will go will no-doubt also “like building stuff.”

Maybe this person who will run Trimbuilt next is still a kid on a farm somewhere in Texas, and he’s rebuilding the family barn, just because.

Trimbuilt Construction, Inc., is a commercial construction company in Austin.

-dsz

Construction News ON LOCATION

Construction News ON LOCATION

We all spend time doing computer work and so does the Lowry Electrical office manager, Rachell Gonzales. –lv

Josh Wilkinson and Wes Groenke from Tri-City Fabrication in New Braunfels are caught in the zone at work. –lv

Logging in

In the zone

Page 4

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Doug BerryAnn President Doug’s Plumbing Co. Smithville, TX

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oug BerryAnn has a Midas touch when it comes to establishing plumbing businesses others want to buy. He feels his current business of five years, Doug’s Plumbing Co., is a keeper though, and he has found the charm in his third time as a plumbing business owner.

Share a little about your upbringing and background.

I was born in upstate New York and I lived there until I was 21. I don’t have any family in plumbing; I thought I would be a policeman or a firefighter, like any other little boy.

After high school, I went into the Navy where I did two years active duty and six years in the reserves. I then moved to Texas and worked for a company where they chemically cleaned semiconductor tooling, which was kind of a fun job. I did try to go to college for a year at Austin Community College (ACC) for geology, but I realized that you have to have a Masters or a Ph. D. I was starting out at ACC working at a shoe store, and it was miserable; I figured it would take me 10 years.

How did you discover your interest in the plumbing industry?

I was young and living in an apartment complex. My neighbor, who was a young, single guy, was an apprentice plumber. After work, we used to hang out on the balcony and drink a couple of beers, and he was always raving about how awesome plumbing was and how much he loved it.

On a whim, I called in sick one day to my semi-conductor job and lined up six interviews even though I didn’t know anything about plumbing! I knew zero about it, probably less than the average guy. I was young and I know it sounds crazy, but I didn’t have any expectations.

TDIndustries hired me and I started my apprenticeship in 1998, and I was the first guy in the TDIndustries’ Austin branch to go from a green apprentice to a master plumber, which took me about five years. They sent me to apprenticeship school at night, and I worked as much overtime as possible. Back then, I got in a really small window – it has since changed – where they didn’t have a tradesman’s license; there was only a journeyman’s license available. It took an average of four years and 18,000 hours, but any overtime and schooling counted towards that. I went to night school for plumbing at Associated Builders and Contractors in Austin and then I worked as much overtime as I could, since I was single and didn’t have anyone waiting for me at home. I was able to get my journeyman’s license in 2001, which was fairly quickly.

At that time, you only had to hold it for one year before you could apply for your Masters, so I got my Masters license in 2003.

How did you transition from employee to employer?

I worked for a couple of other companies and then realized I wanted to do my own thing and started a small plumbing company in Austin. It felt natural, and it was exciting and fun. I guess I wasn’t nervous, since I didn’t have any family and I just had to support myself. I had the business for a year, and just had two trucks. I sold it for a small amount of money to HHCC and went to become a service manager for them.

Then, I got married and my wife and I had a baby. It was hard with us both working in Austin and having a baby with no family here. I decided to start another little company, Sierra Plumbing, in Bastrop – just me and a van – so that if I needed to take the day off to be with my little girl, I wouldn’t be tied into a really stressful job where I would be working late in Austin. I had that company for a couple of years and got up to three trucks, and then that was acquired and I became a service manager again.

Both times, I wasn’t looking to sell it; I was approached by other companies.

Usually I wouldn’t be interested, but anyone with a business understands that it gets so stressful. When you have that carrot dangling where you could get out of it with a little bit of money, then sometimes you take it.

It took two times for me to realize that I didn’t like being in a service manager position, that I like running the show. Five years ago, I started Doug’s Plumbing Co. in Smithville. It’s structured totally different. I made so many mistakes in the first two that I finally think I have it

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Far left: Doug BerryAnn and his team

figured out, and it’s great. We have 11 employees and six trucks. I didn’t expect it to grow this quick; it just kind of blew up! But this time, I’m definitely not selling unless it’s for millions!

What lessons did you learn from your ownership of the other businesses?

I learned a lot about myself. I was a terrible, absolute horrible manager when I thought I was great! I’ve learned how to manage people and stay calm.

I’ve also realized my processes and procedures [needed correcting] so that people weren’t making the same mistakes. I have a binder for all of the plumbers for every plumbing task that we do, and it is step-by-step and basic. I make the apprentices read it for whatever task they are driving to out loud on the way to the call. That way, when the apprentice gets there they have their head wrapped around what they should be doing and what the scope of work should be. Even though the plumbers pretty much already know what to do, they hear something that they might need to do that they might have forgotten.

I also have a matching retirement program, health insurance, paid holidays and sick time. One thing I am really proud of is that no one has ever quit and no one has ever asked for a raise.

And we do all kinds of crazy stuff together. I rented a house in Port Aransas for us and we spent the weekend there.

We went zip lining over Lake Travis. We’ve also had crawfish boils with a live band.

Who has mentored you?

One mentor was Frank Blau; he’s a pioneer in the plumbing industry who started Nexstar. I was a member of “The Service Roundtable” and there is an Internet forum where you can ask questions. I asked one and he told me to call him. He worked with me for a week on pricing for free. He’ll chew your butt and tell you you’re dumb and you don’t know what the heck you’re doing – and he did! – but once I swallowed that pill, I learned a lot. I also worked with plumbing consultant Ed O’Connell for a little while and he really helped me.

I’m not in the field anymore, but when I was in the field, if I ever went to someone in a business and they appeared to be successful, I would just ask them what their secret was and what they did.

A lot of the answers were the same, so I got a lot of good information just from people who owned their own businesses, keeping an open mind and not being too proud to tell people, “I don’t know.”

What do you enjoy about your work?

One thing I enjoy is creating a good work environment where people can feel like they have a career, not a job. That’s how I’m trying to structure this, and make

it to where they can say they can retire here, rather than always be looking for the next dollar or the better offer. Also, I enjoy meeting all of the people. There’s an instant sense of gratification, too.

As a plumber, you go somewhere and usually something is broken, you fix it and there is a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

I have a wife, a 13-year old daughter and a 10-year-old daughter. We love being outside camping, hiking and taking our two dogs for walks.

I also race dirt bikes/off-road motorcycles. I’ve done that most of my life. I was training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and just got my blue belt, but I didn’t have the time or the money to do both and needed to pick one, so I chose motorcycles. I have two; I have a Kawasaki KX 250 and a KTM 250 XC. Does your family race with you?

The girls aren’t really interested in it, and in a way I’m kind of glad. They all know how to ride but they’re not passionate about it. They love to watch me race; the whole family goes to the races and they support me. Actually my wife, pre-kids, used to race with me all over Texas. She misses it and every now and then she threatens that she’ll get a bike and start again, but she’s so busy with her job and the girls that I don’t think she’ll ever race again.

What are your plans for the future?

Professionally, I plan to keep growing the company. I really want it to be the premiere company in the area. I’m hoping, with everything that I’m doing, that someday we might be acquired. I don’t want to sell it for a little money and work as a service manager again, though; I would like to stay here for a year [after the acquisition] and then have enough money to be done. My Plan B is I purchased the building where I’m at, and it’s only going to increase in value, so maybe I’ll make enough selling the building.

You never know though, maybe I can build up the business enough for my girls to run it. If they don’t want to be plumbers, they can always get licensed, learn the industry, go to school for business or marketing and take over the business. I’ve also thought about some of the younger guys who are with me; if they stay the whole time maybe I can give them partial ownership. There are all kinds of options.

I don’t really have any personal goals except for enjoying life and raising the family – and wondering how I’m going to pay for college!

Subcontractor Doug’s Plumbing Co. offers commercial and residential plumbing installation and services. –mjm

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 5

Subs meet GCs

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entral Texas Subcontractors Association (CTSA) members were treated to a GC Meet and Greet on Apr. 10 at the Crowne Plaza. –cmw

Industry FOLKS Ramiro Rodriguez Field Operations Manager Millard Drywall & Acoustical Construction Inc. Austin, TX

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L-R: CTSA President, Jim Sunvison, Sunvision Electric; Kenton Heinze, Braun & Butler president; Equipment Depot’s Jim Henzel and Courtney Tucek.

L-R: Bill Anderlohr, Financial Integrated Solutions; Hensel Phelps’ Tina Curry-Logan and Alexis Herzog.

L-R: Todd Hewitt, Texas Fifth Wall Roofing; Sabre Commercial’s Scott HerrNeckar and John Kovar.

e are not born with our work ethic; it’s something we develop over time. Ramiro Rodriguez began building his work ethic at 12 years old. He was born in Salamanca, a city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

There is where he attended high school. He would go to school and work seven days a week. “I was doing all kinds of stuff.” From the age of 12 to 15 he worked at a meat market. By the age of 15, he was managing every department.

At that same age, he helped one of his uncles open up a tortilleria [a shop that makes and sells tortillas]. He helped run it for two years.

While Rodriguez was building his character, his dad, who grew up in a farm life, was also teaching him. “He taught me how to buy vegetables from the farms and sell them in the big cities.” As efficient as Rodriguez is, he got to a point where he purchased a warehouse to buy and distribute the vegetables to different parts of Mexico.

After all his efforts in Mexico, Rodriguez had his reasons and decided to come to America. “I came to America when I was 19, it was in 1995.”

In 1998, Rodriguez started as a helper to his cousin, a commercial metal framer in Houston. Two weeks in, he

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was able to lay his eyes on a set of blueprints. “All those lines, numbers and details made sense to me. I was hooked, within two weeks I went from a helper to a framer.”

One year later he became a subcontractor with his own crew. In 2003, he met Jim Millard, who gave him the opportunity and confidence to keep growing. He’s been with the company ever since. “I have a willingness to meet the challenges that our projects bring.”

Today, he is a husband to Yasmin Galindo and they have four children: Ramiro Jr., Cesar, William and Paloma.

Rodriguez enjoys family time, working in his yard and inviting friends over for a carne asada.

His hard working days have shaped who he is today. Plus, his parents have always been his mentors.

While they still live in Mexico, every six months they come to visit their family in Texas. They have a family reunion in Houston, “where my brother and sister live.” Rodriguez is not an only child; he has two sisters and two brothers.

So, while we are not born with our work ethic, we do develop one. Es la verdad, meaning it’s true. –lv

Correction

n last month’s “The Great Outdoor” section, one of Pinpoint Strategies’ “Triple hunt fun” photos was switched with sister company, Conquest Demolition photo. –cmw

L-R: Chris Lambert, L&O Electric; The Beck Group’s Jose Perez & Carter Vecera; and John Carter, Floyd’s Glass.

Construction News ON LOCATION

Good morning to you

Ready to start the day was Mitch Schuetz from Earnest Roofing in New Braunfels. –lv

L-R: Pinpoint’s Nick Provopulos, Kristian Lopez, Huffman Builders’ Anthony Dahdah, Pinpoint’s Zach Huyge, Collins Johnson, Huffman Builders’ Ron Evans and Charbel Dahdah.

Page 6

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Partners and friends

Construction News ON LOCATION

Friendly bunch

L:R Theresa Smith, Tim Smith, Richard Smith and Chris Smith from Welders Supply Inc. in New Braunfels briefly step away from the counters and desk tops to say hello to Construction News. –lv

L-R: Blane Zeiler and Bob Bowne standing by the cook-off trophies

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artnerships come from relationships, even friendships. Bob Bowne, president of Bowne Electric Inc. and his business partner Blane Zeiler, vice president, started their partnership in 1991.

Their friendship started at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. “We were both philosophy majors,” said Zeiler. However, it was Bowne who first got involved in electrical work because he had lived next door to an electrical contractor.

After college Zeiler found himself in the welding and fitting field. Then came high-rise construction, which got him involved in project management.

The two gents stayed in touch over the years and with Zeiler’s background Bowne asked him if he wanted to learn the electrical business. “Bob brought me in to help grow the business, which we did over the years,” Zeiler added.

The company has now grown to 60 employees, which has them up from the 40 of last year. “That’s a big jump,” said Bowne.

Eight of them are master electricians.

Bowne mentions with the growth in employees they will be expanding from their current location to space next door.

“Probably in June,” he said.

Bowne Electric has often hired employees “who may not have electrical skills, but good background construction skills.” The company also puts their guys through the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) program. Right now they have 14 enrolled.

Another asset to the Bowne team is their office manager Jennifer Bardsley (Bowne’s daughter). “She’s not only family, she’s exceptional at what she does,” Zeiler said. Bardsley instills the company with order, firmness, confidence and fairness.

Outside of the workplace the company is involved in the annual barbecue cook-off with Centex IEC. The one who fires up the grill is Jimmy Olfers, project manager/estimator. “We actually won first place one year,” said Bowne.

Bowne Electric Inc. is an electrical contractor in Austin. –lv

Kinseal and its kin

Middle left: Kinseal project manager Rene Moreno and co-workers

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ave Kinney’s footsteps rushing down the hallway of his Pflugerville office mean one thing: He is coming to check on each of his three “brain children”: waterproofing/joint sealant/ fire stopping company Kinseal Inc. 35-year-old plumbing business Kinney’s Commercial and Kinney’s Utilities.

“He walks around really fast,” Kinseal project manager Rene Moreno says. “He’s here every day, is hands-on with all three companies, and is very involved. We’re all in the same building with a long corridor so he goes room to room.”

Each business will soon be getting a bigger room. Kinney is building a six-acre office/warehouse in Hutto for his nearly 70 employees. That’s exciting news for the 19 who work at Kinseal, including Moreno, project managers/estimators Howard Lance and Chris Leal, construction assistant Leeanne Ballard, administrative assistant Susan Vravel and accounting’s Sandy Smith.

“Kinseal specializes in waterproofing new or existing commercial structures – regardless if the service is preservation or

restoration,” Moreno explains. “While we consider ourselves a small company, that hasn’t stopped us from successfully completing larger projects, including schools, hospitals, government buildings, city projects, retail office buildings, restaurants, museums, and hotels. There’s a little more land in Hutto; we’ll be out in the open and it will allow us to house all of our machinery and equipment.”

It also offers more room for the celebrations 22-year-old Kinseal shares with its “siblings,” including annual chili cook-offs. And, while cook-off competition can get fierce, Moreno says there is no “sibling rivalry” to be found.

“Kinseal is a family-oriented business that takes pride in its work. All three companies have built a solid foundation on quality installations and having knowledgeable employees,” Moreno says.

“Everyone has been here for multiple years – some have been here for more than 30 years! Everyone pitches in to make activities successful.”

Kinseal Inc. is a waterproofing/joint sealant/fire stopping subcontractor. –mjm

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 7

Five ways benchmarking can boost your business

Controlling ergonomic risks in construction

Leslie Garcia, Partner RSM US LLP San Antonio, TX onstruction companies face new and complex challenges every day. Knowing how to successfully navigate through them is what can get a company ahead of the competition and better positioned for the future. One incredibly helpful management tool is benchmarking.

Mark Gaskamp CSP, CRM, CIC, CPCU, ARM, ALCM Managing Director Wortham, L.L.C. Austin, TX

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Benchmarking is the systematic process of using financial data to compare an organization’s performance against similar best-in-class organizations. Those companies considered best-in-class are typically businesses that outperform their peers in a variety of key metrics (such as return on assets and return on equity), carry less debt, show more gross profit per employee, and have a higher gross profit margin and net income before taxes.

Once the best-in-class companies are identified, benchmarking is relatively simple: Identify the metrics of those companies you want to benchmark and track them over time to measure your company’s performance against them. Doing so can help a construction company—regardless of its specific industry niche— keep pace with the rest of the industry, remain competitive and, hopefully, boast a better bottom line.

Here are the top five ways benchmarking can help your business.

1. Benchmarking can improve your performance.

It can be hard to improve a company’s financial performance, especially if there are no specific goals or standards established. Benchmarking can help solve that problem by providing specific metrics from similar best-in-class companies that can clearly show what your company must improve or where you’re already on the right track.

2. Benchmarking is about more than industry averages.

It’s easy to just compare your company to the industry average, but simply aligning with the industry average is not the answer to improving your bottom line and remaining competitive. It takes specific information from similarly focused companies to truly see where you measure up and where you don’t.

3. Benchmarking removes the doubt.

If your company isn’t achieving a goal, it’s easy to say that goal is simply unattainable and can’t be reached. Not with benchmarking. A company that makes benchmarking a part of its routine process knows what goals are manageable and can even glean information regarding how to reach those from the metrics of other best-in-class companies.

4. Benchmarking can help manage risk.

Whether it be financial issues or safety hazards, construction companies face a number of risks every day. Some companies manage those risks successfully while

others do not. To best manage risk, a company must understand the various types of risks and identify the risks inherent in their business. Benchmarking is essential to good risk management as it can provide the management team with the knowledge necessary to avoid or eliminate specific risks before they become serious problems.

5. Benchmarking can help your company focus.

Every company has room for improvement. But when all seems to be going well for a company, it can be hard to focus on—or even find—any areas that could be improved. Consistently benchmarking your company against the performance of other similar-type companies can help keep you focused on improvement efforts that are critical to your company’s success.

There’s no reason not to implement benchmarking. While on the surface it may sound like a complicated task, establishing a benchmarking process is really rather easy.

First, the management team should institute a formal plan that firmly establishes what the company needs to improve, which can be done by performing a comprehensive financial analysis.

Next, company leaders should select the appropriate metrics to benchmark.

That could be the cost structure, profit margin, annual revenue, equipment costs or any other type of available data. It’s important to remember that all available metrics aren’t going to be applicable to your company, and thus there is no reason to waste time looking at data that is irrelevant to your business or the specific target of your focus.

Then, implement an improvement plan based on those metrics. When implementing the plan, be sure to track the progress made.

When you make a point to notice the positive effects benchmarking makes on your company, it makes it much easier to keep benchmarking as an important part of the company culture.

Benchmarking is essential to running a profitable company. Being complacent in establishing and implementing a benchmarking process is a missed opportunity to cut costs, increase margins and make informed business decisions.

Leslie Garcia, CPA, CCIFP, is a partner at RSM US LLP’s San Antonio office. She can be reached at 210-828-6281 or Leslie.Garcia@rsmus.com.

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hat is the leading cause of lost time accidents in construction? The answer: LIFTING & MATERIAL HANDLING.

In fact, over one third of all lost time injuries in construction are associated with strains and overexertion. Yet there is nothing within the OSHA 1926 Standard that addresses strain or ergonomic injuries. Just because there is no OSHA specific requirement, many organizations fail to address this critical worker safety/injury risk.

Construction is hard work and requires physical effort to get the job done, so should we just throw up our hands and say that is just part of the business?

NO, there are specific things that can be done to reduce the risk of strains and material handling injuries.

A good start is to follow the guidelines outlined in the ANSI A10.40 - Reduction of Musculoskeletal Problems in Construction. This consensus standard offers a process for addressing “musculoskeletal problems” from identification to injury management. For more information on the ANSI standard you may obtain a copy at the ANSI web store (ansi.org).

There are also industry best practices that have helped many organizations reduce the risk for ergonomic injuries and associated costs.

Identify High Risk Tasks: Utilizing your current JHA (Job Hazard Analysis) or JSA (Job Safety Analysis) process to identify and address ergonomic issues is a great tool. It does not take a professional ergonomist to conduct a job analysis.

Many times there are simple solutions to a very high risk job like getting a material handling aid or require a two-person lift.

Identify Safe & Unsafe Work Practices: Does your job site inspection checklist only include OSHA standards? If so, you are missing over half your accidents.

Adding “unsafe behaviors” to your job site inspection checklists can be very helpful. Examples include: proper lifting techniques used, proper body positioning for job task (no overreaching or twisting), or team lifting or material handling aid used when necessary.

Individual ACCOUNTABILITY: Just like any other safety initiative (PPE, ladder safety, equipment use) workers must be held accountable for poor behaviors. If they fail to use proper lifting techniques or specific material handling requirements it is imperative that supervisors

counsel them just like any other safety violation.

Education: Training is #6 on the ANSI list, so look for solutions above before opting to “train” to fix a problem. If supervisors understand how the back works and workers know the risk and understand proper lifting techniques, they will be more inclined to use good habits and can be held accountable for not following proper material handling procedures.

Employee Involvement & Capabilities: Making sure employees are fit for work can help avoid muscle strain. Many organizations have found success in implementing simple stretches prior to the work shift (at the tool box meeting is a great idea). Some of you may be visualizing your job site foreman instructing calisthenics on the job site at 6am, (although that might not be a bad idea).

That is not what I am talking about - providing simple stretches for upper extremities, back, and hamstrings can provide good blood circulation and prepare the muscles for their shift.

Accident Review & Injury Management: Many times the worst accident investigations are those for material handling injuries. Why? Because it’s hard, and it takes time to determine what exactly caused the injury. Investigating the exact cause and evaluating what steps that can be taken to prevent reoccurrence is a vital part of the process to help avoid a reoccurrence of the same injury. It is also imperative that opportunities to return to work are identified to reduce lost time claims and indemnity payments for injured workers. The recent experience modifier calculation changes make this even more important from a financial standpoint.

Preventing material handling injuries on the job site is not an easy job. Understanding the cost of ergonomic claims and their impact on the organizations experience modifier can help generate interest in looking for solutions to address this critical area of your safety program.

Spending a bit of time in this area can save big dollars and avoid the pain and agony of a back ailment.

For more information visit www. worthaminsurance.com or contact Mark at (512) 532-1536 or mark.gaskamp@ worthaminsurance.com

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Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

A case for careful review of construction contract dispute resolution clauses

OSHA and the trucking industry Joann Natarajan Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX

Ian Faria, Partner Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Houston, TX

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afety is just as important once a truck reaches a destination as when it is on the open road. Companies should communicate operating procedures to keep workers safe, whether at the warehouse, dock, or construction site.

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ispute resolution clauses are common in contracts between owners, general contractors and subcontractors. For quite some time, the general rule of the construction industry has been that an arbitration proceeding is the preferred method of resolving disputes as opposed to jury trials. There is also the general belief maintained by many in our industry that arbitration is less expensive, less time consuming, and quicker to achieve a resolution. For many, these “well known” beliefs have been put to the test, and have resulted in a reevaluation of not only those beliefs but of the dispute resolution procedures in the contract.

A careful review of alternatives to the standard dispute resolution clause selecting arbitration is a good practice.

Typically, the dispute resolution clauses in construction contracts require arbitration (and the waiver of a jury trial) that the parties agree to a location of the arbitration and the use of one of the many “alphabet” arbitration services. These services offer office space to hold the arbitration (for a fee), the selection of qualified arbitrators from a panel list (for a fee), regular conferences and administrative functions (for a fee), and filing fees and response fees for bringing and defending claims.

An alternative to consider to replace the typical arbitration system is for the parties to agree to a private arbitration.

Quite often, the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators will agree to govern the dispute themselves without the need for a thirdparty administrator. If the arbitration rules are previously agreed to in the dispute resolution clause, a private arbitration without the cost of a third party administrator is a good way to limit the cost and expense. Additionally, with a private arbitration, there traditionally are no filing fees or office space fees. Such a scenario leaves the parties with only having to pay their share of the arbitrator’s fees.

One of the drawbacks of many arbitration clauses is that there is no significant avenue of appeal available to either party if the arbitrator or the arbitration panel issues an award that does not comply with Texas law or blatantly ignores uncontested facts. Since arbitration clauses are creatures of contract, there is no prohibition on creating an appeals process. Therefore, an alternative to consider is to include an appeals process.

Such a process is often limited to errors of law, errors of fact and errors of legal reasoning. Further, the appeal may be limited to a court of competent jurisdiction with a waiver of a jury. Such an addition gives the parties some peace of mind that the dispute, on appeal, will be decided by a judge.

Many arbitration clauses are also silent with respect to the discovery permitted in arbitration. Often the decision of the type and degree of discovery (such as depositions and written discovery) is simply left to the arbitrator, the arbitrator panel, or the arbitration rules agreed to by the parties (which often times simply defer to the arbitrator). It is usually in the parties’ best interest to limit discovery. However, fearful of being challenged, it is common for arbitrators to be generous with discovery. As a result, it is a good idea to outline in the arbitration provision what discovery will be permitted and what will be limited so as to create certainty.

Lastly, the issue of the rules of procedure and evidence can be significant.

One way to address this is to clearly spell out the agreement of the parties. For instance, some arbitration clauses specifically require compliance with the Federal Rules of Evidence. Additionally, some clauses allow the contractor to select either an arbitration under certain rules, or a bench trial before the court with the rules of evidence and procedure from that jurisdiction. Again, the parties can contract and agree on the process they think best suits their relationship.

Dispute resolution clauses in a construction contract are often drafted without much input, or are the standard clauses found in many “form” contracts.

There are several considerations outlined herein that can be used to both parties’ benefit. The goal being to have certainty, limit costs, and bring disputes to a swift resolution.

Ian P. Faria is a member of the Construction and Government Contracts Practice Group and Managing Partner of the Houston office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. He represents developers, general contractors, subcontractors, homebuilders, business owners and individuals in a variety of disputes, as well as in OSHA compliance and investigation matters. He can be reached at ifaria@bradley.com.

Parking • Park on level ground and close to the receiving door or site • Set and test brakes • Place wheel chocks between the tandem wheels of the trailer • Do not attempt to stop a rolling vehicle Backing Up • Get Out And Look (GOAL) • Use flashers, horn, and backup alarms and check both mirrors • Roll down windows to hear • Know the vehicle’s blind spots • Use a spotter • Back up slowly • Stand clear when opening doors for unloading Coupling and Uncoupling • Only trained workers should perform this procedure • Ensure stable footing when releasing the fifth wheel or adjusting tandems • Wear bright visible clothing • Set parking brakes and perform tug test • Keep clear of tires and frames • Check for vehicular traffic near you

OSHA is preempted by Section 4(b)1 of the OSH Act from enforcing its regulations if a working condition is regulated by another Federal agency.

For example: • While traveling on public highways, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has jurisdiction. However, while loading

and unloading trucks, OSHA regulations govern the safety and health of the workers and the responsibilities of employers to ensure their safety at the warehouse, at the dock, at the rig, at the construction site, at the airport terminal and in all places truckers go to deliver and pick up loads.

• While operating at an airport, if there is an operational plan negotiated between the carrier and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that covers a working condition, then the FAA has jurisdiction.

Due to the Department of Transportation (DOT) brake regulation, OSHA does not cite for failure to chock trailer wheels if the vehicle is otherwise adequately secured. DOT’s regulation preempts enforcement and DOT has jurisdiction. However, if the vehicle is an intrastate truck, OSHA has jurisdiction. Only another Federal agency may preempt OSHA’s jurisdiction.

The OSHA Whistleblower group does have jurisdiction under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA).

This Act provides protections for private sector drivers and other employees relating to the safety or security of commercial motor vehicles. Coverage includes all buses (for hire), hazardous material vehicle placarded and freight trucks with a gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds. More information on anti-discrimination protection can be found at https://www.whistleblowers.gov natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232

The family’s stripes

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Stripe-It-Up founder and owner Tyler Wheeler.

he story of Stripe-It-Up starts in 1946, back in Toledo, OH. Cliff Schoen began Jennite Paving & Sealing and then passed it on to Bob and Tom Wheeler. (It’s still there.)

Bob had 10 kids, and one of those sons decided to move to Austin and started Wheeler Coatings. Bob’s grandson, Tyler, said his dad was just “One man and his fuel truck, and, of course, his coating truck” that came down to Texas.

Now, Tyler Wheeler continues the family tradition as founder and owner of Stripe-It-Up, which began in 2016. As opposed to the actual paving of a road, Stripe-It-Up concentrates on the lane markings and striping of the road. Headquartered in Austin, Strip-It-Up also has a branch in San Antonio.

Wheeler grew up in the paving business, working summers, winter breaks and weekends for his father. He would come home from LSU in the summers as

well. Thus, working on a road is second nature to him.

“The skills you acquire working over time [don’t] seem like work,” he said. “It’s just a way of life. It feels like something you can do.”

With about 60 employees, Stripe-ItUp has worked all over Texas, such as Corpus Christi, Dallas and Houston. They will be going to El Paso later this year.

Even though technology has changed some of the materials used (lead was taken out of the paint in the 1990s), as long as there are new roads built, and older lane markings fading, Wheeler has a secure future with Stripe-It-Up. “My passion is to do construction work.” And to make sure we know which lane to drive in or spot to pull into.

Stripe-It-Up is a pavement sealing and striping business in Austin and San Antonio.

-dsz

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 9

scent before you spot the slick, particularly if you’re down wind. It’s an odor that often resembles watermelon or fresh cut grass and to others maybe a menhaden oil scent.

The smaller the slick is, the closer the fish are to it since the wind and tide haven’t had time to spread it out. Just like using the birds, anglers can often locate and track schools of feeding trout by spotting these slicks as they appear on the surface.

May typically starts the beginning of our croaker season although we really start fishing with them in late April. By this time, the trout spawn is also in full swing along the entire coast and this makes for a great time to fish. Don’t waste any more time contemplating booking your next fishing outing.

My 2018 calendar is now open for bookings throughout the year. Don’t hesitate in booking your fishing trips because my dates usually go pretty quick, especially during the more popular months. To schedule your next bay fishing trip or hunting adventure give Capt.

Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail me at SteveSchultzOutdoors@gmail.com.

Spring fishing is in the air

by Capt. Steve Schultz Sponsored by: Waypoint Marine, Shoalwater Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Fishing Tackle Unlimited, E-Z Bel Construction, Costa Sunglasses, Diawa Reels, Simms Fishing, ForEverlast Fishing Products, Interstate Batteries, MirrOlure, and AFTCO Clothing

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y the time this column reaches you saltwater outdoors enthusiastic anglers, our weather patterns will certainly have stabilized (I’m keeping my fingers crossed) to more summer-like conditions. We have been plagued by a colder, windier than normal spring and that has made fishing challenging to say the least. Several warm days followed by several colder days have been the norm for what seems like eternity. Needless to say, this writer/angler/captain is ready for some warm days and hotter fishing.

Any good guide that really wants to produce a solid box of fish is always searching the skies for signs of birds when trout fishing. Those birds are your eyes in the sky, and they seemingly come out of nowhere when trout chase bait to the surface. Although it’s possible to catch trout under terns and pelicans at times, it’s the big gulls that generally deliver the goods on a regular basis. If you have a trolling motor, ease up to the outer edge of the birds, just within casting range, and watch for the shrimp jumping across the surface for their lives.

The trout feeding below hit most anything when in a feeding frenzy, and even a topwater bait can draw exciting surface strikes. Of course, you may also encounter other species in with the speckled trout, including redfish, black drum, sand trout and skipjack under these birds. If you see concentrations of gulls sitting on the water, the birds are of-

Good Luck and Good Fishing.

Great times with awesome friends/costumers on a 2-day outing on Baffin Bay. George Major (above) with his 27 in. trout and Ronnie Dewinne (below) with a solid 28 in. redfish made for great stories at dinner that evening.

ten right on top of the fish, or waiting on fish nearby to chase bait to the surface again.

Besides scanning the skies be sure to be looking on the surface too, and keep

your nose on alert for scents coming down wind. Speckled trout often regurgitate their food when on these feeding binges, and an oily sheen pops up to the surface. Often your nose picks up the

The fondest hunt

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ollins Johnson, president and owner of Conquest Demolition shared one of life’s most precious memories this turkey season.

Since Easter fell on Apr. 1, which just so happened to coincide with the opening day of Turkey season at their ranch, he and 9-year-old son Brady, slept in their guest quarters so that they could get up early without waking the rest of the family Easter morning. Johnson had all their gear loaded and ready to go.

The dual arrived at their ranch before daylight, jumped into the Polaris Ranger and headed out to a spot in the woods Johnson had already picked out. Settling in behind some bushes under a low hanging tree, it was time to quietly fall into place and become one with nature.

Pulling out his turkey call, Johnson started yelping and clucking. Quickly, he

was engaged in some steady dialogue with a few gobblers and even had a few hens clucking back in an attempt to lure their interested gobblers elsewhere.

It took about an hour and a half, but Johnson was able to call up several gobblers, coming from different locations, but joined up as they strutted down a trail towards their decoys and hen call.

Although excited with anticipation, Brady stayed steady and waited until the biggest gobbler was close enough for a good clean shot. Raising his gun, he fired and down fell one hell of a big bird.

“Brady turned to me with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. He shook my hand like a grown man, ‘I got it Dad’, and then hugged me hard like a young boy will do. He was happy and proud, but he respected that bird and very glad to see that it did not suffer,” says Johnson. -cmw

Brady Johnson with his prize gobbler

Collins & Brady got back in time to meet up with their family to enjoy Easter together.

Page 10

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Ken Milam’s Fishing Line Since 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country, You can hear Ken on the radio as follows: The Great Outdoors: 5-8 am Saturday on 1300, The Zone, Austin and The Great Outdoors: 5-7 am Saturday on 1200 WOAI San Antonio The Sunday Sportsman: 6-8 am Sunday on 1300, The Zone, Austin All on iHeart Radio

Springtime rollercoaster!

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hat are we doing today? Yesterday the temperature nicked the nineties and got too hot to work in the garden. Today it looks like we will be lucky to get to the seventies and I wonder if we have time to have one more hot chocolate before winter is gone.

If you think you are confused by having to change clothes four times a day to stay comfortable, just try being a fish.

One day the water is lazy calm and the sun is warming up the shallows and it seems like it might be time to move in and start to spawn or even just chase a few shad along the shoreline. The next day the lake is windy and churning and cold again – no place to start a family and lunch is cancelled because the shad have been scattered by the waves. Some days there’s just nothing for a fish to do but go deep, sit there and pout. That’s why some days they just won’t bite.

Nothing shuts them off like the pressure change a cold front can bring. On those days the fish we have been chasing and catching all week can still be found, but they couldn’t care less about feeding even if you can see them on the fish finder and drop your best bait in their face.

Nope.

I like the other extreme better. Some of our best fishing can be on those kinder weather days that we so welcome in the spring. The days between cold fronts when the wind swings from the north back around to the south, or southeast are the ones we like. That almost acts like a signal to the fish that all is well; it’s time to get back down to the business of feeding and making babies. The fish find their

appetites and school up to feed and move in to spawn, each species according to their habits.

Early spring weather presents all kinds of challenges to us fishermen. The cold fronts are still coming at us a couple times a week, but at least they start to be less severe and shorter lived. That’s good, except that it means the wind can be hard to work around. If a cold front is a day or two out, the south wind will blow like crazy to meet it and you get high south winds. If a cold front has arrived you will have a day or two of high north wind. If you are at the place where the winds intersect, then you have to watch out for rogue thunderstorms trying to shower you with hail and lightning.

The thing is, in the middle of it all spring fishing can be crazy good and just downright scary. We have some of our best trips this time of the year and some of the best weather to go fishing on those nice days. The tough thing to take though is that they are not all nice days this time of the year. All you can do is pick a day to go fishing and cross your fingers the weather turns out nice for you.

If every day was just like the one before it and the fish were biting every day, fishing would just be like a routine trip to the grocery store. The weather rollercoaster keeps it interesting!

Lone Star Paving, Austin

Pheasant, quail and chukars

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ollins Johnson, president of Conquest Demolition treated a few colleagues to a pheasant-quail-chukar hunt with Quail Hunt Dime Box Texas. -cmw

D & W Painting, Leander

L-R: Louis Hernandez, TDIndustries; Collins Johnson; Jason Landa, AirCo Mechanical; Andrew Gonzales, Alterman; Conquest Demolition’s Stephen Coffee, Isaac Chabolia, Zac Diltz and Harley Stewart.

Half or Full Day Fishing Trips All Bait, Tackle & Equipment Furnished Your catch Filleted and Bagged for You

Ken Milam Guide Service (325) 379-2051 www.striperfever.com

Furnish your TPWD Fishing License & Refreshments, and WE DO THE REST! Quail and chuckar bagged during the hunt.

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

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Cold catch

t was well worth the chill for DJ Anderson from New Stone Concepts and friends, who were freezing at Lake Charles, but had a large catch. -lv

Page 11

Spring fishing trip

This year Coppera LLC partnered with Winston Watercooler of Austin, who helped sponsor part of the trip to Bay Flats Lodge in Seadrift, TX. Check out the Coppera field crew at their fishing competition. Congratulations to this years winner JaShawn Joyner (with his thumbs up), who won for largest catch! –lv

Share YOUR photos and stories . . .fishing, hunting, skiing, biking, racing, or any outdoor activity and sport.

L-R: DJ Anderson, Eric Powitzky, Robert Blankenship and Mark Schultz

Send to: Austineditor@ConstructionNews.net (210) 308-5800

Don’t forget GREAT Vacations you’d like to send us!

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Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Seizing oppor-10-ities

Construction News ON LOCATION

Rocking out

Permit Partners’ David Cancialosi relaxes with a furry friend.

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decade ago, David Cancialosi was preparing for his wedding and the first payment on his new house when the economy began to decline.

Rather than panic, he founded Permit Partners.

“I was aware of the environment in which I was starting the business, but to me it represented an opportunity,” Cancialosi explains. “It was a situation that was classic sink or swim.”

He capitalized on years as an urban planner, code compliance inspector and senior planner for the city of Austin. An expert on his old territories’ zoning regulations, he found a niche helping people repurposing buildings there.

“I built a three-pronged strategy to get what I wanted: New clients, return clients, and referral clients,” he says. “The blessing is it came true because of hard work, internal policies and our shift with the dynamics of the changing market to meet customers’ needs in 2008. I was a stand-alone permit processor; now we are a full-fledged brick-and-mortar project management firm. We’ve grown into the town’s largest land development

consulting and permit expediting firm.”

Cancialosi now works with two project managers (and is seeking a third) and one office manager. They’re busy, but they do sneak in out-of-office lunches and catered team meetings.

“With the 10-year anniversary, we’re planning a special outing to celebrate the team that is here and the easy-going vibe we’ve been lucky enough to get.”

Cancialosi has now created two new opportunities inspired by the different types of projects, permitting and clients Permit Partners has encountered. He formed concrete and excavation company Star Point. He also founded real estate lending fund TriCo Funding to help contractors remodel projects.

Despite new ventures, he continues to see opportunity for Permit Partners.

“We’re going to maintain what we’re doing, which is what we do best – manage processes the best way possible to get city approval so that the client and crew can start swinging hammers.”

Austin-based Permit Partners is a permit processing and land development consulting firm. –mjm

Check out Adam Panther from River Rock Supply & Stone on the front loader moving stones. –lv

Congratulations ladies!

Newly inducted National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) members received their rose at the April membership meeting. -cmw

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

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THIS TH MON Jan: Construction Forecast Mar: Construction Education May: Concrete Industry July: Electrical Industry Feb: Construction Safety Apr: Women in Construction Jun: HVAC & Plumbing Aug: Service Providers

Concrete and construction Bryan Angelo, Treasurer Central Texas Chapter American Concrete Institute Project Manager

Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory Inc. Round Rock, TX

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fter moving to Texas in 1983, Angelo went to work for Trinity Engineering Testing Laboratories in the firm’s geotechnical department and then shortly transferred to the construction materials testing department and has been working with testing labs ever since.

In 1986 he became involved with the newly established Central Texas Chapter American Concrete Institute and is currently serving in his 15th year as their treasurer. Together with Arnie Hammock, principal of Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory (RETL), he has been responsible for administering all the American Concrete Institute Central Texas Chapter certification programs for the past 20 plus years. He joined the RETL team in 2017.

Local construction is on a rise with high-rise retail, residential and multifamily. We are also seeing a rise in the construction of “chain” stores.

Have you experienced an increase in business? Slowdown? What factors are driving this increase/slowdown?

Because the economy is finally bouncing back from the recent recession we had seen in the past, we have definitely been experiencing an increase in business. It’s a welcomed boost.

What are the “hot button” issues in the concrete industry?

The “hot button” issues currently in the concrete industry are fly ash shortages, straight cement mixes, sporadic air content of mixes and high-rise highstrength concrete.

How has this increase/slowdown affected your company and how you conduct business?

Busier times mean the need for more employees, vehicles, equipment and more workspace.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms?

What are the major changes in the concrete industry in recent years?

Some of the major changes we are

A robust industry Bill Sandbrook, Vice Chairman, President & CEO Title US Concrete Inc. Euless, TX

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andbrook is a 1979 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in management, he spent 13 years in the U.S. Army which included a four-year tour in Germany in cavalry and engineering units, three years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Military Academy and two years as the Army Program representative to Raytheon. While teaching at West Point, Sanbrook also served as a social aide to President Ronald Reagan and earned his Professional Engineer’s License (PE) in Industrial Engineering.

In addition to his qualifications as an Army Ranger, he earned four Master’s Degrees while in the service - an MBA from Wharton, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master in Public Policy from the Naval War College and Master of Arts in International Relations from Salve Regina University.

What are the “hot button” issues in the concrete industry?

Currently it is lack of skilled truck drivers that are qualified with commercial driver’s licenses. It is a problem facing all the trades and it manifests itself in actual ready-mix truck drivers in that they are very difficult to source in all of our markets.

In addition, the weather that we have been experiencing in recent months and in some parts of the country for multiple years is disrupting construction sched-

ules and has been ongoing especially through a very rainy, cold and wintery first quarter of 2018.

How do you overcome the weather issue?

We have to watch our costs. Nonproductive labor is a drain on our resources. If our concrete contractor customers are unable to perform their construction services because of the weather, we have no other outlet for that concrete so it all comes down to cost containment.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? Has there been an increase or a slowdown?

I would say the construction industry is very robust and there is a lot of pent up demand for jobs that are in progress and have been delayed because of the weath-

CONCRETE INDUSTRY Sept: Green Building Nov: Architecture & Engineering Oct: Specialty Contractors Dec: Construction Equipment

seeing include self-consolidating concrete, which is a highly flowable, non-segregating concrete that freely spreads into place, fills formwork and encapsulates even the most congested reinforcement, all without any mechanical vibration.

Also included would be flowable fill materials and the uses of fiberglass-reinforced polymer rebar applications.

What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? Labor shortages?

Other?

Finding qualified personnel for all aspects of the market has been and continues to be the most significant challenge.

How are you dealing with these challenges?

Finding the right people is crucial.

We are constantly participating in group events and social networking events and then, of course, there are the traditional means of advertising and marketing. You can never do too much to find the right people.

What are the cost increases (if any) relating to your industry?

As with any business, you have to be willing to pay to attract and keep good quality, hard working people. Having the right equipment to perform your duties and enough equipment is essential. Of course, the maintenance and upkeep of the equipment is a constant. And then there is the cost of certifications and renewals of certifications, and the on-going effort of keeping your employees trained. And let’s not forget maintaining

er. But outside of the weather, I’m very certain we are in a very robust construction environment especially in the markets we serve. We have a regional footprint that is very focused on the bay area of California, the Dallas/Fort Worth market, West Texas, the Mid-Atlantic States from Washington, DC through Philadelphia, northern New Jersey into New York City. My comments are very specific to these markets, which are extremely vibrant.

Why do you feel they are so vibrant in those markets?

I think that we are still in a very good part of the economic cycle. I think the unemployment rate has had an impact on both residential and commercial construction, and with the GDP approaching three percent on an annualized rate, which is significantly higher than it has been in the last eight years, I think there is a lot of optimism for further growth now that people are spending more money. New homes are being purchased and constructed. New office buildings are being built.

A move from brick and mortar retail has led to the real growth of big box warehouses in various parts of the country that take a lot of concrete. So all of the above are leading to the robustness we are seeing.

What are the major changes in the concrete industry in recent years?

Technology is moving forward quickly in both the mixes we use and in the conscious awareness of sustainability and environmentally friendly products, especially low-carbon products. We are

www.constructionnews.net publishing the industry’s news

and having enough office space.

What is on the horizon for your industry? (Changes in technology; equipment; other) Believe it or not, the concrete industry is ever changing, so staying focused on current standards and staying updated with the most current technology is a must. We will continue to provide outstanding service to our clients and maintain our relationships with established clients.

What are the rewards of the industry?

Having continued relationships with local companies, along with the recognition you get with national organizations and the satisfaction in knowing that projects are completed on time (or before) are the biggest rewards of working in this industry.

What are keys to being successful?

If you want to be successful in this industry or any aspect of it, you have to build long-lasting relationships, be competitive, be responsive to the requests of your clients and always be available to meet the needs of your clients.

American Concrete Institute is a non-profit technical society and standards developing organization.

Rock Engineering & Testing Laboratory Inc. is geotechnical engineering, geotechnical and environmental drilling, and construction materials engineering and testing firm in San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Round Rock, TX. -cmw

seeing much more interest in that now than we did in 2010.

There is much emphasis on decreasing the cement content of concrete mixes and replacing that with fly ash, which actually lowers the carbon footprint of the material supply chain. And then there is a push for consolidation, not only in the concrete industry, but in the materials industry as well. The small family-owned businesses are finding it ever more difficult to compete in the world that we live in with increased regulation.

Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting the concrete industry relating to transportation or the environment?

There has been more regulatory attention on wages and environmental laws with increased scrutiny of enforcement that it’s catching up to smaller businesses. Large companies are used to that scrutiny and usually have a staff of people that can deal with that.

What is on the horizon for your industry? (Changes in technology; equipment; other) I think there will be continued consolidation. I think we’re still in a good part of the economic cycle and that technology will continue to make strides. I’m not sure where driverless concrete trucks are going to fall, but I think there are going to be a significant number of improvements to driver safety, through technology.

U.S. Concrete is a producer of ready-mixed concrete and aggregates. -cmw

Texas Style

★ ★ ★ ★

San Antonio Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Houston

Page 14

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

THIS TH MON

CONCRETE INDUSTRY

To represent your company in an upcoming FOCUS, contact Austineditor@ConstructionNews.net (210) 308-5800

NEXT MONTH HVAC & PLUMBING

Construction safety tightens Neal Secor, President Longhorn Concrete San Antonio, TX

W

hat are the “hot button” issues in the concrete industry?

We continue to experience a shortage of qualified labor and volatility in the commodities markets causing spikes in pricing for concrete ready-mix, steel and lumber products used in our industry.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? Have you experienced an increase in business?

The current state of the construction industry is very good. We experienced an increase year-to-date and from 2016 over 2017.

What factors are driving this increase?

There is a pro-business climate in Texas specifically in our Central/South Texas region with a lower business tax rate and tax incentives for redevelopment of urban areas (examples: Brooks City Base, Port SA, Pearl District). This is very appealing for corporate headquarter establishment/relocation from other states.

In addition, we are experiencing continued low interest rates; continuation of our areas’ relatively low cost of living; no state income tax; lower home prices relative to many other regions of the U.S.; quality of living; and continued expansion of mid to upper level management employment specifically in our SA area.

How has this increase affected your company and how you conduct business?

This has afforded us the opportunity to add several full-time management staff to better analyze and control our projects.

We’ve learned how to diplomatically say “No” more than “Yes” to allow us to commit our resources to the types of projects that fit what we do well.

What are the major changes in the con-

crete industry in recent years?

The concrete industry has not changed dramatically in recent years. We are seeing some traction with the use of some “Alternative/Green/Lead” systems which use reinforced concrete such as ICFs (insulated concrete forms) and tilt wall systems. It seems there is some push back from our industry to try something new when the alternative system pricing is substantially higher than conventional concrete systems being used today. This is a hard sell to the private sector.

Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting the concrete industry relating to transportation or the environment?

Our industry continues to see the tightening of construction safety regulations by OSHA. Recently, OSHA implemented much stricter safety guidelines for airborne silica dust which has a direct impact on the concrete industry, driving up cost to be in compliance.

What is on the horizon for your industry? (Changes in technology; equipment; other) Looking out onto the horizon I expect our industry to continue to grow at a similar pace as we have seen the past 12 months or so.

How are you dealing with these challenges?

Creating a TEAM culture where we create a great working environment that

What are the rewards of the industry?

The people. Our industry is full of great people and we have been blessed to have a Longhorn team filled with awe-

James Eric Holeman Quality Control Manager

Allied Concrete Houston, TX

H

oleman has been in the concrete industry since 1998. He has served as president of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Houston Chapter since 2016 and is a member of the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA).

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? Have you experienced an increase in business? Slowdown?

The market is strong now and home buying sales are up.

What factors are driving this increase/ slowdown?

The driving force I think now is there is not enough housing in the Houston area and homebuilders can’t keep up with demand. New subdivisions are popping up to accommodate the influx of residents moving into the Houston area.

What are the cost increases (if any) relating to your industry?

Substantial health and welfare cost increase renewals continue to be at the top priority for all small business. Our small business cannot absorb the continued cost so we have been forced to not offer health benefits to our team.

Steel reinforcement materials increased pricing due to import trade restrictions. Tariffs hav been another cost increase. We have experienced a 10 to 12 percent increase in the 1st quarter of 2018 and, since August of 2017, prices have increased nearly 20 percent.

There has also been a lumber materials price increase due to Hurricane Harvey along with import trade restrictions tariffs.

And, of course, there are shortages going into summer months for fly ash additive for ready-mix which can add as much as five percent to our cost.

What is the most significant challenge your industry faces?

Qualified labor force for our current needs today and developing key positions such as lead foremen and superintendents for the future growth and viability of our industry to replace our aging work force in these key positions.

Truck drivers and concrete

What are the “hot button” issues in the concrete industry?

I think the hottest button is first and foremost for all ready mix companies is having a lack of qualified drivers.

promotes growth from within our organization, personal growth outside our organization, income growth to meet/exceed our industry and incentives (performance and discretionary bonus, PTO and other benefits).

We as an industry need to do a better job of promoting our trades to our youth. As a society it seems as if we assume everyone is owed and should get a college education. This thought promotion is hurting our industry and in my opinion is detrimental to our youths’ futures. I believe we need to place an equal amount of emphasis on such programs as ag mechanics, FFA and trade schools.

How has this increase/slowdown affected your company and how you conduct business?

This has resulted in growing pains including drivers, sales dispatch and materials. Getting them all has an impact on the industry and on businesses.

What are the major changes in the concrete industry in recent years?

There have not been many major changes in the industry. Recently we have seen changes in materials and trucking. There has been a push to decrease the cement content to help reduce the carbon footprint. In addition, TxDOT is continuously making changes to trucking regulations and the industry has to adapt.

What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? Labor shortages?

Other?

Again, I would have to say it is the lack of qualified drivers. This is affecting all companies across the nation, not just ready mix companies and the Houston market is no different. Finding skilled truck drivers with commercial licenses who are willing to work long hours is difficult. Truck drivers in our field don’t just drive trucks; there is a lot of labor involved in running a ready mix truck. In addition to driving the ready mix truck, drivers release and direct concrete down the truck chute and, in some cases, may have to assemble the cement chutes and clean the trucks and chutes to prevent the concrete from hardening in the mixer, chutes and on the trucks.

some people.

Our clients. We work with great clients and build relationships to last a lifetime.

The challenge. Continued success in the concrete industry is a daily challenge that keeps us on our toes. We never have to worry about becoming complacent and comfortable and I like this feeling. One thing I am certain of is that no matter how many years experience I have in the industry I will never know it all.

What are keys to being successful?

Team retention. Build a team for the long haul and work to mitigate turnover at all times. We have employees who have been a part of our team for 30-plus years and they are so important to our current and future success.

Business integrity. Explain clearly what you are going to do and then do what you say and, if possible ,do more and always under promise and over deliver. You should always be willing to place a higher value on what is right than how much something will cost. We are humans and we are not perfect so we are going to make mistakes.

When mistakes happen we encourage not stopping but rather find a quick resolution and get it back on track no matter what the cost.

Being efficient with our resources is also key. Say “No” often. I probably say “No” 10 times before I say “Yes” when determining what potential projects fit what we do best.

You need to have moderate growth when times are good. We are deliberate in how we grow our business. With all growth come growing pains to deal with. If we grow too fast we may not react fast enough before it costs our company in a variety of ways.

In order for our TEAM to create value in our company we must be disciplined to retain earnings. In good years it is always tough to write a check to “Uncle Sam” but it is a necessary evil if we want to create value.

This will benefit us when times are not so good.

Longhorn Concrete is a concrete specialty contractor in San Antonio. -cmw

How are you dealing with these challenges?

Changing the way hiring and training is done along with providing attractive benefits will help in the long run and is something that is on-going.

What are the cost increases (if any) relating to your industry?

The costs of equipment, trucking and materials have the most impact on rising costs in the concrete industry and the construction industry as a whole.

Allied Concrete is an integrated aggregates and ready mix concrete company based in Houston. -cmw

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 15

Growth spurt

Aaron Simmons, operations manager for Dailey Electric in Lockhart

D

ailey Electric Inc. is on the grow.

The company, established by Chris Dailey in College Station in 2003, got its start doing local electrical work. Eight years later, he expanded the business when he acquired and revamped a Houston electrical company.

Last year, encouraged by his Houston office’s growth, Dailey bought land along the Lockhart’s toll road, put a job site trailer on it and dispatched operations manager Aaron Simmons to conduct business while overseeing construction of a new 8,632sf office.

“This location was chosen not only for ties that our owner and his family have to the area, but also for the construction of the Highway 130 toll road, which travels from north Austin all the way to San Antonio,” Simmons says.

“Lockhart is very centrally located and makes it available to where we can expand. It’s not that we are building it in one city and will only serve that city; we can build in the middle and service

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multiple cities at the same time.”

The structure of the Lockhart office, due to open this summer, resembles that of its College Station hub, with most of the work focused on commercial and industrial services.

“We’re building it like it is right now and then will probably expand it in the same way our College Station facility did; we’ll eliminate the warehouse portion, put in offices and build a separate warehouse. My hope, in the next five years, is to have around 100 employees in the Lockhart location.”

“The city of Lockhart is extremely excited about us being here,” Simmons continues. “We’re bringing a lot of jobs into the area. We’re going to be the second largest business on their toll road; I think their plan is to have multiple businesses along it. Lockhart is growing quickly. They’re excited about expanding, too.”

Dailey Electric Inc. performs electrical construction work. –mjm

L

Game on

ike any sport, you likely play on a team. Ray Gurley, Jr. owner/partner of 3G Drywall is partners with two other owners, Ray Gurley, Sr., (his father) and Mathew Gurley (his brother). They are a team and the play they’ve called is a game changer.

“We want to try to do things to change the game,” said Gurley, Jr.

What he means is all three of them come from the industry. In fact, their previous employer was the same for all of them. Only difference was Gurley, Jr., didn’t work with his brother and father before. They were in the Dallas area, while he was working for their previous employer in Austin.

So in order to be real “game changers” L-R: Ray Gurley, Jr., Ray Gurley, Sr. and Mathew Gurley they put together their individual knowledge and focused on them to feel a part of the team and not “building a strong core group of about 10 just a number. guys.” Gurley, Jr., said, “We happen to be Every year they do something for very fortunate. We all had three different their foreman and their employees. Just backgrounds that merged together.” last year they took the foreman to Louisi During their first six months they had ana at the L’Auberge casino in Lake four to five employees. This June 3G Dry- Charles. Fact: Ray, Sr. was part of the casiwall will be in business for two years. no construction in 2005. And, how’s this They now have 54 field employees and for a game changer? This past year they two others in the office. rented out an entire Austin pizza park

This year 3G Drywall settles into their place for the whole day. All the employnew office in Liberty Hills. The company is ees and their families had a blast. growing, creating opportunities for em- The Gurley’s have made it to the end ployees to grow with the company. zone, but teams are known to score more

As “game changers” the Gurley’s also than once. focus on what they can do for their em- 3G Drywall is a commercial drywall ployees. Gurley, Jr., explains they want company based out of Austin TX. –lv

Page 16

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Association Calendar

Crawfish & leaders

Content submitted by Associations to Construction News ACEA

ABC Associated Builders & Contractors

May 16: Spring Golf Tournament. For more info, call 512-719-5263 AGC Associated General Contractors

May 21: Spring Golf Tournament, Hills of Lakeway Golf Club, 26 Club Estates Pkwy., The Hills, TX, 10:30am. For more info, call Toni Osberry at 512-442-7887

Greater Austin Contractors & Engineers Assn.

May 10: 2018 Design Awards Celebration, Austin Central Library, 710 W. Cesar Chavez St., 6pm. For more info, call 512452-4332 CTMCA Central Texas Masonry Contractors Assn.

May 31: 2018 Golden Trowell Award entries deadline. For more info, go to www. ctmca.com

he Construction Leadership Council (CLC) of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) hosted a crawfish boil April 4.

May 10: Membership Luncheon, Dave & Buster’s, 9pm. For more info, call 512-8937067 May 12: Equipment Rodeo, Marcelo’s Sand & Loam, 8811 Hergotz Ln., 9:30am4:30pm. For more info, call 512-893-7067 May 22: Summer Golf Tournament, Wolfdancer Golf Club, 575 Hyall Lost Pines Rd., 10:30am. For more info, call 512-893-7067

AIA American Institute of Architects

T

IEC

Independent Electrical Contractors

May 24: IEC Membership Luncheon, Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Ln. #365, 11:30am-1pm. For more info, call 512-832-1333 May 24: Electrical Tradeshow & Wire-Off Competition, Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Ln. #365, 1-6pm. For more info, call 512-832-1333

CLC members enjoy platters of crawfish.

RCAT

Roofing Contractors Assn. of Texas

CTSA Central Texas Subcontractors Assn.

May 4: Spring Golf Tournament, Star Ranch Golf Course, 2500 FM 685, Hutto, TX. For more info, call 512-255-6373 NARI

National Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

May 16: 2018 Golf Tournament, Balcones Country Club, 8600 Balcones Country Club, 12pm. For more info, call Kayvon Leath at 512-375-2601 NAWIC

National Assn. of Women in Construction

May 2: Chapter Meeting, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, 6319 N. 1-35, 5:30pm.

For more info, call 512-593-1012

May 3-5: Fishing Tournament, Woody’s Sport Center, 136 W. Cotter St., Port Aransas, TX. For more info, call 512-251-7690 SFPE

Society of Fire Protection Engineers

May 9: Chapter Meeting & Seminar, San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, TX. For more info, call 512795-2900 TGA

Texas Glass Assn.

May 9: Jerry Wright Memorial Golf Tournament, Silverhorn Golf Course, 1100 W. Bitters, San Antonio, TX. For more info, go to www.texasglass.org May 10-11: Glass TEXpo, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 900 E. Martket St. For more info, go to www.texasglass.org

★★★★★

CLC members mingle at the crawfish boil.

Industry FOLKS Pablo Mancias Driver/Outside Sales Longhorn Stucco Masonry Supply

Construction News ON LOCATION

Inside look

In New Braunfels the Hill Country Electric Supply assistant branch manager Ryan Nicholas was helping customers before he smiled for Construction News. –lv

T

here is a reason Pablo Mancias didn’t dream of a career in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry in his youth.

“My dad was in the HVAC side of construction and I was able to go with him to jobs sometimes,” Mancias remembers. “I was a little skinny kid, so I was his gopher. He would always send me into the tight spots in the attics! I told my dad that my brother needed to lose weight because it wasn’t fair!”

While they never worked in HVAC together, Mancias’ dad, who was also an entertainer, did pass on his love of music to his son. Mancias learned to play the guitar and even played a gig with his father. He considered pursuing a sound engineering career, but ditched it after meeting his lovely wife Jennifer and becoming a father. He landed a job as driver delivering medical equipment and soon worked his way up to being a manager. After a decade with the company, he worked two years for the City of Kyle and attained his commercial driver license before taking a driving job for Longhorn Stucco Masonry Supply.

In addition to his driving duties, the 34-year-old recently began work-ing in outside sales for the company, which is a perfect fit for his outgoing personality.

He says he especially enjoys the people he is now able to meet.

“I am really just enjoying talking to

people from different parts of the world and learning about their cultures,” he says.

Even though he never had a career in HVAC or music, don’t feel sorry for Mancias – his knowledge of both comes in handy when he needs to turn up the heat!

“I play my guitar and try to serenade my wife,” he says with a laugh. “I’m actually pretty good! About three years ago, I let loose and started singing instead of just playing the guitar. I like a lot of “old” country music – like George Strait, Patsy Cline, George Jones – which is what my dad used to like. ” Mancias’ free time is now spent nurturing the dreams of his own children: Nineteen-year-old college student Savannah, and his baseballloving sons, sophomore Isaac (who earned a spot on the varsity baseball team as a freshman at his 6A school) and 7th grader Ezekiel.

“I can’t want until that newspaper clipping comes out: “The Mancias Brothers Do A Double Hitter!” he says with pride.

Longhorn Stucco Masonry Supply is based in Kyle. –mjm

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Page 17

continued from Page 1 — Impacting your safety working under her. Her job is to make sure day-to-day operations are running smoothly. She is constantly on the go and is very hands-on in the areas under her responsibility.

At Impact, it all comes down to the technician. Taylor says there isn’t a “big divide between the field and the office.“ Labor and management not only work but socialize together, resulting in a family atmosphere.

(On a side note: One hasn’t lived until they’ve been to one of Impact’s many crawfish boils. They take as much pride in their cooking as they do their fire protection systems.)

According to Taylor, Impact’s technicians “take a ton of pride in what they’re doing.” They often engage in duels of bragging rights on who can do a more precise job installing their products.

Fire protection is a dynamic field. One of the bigger challenges is corrosion in the piping systems. Taylor said that Impact is a leader in Texas for corrosion control.

Fire alarm panels are constantly getting better, smaller and more high-tech.

When it comes to codes across a state as large as Texas, the national ruling is that local jurisdictions have the last word. Even with the variations between Texas cities, many times the only difference is “who gets the email.” Bottom line: code enforcement is “really good in Texas.”

“I like the way Texas runs and operates,” Taylor said.

With an ever-expanding reach, Impact Fire Services is making its presence known to many more customers, even if they don’t notice the fire protection system around them.

Taylor summed it up well: “It’s an amazing career to have.”

And we appreciate that.

Impact Fire Services provides installation, repair, service and inspection of fire safety systems, with offices throughout Texas. -dsz

continued from Page 1 — Getting it back large class-A office buildings, healthcare, industrial and retail. Pick a sector, and we’re involved in it now,” says AirCo Mechanical President, Chip Chambliss.

Chambliss joined the AirCo team in 2014, but has been in the air conditioning business since graduating college. Chambliss realized in college how much fun you can have building things and found his way into air conditioning and plumbing construction. “I like the air conditioning and mechanical side of construction because there’s a certain amount of engineering behind it and quite a bit of technical components to it as well with all the different equipment types. It definitely adds a unique spin.”

Now that the company is privately owned again, the future is bright. “We’re relatively a young group if you look at the leadership here. When we were publicly traded everything was about month-end results and quarterly results and now that we are private we are investing the majority of the profits of the company back

into the business. We recently bought 20 acres on I-35 for our main office and we’re doing a lot of expansion and development. We are expanding our publication capacity to plot and plan for our future,” adds Chambliss.

“From an employee’s point of view,” says Senior Project Manager Cody Gaines, “it’s extremely exciting to see the changes we have experienced in the past couple of years since taking the company back from big corporate America. Everyone here thrives to make things better.”

While the company is focused on providing quality work and service to their growing list of clients in both Austin and San Antonio, they also take time to get involved in trade associations, participating in barbeque cook-offs and networking events to continue the lines of communication and growth.

AirCo Mechanical is a full-service air conditioning and plumbing contractor in Round Rock, TX. -cmw

continued from Page 1 — Parking for growth

Exit gate of the East Campus Parking Garage, The University of Texas at Austin

earthwork and drilling piers through the first three months on the job.

Despite the weather delays and other challenges and changes, the SpawGlass team beat their substantial completion date of Feb. 16th and turned over the garage a semester early, performing approximately $11 million of the contract for the construction of the east campus garage with a daily average of 10 to 15 SpawGlass team members onsite. Concrete accounted for the largest part of the self-perform scope, including site work concrete foundation, walls, slabon-grade and deck embeds.

“Self-performing much of the concrete activities allowed SpawGlass to more efficiently manage the project schedule and execute daily activities,” says SpawGlass Project Executive Jeff Eubank who credits the entire design/ build team with having a “can do will do” attitude and doing whatever it took to successfully complete the project.

In closing, Eubank adds, “When this 2,000-car parking garage is filled to capacity for an event, the entire facility can be emptied within 26 minutes.”

SpawGlass is a commercial and civil contractor with nine offices across Texas. –cmw

What did you do for Easter?

I was unpacking from moving unfortunately.

Jennifer Maxwell, Lott Brothers Construction Company Ltd.

We spent the weekend at the lake at my grandparent’s house.

Tanya Remore, Prime Wall Systems LLC

I attended church services and spent time with family from out of town.

Toni Osberry, Austin Chapter AGC

I think I painted. I paint abstract paintings.

I believe on that Sunday that’s what I was doing.

Theresa Maivu McFaul, Maivu Plumbing & Construction

My oldest son (Brady, age 9) and I slept in our guest quarters so that we could get up early without waking the rest of the family. Easter fell on April 1st this year, which just so happened to coincide with the opening day of Turkey season out on our ranch. On the way, we discussed the true meaning of Easter, our savior Jesus Christ, and how lucky we are to be able to make these memories together.

Collins Johnson, Conquest Demolition I hung out with the kids. I wanted to go to the Astros versus Rangers game, but my Easter was filled with hanging out with the kids and family.

Krista Briggs, Pinpoint Strategies Inc. Watched reruns of The Office and meal prepped for the week.

Lisa Taylor, Impact Fire Services We had an egg hunt in our cul-de-sac with all the kids who live nearby and enjoyed dinner with the family.

Dan Schaeffer, Five Star Painting Church and crawfish.

Marty Savoca, Lone Star Paving

s

I played in the FBC Praise & Worship Band and did two Community Services with egg hunts and breakfast in Taylor, TX, then had lunch with the extended family while all the little ones had a two hour hunt! Perfect “He Is Risen” celebration.

Lori Drake, MORSCO I ate ding-dongs and rice krispie treats.

Dolores Gola, Consolidated Reinforcement I went out to the company ranch and did a little fishing. Then I went to the late Easter service.

Shane Morgan, Reinforcing Steel Supply This Easter we went to Denton, TX to my uncle’s house. We had a big family get together, we have one every year. A lot of fun, the kids have an Easter egg hunt, the men throw horseshoes and we sit around and talk about everything that is going on in life.

Ray Gurley Jr., 3G Drywall First made sure to thank the Lord. Then held an Easter egg hunt for my children and spent the evening outdoors barbecuing with family.

Rene Moreno, Kinseal Inc.

Submitted to Construction News

Round-Up

Novak Brothers LLC is pleased to announce the appointments of Bill Paetznick and Morgan McLaughlin.

Paetznick has been appointed president and partner of Novak Commercial Construction and joins the company with more than 30 years of experience in construction, design, prototype adaptation, construction management, and program management having worked with various national retailers and building owners.

-cmw

Morgan McLaughlin has been appointed vice president and partner of Novak Commercial Construction and has 15 years of experience in the construction industry and an extensive background in developing, managing and delivering various nationwide roll-out concepts. Both will lead and oversee all aspects of development and construction for all commercial property types under the Novak Brothers Commercial Construction Division. -cmw

TDIndustries Inc. is pleased to announce the hiring of Nicolas Sfeir as vice president of the company’s Austin Business Unit. In previous positions, he was a project engineer, project manager and project executive. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. He is also a member of both ASHRAE and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. -cmw

Fred Noblett III has joined the Structure Tone Southwest team to lead its Austin operations as the new Regional Vice President. He will oversee the office’s strategic growth, business development, client relationships and overall operations. Noblett holds a MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and an undergraduate degree in construction science from Texas A&M University. -cmw

Round-Up Submissions

Submit Info & Photo:

Brief company announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of charge, as space allows.

Austineditor@ConstructionNews.net

(210) 308-5800

Page 18

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

Looking back 10 years — May 2008 Construction News ON LOCATION

Construction News ON LOCATION

They are tops

Maybe they’ll catch the next 15

L-R: While Denis Phocas (not pictured), owner, Alpha Granite, is out of the office, he can count on Mhari Fleishman, Tara Perez, Dan Carrigan and Gabe Poulos to be right on top of the any questions customers have about the types of “tops” they sell.

L-R: As Arthur Carpenter, Ronnie Blankenship, Carey Smith and Simon Vega, ISC Building Materials, gather ‘round the counter for their picture, they think of Wayne Hollier and Christina Favre (not pictured) who just happened to be gone when their opportunity at “15 minutes of fame” came around! Maybe they’ll be around the next time the fame fairy comes walking into their store!

Tri–ing teamwork

TAG, you’re it

When Rick Muller founded Tri Dal LTD in 1985, he knew that as a utility and excavation contractor he’d stay busy in this ever-progressing state. As he continued his business, he realized that Austin had a need for his services and decided to set up shop in the state’s capital in 1997. With that, Tri Dal Austin, LTD was born

Do you remember what you were doing in 1985? Were you jammin’ out the Miami Vice theme song? Perhaps you were just popping open a fresh can of New Coke. Or you could’ve been at the movie theater waiting in line to watch Out of Africa. Well, while everyone was off doing their own thing, Thomas A. Gonzales, owner and president, TAG Electric of Austin L.P., was busy establishing an electrical contracting company that would grow to gain large commercial projects while bringing together a group of people in a way that they probably never expected.

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Staying “on top”

Grill giveaway

L-R: As a commercial roofing and sheet metal company, Tom Fleitz, Carmen Fleitz, Mary Moreland and Cory Fleitz, L.D. Tebben Company, Inc. stay “on top,” keeping the rooftops covered…what’s the weather like up there, y’all?

HVAC Technician Jimmy Faulks with Austin I.S.D. was selected as Trane Austin’s winner for a brand new Weber grill courtesy of the Parts Center. In addition, Faulks is entered into the grand prize drawing for oneof four vacations. -rd

Let the tradeshow begin

The H.O.T. shop is open

With a few sprinkles and a subtle wind, Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. hosted their annual trade show on April 3rd at their south store location. Vendors came in from as far as Canada to show Austin what they have to offer.

Out in the middle of a wide-open field in Manor, Lee Lanford, Heart of Texas Metalworks, LLC, has just completed his new workshop, and is excited to utilize the 5,000sf of space he‘s just gained. Lanford notes that by having the additional workspace and the full use of all his tools, including a water jet cutting machine, he has more flexibility to venture into a diversified manufacturing avenue that allows him to expand his customer base.

Austin Construction News • MAY 2018

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Thanking you

he team members from Reinforcing Steel Supply in Austin were all smiles on April 12, welcoming their customers during their 15th annual customer appreciation lunch. The luncheon was held at the RSS building and close to 200 guests were in attendance.

Don White, owner of RSS, said he enjoys seeing the customers who have helped him start his business. “In all our

locations we’ve gotten close to 700 customers. He adds that he “started this business on a handshake and a thank you.” RSS will be in business for 27 years this coming July.

White and Mike Rinehart cooked brisket, ribs, and jalapeño poppers that were served with beans, potato salad and other condiments. –lv

JOB SIGHTS

L-R: Agustine Belux and Jesus De La Cruz with DLC Cable Construction are working with fiber optic cables. –lv

Middle: Don White and some of the Reinforcing Steel Supply team members

Mike Rinehart carving the brisket for the customers.

Working indoors was Angel Hernandez building out Kyle Industrial Center. –lv

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Austin Construction News • MAY 2018