Houston Construction News June 2018 by Construction News

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Quality always in style

Paving the way

José Miranda (back row, second from left), owner of Quality Millwork, and dad Alfonso (back row, far left) and the Quality team

L-R: Grandpa Tracy Garret, Dad Scott Garrett, Son Hayden Garrett, Cousin Steven of Hayden Paving

he owner of Quality Millwork chuckles when he thinks about what the style might be 30 years from now. José Miranda knows what’s in vogue today might be laughed at in the future, just as we do now when we look back at previous styles. But for now, customers want the sleek, modern look. And, Quality Millwork delivers the goods. It has delivered its products to Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. But, it can claim Chicago as its farthest destination. A customer in Houston opened an office in the Windy City, and they hired Miranda to build fixtures for it up there. They built it here, shipped and installed it in their Chicago office.

About 80 percent of Quality’s work is commercial; 20 percent residential. Miranda is originally from Monterrey, Mexico. His father, Alfonso, also a carpenter, came to America first in 2007. Miranda followed suit in 2008. They both worked for the same carpentry shop in Houston until that company folded in 2011. So, in November 2011, Miranda founded Quality Millwork. Opening a business as a recently-arrived immigrant wasn’t that hard, Miranda said, as “everyone was so helpful” in the process. Quality Millwork has grown quite a bit in a few short years. It started out in a continued on Page 14

ayden Paving is not only a topnotch asphalt and paving company, it is a surviving company, having beaten the odds when it comes to even existing. Grandpa Garrett had an industrial cleaning business back in the day. A customer asked him to resurface his parking lot as well. From that modest beginning, Grandpa starting doing asphalt and paving. Dad Scott Garrett joined in and quickly grew the client base with his outstanding customer service and likeable personality. But Grandpa’s company ran into financial problems, and he decided to fold up the tent. That became an issue, how-

ever, when one dedicated customer wanted Scott to do some more work for him. Scott explained that the end was near for the business and he couldn’t do it. The customer persisted and asked Scott what would it take to keep the paving company going so he could get his job done. The answer: If the customer could front the money for Scott to buy Grandpa’s equipment, he would continue the work and do the job the customer wanted. The customer did, and Scott did. Running his new paving company from his garage, Hayden Paving has grown from a one-man operation to about 65 employees today. Scott is still at continued on Page 14

Renovating God’s house

stablished on the basis of operating and building “In His Name,” founder Chad Clark and equity partner Steve Pless of Axis Builders LLC believes their continued growth and many blessings such as their amazing personnel, subcontractors and industry relationships are a direct correlation from their humble beginnings. Fifty-five percent of the firm’s revenue is associated with liturgical work so it’s no wonder Axis Builders was selected to renovate the Calvary Chapel Southeast Houston Administration & Children’s Building. The two-phase project cost $4 million with work beginning in April 2017 and completed in March 2018. The project included phased renovation of the existing Youth Ministry and the administration offices building. A new floor plan for the entire space was created that better suited the church’s existing and future needs. This was accomplished

by adding approximately 2,500sf of structural steel onto the existing 44,000sf tilt wall structure. The existing exterior walls were relocated out approximately 10 ft. to allow for more usable square footage for classrooms and offices while enclosing the existing covered walk area to create an uninterrupted corridor across the front and west side of the building. Each phase included selective exterior demolition to accommodate the new floor plan as well as a complete gut and build back of the interior. Additional items included a new roof, a new mechanical system with controls, electrical service and upgrades to the exterior façade. Although this project was being watched from above, it still had its challenges. The building had two primary electrical services, both of which were located in the new Children’s Worship addition. In order to overcome this chalCalvary Chapter Southeast Houston

continued on Page 14

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

Painting himself out of a corner

Tito C. Perez

he way Tito C. Perez spent his days more than 20 years ago was simply “criminal” – Perez’s full-time job was as a prison guard for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Employed but unfulfilled, Perez found himself wishing he could trade prisoners’ brushes with the law for some brushes with paint. “My dad was a painter for many years, and I helped him before I started working for the Department of Criminal Justice,” Perez explains. When he was transferred to Sugar Land, he noticed that the booming area needed residential painting services. Perez established Tito Perez Painting Company Inc. in 1995 and tackled projects at night while holding down his day job. “In the beginning, I was painting houses by myself and then a few months after that, I hired a few guys,” Perez remembers. “It was a good experience and it just took off, so I just started doing it full time.“ He soon expanded into commercial painting and Perez and his 15-strong team now offer a wide range of painting services through the company’s Sugar Land office and Rosenberg workshop. Perez’s business focuses on exterior painting and wood repairs, pressure washing, interior painting, drywall installation, wall texturing, and specialty wood finish application. The company also boasts an impressive portfolio of local restaurants, retail spaces, multi-family units, low-rise apartment complexes, churches, and new construction singlefamily homes. “My favorite commercial projects are those with an impact on surrounding communities,” Perez says. “For example,

we recently painted the Rosenberg Railroad Museum, and many local residents were actively keeping up with the progress. Everyone was happy with the results of our hard work, and I am proud to know that many families and students will visit the museum on a regular basis.” The company has also evolved into a family affair: Perez acts as president and CEO, his wife Sylvia works as the bookkeeper, son Tito controls scheduling and handles marketing through his company Bootmarks LLC and daughter Elizabeth, soon to be a University of Houston grad, serves as an interior design consultant. With more than two decades of industry success, Perez looks forward to expanding the company with the help of his son, who graduated from St. Edwards University. “We have a number of future plans to grow our company including running our first-ever radio ads and hiring more lead painters and superintendents,” Perez explains. “I want to grow carefully, though, and not lose control.” He doesn’t plan to change the way he runs his business, however. He personally visits multiple job sites daily to make sure that the work meets his standards. “We take pride in every job that we do. Our motto is ‘Pride, Integrity, and Quality Craftsmanship,’” Perez says. “I really go all the way to make sure we treat everyone with respect. We make sure that we do everything we are asked to do. We just make sure that we do an excellent job.” Subcontractor Tito Perez Painting Company Inc. is a full-service painting company in Sugar Land. –mjm

Electric golf

L-R: 1st Place winners: Mark Banks, Jefferson Electric Co.; Patrick Lane, Newtron; NECA Executive Director Allen Grainey; Jody and Andrew Lane.

other Nature provided beautiful weather for the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Apr. 27 for their annual sporting clays shoot. The event was held at One in One Hundred Gun Club in Lumberton, TX. -cmw Winners: 2nd Place: Newtron’s Perry Viator, Wayne Huges; Brett Benoit, Jefferson Electric Co. and Richard Norman, Summit Electric Supply. 3rd Place: Mid-West Electric Co.’s Jorge Torres, Sarah Stotts; and Jordan Smith, Wayne Electric.

L-R: Highest Overall Score winner Steve Wilson, Putterman Scharck & Associates and NECA Executive Director, Allen Grainey.

ROMCO crew

ROMCO Equipment Co. employees, L-R: Leo Pruneda, Klae Boehme, Steve Owens, Bryan Cannon, Tommy Thompson, and Michael Brady pose for a photo at the Houston Contractors Association’s (HCA) Happy Hour held Mar. 22. -cmw

Father’s Day Sunday June 17

Houston Construction News • June 2018

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Crawfish invasion

t’s definitely crawfish season. Everyone is filling their bellies with perfectly seasoned crawfish, potatoes and corn including members from the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) who hosted their 2nd annual crawfish boil Mar. 22 at Cottonwood Bar. -cmw

Blazin’ clays

he Houston Contractors Association’s (HCA) annual clay shoot held on Apr. 6 at Westside Sporting Grounds was a huge success with 83 teams participating. –cmw

NAMC members piling up the crawfish and ready to feast.

Waukesha-Pearce Industries LLC, white course 1st place winners with a score of 337 – Travis Dillard, Kevin Cagel, Mark Rickett and Nick Webb.

Smiles on the faces of these NAMC members say it all.

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Visit our Website to sign up for a free monthly Digital Subscription www.ConstructionNews.net The Houston Construction News (ISSN 1547-7630) is published monthly by Construction News LTD., dba Houston Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction-related companies in Houston and surrounding counties. All submissions should be mailed to our editorial offices. We reserve the right to edit any materials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon in advance in writing. Submissions will be published at our discretion on a space available basis. Construction News, Ltd. , dba Houston Construction News, will not be liable for errors in copy or in advertisements beyond the actual cost of space occupied by the error. Publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement at any time. ©2018 Construction News, Ltd.

Peltier Brothers, yellow course 1st place winners with a score of 227

Insurepointe of Texas, green course 1st place winners with a score of 297

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

Contracts and the CGL

For retirement-minded contractors, ESOPs offer benefits worth considering Denise Bendele, Partner RSM US LLP San Antonio, TX

or some construction company owners ready to retire, selling their business to outsiders or passing it down to relatives seems the easiest and fastest way out the door. There is another option, however, that is growing in popularity: selling the business to employees by means of an employee stock option plan (ESOP). Although not appropriate for every construction company, an ESOP carries several inherent advantages, including the ability to change ownership gradually or all at once. It also allows owners to retain a share of the company – even a majority share – if they wish. While they function to reward longtime employees with an ownership stake in the business they helped build, ESOPs also offer the most tax advantages in an ownership-transition vehicle available to business owners. An ESOP is a qualified employee retirement plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ESOPs function as a tax-advantaged ownership transition plan for owners and sponsoring ESOP companies. Once the sponsoring company adopts the ESOP trust, the trust can then purchase shares of stock from the owner using borrowed funds from the company, a bank or the selling shareholders. ESOPs provide two primary tax advantages The first major advantage benefits business owners: If an ESOP acquires at least a 30 percent block of stock from the seller – and the company is a tax-paying C corporation at the time the ESOP acquires the stock – the seller may choose to defer paying capital gains taxes on sale proceeds by electing section 1042 of the Internal Revenue Code. The second major tax advantage of an ESOP benefits the sponsoring company. Businesses can borrow money to fund ESOPs and repay these loans with pretax dollars, effectively making the cost of the entire transaction tax deductible. In addition to the deductibility of the ESOP loan principal and interest, ESOP trusts themselves are tax-exempt entities. For surety agents, ESOPs often are appealing because they provide an ownership-transfer vehicle that ensures continuity and provides an incentive plan to retain key employees. Downside of an ESOP However, there are some disadvantages to ESOPs as well. If a company borrows money and then lends it to the ESOP to enable the ESOP to make a leveraged purchase of company stock, accounting regulations require that the loan be recorded as a liability on the company’s balance sheet, and a like amount debited to the equity account. The net effect is a reduction of the company’s net worth by the amount of the bank debt. This reduc-

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

tion could affect the company’s financial leverage, which in turn affects bonding and financing. Additionally, the trustees of the ESOP will need to monitor the repurchase obligations of the ESOP. The company will need a formal annual valuation. The timing of redemptions will need to be monitored in order to ensure that there is significant cash available. Ideally, the ESOP will maintain a portion of the fund in liquid investments in order to provide liquidity for retiring or terminating employees. Timing and implementation The timing for making ESOP account distributions is defined in the ESOP plan and trust agreement. Business owners should revisit and re-evaluate these distribution policies regularly to ensure existing policies are appropriate for the everchanging dynamics of the business. Implementation of an ESOP requires significant management time and resources and it can complicate financial accounting. The ESOP also follows complicated Department of Labor rules, making it necessary for the company and the ESOP to employ professionals with significant ESOP experience. For retirement-minded owners, ESOPs provide a way to leave the business gradually. Many ESOP transactions are structured as minority interest transactions, where the ESOP acquires less than a 50 percent block of stock of the company. Minority interest ESOP transactions provide business owners with an opportunity to create liquidity and still control the company. Contractors interested in pursuing an ESOP should visit with their certified public accountant regarding the tax and accounting implications. ESOPs aren’t for all contractors. Considerations include the company’s debt, revenues and net profits, cash reserves, company benefits, total assets, and potential for future growth. But for those companies that are suitable, an ESOP offers a good way for owners to transition out of the company on their own schedule. Denise Bendele is a partner at RSM US LLP in San Antonio. She can be reached at +1 210 828 6281 or Denise.Bendele@rsmus.com.

hat were you doing in 1986? Listening to the latest tunes from Van Halen or Hank Williams, Jr., watching “The Fridge” do the Superbowl Shuffle, wishing you had gone to flight school so you could be like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun”, or saddened by the “Fire Fred” sign flying above Memorial Stadium. Maybe you were wondering how a nuclear power plant could explode in Chernobyl or the Columbia space shuttle disaster could ever happen. Or maybe you were beginning your risk management career like me. Of course many of you millennials out there were not around to fully appreciate the ‘80s, but I think you may get the picture that times have changed. You may not find it in the history books or Wikipedia, but 1986 was a big year in the insurance world. In 1986 ISO introduced the new Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) policy. This marked a significant change in the way liability coverage was afforded and much of the terminology used in today’s insurance policies. Why bring up the history lesson? need to require a medical payments limit Well, many attorneys crafting subcon- as this does not restrict the coverage aftracts and lease agreements have failed forded by the per occurrence limit on the to appreciate these changes and contin- CGL policy. ue to reference coverages and terms that This may sound like a list of pet no longer exist. It is a cycle of using the peeves from an insurance agent that resame contract verbiage year after year views these poorly worded contracts on without looking at the changes required almost a daily basis, but when it comes to to match today’s coverage terms. Even contracts, words matter. At the time of the millennial attorneys out there con- the law suit or claim, vague or inaccurate tinue this practice by “borrowing” ver- wording must be vetted to determine libiage from old contracts. This practice ability exposure and potential insurance becomes problematic because it be- coverage. This is particularly true in tocomes impossible to technically meet the day’s world when most insurance enrequirements of the contract. Signing a dorsements stipulate “as required by poorly worded contract that cannot be written contract.” The beauty of the procomplied to could well put you in breach cess (tongue in cheek) is the only party of the contract. that wins with a poorly worded contract There are a few common provisions is the attorney who may well have draftthat are often found in contracts with ed the contract in the first place, spendoutdated verbiage. Number 1, it’s not a ing (i.e. billing) countless hours litigating “broad form comprehensive” policy. It is who should be responsible for damages simply a “commercial” general liability based on the contract’s specifications. policy. There is no such thing as “broad The solution to this problem is to upform property coverage” or “broad form date contracts with the appropriate contractual liability”. The requests to de- wording and if you receive a contract that lete the “contractual liability exclusion” is poorly worded by today’s standards, or include the “cross liability endorse- communicate this to the upstream party ment” are not appropriate for the current so they can address these concerns. It CGL. These coverages were incorporated will save everyone time and money… into the 1986 CGL rather than added by well almost everyone. endorsement. It makes it very difficult for Mark Gaskamp is a Managing Director you or your insurance agent to prove for Wortham Insurance & Risk Management, something that does not exist. In most an independent insurance agency in cases what the requirements should stip- business since 1915 and one of the leading ulate is that there be no exclusion that construction insurance brokers in Texas. would take away these coverages, which Mark has over 25 years of risk management in many cases is the exact opposite of and safety experience. His role with Wortham how many contracts are worded. is to partner with Wortham Construction A couple of my other favorites…a Practice Group clients to help manage their reference to “public injury” or requiring a exposures and reduce their overall cost of “combined single limit” on the CGL. The risk. He is an active member of the American term “public injury” does not exist in the Society of Safety Engineers Construction insurance world. This term should be re- Practice Specialty Group, and serves on placed with “bodily injury,” “property safety committees of the Association damage,” and “personal and advertising of Building Contractors, Association of liability” coverage as outlined in the CGL General Contractors, Texas Aggregate and policy. The coverage limits should also be Concrete Association, and is a National specified for each area of coverage as Faculty Member of Certified Risk Managers outlined in the CGL (per occurrence, gen- International. For more information visit eral aggregate, products/completed op- www.worthaminsurance.com or contact erations and personal and advertising li- Mark at (512) 532-1536 or mark.gaskamp@ ability). As an aside, there really is no worthaminsurance.com.

All you can eat

ig City Access held its 16th annual crawfish boil on Apr. 5. Guests were treated to good music, all the crawfish you can eat, door prizes and Big City Access’ outstanding hospitality. -cmw

Houston Construction News • June 2018

Page 5

What is your most memorable vacation?

Assessing impact of Houston’s overhaul of Floodplains Building Regulation Ian Faria, Partner Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Houston, TX

n April 4, 2018, the Houston City Council voted to significantly overhaul regulations on building within the 100- and 500-year floodplains. The proposal to amend Chapter 19 of the City of Houston Code of Ordinances, the City’s Floodplain Regulation Ordinance, was first introduced in late January and was specifically fasttracked through the ordinance revision process. Several groups voiced concerns about the unintended consequences of such a drastic change. For instance, the new requirements will likely have a negative effect on housing affordability and inventory in Houston. In short, the new floodplain develop- Class I permits for sites outside the 100ment regulation changes will be effec- year flood plain and Class II permits for tive Sept. 1, 2018. For anyone developing sites within the 100-year flood plain. Both and building in Houston, they need to be Class I and II permits have raised the minaware that the 100-year floodplain will imum finished floor elevation required now be regulated at the 500-year Base by the county. Class II permits will now Flood Elevations (BFE), plus two feet. The require pier and beam foundations and 500-year floodplain will be regulated at additional wind design requirements. the 500-year BFE, plus two feet. Further- That means no more slab on grade conmore, net fill will not be allowed in the struction, a standard in the industry. Me500-year floodplain (it is already prohib- chanical and electrical units will have to ited in the 100-year), unless a property be elevated to the first floor. Requiring owner can demonstrate no impact to ex- foundations to be constructed with pier isting sheetflow. Finally, additions larger and beam allows water to pass through than one-third of an existing property in and be detained beneath the foundathe 500-year floodplain must be raised to tion. While taking action to prevent major the 500 BFE, plus two feet. catastrophic loss due to natural disasters This is a significant step for Houston is necessary, the implications to the conthat may have a wide impact on residenstruction industry as a whole should be tial and commercial development. Many taken into consideration. It is unclear cities in the greater Houston area use or what impact these new regulations will draw from the City of Houston and Harris have throughout Texas. However, based County development criteria in lieu of their own floodplain regulations and may on the focus on Houston post-Harvey, it update their own ordinances to reflect is reasonable to expect that other cities and municipalities will follow the lead of similar changes. While many view the new regula- Houston. It will be very important when tions as only impacting residential con- looking to develop new commercial and struction, that may not be the case. The residential projects that these new reguregulations apply to any “structures.” A lations are taken into consideration and are strictly adhered to. “structure” is defined: …shall mean an edifice or building Ian P. Faria is a member of the Conof any kind or piece of work that is artifi- struction and Government Contracts Praccially built up or composed of parts tice Group and Managing Partner of the joined together in a definite manner, inHouston office of Bradley Arant Boult Cumcluding, but not limited to, a modular mings LLP. He represents developers, genhome or a manufactured home, or a gas eral contractors, subcontractors, homeor liquid storage tank when such tank is builders, business owners and individuals principally located above ground. Sec. in a variety of disputes, as well as in OSHA 19-2. Definitions. compliance and investigation matters. He The new City of Houston regulations can be reached at ifaria@bradley.com. follow those implemented on Jan. 1, 2018, made by unincorporated Harris County. In fact, some consider the new Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP regulations adopted by unincorporated has offices in Birmingham, AL; Charlotte, Harris County to be some of the nation’s NC; Houston, TX; Huntsville, AL; Jackson, strictest flood plain regulations. These MS; Montgomery, AL; Nashville, TN; Tamnew regulations split permitting into pa, FL and Washington DC.

My most memorable vacation was in Jamaica in 2004. I went there for a honeymoon and stayed for seven days in Ochos Rios. We explored several places on the island – Montego Bay, Kingston, Dunns River Falls. The curry chicken was the best and so was the rum! Bill M. Brown Austin Commercial

Last year I traveled to Arizona to spend time with my cousin. We hiked in different areas starting in Phoenix making our way up to the Grand Canyon, truly one of the most scenic and memorable trips thus far. I could definitely go into further detail on this trip. Avrien Veneralla Hudson Building Systems

About four years ago, my husband and I went to a Houston Texans away game to celebrate his birthday. Each game is unique and we have enjoyed all of them so far. Out of these games, I have to say the Packers game was the best. The morning of the game, it started snowing lightly and we had the whole fan experience of watching the game in the snow on ‘metal bleacher’ seats which were cold and wet. The game was so enjoyable - the Packer fans were so friendly and welcomed all the Texan fans. This year we are traveling to New England in September. The Texans and the Astros are playing the same weekend so we get to experience Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. GO TEXANS and ‘STROS! Carol Pitman Pitman Construction

A trip to Switzerland as the views there were spectacular. Kenneth Taylor Air Depot Air Conditioning

A few years ago my wife and I joined two other couples and we went on a motorcycle ride to Laconia, NH. On the way we rode the “Tail of the Dragon” at the Tennessee–North Carolina Border. From Laconia, we rode into Canada and took Hwy 2 west to Sault Ste. Marie, crossing back into the USA and riding west thru Michigan’s UP, Wisconsin, and into Minnesota. From Minnesota we rode I-35 to Dallas then I-45 back to the Island. Ten days of open road on a Harley, can’t beat that! Jerry Bosworth Bosworth A/C Inc.

In 2014, we went scuba diving with sharks in the Bahamas! Jeannette Wyatt Wyatt Management G.C.

My most memorable vacation was dove hunting in Argentina. Robert Randall Charter Drywall My most memorable vacation, so far, was driving from Houston to Las Vegas. We stopped by the Grand Canyon around 5am to wait for the sunrise. Experiencing the beautiful night sky full of stars to the sun rising behind the Grand Canyon and all those beautiful color schemes it created was what made it so memorable. Helena Villamar Eskala North America

My most memorable vacation was when I went skiing in Crested Butte, CO. Ann Marie Hartwell Arrow Services, Inc.

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

Dan Nicholson

Owner/President Nicholson Plumbing LLC Pasadena, TX

an Nicholson has spent most of his life around and in the plumbing industry, thanks to his dad, a local union and even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Each contributed to Nicholson’s skill and eventual decision to strike out on his own in the industry and build a plumbing business he could pass on to the next generation. How were you introduced to the plumbing industry? My father was in the plumbing industry in Pasadena. I went out to job sites with him a few times, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I figured I would eventually become a plumber. After high school graduation in 1979, I immediately joined the Plumbers’ Local Union 68 apprenticeship program, which at that time was a four-year program. After that, I became a journeyman plumber and worked out of Plumber’s Local Union 68. I worked for the same company for close to 28 years on and off – at least three seven-year stints – and worked for other major plumbing contractors when work got slow. After that, I went to work at NASA in 2005. How did you become involved with NASA? They hire plumbers and all trades to maintain their campus. They were looking for a plumber at one point, and I decided I’d like to give that a try and find out what NASA was all about. It was nice because I got to see behind the scenes over there. It’s an old facility so there is plenty of work to do – a lot of maintenance, repairs and replacements. I stayed there for seven years, and at that point, I had been thinking about starting my own business. I took my Master License exam, passed it and started Nicholson Plumbing in 2011.

Was it an easy decision for you? I was nervous to start, but I had reached a point in my life where it was either do it or don’t. I wasn’t getting any younger, and my finances were coming together; my house was paid for at that point, so I decided why not? I started out by myself working nights and weekends. It took a little while for word to get out; mostly at that time, advertising was word of mouth. It started growing in 2012; an opportunity came up for us to plumb a small commercial building, which my son, Bryan, talked me into doing. Does Bryan work for you? He does. Bryan is the third generation of my family now to work in plumbing, although I never thought he would get into plumbing or be a part of my business! How has the business evolved over the years? We’ve grown bigger with more employees, we’re doing bigger jobs and more jobs, and we have four trucks on the road now.

Danny Nicholson in his office.

What do you think the secret to your success has been? Hard work and good employees – actually, the key to success is good employees. I have 10 employees and I’m looking to grow.

Nicholson Plumbing? We want to start a service end of our company, and of course we want to grow our construction field. Multiple locations could happen some day, but that’s down the road. I want to move to New Braunfels someday, so that’s a possibility. Bryan loves his position here and he wants the business to grow. He’s in it for the long run and he plans to take it over when I retire. Without him, we wouldn’t be anywhere, honestly. I say good employees are the key to success, but also a good family is important, too. His office skills are great.

Who has mentored you along the way? As far as coming up as a plumber, I’m going to say it was one of my all-time favorite plumbers, Bill Benable, who is retired now after working for the same company I did. He was the first plumber I ever worked for and I learned a lot from him as far as work ethic and plumbing. There is something about working with your first plumber; you always remember that guy.

Share about your family. I have a wife, Lisa. Besides my son Bryan, I also have a daughter, Brandy, and two granddaughters. Brandy used to work for me, but she got too busy running the girls back and forth to their cheer and dance practices, so she had to call it a career. My sister Peggy doesn’t work for me, but my mother, Gracie, who is 90 years old, always says she wants to come work for Nicholson Plumbing!

Do you have the opportunity to mentor others? I have, mainly employees and apprentices that have worked for me over the years.

What kind of hobbies do you enjoy when you’re not working? I like to take care of my yard, and I golf. My game is pretty good; I’d say it’s average to a little bit above average, maybe. Bryan plays also, and his game is really good. He lets me win once a year – usually on Father’s Day! We travel a little bit. We like to venture off to Vegas to play craps. I also like to go to California; my wife has brothers out there, and we like to go visit them. Lisa and I like to go to the Golden Nugget or Lake Charles a few times a year, too. I would like to go to the

What are some of the lessons you have learned in the past seven years? I’ve learned to be patient and to stay positive. I still have to work hard. Nothing is given to me; I have to earn everything.

You’ve also mentored Bryan and brought him into the industry. What do you think is the most important thing you have tried to teach him? Honesty. He treats people the way they would want to be treated, and he works hard. What are your future plans for

Appalachian Mountains someday. I have two antique motorcycles that I’m rebuilding right now. They’re little Honda CT70s I got on eBay. They’re small mini-bikes, the kind I always wanted when I was a kid. One is a 1969 and one is a 1971 model. One of them I built from scratch part by part, and the other I just bought from a guy in the Dallas area. One is for me and the other is for Lisa. I thought I would buy them so we could have them to play around on. Do you have any collections? I have a collection of coins. My most special coin is a silver dollar I was given by my grandmother that turned 100 years old when I turned 20. Now it is 136 years old, and it’s the most precious coin that I have. Is that the most precious possession that you have? No, that would be my two beloved mixed breed rescue dogs, Shelley and Harley, that we’ve had for years. We usually always have one or two dogs around and have for the past 20 years. This third generation that we have now, we’ve had one of the dogs for four years and the other for about six. We love them dearly. What are your plans after retirement? I plan to relax, play golf and travel a little bit and drive my wife crazy. Lisa and I are both homebodies; we just like to sit at home and enjoy our backyard with a glass of wine. We have a nice pool back there, and our granddaughters like to come over and swim and play. I hope for good health and a nice relaxing retirement. Nicholson Plumbing is a commercial plumbing subcontractor in Pasadena. –mjm

Fish-tricity

he Independent Electrical Contractors’ (IEC) Texas Gulf Coast’s fishing tournament was a great success this year with 52 boats participating! The Captain’s party was held at the Monument Inn in La Porte May 9. The weigh-in was held at Topwater Grill in San Leon May 11. –cmw

Guided Team Heaviest Stringer: 2nd Place: Team Backwater Fishermen – Mike Dannenbaum, Joey Frazier, Brandon Reed and Jeff Acosta 3rd Place: Team Coastline – Justin Fox, Claude Cheatwood, Jarrod Loper and James Mayeux

1st Place Guided Team Heaviest Stringer, Team Walker 3 L-R: Brian Grosse, Curtis Adams, Brad Shiftlet and Epi Garza

Non-Guided Team Heaviest Stringer: 2nd Place: Team Saltwater Ninjas – Matt Harris, Nathan Chain and Jason Williamson 3rd Place: Team Schneider Electric – Chase Raska, Jared Pasteka, Brad Panek and Brett Hanks

1st Place Non-Guided Team Heaviest Stringer, Team Oldcastle 1 L-R: Steve Kass Jr., Kenneth Morrison and Marty Jordan

Houston Construction News • June 2018

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more fishing memories. Over the past 20 years I have seen many of my clients’ kids grow into young adults. Some of those young adults have become clients also. This is what makes my job so gratifying. I can honestly say that I look forward to every fishing charter I launch my boat for. 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 email me at SteveSchultzOutdoors@gmail.com.

Summertime fun on the water

Good Luck and Good Fishing.

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

y the looks of the boxes of fish that have been hitting the docks lately, I’d have to say that the masses of trout we have been waiting for have finally arrived. I must say that the spring of 2018 is one of the worst ones I have seen in quite some time. Windy conditions combined with endless cool fronts made catching fish a real challenge, but we made it through all of that. Now we begin our trek to summer weather patterns and hope the fishing continues to stay as good as it’s been in the month of May. Another worst for 2018 was the lack of guides I have seen on the water the last couple of months. I’m talking about the majority of our seasoned guides that have seen their business decline for some reason, with the exception of weekends. Granted, we had a major hurricane hit the coastal bend late last summer and I can understand some of the areas to the north that are still in the rebuilding process, but I’m talking about the Corpus south business. I’m hoping that things

Brandon Dewbre caught his personnel best trout last month while fishing in Baffin Bay with Steve Schultz Outdoors. Brandon released his trout and will have a replica mount made of his 29-inch trout that weighed 8.5 lbs.

turn around real soon and people start getting back on the water. As summer approaches, you can bet on one thing, it’s going to get hot. Be prepared by staying hydrated and keeping cool. Get an early start to your day and get off the water before the heat of the day. Weekdays will be your best bet to catching fish because of the lack of fishing pressure from weekend warriors and fishing tournaments. You can bet there

I don’t see anything!

will be several fishing tournaments on every weekend throughout the summer. If you have no other options and must fish on a Saturday, be prepared for long waits getting bait and launching your boats at the ramp. Just have an open mind and get an earlier start than the rest of the crowd. I am looking forward to our summer fishing season and seeing lots of my clients and friends return to create many

Send us your Vacation and other Outdoor Photos. Email:

Meditor@ConstructionNews.net

or our “On The Spot” question this month, Construction News asked Jeanette Wyatt - “What was your most memorable vacation. “ Jeanette said in 2014 she and her husband, Tim Wyatt, went scuba diving with the sharks in the Bahamas. So, here’s the photo. Jeanette and Tim Wyatt are owners of Wyatt Management in the Woodlands. -rd

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Houston Construction News • June 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

Fish are hungry!

t’s funny how just a few things can change a little bit and all of a sudden the fish seem to wake up and say, “It’s on!” To say we have been through a weird spring season would be putting it lightly. Between seesawing temperatures and very little spring rain to freshen the watershed, conditions haven’t been the best for turning the fish on. Once we stopped having one or two cold fronts a week, we started seeing nice stringers come in off our boats. At first they were made up of stripers, hybrids, blue catfish and even a few largemouth and crappie. It was like everything in the lake was waking up hungry. Then the stringers became mostly stripers and hybrids and the big fish started coming in. We even ran across some topwater fish last week! A more consistent weather pattern was just what they needed. I love to see spring settle in around the lake. Fishing gets good and the weather seems to get more summer-like every day. People start to get out of the house and bring the family for the weekend and the lake comes back to life. The kids start off squealing at the cold water as they wade in, but are soon hard to get out of the water for supper. You can tell fishing was good when you smell fish and french fries cooking. Morning sunrises come with the smell of sizzling bacon and quiet, good natured banter between fishermen loading up their boats to go fishing. Our little collection of fishing camps here at Tow on Lake Buchanan becomes a community again. Strangers who have never met become neighbors and friends all drawn together by their love of the lake. It doesn’t matter whether you soak

JW Materials (concrete), Austin

Half or Full Day Fishing Trips All Bait, Tackle & Equipment Furnished Your catch Filleted and Bagged for You Furnish your TPWD Fishing License & Refreshments, and WE DO THE REST!

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

Hiking in the Grand Canyon

ast year, Avrian Veneralla, Hudson Building Systems, traveled to Arizona with his cousin. They hiked in different areas starting in Phoenix and making their way up to the Grand Canyon. “This was truly one of the most scenic and memorable trips this far.” Hudson Building Systems has offices in Dallas, Austin, and Houston.

in it, splash in it, read and reflect by it or fish in it, there is something for everyone at the lake. I see it all the time. There might be a couple of groups of people waiting on the deck to catch their charter boat. They come from all different places and backgrounds. It never takes long before they are trading fishing stories and hunting tales and such, like old friends. When you come to the lake you just become a lake person for a while and leave the rest behind. Stop and think about how you came to love the water. How old were you and who taught you to fish or took you swimming or showed you how to ski? Are you passing the love of water down to your kids and grandkids? School’s out for the summer. Are you planning to load up the gang for a trip to the lake or the coast? I know it’s hard to get kids to unplug and go with you for a new adventure, but keep trying. They often soak up more of it than they’ll admit. I worry that our younger folks may not be getting acquainted with the outdoors the way we did and they may need to escape the pressure of the world even more that we do. Keep it in mind while you make summer plans because I think we are in for a great season this summer!

Houston Construction News â&#x20AC;¢ June 2018

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

Mural of the story

Mentoring wins

ore than 250 golfers, representing the design and construction industry, Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) raised $20,000 for ACE Mentor Program Houston Inc. at the AGC/AIA golf tournament held on Apr. 23. -cmw

Cypress Creek Course Winners: Closest to the Pin: Toby Miclette Longest Drive: Ryan Jackson

1st Place Team: Oldcastle Precast, Inc. 2nd Place Team: Watts Pool Company 3rd Place Team: MLN Company

Jackrabbit Course Winners: Closest to the Pin: Taylor Macon Longest Drive: Caleb Asp 1st Place Team: TAS Commercial Concrete 2nd Place Team: Century Asphalt Materials 3rd Place Team: The Mathis Group, Inc.

Tom Renick painting a continent mural in office building

ven as a little boy, muralist Tom Renick enjoyed art in a big way. “When I was in the first grade, teachers would give us drawing assignments and, strangely enough, I would tape a bunch of sheets of paper together so that I would have a really large sheet,” Renick remembers with a laugh. “I was the only kid in the room that did it! I always tried to do it big.” Renick’s mother, sensing there was talent to develop, bought her son an oil paint set and enrolled him in a community center painting class when he was 10 years old. His teachers also nurtured his gift. “I did a series of large drawings in the third grade and the school held a private show for my artwork,” he recalls. “I was encouraged. We tend to like to do the things that we get praised for and that certainly is the case with me.” Because of his talent, he was employed as a commercial artist when he was barely 16. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in education from Florida Atlantic University, he worked in the school’s commercial art studio doing graphic design and illustration. Nearly six years later, he pursued a marketing communications career and moved to Texas. He still dabbled in art as a theatrical set designer and was getting offers to paint murals. After praying about the matter, he resigned from his marketing position and established Murals by Renick in 2007. For 11 years, Renick has crisscrossed Texas and other states, painting murals for commercial buildings, schools, libraries and churches. Even when he spends sweltering 14-hour days using the side of a building as his canvas, he loves what each day brings. “I like doing different things,” he says. “One day I’m on a 125 ft. by 25 ft. tall mural. Another day, I’m doing hand lettering for a commercial facility or school. I also do faux finishing and, on

First Place Cypress Creek Course

occasion, theatrical sets. I get to dabble in three-dimensional as well as twodimensional. The other thing I like is I get to meet so many different people. Everything is changing all of the time.” Now Renick, who always enjoyed making large artwork, is realizing that the work of his art might be too big. “I hope to grow as a business, but the biggest challenge is wearing so many hats,” he admits. “I’m getting busier and I hope things will get busy enough to where I can hire someone full-time. I want to keep things in order and make sure I get rest at night so that when I come in to do my job the next day, I’m alert and paying attention to what I am doing. “People see artists as being unstructured but I try to be highly organized; this is my business side that I developed during my corporate years,” he continues. “I use these skills to build consistency and predictability for my customers. They’re not bringing in some guy that likes to play on the side with paints and brushes, but actually somebody that uses them for a profession. I deliver high-value, creative professional artwork with that kind of demeanor as well.” Murals by Renick is a Houston-based subcontractor. – mjm

First Place Jackrabbit Course

Golfing masons

L-R: 1st Place, Mustang Metal & Supply: Emilio Ramos, Jim Campbell, Todd Dillingham and Stephen Campbell

pr. 27 turned out to be a great day for golf for the Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston (AMCH). -cmw

Winners included: 2nd Place - City Masonry LLC: Paul McCurdy, Chris Smith, Jeff Pate and Charlie Priest 3rd Place - Argos USA: Jake Foster, Bobby Whisnant, Matt Perreault and Brent Coffee Longest Drive winner – Stephanie Ogg, Upchurch Kimbrough Co.

Houston Construction News • June 2018

Page 11

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

A change in direction Chuck Fell, President CFI Mechanical Inc. Houston, TX

n addition to his role as president of CFI Mechanical Inc., Chuck Fell served as the president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) in 2014 through 2015. He continues to attend and serve as a past president of the association. How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? In the Greater Houston area, the market is fairly healthy. Many school districts have projects starting or in the design phase, and multi-family construction is booming. Office tower construction has slowed since the peak in 2015. Have you heard of an increase or slowdown in business? What factors are driving this increase/slowdown? As far as a slow down, it would be in the construction of major commercial projects like office towers and large hospital projects. Houston just finished a large office tower boom along with many new hospitals. How has this increase/slowdown affected your company and how you conduct business? We have ventured out into multifamily projects. We have plenty of school work and have built-up a sizeable service department for commercial clientele. We have a good niche in chiller change out and cooling tower change outs. Our cus-

tomers appreciate our ability to keep their building downtime to a minimum. Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting your industry? There have not been any significant changes concerning Texas legislation. The steel tariffs are cause for concern. We have numerous projects with steel pipe that we are now paying a premium for and the manufactured goods we purchase have gone up accordingly. It’s hard to bid a current project and hold our pricing more than seven days, when typically an owner wants you to hold your bid price for 30 to 60 days. What are the “hot button” issues in your industry? The continued skilled labor shortage and, now, the possible steel tariffs are the “hot button” issues in the HVAC and plumbing industry today. What is on the horizon for your industry? (Changes in technology, equipment, other) “The Internet of things” is having a

Wanted: YOU Alicia Dover, CAE Executive Director Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Texas Austin, TX

orkforce shortages! The need for more skilled tradespeople! Bring back the trades to the schools!

These and other phrases are being heard throughout the plumbing and HVACR industry. In addition, there is a cry from the education community: We need teachers! Tell us how to do it. What do we teach? In the current climate of high demand, low supply and a desire to train for the skilled trades, what is our next step? The need has been shared. The schools listened. Now what? As the Executive Director for the plumbing and HVAC trades in Texas, I am often asked to attend introduction meetings with school systems across the state. I share our desperate need for workers; they share their desire to meet that need. Problem solved, right? Wrong! What needs to happen at that point is the exchange of information. The practical “know how” of creating a program, selecting curriculum, obtaining the supplies and tools required and ultimately

CORRECTION May Issue, Page 1 Abacus Plumbing Alan O’Neill’s name in the article “Shamrocks to bluebonnets” was misspelled. Also, he is the CEO of the Wrench Group’s South Central Region (Texas). We regret the error. –dsz

finding the qualified instructors to teach the students. To add to the mix, how will they market the program to attract students when there can be over 10 other career clusters from which to choose? The question I am often asked is: How do we make plumbing “sexy” so that kids will want to select this highly viable and financially rewarding career path? And therein lies the dilemma: How do we come alongside the schools in our area when education issues are well outside our wheelhouse? I often feel left out and uniformed when I am asked to sit in on advisory councils, school district meetings and even legislative conferences dealing with bringing career training into the school setting. I mean, who really knows what accountability ratings, Teks and approved certifications really are? How do they apply to our need for more skilled labor? These issues matter if a school system is going to receive funding

HVAC & Plumbing Sept: Green Building Nov: Architecture & Engineering Oct: Specialty Contractors Dec: Construction Equipment

positive effect on the manufactured goods that we are purchasing. In addition, our collaboration with Milwaukee Tool has provided us a safer more productive means to perform our work safely and efficiently. What are the major changes in your industry in recent years? Augmented and virtual reality is gaining more traction in construction such as 3-D BIM Modeling which has now turned more toward Revit Software in which we coordinate with the architect and engineers to provide life size building models in which we use in the design and coordination specific mechanical and plumbing systems. Also, our tech savvy workforce and the use of tablet and cloud computing to communicate with our field foreman are the biggest changes we’ve seen in recent years. What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? Labor shortages? Other? We often hear about the challenge of staying ahead of the curve when it comes to changes in technology and project delivery methods. Building Information Modeling (BIM), mobile technologies, modularization and prefabrication are good examples. And then there are the related challenges of enhancing your firm’s efficiencies and maximizing your competitiveness. One issue in our industry, unfortunately, is the ongoing need to replace today’s aging skilled work force with new skilled plumbers, pipefitters and service techs. Our apprenticeship schools need now, more than ever, to re-

for each of their students. There must be some sort of path or result to get the state of Texas to bless their endeavors. So, how does all of this affect you, the plumbing or HVAC contractor? Your expertise is needed. For schools that have never had any sort of vocational education in the areas of building construction, or those that are trying to resurrect or improve current training, they need you. Many of my district level meetings are focused on what needs to be taught. Will it be relevant? Will students be able to secure gainful employment upon graduation? Can students intern with local companies while in high school? What can you teach them that require real world experiences? Those who will one day employ these students must answer these questions and more. What can you do? Look to your own school district; find out who has a program or who is looking to add construction related programming. Offer to serve on an advisory committee for the program’s implementation and ongoing evaluation. Provide access to local suppliers and manufacturers for lab items required. Be willing to offer internships. Speak about your industry during a class period. Be willing to host an instructor for a day or two of real world training (what to take back to the classroom). Put your best young people forward and let them share with the students. Offer to teach a concept or skill – kids love to think that

www.constructionnews.net publishing the industry’s news

cruit talented individuals and our contractors need to put them to work. We also need to provide ongoing training on today’s new technologies and techniques to keep us all competitive, and our workers employed. There is a labor shortage, specifically skilled labor such as HVAC service technicians, licensed plumbers, and welders, along with other construction trades. The loss of vocational classes in high schools back in the late 80s has hurt this industry. How are you dealing with these challenges? We are aggressively working with the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters in recruiting new apprentices into our trade. What are the rewards of the industry? Building a trusted loyal client base that turns to us for repeat business. We pride ourselves in building a reputation up and down the supply chain, from architect and engineering firms to general contractors and the subcontractors that work for us to the building owners that depend on us for their air conditioning and plumbing needs. What are the keys to being successful? Our employees are who we are as a successful mechanical contractor. We enjoy our work and our customer base and we take pride in the subcontractors we choose to do business with. They represent CFI Mechanical. CFI Mechanical Inc. is a HVAC and plumbing contractor in Houston, TX. -cmw

what they are learning is being taught by an expert. Encourage your employees to volunteer. You may find a true mentor or teacher in your own backyard. Pretty simple stuff, right? In an economy of being too busy to even imagine reaching out in a volunteer mode is daunting. I am reminded of a saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person!” I believe this applies to coming alongside education to help grow your trade. They want to do it right and they want you to tell them how. My question to you is, won’t you consider helping at a school near you? As a representative of the trade in which you work, I need your assistance. I can bring curriculum data, industry statistics, and lists of local area contractors, but ultimately, they want the real deal. They desire to partner with the one who is going to provide employment for their students. As I mentioned earlier, the need is known, and the education world has listened. Now it is time for us to step up and provide the missing link to create high quality and relevant learning for high school students in Texas. Would you like assistance in finding a local program in your area? Do you need help with an existing program? Please do not hesitate to contact me at alicia@phcctx.org. PHCC is a construction trade association in Austin and through-out Texas. - cmw

Texas Style

H H H H H

San Antonio Austin South Texas Houston South Texas

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

THIS TH MON

HVAC & Plumbing

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

NEXT MONTH (JULY) ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY

Dependability is key Wesley E. Baker, Vice President Business Unit Manager TDIndustries San Antonio, TX

36-year veteran of the mechanical industry, Baker began learning his trade in high school. He continued learning his trade in 1982 through the Plumbers & Pipefitter apprenticeship program, graduating in 1986. He continues as the business unit manager for TDIndustries.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? The construction industry is still very strong in Texas. North Texas and Austin continue to remain strong in growth and San Antonio continues to see moderate growth. And while Houston continues to remain flat and as the energy market stabilizes and the effects from Hurricane Harvey fade, we anticipate an uptick in construction towards the end of the year. Have you heard of an increase or slowdown in business? What factors are driving this increase/slowdown? With the continued population growth in Texas, we continue to see steady growth in 2018 and into 2019. We continue to see strong growth in the healthcare and mission critical markets. We don’t see as many “mega” projects in San Antonio; however, this has been offset with the revitalization of downtown San Antonio and the Pearl area. The Texas economy continues to remain strong with the population growth. The only concern that could limit construction growth is the tight labor market for skilled tradespeople. TD has placed a heavy focus on trades training, growing partners from within, as well as on recruiting more women and Veterans to our industry. How has this increase/slowdown affected your company and how you conduct business?

With the tight labor market, TD is very intentional of the jobs that we pursue so that the quality of our work remains high. Design-build/design-assist work has enabled us to engage early with the team to minimize rework. Additionally, we have invested in VDC and prefabrication to not only complete the work faster, but also safer. Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting your industry? The steel tariffs are generating a lot of activity and concern about future cost of commodities. We are working closely with our suppliers to understand the impact and manage the risk associated with the volatility of this market. Do you see an increase in the number of outside contractors coming to the area? With the Texas economy being as strong as it is, we are seeing more contractors and competitors coming into all regions across Texas. In the San Antonio area, they are primarily companies that have worked in San Antonio in the past without setting up a permanent office and are currently looking to establish themselves in the area. What are the “hot button” issues in your industry? Besides the skilled trades shortage, safety is always a “hot button” in the construction industry. We all strive for zero ac-

Obtaining your HVAC riches Richard Gutierrez Founder & Operations Manager Hot Rod Mechanical Inc. Austin, TX

or more than 19 years, Richard Gutierrez has been servicing the Austin commercial market. Having established a team of professionals with knowledge and experience, Gutierrez oversees his staff in commercial refrigeration, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, HVAC boiler and chiller maintenance services and installation.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? The construction industry is very strong in the central Texas area.

Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting your industry? HRMI keeps up with all proposed changes and we try to be proactive to any changes.

Have you heard of an increase or slowdown in business? We have not heard of any slowdown in the Central Texas area. Commercial construction seems to have a good log of projects in the works.

Do you see an increase in the number of outside contractors coming to the area? We have seen an increase of outside contractors over the last five years. This is partly due to the population explosion in Texas from out-of-state residents.

What factors are driving this increase/ slowdown? I think consumer confidence is a driving factor for the increase as a result of the new administration. How has this increase/slowdown affected your company and how you conduct business? The increase in construction has kept our team members busy. As a result, we have been able to expand our service base.

What are the “hot button” issues in your industry? One of the “hot button” issues in our industry is the training of technicians to sell HVAC additional services, equipment and supplies. In addition, finding skilled technicians to carry on after the baby boomers retire. What is on the horizon for your industry? (Changes in technology, equipment, other)

cidents and protecting our workforce. At TD, we have formed a team of safety leaders that is focused on best practices and safety at the source. This “World Class Safety Team” has been directly led by our CEO, Harold MacDowell, and is focused on a company core value of “Fiercely Protecting All Partners.” What is on the horizon for your industry? TD is always researching and experimenting with new technologies and we pride ourselves with being on the cutting edge for our industry. We recently established two funds for innovation, the R&D Fund and TDBank. These funds allow for testing new innovations such as robotics, virtual and augmented reality, as well as for applications to improve productivity. With this funding, partners are able to fully vet out various applications and determine the maximum capabilities to be implemented on a long-term basis. What are the major changes in your industry in recent years? The focus on safety continues to be a major change for our industry. Construction site conditions vary and require unique solutions. There is no canned answer for any situation in the industry. The use of new technologies is driving our jobsites, whether it’s the use of drones, GPS Technologies or new tools. This is moving at a faster pace than some are able to keep up with and taking large investments on our company’s part. What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? Labor shortages? Other? The lack of skilled labor is probably the most significant challenge for us as a trade partner, but more specifically, the lack of superintendents and expert supervision. As the baby boomers begin to retire and with the lack of experienced tradespeople coming up to take their place, TD is tackling

Automating our sales and service processes and cutting our customer acquisition costs to keep pricing competitive. What are the major changes in your industry in recent years? The major change in this industry is automation and new high-tech tools. Everything is computer-driven. What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? Labor shortages? Other? The most significant challenge HRMI faces is labor shortage, but this is not restricted to HRMI, it is everywhere, in every trade. How are you dealing with these challenges? HRMI has adopted an apprenticeship program to teach young people how or

the trades training head-on through extensive training in-house, and focusing on innovations to do more with less. How are you dealing with these challenges? We are investing significant resources, both in dollars and people, to solve the lack of training. We are implementing inhouse training programs that not only address entry level training, but also on-going skills enhancement in leadership, technical and cultural development for our current workforce. Continuous aggressive improvement is a part of TD’s mission statement and we are committed to our Partner’s personal development, which in turn will ensure TD’s ability to grow in spite of the industry challenges. What are the rewards of the industry? The biggest rewards of the construction industry are being able to put your hands on a tangible end product. Most construction workers take great pride in being able to show their kids and families the projects they have built. Our work is very visible, tangible, and last a long time beyond the end of construction for us to enjoy. Being a part of changing the skyline and landscape of Texas and of San Antonio is a very rewarding career opportunity. What are the keys to being successful? The biggest key to being successful in any industry, and construction is no different, is building trusting relationships. Being trustworthy, honest, dependable and a true partner on a project is critical. When you are dependable and provide a quality product at a fair price your customers will return in any industry. TDIndustries is a mechanical construction company in San Antonio and throughout Texas. -cmw

want to realize their dreams, HRMI has adopted a no ceiling policy where we will help anybody grow as much as they want and make as much money as they want. What are the rewards of the industry? Beyond the sky IS THE LIMIT. A person can get rich, very rich, if they are willing to learn and apply themselves. What are the keys to being successful? Any company that is serious about growing must learn to reproduce itself with a commitment to serve others and always do more than the minimum. Give back to the community and be honest in all areas of life because your private life does affect your public life. Hot Rod Mechanical Inc. is a full-line mechanical service company in Austin, TX. -cmw

Houston Construction News • June 2018

Page 13

Association Calendar

Party time bayou style

Content submitted by Associations to Construction News MCA

ABC

Associated Builders & Contractors

Mechanical Contractors Assn.

Jun. 13: Captain’s Party, Hobby Event Center, 9906 Gulf Fwy., For more info, call 713523-6222 Jun. 15: Fishing Tournament, TopWater Grill, 815 Ave. O, San Leon, TX. For more info, call 713-523-6222

Jun. 13: Membership Lunch Meeting; HESS Club, 5430 Westheimer, 11:45am. For more info, call 281-440-4380 Jun. 27: Summer Joint Meeting with Associate Members, HESS Club, 5430 Westheimer, 11:45am. For more info, call 281440-4380

AGC

Associated General Contractors

Jun. 7: Membership Mixer, Café Adobe – Marq’E, 7620 Katy Frwy., 4:30-6pm. For more info, call 713-843-3700 AIA

American Institute of Architects

Jun. 1: Gulf Coast Green 2018, Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, 6100 Main St., MS-480. For more info, call 713-5200155 or email Rhonda@aiahouston.org ASA

American Subcontractors Assn.

Jun. 13: Schmooze & Mingle, Manhattan Construction, 2120 Montrose Blvd., 4pm. For more info, 281-679-1877 ASCE

American Society of Civil Enginers

Jun. 19: ASCE Branch Meeting, Hess Club, 5430 Westheimer Rd., 11am-1pm. For more info, call 713-261-5156

NAMC

Jun. 13-15: 49th Annual National Conference, Dallas/Plano Marriott Legacy Town Center, 7121 Bishop Rd., Plano, TX. For more info, go www.namcnational.org NAWIC

National Assn. of Women in Construction

Jun. 12: Membership Meeting, Maggiano’s, 2018 Post Oak Blvd. For more info, contact Kathleen Cernosek at 281-8901880 ext. 11 NECA

National Electrical Contractors Assn. Southeast Texas Chapter

Jun. 21-23: SETX NECA Summer Meeting, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, 333 W. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA. For more info, call SETX NECA at 713-977-2522 PHCC

ASPE

Jun. 11: Spaghetti Westerna’s, 1608 Shepherd Dr., 6pm. For more info, email Dennis Maale at dennis.maale@jacobs.com

Jun. 13: Monthly Meeting; Churrasco’s Memorial City, 947 Gessner Rd., #B-290, 2nd Flr., Free parking Gateway Garage 2nd & 3rd Flrs. For more info, call 281-702-2955

ASSE

American Society of Safety Engineers

SFPE

Society of Fire Protection Engineers Houston Chapter

Jun. 21: North Section Meeting, Pallotta’s Italian Grill, 27606 I-45 North, The Woodlands, TX, 11am-1pm. For more info, contact Leslie McGaha at mchaha78@yahoo. com or Doug Rush at chiefdoug@gmail. com

Jun. 21: SFPE Houston June Meeting, SaltGrass Steak House East, 11900 I-10, 11:am1:30pm. For more info, go to www.sfpehouston.org

CSI

Southwest Insulation Contractors Assn.

Construction Specifications Institute

Jun. 25: Chapter Meeting/Awards Banquet, Harold’s Restaurant & Tap Room, 350 W. 19th St., 5:30pm. For more info, call Bill Fairbanks at 281-227-3577 or email csihoustonhg@gmail.com FPA

Foundation Performance Assn.

Jun. 13: Meeting, Hess Club, 5430 Westheimer, 4pm. For more info, call Vicky Bonds at 713-699-4000 Jun. 13: Meeting, Chris Moretti, Hess Club, 5430 Westheimer, 5pm. For more info, call Vicky Bonds at 713-699-4000 HAGA

Houston Area Glass Assn.

Jun. 7: Monthly Lunch Meeting, Saltgrass Steakhouse, 1803 Shepherd Dr. For more info, call 281-849-8293 or email Dorothy Gurka at dgurka@houstonglass.org

Submitted to Construction News

Round-Up

SWICA

Jun. 2: SWICA 60th Anniversary Conference, Four Season’s Resort & Club Dallas at Los Colinas, 4150 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX. For more info, call 713-977-0909 TACCA

Greater Houston Texas Air Conditioning Contractors Assn.

Jun. 19: Saint Arnold Brewery Casino Night and Tech Fair, Saint Arnold Brewery, 2000 Lyons Ave., 6-9pm. For more info, call 713781-4822 TIBD

Texas Institute of Building Design

Jun. 21-23: 2018 Convention, Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center, 1101 Woodland Ave., Georgetown, TX. For more info, call 800-880-8423

In memoriam

inesh Dhansukhial Ghia passed away May 20. He was a beloved friend, colleague and mentor to many in the Houston construction community, and a member of the Gilbane family for 40 years. Dinesh was born on Oct. 3, 1944 in Gujarat, India, to the late Prabhavati and Dhansukhlal Gheewala and graduated with a Masters degree from VJTI Mumbai in 1966. Dinesh was widely known for his skill and proficiency in the construction industry at Gilbane Building Company, where he held the position of Vice President and Chief Estimator until he retired in 2018 after 40 years of service. Dinesh was married to the late Raksha Ghia. His sons, Ankur and Achal Ghia; brother, Kiran Gheewala; sisters, Rekha Shah and Pratibha Kapadia; and two grandchildren, Aria and Devin Ghia, survive him. Dinesh’s hobbies included sing-

veryone likes a little appreciation now and then, and the folks at SpawGlass Contractors know this all too well. On Apr. 12, SpawGlass treated their clients, owners and subcontractors to their annual Bayou Bash. Over 300 people were in attendance. -cmw

National Assn. of Minority Contractors Greater Houston

Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Gulf Coast Chapter

American Society of Professional Engineers

ing, dancing, playing cards, making the perfect martini, and enjoying his two grandchildren. His energy and enthusiasm drew countless friends and lovedones to him throughout his life, from his early childhood in Mumbai to his eventual home in Sugar Land. His selflessness and generosity truly enriched the lives of everyone around him, and he will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him. -cmw

Structure Tone Southwest is pleased to announce the addition of two new directors. -cmw Justin Goodman joins the Structure Tone team as Director of Business Development. In his new role, he will continue to pursue those sectors and others for the company as it continues to grow in the Houston market. -cmw

Saleem Qassem joins the Structure Tone team as Director of Operations. As Director of Operations, Qassem is responsible for the overall operations of Structure Tone Southwest’s Houston office. -cmw

Cadence McShane Construction is proud to announce the promotion of Richard Segura to Safety Director. Segura’s primary role will be leading and managing the company’s safety initiatives and loss control programs. -cmw

JE Dunn Construction is pleased to welcome Patrick Dennis as the new Houston office leader. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and brings over 22 years of construction experience to the Houston team. -cmw

MYCON General Contractors is pleased to announce the promotion of Rick Dubec to Vice President of Special Projects in the company’s Central Texas office in College Station. He will be responsible for meeting the company’s strategic financial and operational goals and expanding MYCON’s client base in the Central Texas region. -cmw

Lockwood, Andrews & Newman INC. (LAN) is pleased to welcome Lynn Chamberlain, PE as a water conveyance engineer. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering and Master of Science in Biological and Agricultural Engineering 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.

Houstoneditor@ConstructionNews.net

(210) 308-5800

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Houston Construction News • June 2018

Houston catches the eagle

ouston members of Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) won big at the ABC National Excellence in Construction awards held in Long Beach, CA during the ABC’s National Convention. –cmw

ABC National Pyramid Winners: Renovation Less than $5 Million Central Builders Inc. H-E-B Spring #610 All Other Exterior Finishes Haley-Greer Inc. Wildwood Corporate Center III Healthcare Less than $10 Million SpawGlass Contractors Houston Methodist St. John Hospital Labor & Delivery Unit Renovation Healthcare $25 to $100 Million SpawGlass Contractors

The Village of River Oaks Senior Liv ing Community Other Specialty Construction – Industrial $2 to $10 Million Standard Constructors Dow Gulfstream Poly-5 Railroad Sys tem Installation Mega Projects (Projects over $100 Million) TIC – The Industrial Company Petra Nova Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Sequestration Project

Industrial (Less than $5 Million): GROUP Contractors LLC, Poly 6 MCC Building

Commercial ($10 to $35 Million): E.E. Reed Construction LP Nalco Champion Office Building

Mega Projects (Projects over $100 Million): SpawGlass Contractors Texas A&M University Corps Dorm Renovation

Mechanical (Projects over $10 Million): TDIndustries Inc. Daikin Texas Technology Park

Electrical (Projects over $10 Million): ISC Constructors LLC North American Growth (NAG) Polyethylene Project

continued from Page 1 — Quality always in style garage. Within three months it was in a 1,200sf warehouse. Within six months it was in a 2,500sf facility. Today, it’s in a 15,000sf space. Currently, Quality employs Miranda, his father and eight other guys. Miranda hopes to expand even more and eventually move into their own warehouse, no longer renting space.

And, he hopes to one day leave Quality Millwork to his 14-year-old son. It may be fun to speculate what might be in fashion 30 years from now. One thing we know for sure now: quality never goes out of style. Just ask José Miranda. Quality Millwork, LLC, is a cabinetry and millwork contractor in Houston. -dsz

continued from Page 1 — Paving the way the helm as president. Hayden Paving became an “official” company in 1996. Enter son Hayden, who worked for Dad Scott throughout high school during the summers, along with his cousin and friends. This continued during college. Once he was done at A & M in 2011, Hayden joined the firm full time and started operating the huge milling machine they just bought. Hayden is proud of his work at Hayden Paving, starting at the ground level. “I worked in the field probably five years,” he said. In other words, he didn’t walk into his current position of estimator/project manager and operations overseer just because he’s the president’s son. He put in his time during the hot Houston summers working with hot asphalt. Hayden Paving has gone as far west as the Texas-New Mexico line and as far east as Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. They’ve also gone as far north to Lubbock. Some notable customers of Hayden Paving are Houston’s Hobby Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Eagle Pass Airport, and the Harris County roads. They store their equipment at two yards, one in Houston and one in San Antonio. The milling machine, which strips the upper layers of a surface in order to prep it for the new asphalt, requires special hauling requirements when it goes out to a job. Hayden Paving just bought their own trailer so they can transport it themselves.

They prefer to hire people already trained on the equipment, but training them in-house happens as well. Even though the business of laying asphalt is harder in the hot Texas summers, it’s the best time for the materials, which go down better when it’s warm. When it comes to the actual striping of the new surface, Hayden Paving can do smaller jobs but sub-contracts out for the larger ones. As with any industry, new advances in technology affect paving as well, making “better ways to do things every day,” says Hayden. Machinery and equipment are becoming more and more advanced, making tolerances and specifications more exacting. As to the future of the company, Dad Scott is still going strong and not showing any signs of slowing down. Hayden’s uncle Bob Henry is the vice president, while Haden stays busy with all the hats he wears. So far, Hayden Paving has done work in three states. When asked about adding more to the list, Hayden said, “The sky’s the limit, right?” Which would mean buying more milling machines, more trailers to haul them, and more personnel to do the paving. Maybe they will open up another yard, say, Dallas or Austin. And that ultimately means that Hayden Paving is not only surviving, but thriving. Hayden Paving provides asphalt paving services for new and remedial construction in the Houston area. -dsz

continued from Page 1 — Renovating God’s house

Push or pull

P Hardware is a Texas-based company that specializes in high quality and cost-efficient commercial doors, formerly know as Johnson & Powell Doors and Hardware LLC. They serve a distribution and supply radius about 300-400 miles around Houston. They are well equipped with a 10,000sf warehouse and their own hollow-metal fabrication shop. The company is a Forrest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified provider since 2013, meeting all the regulations and codes required. They also supply a wide selection of “green” products to ensure that clients’ structures are 100 percent LEED-certified. In line with their FSC certification, they are a leading distributor of wind, storm and fire-rated doors and frames. They are authorized to designate that their products are durable enough to stand against fire and storm. Company President and owner Marti Johnson is native to nearby Katy. She is a Texas A & M graduate and had a 15-year career in the energy–power industry prior

to running Johnson & Powell. Her company motto is, “More Than 100 Years of Combined Experience,” because most of her employees have from 20-30 years experience in the trade. Johnson says that business has been unfortunately very good since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast last August. New doors and frames for recovery and rebuilding are in high demand, so their products are quickly finding their way into a diverse range of buildings, from hospitals to commercial structures. “The thing we really try to focus on is customer service,” Johnson says. “That’s our thing,” she added. Johnson runs a tight ship producing bid work for contractors and is currently ramping up will-call business for walk-in customers for hardware and door framing. JP Hardware is a commercial contractor. –alk

Calvary Chapter Southeast Houston front entrance.

lenge, the slab was poured around these services with the removal of one portion of the service as the new service was built, allowing the administration offices in Phase 2 to remain live and provide temporary power for Phase 1 construction. Additionally, Calvary was an occupied campus with a very active facility. Budget constraints and parking were a premium, and the use of temporary buildings for weekly services and to house the administrative staff was not an option. Service throughout the week, Vacation Bible School as well as other major events had to take place. Proactive planning and constant communication with the church overcame both of these challenges. One of the Pastors said, “This went a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be.” The overall project went very smoothly for the Axis project team made up of

Steve Pless, Miguel Andaya, Jacob Salinas, Elizabeth Robles and Larry Murphy who worked hand-in-hand with Ron Murray, the Facilities Director and representative for the church and Emily Ledbetter with Masa Studio Architects. “The owner’s representative has a strong commercial construction background and understood the importance of expediting decisions. During the design and construction process, Masa Studio Architects worked to provide design options that complemented the owner’s budget as well as provide timely responses on matters affecting critical path activities. We feel the team worked in a collaborative way that demonstrated the negotiated process providing a successful method of delivery,” says Chad Clark who acted as the project executive on the project. Axis Builders LLC is a general contracting firm in Northwest Houston. -cmw

Houston Construction News • June 2018

Page 15

A good connection

JOB SIGHTS

DI Cabling LLC has been in business for 17 years, specializing in infrastructure cabling, electrical, and fiber optics. The company’s field technicians have skillsets that allow them to perform a number of tasks pertaining to the telecommunication industry. Jesse Cano, CEO/president, says, “We service an array of customers all over the state of Texas.” This includes, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston and the majority of South Texas. “Some even nation wide,” adds Cano. Cano’s team consists of 40 employees. Merging a talented team can be found as a challenge in the industry. Cano says one of the biggest challenges he’s faced is “management of field techniJesse Cano, CEO/President of JDI Cabling LLC cians, because the structure of our industry trains us so much.” JDI certainly has valuable techni- the support system for that man or that cians who have worked as a third party woman.” for others. One thing Cano points out is Truth of the matter is some of the they try to hire people with a different technicians’ travel nine months out of the variety of skillsets. He also admits that year. This is another reason why JDI apthey enjoy hiring women because “it’s to preciates the support system the spouse our understanding that women follow offers. Looking at the company from the instructions very well.” For example, when coaching his outside in, we asked why it is called JDI daughter’s softball team, he instills the Cabling. Cano says the letter “D” stands importance of building a solid work eth- for his wife’s name, Danielle, current CFO. Then at the time of the company’s initial ic, but wants to “make it fun for them.” As a matter of fact, at the company start up Cano and Danielle had one child Christmas parties they honor and give a named Isaiah. Cano wanted to make the token of their appreciation to the wives company “very family oriented.” While JDI is busy connecting us, they and girlfriends who support those who work for the company. Cano explained, continue to stay connected with them“A lot of the wives will stand up because selves. JDI Cabling LLC is a cabling contractor it is a commitment when your husband/ boyfriend works for JDI. You are in fact in Baytown, TX. –lv also a part of this family because you are

Gypsum in his blood

Juan Casanova, owner of Casanova Drywall Finishing.

he only time Juan Casanova hasn’t done drywall was when he was stationed on an aircraft carrier while in the Marine Corps and he was a personnelist behind a computer all day. Other than that, he’s been doing drywall his whole life. He started as a youth with his father, helping him in his drywall business in the Rio Grande Valley on weekends and during the summers. Even when Casanova was in the Corps for 10 years and not on a carrier, he did drywall on the side. After the Marines, Casanova and wife Frances and kids moved to California, where the housing market was booming. In 2009, the family moved back to Texas, settling in Houston at the invite of a cousin. Even though Casanova worked for a school district in the HR department, then maintenance dispatch, he still worked as a drywaller in his spare time. Fast-forward to 2017, when a little rain shower visited the Houston area. “When Hurricane Harvey hit, my phone was ringing off the hook,” Casa-

nova said. “I always wanted to start my own company and this seemed like the perfect time. That’s when I took the leap of faith and started doing drywall full time.” Thus, Casanova Drywall began in September 2017. No more part-time work for the former Marine. Casanova will sub-contract out for help as needed. His goal is to grow and increase his commercial business and hire more people. Casanova’s specialty is finishing work and painting. The dream of having his own company is a decades-long dream of Casanova’s. His dad still has his drywall business back in the Rio Grande Valley, where Casanova started by helping out. Even though Casanova said he wished he had started “when I was a lot younger,” it’s never too late to realize one’s dream, especially if it’s in your blood. Casanova Drywall is a residential and commercial drywall company, servicing the Houston area. -dsz

Steelco Inc. workers ready to install steel beams for the Fort Bend County Sherrif’s Office Administrative Building in Fort Bend County. Teal Construction is the project’s GC. -cmw

L-R: Superintendents Blake Hardy, David Diggs, Project Manager Brandon Roberts, and Superintendent Ryan Lynch with Wyatt Management at the Tilt Wall Strip Center in the Woodlands. –cmw

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Houston Construction News â&#x20AC;¢ June 2018