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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 21 H Number 9 H SEPTEMBER 2018
“Randy style”
A
If it ain’t broke…
Big Red
nthony Heye, owner of Anthony’s Planet Pickup, and the late Randy Wyatt, Aggregate Haulers Inc. had been friends since high school, running together, street racing and doing all the things that teenage boys do. That friendship did not stop after graduation. It continued on through the years and was instrumental in getting Planet Pickup orbiting in San Antonio. “The roof of this building is like a bridge structure. It’s all reinforced concrete. When I moved in here, I told Wyatt that I was going to find an old truck, jack it up to the sky and put it on the roof. Randy never forgot that and a few years later, he called me up and told me to come get Big Red. You can have Big Red.” Big Red, as it is affectionately known,
is an F-250 that Wyatt had customized to the hilt. Back in the day, many of you may recall it was wrapped to look like the American Flag on wheels and was any good ol’ country boy’s dream. “When we were still on San Pedro Ave., Randy brought Big Red to me and said, ‘I want to make this the biggest, baddest truck you ever built. I want it to be sky high with the works! We worked for several months on Big Red because, at the time, there were no bolt-on lift kits for that design. We had to figure out all the springs and such.” Starting out with just a leveling kit and 35 in. tires, it wasn’t long before the “Randy-style” kicked in and was raised six inches with bigger tires, all performed by Planet Pickup. continued on Page 23
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L-R: Gary Cram and Mark Eichelbaum
ike many young people right out of college, students venture into careers that pave the way to their future. Gary Cram came to San Antonio to work for a roofing contractor after receiving his business degree. That relationship would not last for long. After a year and a half of employment, Cram left and set out on his own. With a seven-colored dump truck, one helper and his business degree, Cram Roofing was established on Nov. 15, 1986. “1986 was not a great time, but I did have a business degree. I had a background in marketing and right away I began doing a lot of marketing and it just kind of took off. “We made a lot of good friends and had a lot of help from a lot of good peo-
ple. Over time we grew from a medium to large contractor,” recalls Cram. “We have a lot of the same customers we had in the beginning. They’ve grown and we’ve grown with them. We do a lot of our work as a re-roofing prime contractor and we do repair work. Some of our work is service and, of course, we do new work. We’re very proud to work for the school district that we’re in, the Texas prison system, several different branches of the U.S. government, The Dept. of Defense – all that from one truck and one worker.” Now, after 32 years in business, Cram has handed over the reins. Effective Aug. 1, Mark Eichelbaum officially took the reins as president. continued on Page 23
Appearance can be deceiving
V
ulcan Materials Company selected Forum Construction Company (FCC) as the contractor of choice for their new Medina quarry office and shop. Forum Construction Company was founded in 1986 by Ralph C. Bradford and was incorporated in 1993. In early 2008, Eric Stirm joined FCC working alongside Bradford, assisting in the dayto-day operation until July 2016 when Stirm purchased Forum Construction Company, becoming the sole owner and personally oversees all phases of operations and construction. Forum Construction Company has grown from a small concrete subcontracting firm to a fullyinsured, turn-key, design build general contractor with over 40 years of experience bringing quality craftsmanship to commercial construction. The Medina quarry office and shop project involved the new construction of
an approximate 4,060-sf wood framed office designed to look more like a farm house, with board and batten siding and metal roof, than a commercial office building. The main quarry office is comprised of wood framed, board and batted hardi board siding and cedar trim, limestone wainscot, rough-cut cedar exposed columns and beams with a standing seam roof. The interior of the office building is constructed of wood framing, insulation, drywall, wood cabinets, granite countertops and stained concrete flooring to give a cozy country feel. The quarry’s shop building is an approximate 8,350sf of pre-engineered Nucor metal building for working on their quarry equipment with an office area within the same building with R-panel siding and roof. The shop interior office is constructed of metal stud framing, dryMedina quarry office building
continued on Page 23