Austin Construction News February 2019

Covering the Industry’s News

Texas Style

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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 19 H Number 2 H FEBRUARY 2019

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Roll of change

Wood not change a thing

Bryan Thibodeaux, Massif Concrete production manager inside their shop located in the south part of Austin.

Mark Landers, owner of Landers’ Studio

assif Concrete production manager Bryan Thibodeaux, an avid coin collector, is always on the hunt for that prized penny: a 1982 D. The transitional coin, if in good condition, could fetch him $100,000 or more, and sometimes he will buy rolls of pennies just to see if one might appear.

Even if he could cash out on that copper, he has no intention of leaving his work, which he has enjoyed doing for the past six years. Thibodeaux, who had a remodeling and residential construction background before joining Massif Concrete, started off as an apprentice for the company.

“I didn’t know much about concrete when I had the opportunity to start working with Larry Isgur part-time; then,

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he gave me full employment and I worked my way up. I learned how to weld and do different carpentry; I just learned every aspect of it pretty quick to where he left it to me to take care of it. I’ve been running the company for about two years now –­ talking to clients, getting bids, producing and installing the work, getting materials.”

Thibodeaux now has the opportunity to work with Massif Concrete’s new owner, Gabriel Cassady. Isgur, who established Massif Concrete in 2004, recently retired and sold Cassady the business.

“Gabriel is from Alabama and has been in Texas for about two years,” Thibodeaux says. “He did concrete manufacturing so he has a lot of different experience with types of molds and continued on Page 16

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oodworking has afforded Mark Landers, owner of woodworking company Landers’ Studio, an enviable life: an 18-step commute from his home to his attached shop every morning, the ability to work with his wife Christina, and two backyard tree houses that he built with zip lines, slides and a crane for his five grandkids.

One thing, however, had long eluded Mark.

“This is kind of an embarrassing thing, like the story of the shoemaker with no shoes,” he says with a goodnatured laugh. “I promised Tina when we were getting married and putting our mattress on the floor that I would build her a bed. It took me 28 years to build our bed! But we do have some wonderful

furniture from family that has meaning, and we have a few pieces of ours and pieces in the office that I’ve built.”

Landers can probably thank his early foray into the law for teaching him convincing arguments for not building the bed sooner.

“I had intended to go into law when I was in college, but during my junior year, I took a year sabbatical and framed homes,” he explains. “After I went back to school and finished up, I really loved seeing what I had done at the end of the day, so I went back into homebuilding. In 1975, I started a business called The Wood Joint, but we changed the name in the early ‘80s to better reflect what we did, which was design and build custom furniture. continued on Page 16

Indoor park makes for fun project

n 2011, Larry Puckett acquired Trimbuilt Construction Inc. with every intention to grow, excel, and build inspiration in the construction world. That goal was to fulfill the visions of his clients’ with exemplary performance and service in all aspects of the construction process.

He wanted to place the utmost value on every project regardless of size. From Class A tenant interiors to full-scale ground-up projects, all are considered equally important to Trimbuilt.

Since 1984, Trimbuilt Construction has created, expanded and remodeled many of Austin’s most recognizable locations. Paired with a high-caliber workforce, Trimbuilt is dedicated to providing the highest level of service and experience available today while delivering each project on time, every time. From pre-construction services, value engineering, MEP design and scheduling, Trimbuilt is structured to meet every

project’s goal and exceed clients’ expectations. With an emphasis on “real time” collaboration, their team is proactive in meeting project deadlines while ensuring the highest level of quality for ongoing projects.

Specializing in Class A office interior finish-out, Trimbuilt was the perfect fit for Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park in South Austin.

Trimbuilt began the tenant finishout of a 37,750sf indoor park inside a massive building in May 2018 and completed the project in October 2018 at the cost of $1,500,000.00.

The project designed to provide fun for adults and kids features private party rooms, rock wall climbing, a trampoline area, dodgeball courts, obstacle and warrior courses, battle beams, laser tag, bowling and a café.

The main scope of work included Inside view of Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park

continued on Page 16

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Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

He’s cooking with glass

Pronounced Lee-see

Daniel Monzón of Monzón Glass Co.

Daniel Cook, principal for LED LYSI Lighting

very time Daniel Monzón goes to Austin’s Tortilla Factory, his attention is on one thing – not the tortillas (although he does find them delicious) but the glass partitions, windows and door.

“Every time we drive to dinner there with my friends or my family, I turn to it and say, ‘Hey, I built that!’” Monzón, owner of Monzón Glass Co., says. “It makes me feel proud that we are helping to build Austin and I do my part.”

For Monzón, the pride he feels for his projects never gets old. The 44-year-old’s career has come a long way since he arrived in the United States from Mexico 25 years ago and began working as a helper in 2006.

“I learned how to do this work and my ambition pulled me to start my own business and make some more money,” he remembers. “One day, I decided to go for it and started my own business five years ago. It was kind of hard because it was my only income, and I was looking for customers, but my former boss was a nice guy and he helped me a lot. My wife

and two daughters don’t help now, but when I started the business, my wife helped to install showers until I could hire someone part-time.”

Currently, Monzón employs a fulltime employee and is in the process of hiring part-time help. He says Monzón Glass Co. specializes in “small, well-done” commercial projects.

“Installing showers is our main thing, but we also do glass replacement, storefronts – anything that has glass on a house or business,“ he says.

Monzón says the he hopes to continue to grow the business.

“I’m looking for a place to establish a shop,” he says. “Eventually, I want to get two guys and one more truck and we’ll see from there. That is what I am thinking for the near future.

“We’re really happy about our success, that we’re making it,” Monzón adds. “We’re getting better every day.”

Monzón Glass Co. in Manor is a glass subcontractor offering services to Austin and surrounding areas. –mjm

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fter spending 10 years working with commercial manufacturers such as Phillips and GE, the light bulb didn’t go out for Daniel Cook. Instead, the bulb got brighter for him.

While working with the manufacturers, Cook created bid packages and learned about their products for commercial properties. He also made sure that the product and the pricing were what the end users needed.

“During that time I got to see the inner workings of the lighting industry and I kind of fell in love with it,” he said.

In 2017, Cook talked to industry friends. “They gave me some options and my friend purchased them from me and an idea was born,” he said. What he discovered was that from an educational standpoint, he was educating his friend about color temperature while providing him with a good price.

In 2018, Cook created LED LYSI Lighting. Cook, who took Greek in college, says “Lysi” is the Greek word for “solutions.” LED LYSI Lighting is a provider of

LED lamps, fixtures, drivers, as well as traditional lighting products to commercial properties, multifamily and residential owners. Cook says they are located in Round Rock and have an online website, plus ship nationally.

“We are set up with Austin Energy for rebate purchases. We will meet clients for samples and work with contractors to show our products off to the end users.

We even send free samples,” said Cook, who confirmed contracts are in place with local school districts.

LED LYSI is perceived as a subcontractor because Cook set out to be one.

“I cold called tons of electricians and told them, ‘I sell these products and I would like to sell them to you for your own jobs but, as I work with end users, I’d also like to use you as an installer.’”

Cook and the products have been successful since inception. LED LYSI Lighting recently completed a parking lot retrofit for Austin Graduate School of Theology.

LED LYSI Lighting is a subcontractor in Round Rock. –lv

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 3

From Duke to Luke

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Luke and Duke Williams, project manager and owner of D&W Painting

uke Williams always knew his future would be in the family business, D&W Painting. “Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to follow in the footsteps,” he said.

D&W Painting had an auspicious beginning. Its founder is Duke Williams, Luke’s father and is the president. Duke was a painter, working for another painting contractor in the Austin area in the late 1980s. Unfortunately, this contractor went bankrupt. Duke, however, had made many contacts and relationships with various GCs and homebuilders.

Duke asked his contractor boss if he could still work with and for all these folks, and he said sure.

Duke made it work and started D&W Painting, incorporating it in 1995. “D&W” stands for his initials. Luke said of his father that he took “the best of a bad situation and tried to make the best of it, and obviously he did. He’s built an amazing company. Hat’s off to him.”

Luke has been involved with the company since his high school days, starting with sanding baseboards. “Ever since I had a driver’s license,” he said, “I’ve been working here pretty much.”

Williams has worked his way up, going from residential painting, then running materials from job-to-job, then quality controlling the paint jobs, to being in charge of whole subdivisions of paint jobs.

Now, Williams is one of three commercial project managers that handle the largest contracts, like $100,000 and over.

For the first several years of its operations, D&W Painting did a lot of residential work, but in the last 10 years has concentrated on commercial projects.

D&W has three main divisions: commercial, small commercial/repaint, and multifamily. These contribute pretty equally to its $25 million in revenue annually.

To get chosen for a job, the general contractor will send out bid invites to those whom he selects, along with a deadline for submission. D&W has four full-time estimators and three others who also can do it. The estimators pour over pages and pages of plans and specs, input all their data into the On Screen Takeoff software, calculating man-hours and materials, etc. The goal is to arrive at a bottom line price they can bid.

Bidding can be a tedious process, depending how complicated the specs are.

Still, Williams jokes and says that a lot of it is “guesstimating.”

D&W’s estimators must be doing something right, as it has landed some big jobs. They have done projects in the $3 million range. Their calendar is well booked up with no slowdown in sight.

Williams did say that every so often, a job comes in that didn’t require a bid, but one of those “Can you do this for me?” type of calls from a GC. Williams said that D&W has a winwin attitude when it comes to the work.

“We’re very team oriented here,” he said.

They have a saying; “Everybody’s paycheck is the same at the end of the day,” which means everyone will do what they need to for the benefit of the company.

Williams said he has “one of the best groups of people here we’ve ever had that I’m aware of.”

Williams has been a project manager for the last three years and will continue to press on with D&W. The company that started out of someone’s bankruptcy has grown to well over 100 employees and is covering the Austin area with high-quality paint jobs, fueled by a winning attitude. Duke and Luke have done well.

D&W Painting is a painting contractor in Leander. -dsz

Construction News ON LOCATION

Construction News finds old friend

Construction News had a great visit at the McCoy’s Building Supply headquarters in San Marcos where Commodities Manager Tom Hastings shared his familiarity with Construction News. L-R: Advertising Manager Tim Rogers, Tom Hastings and Marketing Manager Jessica Walshak. -cmw

Valentines Day Thursday February 14

Page 4

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Ronnie Garcia Sr. Owner/Head Estimator

Ronnie Garcia Jr. Ace Sandblasting and Restoration Austin, TX

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or Ronnie Garcia Sr., the sun of sandblasting and restoration rose and set on his beloved father. Everything Ronnie Sr. knows about the trade, he learned from his dad. As owner of his father’s company, Ace Sandblasting and Restoration, Ronnie Sr. is now taking the same care to impart all of the industry’s lessons to his own son, Ronnie Garcia Jr. Ronnie Sr., how were you introduced to this industry?

Ronnie Sr.: My father, Navell Garcia Sr., started this business, Ace Sandblasting and Restoration, in Austin in 1974. We came from a family of seven so he started this company to make some extra money on the weekends and it grew exponentially from there.

When I was 14 years old, my four brothers and I started working in the business to help Dad make ends meet.

We didn’t mind; we played a lot of the way! We were really close, we loved each other, we loved Mom and Dad, so it didn’t bother us helping Dad out whenever he needed it.

Dad was our professor as the years went by; he taught us and coached us along the way on how to do things the correct way. He taught us the trade from the ground up and the lessons you couldn’t learn in school. We just jumped in there and did what he asked and we met a lot of people along the way. It was a great experience.

As you grew up, what path did you take?

Ronnie Sr.: I studied business at Austin Community College and I started learning that work is everything. I missed the fast pace of working when I was going to school, and I kept thinking about how I could be making money.

Then, Dad started getting ill, and I knew my responsibility was to be with the family, so I inherited his business in 1989, with my brothers helping me out. I knew it was time, and Dad knew it. He

saw it coming and he said we could do it, since we had done it all of our lives. There was nothing we hadn’t seen or done.

Also, he was there if we needed him.

Some of the contractors we dealt with were old fashioned and only wanted to deal with an older gentleman, so my dad would go in there, take over and wrap it up! He liked to do that, and that made it easy for us.

Sadly, my father’s health did not improve, but he loved to see us work. He was always interested in it no matter what was going on with him. He always had his hand in it until he passed.

Was your father right? Were you ready to run the company?

Ronnie Sr.: Yes, he was right. We were questioning ourselves, but he would say, what are you worrying about? You know this! He knew it all along.

The company has always provided for us; we’ve always had work. But the economy was taking a roller coaster ride when I took over. A lot of companies we dealt with quit or went under, so we had to go out there and make new contacts.

Meeting new companies and getting them to trust us was the hardest part.

We’re lucky to have had repeat customers backing us up all of these years. What helped us most was expanding our service area; we used to service Austin, and now we service the surrounding areas within a 150-mile radius. We’re happy to go to the customers and cater to them.

What advice from your dad do you still take to heart when running the company?

Ronnie Sr.: My dad always used to talk about safety. He would constantly talk about being careful with the machines and the other people around us. He was very cautious with my brothers and me – especially when we were teenagers – because we wanted to finish things in a hurry and go home or go to concerts!

When you’re dealing with high-pressure machines, sand, equipment and people around you, you have to be cautious. He stressed that on every project we did.

That sticks with me and carries over to our guys now. That’s the most important thing there is, since accidents are always waiting to happen.

Tell me about your employees and your managerial style.

Ronnie Sr.: We have 10 employees, and I try to keep it a family-type environment. I think they would describe me as caring but strict. We spoil them though. We do things for them and their families, such as hosting a big holiday dinner for everyone and giving them extra bonuses if they complete jobs on time or early. We also do a lot of personal things for them on a case-by-case basis.

Do you think you will stay in the sandblasting and restoration industry?

Ronnie Sr.: I don’t think I’ll ever retire. I would like to think its in my blood and

Construction News ON LOCATION

Warmest of smiles

Ronnie Garcia, Sr. (owner), and Ronnie Garcia, Jr. (project manager) of Ace Sandblasting family. It’s in my son, Ronnie Jr., as well. He’s going to college and he still comes around and helps us out. Even though he eventually might have a career in something else, he still comes to help. It’s always going to be there. Sandblasting has never, never failed our family. It’s always been here, even in the hardest times.

What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

Ronnie Sr. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with Ronnie Jr. Ronnie, Jr.: We do spend a lot of time together; I love spending time with my dad. He’s a family man. When we’re not watching Texas football games, we’re usually doing something together, like barbecuing. We’re on the road, usually going to San Marcos because that’s where I’m currently going to college.

Right now, we’re restoring a jet black 1967 Chevy Impala.

Ronnie Sr.: We do spend a lot of time together, which we like, and we find ways to spend time together. This Impala has done that. We spend a lot of time taking it apart and are really bonding over it.

Ronnie Jr., What is it like to work with your dad and how have you grown in this role?

Ronnie Jr.: I’m working as a project manager as my schedule allows and it’s amazing to work with him. My dad is like a mentor, a counselor. He teaches me things on the job sites, things that help me in real life. It’s like being an intern but it’s also like running a business because it’s experience I can’t get from class. I get to go to different places all around Texas and am building my credentials as I’m learning from him.

We are a mobile sandblasting company so we cater to our customers and go to their location. We travel within a 150-mile radius from Austin; sometimes even farther to be honest, so the things we get to see while we work are pretty awesome. We have sandblasted almost everything; from large buildings, houses and equipment to smaller items, anything

Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy Doebbler Editorial/Production . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carol Wiatrek Production Manager . . . . Helen Greenwood Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terri Adams Account Manager . . . . . . . . . . . Dana Calonge Editors

Daniel Zulli Reesa Doebbler

Contributing Editors

Melissa Jones-Meyer Ann Keil Jesse Abercrombie Austin Area Counties Travis, Hays, Bastrop, Burnet, Blanco, Caldwell and Williamson counties Construction News Ltd. Home Office P.O. Box 791290 • San Antonio, TX 78279 210-308-5800 Fax 210-308-5960 www.ConstructionNews.net Senior Environmental Manager Sarah Weber, M.S. CWB with Bowman Consulting in San Marcos, TX has a warm smile for Construction News. -cmw

Do you think you might run Ace Sandblasting and Restoration?

Ronnie Jr.: I’ve actually given a lot of thought to that. Part of me wants to go my own path, but it seems like the generations of my family have worked so hard to get this business where it is that it would be a shame to let it go. Whatever I do, I’m always going to keep this with me and always have it running. I don’t see us stopping anytime soon.

Ronnie Sr.: In fact, we are celebrating our 45th anniversary this year!

Congratulations! What do you love most about your work, Ronnie Sr.?

Ronnie Sr. I really love the places we go to. We travel all through this area dealing with different companies, and it’s so great to meet the people we do. Texas is just so friendly.

It’s amazing how much we come across. I never know what we’re going to run into. We go from big towns to small towns. We love to road trip, to take the back roads, and we enjoy the barbecue places and restaurants along the way. It’s not so much work; it’s a joy going out there. My wife Tammie loves to go with us because she likes to go to antique shops and boutiques in those little towns we come across. And then we have Ace, our little pet Terrier, who loves to go with us – he loves barbecue as well!

Subcontractor Ace Sandblasting and Restoration is located in Austin. –mjm

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

Austin

Carol Wiatrek Lexie Velasquez

people need blasted – industrial, commercial, residential – we can get it done, but you still never know what someone will bring in.

I’ve learned so much. I remember as a kid I used to be scared to talk to people; now it seems like I’m pretty outgoing. I’m never scared to let people know that, even though I’m young, I know what I’m talking about. Many times, people in the industry see someone in their youth and they think they’re novices and assume they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’ve showed my experience though from what I’ve learned from my dad.

AustinEditor@ConstructionNews.net HoustonEditor@ConstructionNews.net

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Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 5

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM VACATION? Skiing in the Swiss Alps.

Luke Williams, D&W Painting Where there is no social media, no cell phones and no emails. I don’t know [where], maybe the boondocks, somewhere where technology does not exist.

Stacy Nyberg, Coppera My dream vacation would be to tour Europe because I’ve always wanted to go.

Robert Hirschi, KLP Commercial I think mine would be Tahiti. It is beautiful and I have a few friends that have been there and I’m sort of jealous.

Todd Gray, AMST My dream vacation, I would definitely go to see a lot more of Europe, maybe the Greece and Rome areas. I’ve always been interested in that culture and mythology.

Justin Ortiz, Altus Traffic Management I want to go sailing in the Mediterranean in Sardinia into Croatia, around Sicily and end in Turkey.

Nathali Parker, KLP Commercial My dream vacation would be a hunting trip in the mountains in Colorado. I’m an avid hunter and I love the mountains.

Colin McElroy, Skyline Floorscapes My dream vacation on Feb. 1 - we are going to Costa Rica.

Jon Esquivel, Austin Star Services

A.J. = A-OK

and MultiOne comes from Italy, which is close to Tuscany. I would like to go to Tuscany and my wife loves wine, so it would be perfect to have a trip there.

Cesar Moran Agroland Equipment & Supplies I would say my dream vacation would be a trip to Yellowstone. We love the outdoors.

Victor Moberg, County Line Containers Egypt. I want to tour the pyramids.

Geoffrey West, Novak Commercial Construction If I could ever leave my desk for two months, I would go to Europe! I would explore the western side of the continent starting in Greece, working my way over to Italy, France, Ireland, London, etc…I might never return.

Sandra Johnson, Edge Electric I fly gliders for a hobby and I’m getting ready to go to Australia to fly in a glider contest. I would consider that to be a dream vacation. We catch the thermals and the gliders can stay up from about noon to dark most days in the summertime. I’ve been doing it since I was about 15.

Bill Snead, Texas Crushed Stone My dream vacation is somewhere in the mountains. I like to hike and be outside.

Daniel Cook, LED LYSI Lighting

My dream vacation takes me to Italy and I want to stay all month.

Connie Wood, Texas Disposal Systems

I have a dream to go skiing in Banff, Alberta, Canada. There’s a national park up there. It’s absolutely beautiful in the Canadian Rockies.

Colter Williamson, WastePros

I would say Italy. I’ve been to Italy before many years ago, but my wife hasn’t. One of the construction equipment is MultiOne,

I would like to go to the moon and spend a week up there.

Abraham Fernandez, Austinite Welding

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Quality HVAC & Refrigeration’s 4th of July parade entry, with kids.

lfredo Espinoza started Al’s Heating & Cooling 30 years ago, providing comfort to the San Marcos/ Austin area ever since.

Son A.J. began working with pop when he was around 12 years of age, going on service calls and learning the craft.

Eventually he became a certified technician and took jobs with larger AC companies in Dallas and Houston, gaining valuable experience.

But with the larger company came more pressure in order to make more profit. A.J. decided to come back home and work for dad. Al’s Heating & Cooling became Quality HVAC & Refrigeration in 2009 when A.J. rejoined the company.

Al had gone through more than one partner, and a few years ago he made A.J. co-owner. Al has slowed down his involvement with Quality, essentially letting A.J. and his wife Priscilla run the show.

Al has had a service contract with McCoy’s Building Supply for over 20 years, and this takes him all over Texas when a Quality crew hits the road to per-

Strength in merger

form work for the chain. He’s there to lend support and oversee the work. Quality also has an Ashley Home Furniture service contract, which keeps them hopping.

Quality’s workload is 75 percent commercial and 25 percent residential.

With the refrigeration side, that keeps them on call 24-7 due to the emergency nature of when a cooler goes out for a restaurant, retirement center, or convenience store. (No one likes warm beer or soda.)

The biggest problem with AC units, according to A.J., is lack of proper maintenance, such as dirty coils, clogged draining lines, etc. And, he does a fair amount of repair work caused by improper or negligent installation because the owner used the cheapest hire.

A.J. isn’t sure if his young son will follow in his footsteps or not. For now, A.J. said, “We’ll keep it going as long as we can.” In other words, things are going A-Ok for A.J. and his team.

Quality HVAC & Refrigeration is in San Marcos. -dsz

Outdoors stuff

John Dzarnowski, FGM Architects president; Bob Galloway, John Jackson and John Ochoa FGM Architects Chief Executive Officer seal the deal with a handshake.

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ocal architectural firm Jackson Galloway Architects just got a little stronger as it announced they have been acquired by FGM Architects. The merger strengthens the firm’s capacity to serve clients in Central Texas and regionally with a focus on schools, public safety, municipalities, recreational and religious institutions.

John Jackson and Bob Galloway met while working together at the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Jackson stayed with Fay Jones while Galloway ultimately went on to work with Cambridge Seven Associates before moving to Austin, where the two ambitious architects came together to establish Jackson Galloway Architects in 1997.

Founded in 1945, FGM Architects has been consistently ranked by Architectural Record within the Top 300 architecture firms. Building Design and Construction magazine ranks FGM among the top 25 firms nationally for the design of PK-12 schools.

Talks between the two firms began last February. After many discussions, they discovered their two cultures were very

much alike. “Because they are a bigger, broader firm with more experience in higher education from PK-12 schools and higher education, public safety, including police, fire and emergency operations, municipal and recreation facilities, it will strengthen our presence in these arenas around Central Texas,” says Jackson.

“We are keeping the name Jackson Galloway and adding FGM Architects to read Jackson Galloway FGM Architects.

Over time we will probably phase out the Jackson Galloway as people realize that Bob and John really aren’t going anywhere and FGM Architects becomes more predominant.”

FGM has hired every employee from Jackson Galloway going forward. Jackson will remain the managing director and principal, while Galloway will remain principal in charge of production. “Truthfully, you won’t see any difference at all, with the exception we are stronger and more diversified,” adds Jackson.

Jackson Galloway FGM Architects is a full-service architectural firm in Austin, TX.– cmw

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Cesar Moran, owner of Agroland Equipment & Supplies

he prefix “agro” comes from the Greek word argos, simply meaning “field.” Over time it became “agro,” as in “agriculture.” In other words, outdoors stuff.

Cesar and Laura Moran own and run Agroland Equipment & Supplies everything one needs for all their outdoors stuff. The couple lived in Washington, D.C. for 26 years, but came back to their native Texas four and a half years ago and started Agroland at the end of 2013. If you have an outdoor need, Agroland can fill that need.

“We started selling for residential and commercial use,” Cesar said. “Then we added fertilizers and seeds and chemicals. Then we started added utility vehicles. Then with time, we brought in the tractors for agricultural purposes, with all the attachments and everything that comes with it.”

Laura’s background from her University of Houston days is in management and bookkeeping. She handles all the finances for Agroland as well as helps in sales. Cesar

is an A&M graduate and had a grounds maintenance company while in D.C. Agroland operates from its 11,000sf plant on the west side of Austin, which pleases the contractors on that side of town.

“It has positioned us in a very nice situation, especially being west of Austin in Spicewood, where everything is growing,” Cesar said. “There is a need for what we do.”

“I am in charge of the entire operation,” Cesar said, “but I really supervise more when it comes to the shop. We do outside sales. That is the department that we want to grow.”

And Argoland is growing. “I think the competition is beginning to notice us,” Cesar said, “and they are wondering why such a new company is making more money and growing. But that’s the reason: we have a big background behind us.”

With a great team working there, Argoland’s future is as big as all outdoors.

Argoland Equipment & Supplies is in Spicewood. -dsz

Page 6

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

It’s show time

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n January 9th and 10th, the Palmer Events Center in Austin rolled open their overhead doors for exhibitors and attendees for the 2019 Austin Build Expo. There were hundreds of products and services to see, plus seminars and workshops. Building and networking are two familiar items in this city. -lv

Holt Cat

Sitech

Austin CAD Services

CMD Group

RDC Paving

Northstar Fire Protection of Texas

Seminar in progress

Raesz Custom Floors

Construction Journal

Skyline Cabinetry

Butler Brothers Odd Jobs

Skyline Floorscapes

Lone Star Construction Trades Training – Austin Electrical Training Alliance

REX Real Estate

Bad Dog Tools

Aluminum Maintenance Systems of Texas (AMST)

Texas Disposal Systems

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 7

Passing down your family business

Third Party Over Actions required by written contract

Steven Bankler, Owner Steven Bankler, CPA, Ltd. San Antonio TX

Charles E. Comiskey Sr. Vice President Brady Chapman Holland & Associates, Inc. Houston, TX

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ast month we talked about retiring from your business and the succession planning it requires. This month, I’d like to focus on keeping the business in the family. Is it your dream to pass your business down to a son, daughter or another family member? Maybe your dream is for several heirs to one day run the business together?

There are ways to do it, even if some heirs are active in the business and others aren’t. The trick is to institute safeguards that maximize the probability of the business succeeding after your exit. Those details can be outlined in a succession plan that can be crafted with a professional.

Let’s discuss the following hypothetical situation: Your daughter works in the business and plays a special role in keeping the business thriving on a day-to-day basis while your son has a career outside the business. You believe that you want to pass the business to them both. However, you should consider the following first: 1. Should the daughter (the active heir) have full authority for “normal business operations” but allow the son to have input on major business decisions?

2. How will she be compensated?

Depending on the business structure, an active owner or “operator” of the business may prefer to be paid wages which may allow her to qualify for employee benefits or to take a distribution priority, which might be taxed at a lower rate due to the new Qualified Business Deduction.

3. If the two owners, then, are paid differently, will the wages and benefits paid to the “operator” be fair and reasonable?

4. When and how is the son (the passive heir) rewarded for business success? What is his contribution to that success? If he’s capable of performing services for the company and can be compensated for his efforts, can the company still succeed and incur these additional expenses?

5. Who is going to be the “controlling” shareholder? If they are both 50% owners, decisions may be stalled if there is a difference of opinion. If that happens, how do you protect the minority owner from the possible tyranny of the majority owner? Do you establish a Board of Directors to oversee the operations and protect the interest of the shareholders?

6. Sooner or later the heirs will want

to sell (maybe at retirement, maybe sooner). Is the business organized in an efficient way to maximize the proceeds of a sale? Who can make these decisions and how will they decide? Will there be a buy-sell option so either heir can buy the other out fairly?

7. Is the business protected from the heirs’ creditors? Most owners organize a business to prevent business creditors from going after their personal assets, but the reverse can happen, too.

Personal debt and divorce can complicate matters very quickly, putting the business at risk.

Then there’s this realization: What if none of your heirs want, or are capable of taking on, the business? A well-planned succession plan can cover that scenario, too. You could suggest a CEO or a management company/partner (depending on your business structure) from outside the family, with your heirs maintaining ownership. Many family businesses have found that executive leadership from outside the family is the glue that holds the business together.

These and numerous other issues need to be confronted, discussed, and included in a comprehensive exit plan. You don’t have a crystal ball but, with the assistance of qualified professionals who are knowledgeable about exit planning, your succession plan can be a safety net that can help guide the business through a successful transition.

Steven Bankler has more than 40 years of experience in the accounting industry.

Steven’s expertise lies in consulting, planning, tax, and asset protection as well as exit strategy services for closely held businesses. He also provides litigation support (both as a testifying expert witness and a consulting expert), business negotiations and estate planning. Visit www.bankler. com for additional tax strategy tips and to learn more about Steven Bankler, CPA, Ltd.

May I help you?

Front Desk, VBX Home Office, San Antonio L-R: Delilah Coker and Marissa Chambers -rd

hat is one of the most common types of construction claim arising from on-going operations? It’s called a “third party over action”. As an example, subcontractor’s employee is injured on the job, makes a workers’ compensation claim, but is dissatisfied with the benefits provided. Subcontractor’s employee is prohibited from suing his/her employer due to the exclusive remedy rule of workers’ compensation, so that employee sues the upstream contractor. As the lawsuit is against the upstream contractor only, this is by definition an allegation of sole negligence. That does not mean that the upstream was solely at fault, but is the only party being sued.

Contractor’s agreement with subcontractor states that subcontractor will defend, indemnify and hold contractor harmless for injuries to subcontractor’s employees, so contractor forwards the lawsuit to subcontractor to answer and defend. Where is the coverage for this petition potentially provided? Under the subcontractor’s general liability coverage.

In a standard GL policy, subcontractor’s general liability insurance says: “This insurance does not apply to (e) Employer’s Liability, ‘bodily injury’ to an employee of the insured arising out of an in the course of employment by the insured”.

So coverage is excluded, right? But the coverage form goes on to state: “This exclusion does not apply to liability assumed by the insured under an ‘insured contract’” (a series of definitions in a GL policy). This exception to the exclusion does not provide coverage for the injury to the employee, but instead provides coverage for the contractual assumption of this risk.

What if the form instead said: “This insurance does not apply to (e) Employer’s Liability, ‘bodily injury’ to an employee of any insured arising out of and in the course of employment by the insured”?

Did you catch the change? It’s subtle, just substituting just one word – “any” instead of “the” – but hardly insignificant.

The effect is that coverage for a third party over action is no longer provided to any insured.

Not as subtle but equally devastating, many insurance companies simply delete the exception to the exclusion, again resulting in a loss of coverage for a third party over action for any insured. In either case, now both the upstream contractor and the downstream subcontractor have real problems and are headed toward litigation.

There are also two standard exclusions that may affect coverage for the as-

sumption of risk in any indemnity agreement. The first is called an “Amendment of Insured Contract Definition”, which limits coverage by referring to “that part of any other contract or agreement pertaining to your business … under which you assume the tort liability of another party to pay for the ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ to a third party provided the ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ is caused, in whole or in part, by the [the Named Insured] or those acting on [the Named Insured’s] behalf.”

The effect? Contractual liability coverage is now provided only to the extent that the subcontractor was wholly or partially was negligent. Coverage is no longer extended to the upstream contractor for its independent sole actions, again eliminating coverage for a third party over action lawsuit. This is ISO CG 24 26 04 13 and should be avoided if the transfer of sole negligence is required.

The second standard endorsement affecting the contractual assumption of liability is called a “Contractual Liability Limitation Endorsement”, and “limitation” is an understatement. This completely deletes that portion of the definition of “Insured Contract” that provides coverage for the assumption of negligence in a construction agreement. This is ISO 21 39 10 93 and is one of worst endorsements in the insurance industry.

Endorsements like these limit the coverage provided for the contractual assumption of liability in spite of what the construction agreement may require.

This may lead to the downstream party being found to be in breach of contract, for which no insurance is provided.

Charles E. Comiskey, CPCU, CIC, CPIA, CRM, PWCA, CRIS, CCM, CMIP Sr. Vice President Brady Chapman Holland & Assoc., 10055 West Gulf Bank • Houston, TX 77040 713-688-1500 Charles.Comiskey@bch-insurance.com

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Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

OSHA electronic injury reporting

Emerging risk—Misappropriation of pay application proceeds under a factoring agreement Gregory Franklin, Construction Litigation Attorney Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. Austin, TX

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he explosion of factors in the construction industry has exposed a legislative gap in the Texas Construction Trust Fund Act (the “Act”). The Texas Legislature created the Act as a remedial measure to ensure that contractors, subcontractors, and materialman are paid for their work to improve real property. The Act imposes a fiduciary duty on contractors and subcontractors who are paid directly under a construction contract. These contractors and subcontractors are trustees who must hold payments in trust for the beneficiary—the artisan, laborer, mechanic, contractor, subcontractor, or materialman who labors or furnishes material for the construction or repair of real property.

What happens when the trustee misappropriates trust funds by assigning pay application proceeds to a factoring company? What is the legal recourse for the beneficiaries? The Act provides civil and criminal penalties for trustees who misappropriate funds under the Act. However from a practical standpoint, it may be very difficult for the beneficiary to recover the funds it’s owed. Factors are often lenders of last resort for contractors who are in immediate need of capital. By the time the beneficiary files suit for the breach of fiduciary duty, the contractor/trustee will likely already be defunct.

The beneficiary will be tempted to recover the funds from the factor. Thus far, such attempts have been unsuccessful. Texas courts have been reluctant to allow the beneficiary to recover from the factor under the Act. Consistently courts have reasoned that factors do not step into the shoes of a contractor/trustee by virtue of the assignment. The Act limits the fiduciary duty to a contractor, subcontractor, or to an officer, director, or agent of a contractor or subcontractor.

The fiduciary duty does not extend to factors. Nonetheless, the courts understand that this limitation frustrates the purpose of the Act. Until the Texas Legislature amends the Act to fill in the statutory gap, unpaid beneficiaries under the Act remain at risk of nonpayment when the trustee misappropriates trust fund proceeds by assigning them to factors. An amendment to the Act imposing a fiduciary duty on factors will likely have unintended consequences such as drying up funding sources for contractors who are unable to access funds from traditional sources.

However, a contractors’ ability to secure funding from a factor should not come at the increased risk to those who should be protected under the Act. At a minimum, the Texas Legislature should consider imposing a notice requirement

whereby factors are mandated to disclose pay application assignments to beneficiaries of the Act. Disclosures detailing the assignment’s impact to the beneficiaries’ ability to recover funds under the Act will allow the beneficiaries to take the necessary steps to mitigate their risk.

Consult with your lawyer prior to signing a construction contract if you are beneficiary under the Act and you suspect that the contractor may not be adequately capitalized. This will allow you to be proactive in protecting the proceeds from your pay applications. Although incorporating anti-assignment clauses for pay application proceeds may be void under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, there are other contractual mechanisms to help protect your interest. Consider incorporating a contractual provision requiring disclosure for pay application proceeds assignments. It would also be good practice for a beneficiary to require a third-party guarantor if the pay application proceeds are assigned and the contractor defaults on its financial obligations.

In summary, the Texas Legislature has not kept up with the realities of the current construction industry where contractors have increased their reliance on factors to supplement capitalization. The Act’s current statutory gaps leave beneficiaries at risk without recourse when a contractor/trustee assigns pay applications proceeds to a factor. Until the gap is closed, beneficiaries will have to be proactive by implementing contractual safeguards to help mitigate their financial risk and improve chances of recovery in case of default.

Gregory Franklin is an attorney in the Dallas office of Munsch Hardt. His practice focuses on construction litigation and his primary focus is to help his clients solve problems that threaten their business in a practical and efficient manner.

Joann Natarajan Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX

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n 2017, OSHA began collecting OSHA 300A data from employers that are required to maintain the OSHA injury illness log and have 20 or more employees. Employers in certain NAICS codes who must submit data electronically are listed here: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/NAICScodesforelectronicsubmission.html OSHA is currently accepting OSHA 300A submissions for calendar year 2018 data. March 2, 2019, is the deadline for electronically reporting your OSHA Form 300A data for calendar year 2018. OSHA began collecting electronic submissions on January 2, 2019.

OSHA is only accepting the OSHA 300A Summary of Occupational injury and Illnesses data. OSHA is not collecting the OSHA 300 log data or the OSHA 301 data, as was initially proposed in the changes to the recordkeeping rule in 2016.

OSHA has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its recordkeeping regulation to remove the requirement to electronically submit to OSHA information from the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report The online reporting injury tracking application can be accessed on the OSHA website at: https://www.osha.gov/injuryreporting/

OSHA requires employers with more than 10 workers in certain industries to maintain the OSHA 300 injury and illness log and record their occupational injuries and illnesses. At the end of the calendar

year, employers total the columns on the OSHA 300 and prepare the summary form, the OSHA 300A. The OSHA 300A form does not include the injured worker’s names, but does include the total number of cases, the total number of days away and restricted days, and the total hours worked by all employees. The records must be maintained at the worksite for at least five years. Each February 1st to April 30th, employers must post a summary of the injuries and illnesses recorded the previous year. Also, if requested, copies of the records must be provided to current and former employees, or their representatives.

OSHA has downloadable versions of the OSHA recordkeeping forms at: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/ RKforms.html

If an employer is unsure whether an injury meets the criteria for entry on the OSHA 300 log, a handy web application was developed to walk employers through the process: https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/ osharecordkeeping.html natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232

Shoot, scholarship and fun

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he Construction Leadership Council (CLC) of Associated General Contractors (AGC) held their annual sporting clay shoot at the Capitol City Skeet and Trap Club. The CLC presented a $1000 scholarship at the event as members looked on and continued enjoying bonds of friendship. –cmw Winning Teams: 1st Place: Builders Gypsum Supply 2nd Place: The Demo Company 3rd Place: The Reynolds Company

Construction News ON LOCATION

New location

Top Individual Shooter: The Demo Company team’s Dawson McGough

Store Manager Adrian Avila behind the counter at the new PPG Paints store, which opened Nov. 1 in San Marcos, TX. -cmw

CLC hosting team.

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 9

Staying focused: Key to success

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

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inter fishing can be both agonizing and rewarding. It takes a special dedication to wake up on a cold winter morning, get out of a warm bed and prepare yourself to brave the harsh elements on the water for a chance to catch a fish or perhaps even get a bite. February is considered to be one of the coldest months here on the coastal bend. Grey skies, stiff north winds and sometimes light mist can makes this captain wonder if a nine to five job isn’t a better option. Not a chance!!! I live for days like this because the rewards far outweigh the displeasures.

Every angler knows that the winter months yield some of the biggest speckled trout of the season in the Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay complex. I’m not saying that’s the only time we catch trophy quality specks. However, they really tend to weigh more than midsummer and fall fish. However, the trophy is in the eye of the beholder. Many avid anglers talk about 30-in. trout being a trophy.

Yes, I agree on this unless I have a client

This time of the year you can expect to catch quality fish on lures like this 27” speck.

Staying focused and having confidence in your plan is key to your success.

This trout was released after photo by Steve Schultz Outdoors.

GOOD NEWS!

that catches a 28-in. or 29-in. trout that has never caught anything close to this size, and deemed his personnel best. To me, that’s truly a trophy in his case. I’ve fished with may clients that regret mounting their first trout that fell a little shy of the 30-in. mark. It’s your fish that will hang on your wall, so it’s your call.

Enough said!!

For the remainder of January and the month of February, I certainly will be keying on catching some of these big girls.

Typically, these days are long, especially on colder mornings where it can take several hours for water to start warming up enough to get these fish motivated to eat. Every cast of your lure on every wade can produce a bite that might be the fish you are looking for. Some days we may have to grind it out more than others but that’s part of the game. Staying focused and having confidence in your ability is key to your own success.

New for 2019 is the addition of Shimano and G-Loomis to the sponsor list of Steve Schultz Outdoors. These companies have been around the fishing industry for many years and are considered the cream of the crop. Shimano has what this writer/captain believes are the best reels on the market, by far. They’re selection of baitcast reels is so diverse, there is a reel for every application and every price point. They also have the smoothest and most durable spinning reel on the market that holds up to the harsh saltwater conditions we face. G-Loomis also came aboard and offer some damn fine fishing stix. I am honored to have them on my boat with some of my other key sponsors like Fishing Tackle Unlimited and ForEverlast Fishing Products. Looking forward to fishing with all my fine customers and letting them try these fine products for the 2019 season.

My 2019 fishing calendar is now open. 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 trip give Capt.

Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or email him at SteveSchultzOutdoors@ gmail.com.

Good luck and Good Fishing.

It’s a keeper

You always look good in Construction News, Guaranteed!

Call us for a Company Profile (210) 308-5800

Jim Coles, Internal Facility Management Association (IFMA) Chapter Manager and Executive Director of the Emergency Management Association of Texas shared this photo of a 22-lb. redfish he caught at the Gun and Hawk Club just outside Bridge City Texas. –cmw

Page 10

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

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

Here comes spring time!

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an you feel it? That sweet little warm breeze on sun warmed skin, the excited twitters and chirps of the birds beginning to move back in and call for mates and the evening sunsets coming later mean winter is losing its grip and spring is near! We will still have a few more cold spells to come, but they won’t bite so much or stay as long.

We are in for a wonderful spring this year. This is one of those increasingly rare years when there has been plenty of rain to fill lakes, restore rivers and ponds and periodic continuing rain to nourish the wildflowers to maturity. Any day now you can see a few bluebonnets in more protected areas start to bloom, leading off the parade of color to come.

Now I’ll cut to the chase. It’s going to be a BUSY year for travel and recreation this year in Texas and you better be making any reservations for trips you want to make this spring and summer NOW! Spring break is coming soon and that is usually the kick off for people to start getting out and about again.

We usually see our regular customers start to book cabins and trips right after the first of the year because they understand getting on the books early for the best availability of dates. This applies to everything from hunting and fishing guides, to lodging, space in the parks and just about anything you want to do.

If you are the do-it-yourself type, you need to get ready too! Don’t wait until you try to unload your boat at the ramp to discover it won’t run. Don’t learn you should have respooled your reels with new line when you hear your line snap as you lose a nice fish. You have some time

to get the boat checked out and tuned up as needed before the rush and a good excuse to go tackle shopping.

Your recreational time is precious and it’s worth it to invest a little time and planning to make the most of it! It might be a good idea to be sure your vehicle and trailer and other such equipment are up to snuff too. You don’t want down time or extra unexpected expense when you could be getting away from it all!

Do remember that springtime in Texas can be a bit of a wild ride sometimes.

The only bad thing about spring is that the weather can do some crazy things and it doesn’t care what you have planned. You can plan for the best, but it never hurts to also learn about alternate activities in an area you want to visit, just in case the weather has a hissy fit. Most guides and outfitters will do what they can to accommodate you, but if they tell you that conditions are just too windy or rough or unsafe and unproductive, you need to trust their judgement. Chances are they have been caught out in weather like you never want to experience and they hope to never see again!

Springtime in Texas is time to get up and go! Hope to see you soon!

Looking forward to sprink break

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! The parade of color to come

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

Have an Outdoor Story or Photo?

Send to: AustinEditor@ ConstructionNews.net

or call 210-308-5800

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 11

Wilma, I’m home!

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Behind the door

The Texas Crushed Stone quarry and plant in Georgetown

he Snead family has been producing crushed rock for Texas for a long while now.

Edwin Brazelton Snead founded Texas Crushed Stone in 1932. The A&M graduate worked for a construction company in the late 1920s. But when the owner decided to not bid on anymore jobs (as they were scarce in the Great Depression), Snead decided to go solo. He began crushing the colorful rocks used in terrazzo floors on his construction job.

Edwin ran the company until he passed away in 1982. Then, his son Bill assumed the helm.

Also an A&M graduate, Bill had to fulfill his commitment to the Air Force before joining the company. He was in the ROTC program and was commissioned upon graduation.

Upon his exit from the Air Force in 1965, Bill came home to join his father.

“He always wanted me to be active in the company,” Bill said. He majored in industrial engineering at A&M, knowing it would give him a good foundation for working at Texas Crushed Stone.

Actually, Bill had been working in the quarry from his teen years, during the summers. But it wasn’t until 1965 that he was on full time. He worked mostly in the sales arena.

Texas Crushed Stone has a wide variety of stone products, mined from their 8,000-acre quarry north of Austin. Their crushed rocks are either shipped by truck or by rail, even into Louisiana. “We feel like we have enough stones reserves to continue to quarry here for another 50 years,” Bill said.

Good thing, too, because Bill’s son Kent also works at Texas Crushed Stone as the general manager. “He takes care of nearly everything that I don’t do,” Bill said.

Bill has no plans on stepping down soon, however. “I enjoy working,” he said, “so I don’t really have anything else I want to do.”

Despite the ebb and flow of the construction industry, Texas Crushed Stone has been rock-steady in serving its clients.

Texas Crushed Stone has its quarry in Georgetown. -dsz

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L-R: Ryan Chasco and Mandy Jones represent R&S Overhead Garage Door of Austin at the Austin Build Expo.

&S Overhead Garage Door of Austin is not really the company’s real name, you know. General Manager Mandy Jones says the business was intended to be called something else, but a sign appeared and showed founder Robert Smith that it wasn’t meant to be.

“The story that I’ve heard is that when Smith started the business and ordered his company’s envelopes, the emblem was supposed to read, ‘RS Doors’ as in ‘Robert Smith Doors,’” Jones explains. “Well, the company put an ampersand sign in there by accident. He was okay with it though, so it became R&S Overhead Door.”

R&S still tends to go with the flow.

When Jones, who has 20 years overhead door experience, decided she wanted to leave R&S’ California home office and move back to Austin, her boss asked her to open a branch for them when she arrived.

“Here we are now, more than two years into this here in Austin,” Jones says.

“We ended up landing in Round Rock, and we service Austin and as far as San

Marcos, Marble Falls, Taylor and Georgetown. We’re finding here that what is needed in this area is a good service company and that’s what we’re here for.

We offer 24-hour emergency service. If you need us today, we’ll be there today.”

The Austin staff of six runs three trucks.

Together, they tackle notable projects such as the blue commercial rolling doors that greet guests at the Expo Center and doors for The Domain apartments.

Jones says the company’s name is getting out there in Texas, even if it’s not the name Smith intended. But Jones explains how that’s okay, as the original name probably wouldn’t have worked out in the long run.

“A saying that we use on some of our marketing is, ‘When you want the best, call R&S,’” Jones recites. “And ‘RS’ just wouldn’t have worked!”

R&S Overhead Garage Door of Austin offers commercial and residential doors, including overhead garage, rolling, and dock. –mjm

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Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

W hat’s Trending in

A new use for retired containers

Cabinetry

Things to consider before making cabinet decisions Edmund Noel

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s with all aspects of construction, each year we start seeing new market trends in cabinetry design involving everything from materials to finishes to hardware. Changes in cabinetry trends evolve at a slower pace than other areas like color trends but are yet identifiable. Due to the investment involved with cabinetry, many property owners don’t plan on altering their cabinets every few years in order to stay current. It is our responsibility as cabinet manufacturers to stay up to date on what is happening in the current market in order to provide our clients with long lasting designs. These are some recent areas we have seen changes.

New Design Construction With new cabinet design software programs, many cabinet companies can offer design options that were once only provided by larger companies and design firms. For example, we have been asked to customize drawers that fit specific printers, cabinets built around machinery specifications, and custom appliance pull outs. All of these customizations are not only for residential clients but also commercial clients. It is an excellent way for companies to effectively utilize their space while keeping the style of the cabinets in line with the overall aesthetic of the project. Additionally, many aspects of residential cabinet design can also be seen in commercial cabinetry.

This is evidenced through the market trend of creating furniture style pieces and combining these with the utilitarian aspects of typical commercial cabinets.

The key being bringing in an elevated sense of finish with a higher customization at minimal expense.

clean lines, are also finding their way back in to modern residential kitchens. To complement this cabinet style, minimalistic hardware like hidden hinges and thumb pulls are being used. This clean line aesthetic is trending not only for cost conscious clients but for high end contemporary homes as well.

Forefront of Color Color trends are ever changing in de-

sign. Warm natural colors are being used more frequently in place of cool greys.

Additionally, dark and heavy wood tones have made way for medium tone stains to add a modern feel to professional environments. Subsequently, this has changed the materials and finishes of the countertops and hardware. The current warm color palettes are allowing for the use of different metals, like brass in place of nickel, as well as a variety of quartzes in place of grey and white marble. The cabinet hardware is as important to your finished look as the paint color. Recent years have seen a resurgence in brass fixtures and hardware. This is not the old shiny brass from the 1980s, but instead is reminiscent of classic architecture seen throughout Europe, filled with unlacquered brass that patinas with age. The classic feel of unlacquered brass, combined with current color trends allows for a long-lasting design.

Although changes in trends may seem overwhelming, utilizing new technology to create custom cabinets to fit one’s specific needs will always result in a timeless product. Colors and hardware will evolve and change but functionality for the end user never goes out of style, so we believe it is essential to build cabinetry that can withstand the test of time.

Clean lines for Sophisticated Products Commercial cabinetry has always taken a more modern approach, utilizing frameless design and high performance formica or melamine products. Residential construction has seen a recent resurgence in this aesthetic in kitchens and bathrooms. Where we were once doing lots of ornate columns and crown molding, there are now simple shaker doors and inset cabinets. The use of Formica and Malamine, with their durability and

Author Edmund Noel is President of Memorial Cabinetry in Houston Texas. Memorial Cabinetry specializes in custom cabinetry for commercial and residential builders. Their design department and manufacturing facilities utilize cutting edge software along with time tested construction techniques to provide a superior product.

10801 Hammerly Blvd., Suite 118 Houston, TX 77043 832-453-2366 edmund@memorialcabinetry.com

Victor Moberg hard at work transforming a Conex container into a usable facility.

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ave you ever wondered whatever happens to those old Conex shipping containers? Do they just end in a field like so many old cars? Well, not if Victor Moberg has anything to do with it.

For most of his adult life, Moberg has been self-employed. Most of which he spent in welding and metal work. But it’s been a dream of Moberg’s for quite some time to direct his self-employment into a different avenue – Conex containers. Unfortunately, an automobile accident put his dream on hold for a while. After a long rehabilitation period, his dream finally started to become a reality.

In 2017, Moberg started County Line Containers LLC, recycling retired Conex containers for multi-use purposes. “We finally got started and it actually took off a little better than we estimated. It was too good of a start, if there is such a thing,” says Moberg.

Starting their second year in business, Moberg has great plans. Currently, the company has two trucks, one fulltime driver and one part-time driver to deliver containers with hopes of acquiring a third truck and a second full-time driver to facilitate their customers’ needs.

In the interim, Moberg is busy on the second phase of his business and is looking into expanding the conversion aspect of the containers to full cabins for hunting leases or rural properties.

“They’re not just ideal for storage.” By the end of the second quarter of this year, Moberg would like to have done, not to coin the phrase, but a “tiny house,” small living quarters complete with full utilities, plumbing and water.

County Line is already doing conversions now for flex spaces for office units or studios for smaller business in flex retail space. “We’re currently converting a

20-ft container into a barbeque stand for a customer.”.

Moberg’s wife, who holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design, is involved in the conversion aspect of the business says Moberg. “She has a real good eye for laying stuff out, attention to detail and putting a personal touch on each of our conversions.”

In addition to selling containers and converting containers into viable spaces for office flex space or living quarters, County Line also rents containers for construction jobsites.

Moberg handpicks the containers himself to ensure they are in good condition. “I buy the containers as if I’m buying them for myself. They have criteria they have to meet and if they don’t meet it, they get pushed to the side.

“The doors have to function easily.

And once the doors are open, what does the floor look like? What does the unit smell like? You don’t want foreign, lingering odor to transfer to what you might be storing in your container.

“I’ll have my driver, who helps me select containers, close me up in the container. It’s pitch black with the doors closed and you can see the smallest pinhole like a star in the sky at night. You don’t want any moisture in your container, and we take all this into consideration when selecting them. We really like the green aspect of the containers to reuse, recycle and repurpose. There’s a lot of really good use for these containers, whether it’s storage, office units, retail spots, and small living cabins They offer some unique aspects because of their rigidness and sturdy construction.”

County Line Containers LLC is a supplier of retired storage containers in Smithville, TX. -cmw

AFSA new leadership

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he American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has a new leader. Debra McGuire, MBA, IOM, CAE has been selected as the association’s fourth President and first female Chief Executive Officer since the association’s inception in 1981.

McGuire has 30 years of association management and has held a variety of leadership positions. Most recently, McGuire was CEO of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and Executive VP for the Family Medicine Foundation of Michigan.

“She is well-known and respected in association leadership circles. AFSA members and the fire sprinkler industry will benefit greatly from her experience, leadership, and commitment to the mission of AFSA,” says former AFSA President Steve Muncy, CAE. “Fire sprinklers save lives, and I am honored to have been selected by the American Fire Sprinkler Association Board of Directors as its new President and Chief Executive Officer,” said McGuire.

McGuire is a graduate of Honors College at Michigan State University where she completed her undergraduate studies on a track scholarship. In addition, she

Debra McGuire

is a graduate of the Institute of Organizational Management (IOM) at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN and Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI where she earned her MBA. -cmw

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 13

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

Safety never stops Rick Segura, Senior Safety Manager Harvey-Cleary Builders Austin, TX

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s Senior Safety Director, Rick Segura holds a number of safety certifications to include SSH, CSHO, CHST and UTA authorized trainer.

What sparked your interest to work as a safety director?

At the time, I was looking to be hired as a superintendent with the company.

There were no positions available, but they were looking for a safety coordinator. I decided to apply for the position.

Unsure what it would entail, I took on the challenge. It was a blessing in disguise as I was able to help others understand the importance of safety and how it could be beneficial for them as well their families.

That was nine years ago and I continue to enjoy working in the safety department at the company. I have completed numerous certifications and training over the years to ensure that I am providing our employees with the most valuable knowledge available.

How does construction safety impact a company?

The construction industry is always undergoing great changes with how

projects are being built and managed and how implementing safety programs helps companies stay competitive. Strengthening safety procedures at construction sites reduces the risks of injuries and increases the productivity as well as the quality that is delivered. Finding the worker with the right construction skills is the first step. Getting workers to understand and exercise them daily is the next step.

My perspective is that accidents are preventable; they occur for a variation of reasons. The prevention starts from the top. Without the support and commitment from upper management, the possibilities of success are null. The safety culture then streams down to the employees in the field through our project managers and superintendents. It takes time and dedication for all to be commited to making safety an important factor. The projects are more efficient when there are no injuries or accidents to take the team away from building a quality space.

Safety, it must be implemented!

Mike Grendell, Branch Manager Midco Sling & Cable Co. San Antonio, TX

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ike Grendell has been with Midco Sling (MS) for 38 years. He started in the shop making slings and cutting wire rope. At one point, he would answer the phone, figure out what the customer needed, write out a work order, and then go fabricate the order.

Over the years, time has changed the way people communicate and do business. For Midco, their commitment to customer service and quality has remained one of their top priorities. One of their main objectives is to treat their customers the same way they would like to be treated.

What kind of safety service/training does Midco Sling & Cable Co. of San Antonio provide?

Midco Sling provides rigging awareness training along with fall protection awareness for our established customers.

We also provide training services for Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) and have supported the San

Antonio Area OSHA office during Safety Stand Down Week and other events.

How does construction safety impact a company?

A good safety plan can make or break a company. Injury related costs you don’t prepare for are the ones that really hurt your bottom line. Falls are one of OSHA’s “Fatal Four.” MS works closely with our customers to ensure the correct rigging and fall protection is being used.

It goes back to having the right tool for the right job. Having a good safety plan is not enough. It must be implemented!

What can be done to increase safety awareness?

Creating a safer jobsite is creating a

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

What can be done to increase safety awareness?

People have to lead by example and not just manage. Motivating employees to participate and demonstrating why safety matters makes a huge difference.

When they are doing it correctly, the culture will change. If not, then it will become a struggle for the rest of the team members to buy into.

policy and procedures. I schedule and manage the monthly training for our field employees to keep them up to date with safety regulations. I also assist the superintendents with training workers, resolving safety issues, and conducting preconstruction meetings. In the case of an accident, I work closely with medical clinics to manage treatment of the injured worker.

What are the major risks in construction?

There are many risks in construction that can lead to potential injuries such as unknown site conditions, lack of training and faulty equipment. Being able to recognize and assess risks can ensure success on your project from having accidents. Make a self-assessment before starting a project, asking yourself: Do we have the right people with experience to do this kind of work? Do we have the experience for work of this magnitude? Do we have experienced site supervision to run a project of this type and size?

These are questions that should be asked within a company before committing to a task. If you can honestly answer yes to these questions, you can mitigate the major risks listed.

What is on the horizon for construction safety?

Looking to improve oneself in the construction industry never stops. There are many avenues to be observed that will assist us to become leaders in safety. A few examples are training employees to work safely all the time; implementing the use of new technology; assessing the effectiveness of our training program; and identifying topics of interest that will benefit the company and its team members.

What are your daily responsibilities as a safety director?

My responsibilities vary from project visits to employee training. First of all, I ensure that everyone is complying with the OSHA Standards and our company

safety culture within your company. It all begins with upper management.

In order to increase safety awareness, communication is essential. Toolbox talks, JSA’s, pre-construction meetings and reporting near misses are just a few tools.

How important is a good safety record in the construction industry?

Having a good safety record is extremely important. People want to do business with safety-oriented contractors.

Who wants a low bid with a bad safety record? All that does is create risk and added liability. You get what you pay for.

What is the most significant challenge the safety industry faces?

Challenges in the safety industry are not going away. Continuing education and training personnel and finding folks that want to learn construction trades are vital. There are organizations that are working at the middle and high school levels to recruit students interested in different aspects of construction, as well as safety.

What kind of training is available?

There are many construction organizations that offer training at an affordable cost. OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

The most rewarding aspect of my job is the ability to help others reach their goals in safety while striving to reach my own goals. Quality, scheduling, budgeting, and safety are the four major elements of a successful project. All these work together to build strong leaders and allow everyone to go home to their families every day.

Harvey-Cleary Builders is a full-service general contractor. -cmw

classes, trenching and shoring, and boom lift training are only a few. San Antonio has a great network of safety professionals. Get involved and contribute to the organizations your company is involved in. The training they offer is there to ensure everyone and every company has the resources they need to keep you safe.

What is new in the way of safety apparatus and equipment?

Some of the latest safety news in fall protection involves “Leading Edge“ retractable devices. If your company does elevated work and uses these devices, make sure you are using them correctly and to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

I enjoy helping people when they have a rigging issue or a fall protection situation. I never know what the question is going to be, but I will find a resolution.

I have been very blessed in my career and life to surround myself with so many good people. You know who you are.

Midco Sling & Cable Co. is a full service provider for fall protection equipment and manufacturer of wire rope, synthetic and chain slings, hoists and rigging equipment in San Antonio. –cmw

Page 14

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

THIS TH MON

Construction Safety

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

NEXT MONTH (MARCH) CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION

Education meaningless, if not applied

rescues continues to increase as we develop new methods, tools, and techniques to effect rescues from any possible situation. Ascenders/descenders, SRLs with recovery functionality, and remote attachment devices are all under constant refinement.

Oliver Auston, Chief Innovation Officer Pure Safety Group Houston, TX

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uston has dedicated his career to the Height Safety industry since 2001. He is the Managing Director at Checkmate Lifting & Safety located in the United Kingdom. Checkmate is the UK’s leading innovator, designer, manufacturer and trainer of lifting and height safety equipment. He served as the Chairman at Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) and the Technical Committee Chairman supporting and developing Technical Guidance Notes (TGN) at Working at Height Safety Association (WAHSA). His passion for product development is reflected by his involvement/leadership with more than 70 patents ranging from basic soft goods to the more complex engineered products.

What is the most significant safety challenge in the construction industry?

In a word: education. Safety itself is largely meaningless when workers are not aware of potential hazards or don’t have the means to protect themselves or their workers from those hazards. Raising the safety education of all workers will likely be the biggest challenge companies will face over the next decade.

Hand-in-hand is imbuing workers with the idea that jobsite safety is not someone else’s responsibility – it is their responsibility – each worker, day in and day out. Safety must be as necessary as the hammer to the builder or the pen to the architect.

What is on the horizon for construction safety?

Much deeper integration of technology into jobsites, from equipment inspection and asset databases, to calculators designed to help select the proper equipment for a given hazard. Mobility

and interconnectivity via the Internet has also increased the demand for online training that is dynamically responsive to changes in the industry and other best practices. The regulatory standards changes we’ve seen in under a decade are simply astonishing – and all for the better.

What is new in the way of safety apparatuses and equipment?

We are making significant advancements in low fall clearance applications.

Safely arresting a fall is much easier when you have plenty of room below the worker. Arresting falls from a lower level requires balancing a short arrest distance with safe arrest forces (among other things), which taxes engineers and equipment to the max. This condition is doubly complex with leading edge self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) and foot-level anchor tie-offs due to the increased amount of free fall permitted.

Also, our understanding of post-fall

Putting the wheels of safety in motion Lisa R. Robinson, CFLE Senior Program Manager National Safety Council Austin, TX

T

oo often we read stories like these: On Oct. 9, a construction worker was killed and another critically injured after a steel beam fell 30 feet and hit them while they worked in suburban Evanston, IL. Later that same month, a worker died after a wall collapsed on him at a New Jersey construction site.

On a typical day, 12 people die from preventable injuries in the U.S. while doing their jobs. Countless others are affected by these losses, including coworkers, friends and loved ones.

Let’s examine causes of some incidents and discuss safety solutions. In the construction industry, about 1,000 workers have died and another 80,000 have been injured each of the last three years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction sites can be dangerous, in part because of machinery and motorized vehicles.

From 2015 to 2017, Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates an average of 2,440 construction workers were hurt in roadway incidents and an average of 251 were killed in motor vehicle crashes each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 90% of crashes are the result of human error. The most common errors include missing road haz-

ards or detecting them too slowly; choosing the incorrect defensive driving action; and driving in a distracted or altered state, such as having inadequate sleep, being distracted by a phone or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Employers of all kinds are impacted by driver behavior, which is best addressed through ongoing education and training efforts. All employees should receive the same training and education.

Data tells us that those who occasionally drive as a part of their job die in crashes at higher rates.

Backing up, coupling vehicles and uncoupling vehicles are three common hazards truck drivers encounter. Safe backing starts by setting a G-O-A-L: Get Out and Look. Do a 360-degree walk around the vehicle. Never back up unless you have to, and eliminate unnecessary backing by planning your departure upon arrival. Park in areas where you can

How does construction safety impact a company?

Proper safety practices protect a company’s most valuable asset: its people. It might be better to view this through the lens of how a lack of construction safety impacts a company – the impacts then become immediately apparent. Too often, a safety program is seen as a financial drain, or an inconvenient regulatory hoop to jump through – it is neither. A safe workforce is a productive workforce, and investment in up-todate safety programs should be as essential as the latest tool or other technology.

What can be done to increase safety awareness?

Increasing safety awareness should be seen as a continuum, not a series of disparate events interspersed over the course of time. The only way to achieve this is to make safety part of every moment of every day. In addition to proper formal education, an excellent trend we see are daily pre-work safety meetings which allows safety managers to issue reminders, introduce new procedures, or to discuss other safety-related events.

What are the major risks in construction?

The current low levels of true competency-based training must be addressed. Without increased education across the board, nothing changes, and

pull out going forward.

Also, watch your mirrors and use a spotter. Remember, today’s vehicle technologies are meant to assist drivers, not replace them, and rear-view camera lenses can become obscured.

In some ways, construction site drivers are no different than the rest of the driving public, but there are inherent risks that come with their jobs. A variety of motorized vehicles operate on construction sites, and this fact alone can raise the risk of incidents.

Most construction incidents involve the “Fatal Four.” In 2017, while construction workplace deaths and the industry’s fatality rate declined, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows 389 construction workers were killed and 24,160 were injured in falls, slips or trips, historically the leading cause of construction worker deaths. If you are working at 6 feet or higher, you need fall protection. Conduct regular safety training sessions and develop rescue plans. Strictly follow guidelines to prevent falls from elevations, making use of harnesses, lines and safety nets. Eighty-five construction workers were killed when struck by an object, including falling objects and equipment. Another 17,890 were injured. Inspect power tools and be sure protective guards are in good working condition. Steer clear of nail guns and their sightlines to avoid risk of taking an inadvertent hit.

Seventy-one construction workers died and another 360 were hurt from exposure to electricity. Provide education on potential

www.constructionnews.net publishing the industry’s news

that is perilous for our workers and the industry at large. Falls from low-level structures continue to be overlooked, when in fact they represent the most dangerous type of hazard due to the prevalence of work at lower levels – not everyone works on a high-rise. Leading edge hazards also remain a challenge.

The amount of information regarding leading edge hazards, while growing, is still behind where it needs to be.

Additionally, the idea of profit ahead of people is as much a potential harm as any physical risk. You can’t raise safety awareness and reduce physical risks to workers when you are unwilling to invest in the very things needed to do both.

Companies often hyper focus on a direct dollar-for-dollar ROI without considering the value of the humans doing the work – this needs to change.

What kind of safety training is available?

We have a suite of instructor-led theory and hands-on classes from authorized and competent persons to confined space entry and rescue. The online training space is also growing as technology allows us to make classes available in places where physical classrooms don’t exist or to people who are unable to travel.

Sadly, training still tends to be too reactive and not proactive as it should be.

We often see greater interest after tragic events or serious fines – both of which can be largely prevented when safety takes a priority. There’s a lesson in that, I think.

Pure Safety Group is a provider of fall protection equipment and training based in Houston, TX. -cmw

hazards. Develop safe work practices and make use of insulation, guarding, grounding and electrical protective devices.

Sixteen construction workers were killed and 3,200 were injured after being caught-in or compressed by equipment or objects. Be familiar with equipment.

Shut down equipment before performing repairs. Use chock wheels on equipment that could move or roll. Never work under equipment.

To further ensure construction site safety, be sure employees are outfitted with proper equipment, including brightly colored clothing and protective eyewear. Officials at several companies have shared with me how they require new employees to wear a different color of hardhat for a period of time. This allows others to identify them and enables peers to assist in their safety training and education.

Just like the rest of us, construction workers deserve to make it home safely – every day.

Robinson serves as a subject matter expert and spokesperson within the employer and transportation communities including state government agencies on influencing change in behavior and policies to reduce motor vehicle crashes.

The National Safety Council is a 501 nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States of America. -cmw

Texas S t yl e

★ Austin ★ Dallas/Fort Worth ★ Houston ★ San Antonio

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

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Page 15

From pillow to post

Living in a material world

New Technology Insulation on the road again

KLP Commercial Construction Supply at the Austin Build Expo.

L-R: Owners Nathali Parker and Karen Parker

argarito Garcia learned about insulation at a young age – and he learned the hard way. As a 13-year-old traveling to Austin from Mexico to be reunited with family, he stayed in a renovated house along the way. Nearing bedtime and needing a pillow, he spotted a bag of insulation in the corner of an unfinished room, propped it under his head and settled into sleep.

“The next day, I had cuts and fiberglass all over my neck and face,” he recalls, laughing at the memory.

Despite the nicks, the experience wasn’t bad enough to put him off insulation forever. While he was earning his associate’s degree from ITT Technical Institute in the ‘90s, he installed insulation in homes, remodels and commercial buildings to make ends meet.

“That’s how I learned about it, by installing it on new homes, remodels and commercial buildings,” he says. “I would get off of work, take a shower, eat something, go to school at 6pm, come home from ITT at 10pm and do homework. I would do the same day over and over. Fiberglass, even if you take a both, stays on your skin, so those two years were tough, but I made it and graduated in 1992.”

Margarito then worked in the semiconductor industry for many years before establishing spray foam insulation business, New Technology Insulation with his son Omar.

“We bought a spray foam insulation machine and I taught him,” Margarito says. “He learned a lot and became very knowledgeable about the equipment.

We got a lot of customers by references.”

Sadly, Omar, 26, passed away last summer, leaving Margarito mired in grief.

“He was my son, my best friend and my partner in the company, so with him gone, it’s been tough,” Margarito says. “I wouldn’t wish this for anyone.”

Knowing that he had to keep going for his second wife and their four young children, Margarito continued to go to work. It was there that he found an unexpected source of support and solace.

“There was an employee who had been with us for two months, Alex, who had learned a lot of things from my son – how to apply spray foam, how to repair equipment – not too detailed, just the basics,” Margarito says. “When my son passed away, I spent more time with Alex and his helper, training Alex on the details of every component of the equipment and the proper process. Alex told me he was going to work with me, that he couldn’t replace my son, but we were going to move forward. He’s now to the point where he can spray any house or commercial building and he does it with so much pride.”

Margarito is beginning to look forward to things again. He plans to add another piece of equipment so that when an employee returns from the Army in March, he can run a crew. He has also leased a building in Lockhart that he plans to turn into a venue for weddings and birthday parties. At the moment it is unfinished; Margarito says it needs insulation.

Subcontractor New Technology Insulation is located in Austin. –mjm

Construction News ON LOCATION

Serving Central Texas

Matheus Lumber Company Inc. has been in business since 1932 and has been serving the Central Texas market for 10 years. L-R: Brian Starcich, Vice President Scott Hall, Pete Manley, Jacob Sutherlun, Christine Reed, Liz Murray, Chloe Luehlfimg and Kenny Martinez. -cmw

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wo sisters raised in Round Rock each found the construction industry to be “an exciting and wonderful industry where relationships matter.” Together, they began to operate KLP Commercial Construction Supply in 2012, with Nathali Parker as the CEO/Cofounder and her sister Karen Parker as Co-founder.

KLP is both a Native American- and woman-owned business. The construction supply company carries a variety of different product lines pertaining to the different trades.

“We’ve gotten several products approved through TXDot,” said Nathali. “We actually have some best-in-class materials that we’ve introduced to the market that people have not really had a chance to use or work with.”

One of those products is Kryton, a waterproofing concrete product line. Nathali points out that they want this year to be about Kryton and their high quality maintenance products.

The Parker sisters have expanded their Texas service areas to five locations:

Austin, Fort Worth, Rosebud, Houston and San Antonio. There is also a location in California and Arkansas. KLP employs 11 full-time employees, and Nathali commends their customer service team on being phenomenal.

“We will come out and train,” she says. “So a contractor that may not be self-performing these types of things, we can actually train them on how to self perform and save some money.”

KLP’s pricing competes directly with the largest supply companies in the respected areas. Even so, much of their business is repeat business. They also ship nationwide.

They love the industry and are excited to be a part of it.

“We are involved in AGC, ACEA, TEXAPA, RHCA and NUCA,” said Nathali.

They will soon also become member of TAACA. Family-oriented KLP is here for the industry as much as they are there for each other.

KLP Commercial Construction Supply is a supplier of construction and industrial material and equipment. –lv

Page 16

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

JOB SIGHTS

infinity,” he says. “We want to give the client more than they were expecting and we have high expectations.”

“The emphasis on architectural millwork needs to be – for it to be a good value – a centerpiece of furniture quality”, he adds. “I’ve done instances of what I call heroic furniture pieces for apartment leasing and clubhouses. For years, we would always have one of those in the pipeline. It’s that idea that we don’t crank out a lot of volume but it’s the careful, measured, well-designed pieces that we enjoy.”

Mark says he hopes to continue what

the company is doing, remain selective as to what they do and be a good value for their clients.

“We’re blessed to be able to select the work that we do and I love what I do,” Mark says. “I’m 68 and I’ll never retire. We have a wonderful setup where I won’t need to as long as I’m physically able.

Maybe since I’m never going to retire, I will use that time to build some furniture for my house!”

Woodworking artisan Landers’ Studio in Austin offers architectural piecework and furniture for commercial and residential projects. –mjm

continued from Page 1 — Trimbuilt Construction

Stud bracing performed by Martin Bonia with MAREK at the South By Southwest project. -cmw

Tubes playground

JMEG Electrical Contractors’ Edgardo Galeano and Carlos Talamantes run conduit at the South By Southwest project in downtown Austin. -cmw

continued from Page 1 — Massif Concrete other concrete products. He wanted to buy a turnkey business, own a company and start doing what he wants to do.”

Thibodeaux says that, as much as he will miss the outstanding working relationship he enjoyed with Isgur, he is equally enthusiastic about working with Cassady and is excited about the change this next phase will bring.

“I’ve talked to Gabriel quite a bit, and we’re looking at reorganizing the shop to where we can produce more and be more efficient, and we hope to come up with some new product lines,” he continues.

“We do woodworking and metal, and we want to diversify. We definitely want to increase our sales and we’re going to try to make that happen. We want to grow the company and get more income for it.”

Currently, Massif Concrete is operated out of a shop in the south part of Austin. The company doesn’t currently need a showroom, as the bulk of the orders are custom-made for clients.

Thibodeaux says working as part of a two-man operation offers him the perfect arrangement.

“It’s a job that worked out really nice,” he says. “I get to educate myself in how to do concrete countertops and more.”

Thibodeaux says the job also offers him the flexibility he needs to spend weekends with his 9-year-old son and do the activities he loves.

“I like to spend time with my son; he loves fishing so we go fishing a lot,” Thibodeaux says. “I like to do things outdoors; I go hiking and try to hunt whenever I can. Whenever I get a chance, I also like to look for coins. I’ve done two years of research; there are so many different varieties. I’m just trying to find that one special rare coin to make some money on the side.”

Although there will be a different kind of “change” under the business’ new ownership, it won’t be of the loose variety.

Thibodeaux says that he wants to assure customers that “nothing is going to change” when it comes to the company’s focus on quality.

“I want to guarantee people that we are still Massif Concrete and we still go by our guidelines and our high quality workmanship,“ he says. “I’m sticking around with the business and nothing is going to change. Our quality will remain the same.”

Massif Concrete in Austin offers concrete surfaces for commercial projects including bars, sinks and countertops. –mjm

continued from Page 1 — Landers’ Studio

“I just love working with my hands,” he continues. “Over the years, we did a lot of architectural millwork that is primarily oriented towards restorations.

We do a lot of lathe work – balusters, columns up to 10ft., carvings, mantels and newel posts – as long as the work is furniture grade. It’s hard to pigeon hole what we do; we do a wide range of woodworking. We really do pick and choose the commissions that we accept based on if they’re challenging for us, interesting, in our comfort zones and good values for our clients.”

The work proved challenging and interesting enough to woo his wife into the business.

“Christina was actually previously an archeologist with the state,” Mark says.

“When our son was born, she took time off from her job and she had a generous maternity leave. I asked her to come help me work on a dining table and ultimately she quit her job and started working with me in 1976. She currently does some work out in the shop and a lot of support work in the office.”

Mark says that when it comes to work, he and Christina have “pretty much the same approach” which they share with those who work with them.

“I tell apprentices that we aim for perfection with the knowledge that we’ll never achieve it, but it’s that half-step to

electrical, mechanical, drywall, painting and plumbing.

During construction – and with an already condensed schedule – Trimbuilt had a subcontractor fall back on his schedule. Project Manager Kenny Ames collaborated with a new subcontractor to get the metal framing quickly fabricated and installed for a timely project finish.

As you can imagine, an indoor park has many moving parts, many of which came from all over the world, including

s

China and Brazil.

“The effective communication Ames and Project Superintendents Paul Hinton and John Needler maintained with owner, Ridge Southpark Partners I LLC and architect, Nove Studios, made this job a pleasure to build,” says Puckett.

Great teamwork!

Trimbuilt Construction is a general contractor specializing in tenant finish-out in Austin. -cmw

Submitted to Construction News

Round-Up

Krista Bethune Melnar, PE has joined the Freese and Nichols Inc. as the firm’s new Stormwater Practice Leader. Melnar is an accomplished project manager experienced in large federal contracts as well as state and local resiliency projects. Melnar graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Biological Resources Engineering and is a Certified Floodplain Manager. –cmw

Round-Up Submissions

Submit Info & Photo:

Brandon Lamb recently joined the H&E Equipment Services (H&E) as the new branch manager in Austin. Lamb comes to H&E with 20 years of experience in the construction equipment and rental industry in Texas. He has held positions in operations, dispatch, district and regional account management, inside and outside sales, and branch management. –cmw Brief company announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of charge, as space allows.

AustinEditor@ConstructionNews.net

(210) 308-5800

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 17

Work it!

THIS TH MON

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY continued from Page 14 — Construction Safety

Understanding the “Duty of Care” Kraig Kyle, CSP, CHST, CHSP Vice President

CORE Safety Dallas, TX

I

that risk and liability.

n brief, this article discusses the duty of care businesses may create when hiring and controlling a subcontractor or independent contractor and ways to mitigate

Contractors often hire subcontractors or independent contractors to perform additional scopes of work on their behalf. Often businesses do so without understanding the liabilities or significant risk associated by control-generated actions that create a duty of care. Even when a contactor imposes contractual obligations, they often create a duty of care though unintentional and often-unnecessary safety management actions.

Common law found in §414 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (ALI, 1965) states: “One who entrusts work to an independent contractor, but who retains the control of any part of the work, is subject to liability for physical harm to others for whose safety the employer owes a duty to exercise reasonable care, which is caused by his failure to exercise his control with reasonable care. (ALI, 1965)”

The key extract of this law is the extent by which a contractor has control and the amount of reasonable care the prime contractor must take. Each are open to interpretation, vary by situation and require a strategic balancing act. For example, the prime contractor may overextend in their role by exerting too much control and directly managing its subcontractor’s safety obligations. On the other hand, the prime contractor can also fail to meet its obligations to provide the appropriate amount of reasonable care by not prequalifying its subcontractor or by not providing sufficient oversight.

There are various strategies for mitigating these risks and it is important for companies to recognize their responsibility for ensuring the correct amount of reasonable care is exercised with its subcontractors without crossing the line of owing a duty of care. Our clients have benefited from consulting with their insurance provider, legal counsel and their

safety representatives to develop and implement an effective subcontractor safety management strategy to limit their liability exposures.

Tips for properly exercising reasonable care includes: • Complete a safety pre-qualifica tion review of your subcontractors that includes evaluating safety re cords and experience modification rates.

• Clearly define subcontractor re sponsibilities within subcontract agreements for safety and company employees.

• Ensure subcontracts contain strong indemnification language and that a certificate of insurance is estab lished listing the prime contractor as additionally insured.

• Ensure the subcontractor has es tablished a formal written safety program and is implementing its policies and procedures.

• Avoid directly managing or con trolling the safety obligations of your subcontractor. This doesn’t mean avoiding oversight or taking necessary actions for violations that occur.

A graduate of Indiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Health and Safety Management, Kyle serves as the Vice President of CORE Safety Group and has over 15 years of practical safety management experience that includes developing and managing corporate safety programs and advising client leadership on best management and loss control practices. He has experience in loss control such as worker’s compensation, general liability, and claims management.

These experiences include effectively developing and implementing safety and claims management strategies on billions of dollars of wrap-up insurance programs. -cmw

Ryan Scott-Nairns, owner of MetalWork Austin

T

hey say that timing is everything.

Take Ryan Scott-Nairns, for instance. He had gotten his GED around age 16, but when he was at the normal post-high school age of 17-18, he was lacking direction.

Scott-Nairns’ uncle was a welder in Houston. He thought his uncle was only involved with the more industrial side of welding like beams and pipes. But ScottNairns discovered that his uncle was heavily involved with the arts, such as sculpting and metal designs.

This revelation piqued his interest in two things: (1) welding could be his occupation; and (2) it could be something more than a girder or beam.

“I had gotten my GED and was looking for something to do,” he said. “That’s when the welding program kind of kicked in and set me on a much better path.”

Another example of timing. ScottNairns’ mother just happened to have a friend who taught welding and metal sculpture at Austin Community College.

Scott-Nairns tried it out, liked it, then enrolled in the art metal degree program.

He learned blueprint reading, art history, design code welding, and was certified in a well-rounded program.

Scott-Nairns spent several years working in an ornamental iron shop, doing decorative railings, gates and public art projects, etc. While this was great experience, “My intention was mainly to eventually work for myself,” he said.

He saved his money and stocked up on equipment he would need someday, and toward the end of 2010, he quit his job and formed MetalWork Austin. He knew enough folks in the construction industry to stay busy while he built up his clientele list. For the first year, it was just Scott-Nairns. Then he was able to hire a part-time helper. Then some more.

“Four or five years in, it started pick-

ing up,” he said. Now, Scott-Nairns has six employees at MetalWork Austin. He’s planning on hiring some more in the upcoming months.

Scott-Nairns is proud of the customer service his company provides, such as when he makes a metal sign for someone.

“We take people’s images and logos and we make them so they work in metal,” he said. “One thing we really specialize in and offer is a little bit above and beyond. We can make you look good. It’s important for businesses to put their best foot forward” when it comes to wanting to reach the public.

He will use the water-jet cutting machine for the most intricate of designs.

Scott-Nairns enjoys all types of projects, but really like railings and gates because they can be so challenging.

“We do everything from start to finish,” he said. They will design, make, and install a custom railing for a custom home. This way, the client doesn’t have to hire multiple contractors for a single project.

Scott-Nairns loves the move toward custom homes and what’s in them. “We’ll do whole houses,” he said, including much of the furniture, the fireplace, the railings, etc. These custom homes are “very design intensive,” he said. But that’s good as “It keeps us busy and I’m lucky to get to work on such unique things. It’s wild how many amazing craftsmen work on these type of projects.”

Scott-Nairns said that 2019 is shaping up to be MetalWork Austin’s biggest and best year yet. There doesn’t seem to be any slow down of homeowners or businesses that want their services.

Bottom line: Scott-Nairns is living in a good time period that wants what he and MetalWork Austin has to provide.

Timing really is everything.

MetalWork Austin is in Austin. -dsz

Association Calendar

Content submitted by Associations to Construction News ABC

Associated Builders & Contractors

AGC

Associated General Contractors

Feb. 5-6: Legislative Days, Texas State Capitol, 1100 S. Congress Ave. For more info, call Tracey Littlefield at 512719-5263 or email tlittlefield@abccentraltexas.org

Feb. 8: Construction Awards Banquet, AT&T Conference Center, 1900 University Dr., 6-9pm. For more info, contact Toni Osberry at 512-442-7887

ACEA

American Society of Civil Engineers

Greater Austin Contractors & Engineers Assn.

Feb. 14: Monthly Luncheon, Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Ln. #365, 11:30am-1pm.

Feb. 21: Frostbite Golf Tournament, Avery Ranch, 10500 Avery Club Dr., 12pm Tee Time. For more info, go to www. aceatx.com or call 512-893-7067.

ASCE

Feb. 8-9: ASCE Multi-Region Leadership Conference (MLRC), Westin Dallas Park Central, 12720 Merit Dr., Dallas, TX. For more info, call 512-472-8905 NARI

National Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

Feb. 13: General Membership Meeting, Shunshine Camp/Zilker Lodge, 2225

Andrew Zilker Rd., 11am-1pm. For more info, call Kayvon Leath at 512-997-6270 or email kayvon@austinnari.org NAWIC

National Assn. of Women in Construction

Feb. 6: Chapter Dinner Meeting, Pappasito’s Cantina, 6513 N. IH-35, 5:30-8:30pm.

Feb. 23: Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, UT Austin. For more info, contact Taryn Ritchie at 512-658-6573 or email taryn.ritchie@ryancompanies.com RCAT

Roofing Contractors Assn. of Texas

or email rcat.tradeshow@rooftex.com SEAot

Structural Engineers Assn. of Texas

Feb. 28: Chapter Meeting, Maggiano’s Little Italy, 10910 Domain Dr., #100. For more info, call 512-301-2744 TSPE

Texas Society of Professional Engineers Travis Chapter

Feb. 15: 2019 TSPE Engineers Week Banquet, JW Marriott Downtown, 110 E. 2nd St. For more info, go to www.tspe-travis. org

Feb. 26-27: First Annual Roofing Day in Austin, Crowne Plaza Austin, 6121 N. IH35, Salon D. For more info, 512-251-7690

Contact us at 210-308-5800 or email us at www.constructionnews.net

Page 18

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Breathe easy

H

In a glass of its own

Jonathan Esquivel, president of Austin Star Services

is time with the United States Military as a Cavalry Scout had him “well acquainted in tanks and hot spots.” Jonathan Esquivel liked the challenges from his experience in the military and has learned to navigate challenges in every day homes with his company Austin Star Services.

“Every day, homes to us [are] like a field of chaos that we have to make a good answer [for], so we can make the home more energy efficient for the customer,” he said.

Austin Star Services is a home performance contractor, who specializes in insulation, HVAC, ventilation, indoor air quality and energy audits. Their clients are 100 percent residential. Esquivel named his company Austin Star Services because he knew instead of only providing air conditioning, they were going to evolve into other services, such as insulation.

Esquivel is the president of the company and remembers all this started in 2007, when he started in the HVAC industry. Esquivel received training through the

Building Performance Institute, which allowed him to apply his HVAC skills to introduce fresh air and other items that make the house efficient and weatherized.

“We want to get those [contaminates] out of the home to make a healthy home,” he said. Esquivel has a total team of seven: three service technicians, one office manager, one assistant and two installation crew members. Their service area is mostly in Austin and the rural area, but Esquivel says they will service San Marcos all the way north to Leander, Lakeway on the west side, all the way to Elgin on the east side and Bastrop.

Esquivel feels tradesmen should respect and educate themselves, get permits, and believe in third party inspections so that they not only take care of the customer, but also protect the trade. Austin Star Services is making an impact within communities on an environmental scale, but also in direct relation to the customer.

Austin Star Services is a home performance contractor in Austin. –lv

L-R: Regina, Felix and Lori Munson

W

hen Felix Munson bought Anchor-Ventana Glass in 1984, the company employed a staff of 24 in a modest Round Rock facility. The company has since moved to accommodate their growing staff, which expanded to more than 130 employees and tackles notable projects such as Austin Community College’s San Gabriel campus.

As it grew, however, Felix wanted to ensure that his company wasn’t just large enough for the major work it was doing but qualified for that work.

“As our company grew and as the demands of the industry grew in a litigious environment, we felt like we needed to make sure that we did an internal review of ourselves and our qualifications to do major jobs with major contractors,” Felix, the company’s president and owner, says. “In this evaluation, a third party, North American Contractors Certification (NACC), involved reviewing our business practices, our safety program, our quality management systems, contract administrated processes and our glazing technique and processes, where we were glazing according to both national standards and by those of the manufacturers of the products we were installing.”

After Anchor-Ventana went through the review, the company became one of only 16 nationwide to hold the NACC certification – and is the only company in Texas to have the distinction.

Felix says the achievement cements his confidence that the company is prioritizing the right matters.

“When you have a third party come in who inspects companies throughout the United States and looks at established practices, we want to make sure that we have implemented the best practices,” Felix says. “For example, if it’s regarding safety, we want to provide the best safety possible for our staff, on the job or in the plant. When a third party comes and

looks at you, your program, your documentation, and your adherence and compliance with generally accepted safety practices and the law, it makes you feel good because it’s not something you’re interpreting. It’s something that a professional is looking at and saying ‘You’ve earned this. You’ve proved it.’

That’s applicable in contractadministrated processes and company business practices.”

“Also, going to our general contractors and explaining to them what this certification is shows them that we want to focus on safety on jobsites,” adds Anchor-Ventana’s Director of Business Development Regina Munson. “Having a third party assess our company demonstrates that we take extra steps to strive to be the best glazing contractor in central Texas. I just think it speaks volumes to our general contractors that we have this certification.”

“I would say that it’s given us an opportunity to look at areas we could improve in employee development and training and communication,” Felix says.

“But that aspect is ever-changing with the demographics of the people who are in the workplace. It’s a really good opportunity to share information, not only through the certification program, but we also get the ability to network about best practices.”

Felix says it has been a worthy investment.

“We’re very proud of this,” Felix says.

“This is our second year to be certified and it’s an expense we incur. It’s the cost of doing business but it’s almost like a fitness program. You go to the gym and you don’t achieve your goals overnight,” Felix says. “We’re constantly working on ourselves to be a better value to our customers.”

Anchor-Ventana Glass in Round Rock is a full-service provider and installer of fabricated glass and metal for the construction industry. –mjm

Austin Construction News • FEB 2019

Page 19

Native son

T

Waste not

Abraham Fernandez, owner of Austinite Welding

he dictionary says of “-ite”: “suffix, from the French, meaning connected with or belonging to.”

Abraham Fernandez is connected with and belongs to Texas’ capital. Hence, he is an Austinite.

After working for a steel company for a couple of years, Fernandez branched out on his own to form Austinite Welding in 2017.

He started working for this other company while still in Austin Community College’s two-year welding program, gaining valuable experience. During this time, he kept getting enough referrals and requests for welding jobs that he thought he had enough business to go solo. With some of his family also in the construction business, Fernandez has never lacked for work.

With two other guys, Austinite Welding has gone as far as Seguin and Fredericksburg.

Fernandez won’t turn down a mundane job, like fixing a tow hitch on a trailer, but what he really enjoys is the fun stuff, the challenging jobs where he can

stretch and grow as a welder. “The more challenging jobs are the most exciting ones,” he said.

He recently did an outdoor spiral staircase that he said “was very challenging, but very exciting at the same time.”

The joy comes in not only doing a great job that he likes, but when the customer loves it as well. “The final product was jaw-dropping,” he said.

Fernandez credits social media - in addition to his web page - with helping to get his name out there. Social media, “has really helped us branch out to other contractors,” he said.

Fernandez wants to continue to grow as a welder. “There’s always room for improvement in craftsmanship,” he said. With barbecue grills and smokers being as big as they are in Texas, and all the requests he has to do custom jobs, Austin’s native son is ready to put his mark on them, and anything else that calls for a good welding job.

Austinite Welding ‘s headquarters is in Buda. -dsz

C

Colter and Lyndise Williamson, co-owners of WastePros

olter Williamson was a business and finance major in college. He always wanted to own his own business. What he did not want to do is work in a cubicle for a pharmaceutical company, in the customer service department, answering, “literally, a hundred phone calls a day,” mostly from doctors, taking their orders.

Williamson turned to Mr. Google and looked up businesses for sale in Austin. He found a man who owned one dump truck, which serviced about 25 dumpsters.

He also found a man who was able to fund the purchase, and Williamson worked for him until he could buy him out, making him the sole owner.

Meanwhile, Williamson’s friend from church, José Castaneda, had bought a portable toilet company. As it turned out, both guys were getting calls for the other’s services. They kept referring folks to each other. They realized that it made sense for them to join forces and form one company. WastePros began in August 2018.

Williamson handles the construction waste with his dumpsters, while Castaneda runs the portable toilet division. A neat feature to this side of the company is the luxury bathroom trailers - high-end rigs that are used by some of the big corporations for events like company picnics, etc.

These babies are all decked out and contain their own water source. Sweet.

Williamson’s dumpsters are rented 50 percent of the time by contractors, and 50 percent of the time by private individuals who are just cleaning out their garages. That’s a lot of stuff.

Williamson’s wife Lyndise (who also used to work at that same pharmaceutical company) has joined her husband in his company, running the back office.

Williamson says that having his own business is “fantastic. Wouldn’t go back for anything.”

If haste makes waste, no problem.

WastePros can handle it all.

WastePros handles all aspects of waste removal, located in Round Rock. -dsz

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Austin Construction News • FEB 2019