Covering the Industry’s News
Texas Style San Antonio H Austin Dallas/Fort Worth H Houston
P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290
PRSRT. STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT #1451
Change Service Requested
Houston
CONSTRUCTION
™
The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 17 H Number 4 H APRIL 2019
H
Rob’s righteous rigs
Art imitating life
L-R: Caleb Rundle, Rob Neace (owner, Rob Rigs Welding Services), Eric Poovey and Dustin Rogers
L-R: Jim Farris (owner), John Fife and Jose Dozal, of Jim Farris Cabinets
ouston native Rob Neace, frankly, “had no idea” what he wanted to do for a livelihood when he was 18. Good thing he stumbled up welding, “by accident, honestly,” he admits. Neace was working in a plant as a laborer when he saw some guys tacking some things. He gave it a try, but that was it. When Neace left there to work in a fabrication shop, he and two other new guys were asked who had any welding experience. The other two guys hadn’t, while Neace said he had done it a bit. But that was enough for the boss man to make Neace the welder and the two other guys helpers. Without the benefit of formal schooling, Neace learned on the job, eight hours a day for an oil field company, to be able to pass the test.
C
During his 20s, Neace joined the pipeline welder’s union upon advice from his shop foreman and did a lot of traveling to Alaska, Minnesota, and Florida. The pay and benefits were great, but with caring for two young daughters, the traveling took its toll. Thus, he returned to Texas started Rob Rigs Welding Services in 2010. Unfortunately, that happened to be the time in America when the pipeline industry took a noticeable turn downward. Neace said that union welders would go many months between jobs. While Rob Rigs Welding stayed on as an official business, Neace decided to take a break from welding and further his education by enrolling in the University continued on Page 14
T
he work of Jim Farris, owner of Jim Farris Cabinets, inspires people to go deep with their feelings. “I had a client one time tell me – and it was the ultimate, ultimate compliment – ‘I can see Jesus in every thing that you do,’” Farris recalls. “Another time, one of my professors in college made the comment, ‘Your art and my art are very much alike; we both do large-format, abstract art. My art is about death and dying, but I look at your art and your painting and they say to me that you’re painting about life and living.” To me that was very profound, especially as someone who has a Christian worldview. Even in what we do, like a drawing or painting, that shines through.” Farris’ creativity bloomed early. “I could paint and draw and had very
good spatial visualization,” Farris remembers. “I studied painting, sculpture, and composition, and 3-Dimensional conception came very easy to me. I drew abstract landscapes.” Farris parlayed that creativity into construction gigs while studying art at the University of Houston. “One of my best friends from church offered me a job; he was trimming new homes with another man,” Farris says. “I was introduced to cabinets and trim working with wood to construction in homes, on the finish carpenter end, not framing. I worked for him for six months and was hired by somebody else.” It was then that Farris realized he was using his own truck and tools to work for continued on Page 14
State-of-the-art collegiate sports facility
urrently celebrating 100 years in Houston, TX, Turner Construction Company completed their first Houston project in 1919 for Humble Oil (now ExxonMobil) at the Baytown Refinery. Henry Turner founded the company in 1902 based on the core values of teamwork, integrity and commitment. Today, the company’s reach is global, upholding its founder’s vision to provide valuable services to clients, build partnerships in the community, and deliver important resources such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, and social and cultural centers. Turner Construction began renovating The University of Houston Fertitta Center in March 2017 and completed renovations by Dec. 1, 2018. The dramatic re-visioning of the University of Houston Fertitta Center transformed the 200,000sf arena into a stateof-the-art collegiate sports facility, creat-
ing a brand-new experience for fans, student-athletes, coaches, staff, and students. It also supports recruitment and retention of players and staff while increasing revenue generation opportunities for the university. Exterior renovations included replacing the existing exterior panels at each corner of the long-span structure with a new curtain wall that introduces natural light, transparency and a true sense of arrival for visitors. Concourse improvements transformed the fan experience. Large entry lobbies at the northeast and southwest corners provide visual connectivity from outside the building and into the seating bowl. These “fan zones” feature a concentration of food service options and flexible gathering spaces. The reconfigured bowl moved midcourt seating locations closer to game The University of Houston Fertitta Center
continued on Page 14