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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net
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H Volume 22 H
Number 7
H JULY 2019
Metal fabricator
Family floors
Malcolm Clayton, owner of Malcolm’s Custom Welding
General manager Carl and owner Wayne Hoffmann, of Hoffmann Floors
es, Malcolm Clayton is a welder. His business is Malcolm’s Custom Welding. But he is more than a guy who slaps two metal pieces together. “People ask me if I like being a welder,” he said. “I say, ‘No, I’m a fabricator.’” Clayton makes things, with welding as his medium. Clayton has been welding since a child on the farm in east Texas. If something needing fixing, he and his dad had to fix it. He used an old welding machine to teach himself how to weld. “It just kind of caught on and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since,” he explained. Then, by going to a vocational school, Clayton got proficient in every aspect of welding. “I’m certified in everything,” he said. After working at a metal building com-
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pany for a couple of years, Clayton realized that: (a) there is a good demand for welders; and, (b) he could make more money on his own. Thus, he took the plunge and branched out on his own in February 2015. “I learned there’s a lot higher demand for welders in south Texas,” he said. Going from the worker to business owner had its own challenges. “I went from a welder to a business owner real quick,” he laughs. “I didn’t realize all the stress that came with it. I was doing everything by myself. I was bidding the jobs. I was doing the jobs and all the paperwork.” Fortunately, Clayton has help now. His mother helps with the paperwork and a tax expert does all that part of the business. Clayton also has two guys continued on Page 21
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he Hoffmann family has been laying the floors down in the New Braunfels area since 1981. Brothers Wayne and Stanley Hoffman pooled their backgrounds in construction and flooring, respectively, to form Hoffmann Floors. “The brothers just got together and said, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’” general manager (and Wayne’s son) Carl Hoffmann said. When Stanley passed away several years ago, Wayne bought his half of the company from his widow and is now the sole owner of Hoffmann Floors. Carl grew up and spent plenty of time helping his dad and uncle with their flooring operation. In those early days, it ran out of a duplex store front, but soon outgrew it and started acquiring more
and more storage units to house all their materials. “The next thing we knew,” Carl said, “we had about 15 of them!” With many other family members contributing to the cause, Carl wanted to branch out on his own. He went to Texas A & M and spent many years working in business and software. But with Wayne progressing in years, Carl decided to move on back. “I actually just came back to join my father here about three years ago,” he said. “I joined to kind of help him retire but he’s still here, teaching us all!” Carl mentioned that his cousin, Lisa Goodson, and Robert Richardson are part of the management team at Hoffmann Floors. As the GM, Carl oversees continued on Page 21
Campus pays homage to its history
he Alamo Colleges District’s Support Operations campus is one of Skanska USA’s most exciting projects in San Antonio because it has so many unique features, starting with the rich history of the site. During construction, Skanska found artifacts tracing the land’s history back to when it was inhabited by Native Americans, all the way up to the 1960’s – 1970’s, when San Antonio’s beloved Playland Park, located on the property, was at the height of its popularity. The campus pays homage to its history through the landscape design, which highlights the portion of the Acequia Madre de Valero that runs through the site. A rock garden marks the underground path of the Acequia, an ancient tributary water source that is believed to extend all the way to the Alamo. In addition to the land’s historical significance, the campus offers users and guests unobstructed views of the iconic
Front elevation, Alamo College District’s Support Campus
San Antonio skyline, including the prominent Tower of the Americas. Users also benefit from being within walking distance to The Pearl, which is the epicenter of the economic revitalization taking place along Broadway. Urban living residential options, upscale retail, chef-driven restaurants, entertainment, museums, Riverwalk access and more are all located within close proximity to the campus. From a construction and design standpoint, the glue-laminated timber roof structure made this a distinctive project. Timber is not only a beautiful and sustainable element but incorporating it into this project is a smart practice since the timber can be replanted to replace materials used on the roof structure. Additionally, the use of timber is a growing trend in the built environment, and it’s a great way to achieve carbon neutrality. This project entailed the new construction of a 156,000sf, three-story concontinued on Page 21