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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 17 H Number 9 H SEPTEMBER 2019
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The glass that binds
Fred’s pal Joey
L-R: Robert and Roy Ramirez, owners of Distinctive Glass, Co.
L-R: Joey and Fred Guerrero of Masonry Custom Design
obert Ramirez laughs when some people react to his being in business with his brother Roy for 41 years now. “People always ask us how we hold things together because we do get into arguments every now and then.” The Ramirez brothers started Distinctive Glass in 1978. Being in the glass business runs deep for the Ramirez sons. Their oldest brother owns Lone Star Glass. Roy and some other brothers worked at the now-defunct National Glass Company even before Robert joined them there. Robert joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school with the desire to go to Vietnam like another brother did while in the Army. During boot camp, however, Robert was told the Marines were ending their mission in ‘Nam and he
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wasn’t going to go. Fortunately, Robert had swung a sweet two-year enlistment hitch and soon was discharged out of Okinawa. His intent was to go to college on the G.I. Bill, but when he needed some part-time work, he joined Roy and the others at National, where he learned about the trade and about the business aspect of it. This part-time gig lasted five years. By this time Roy had 10 years under his belt. Robert didn’t see a future at National, so he and Roy left there to form Distinctive. In those early days, Distinctive was strictly doing automotive glass. With a high emphasis on the personal touch with their clients, Robert said of Distinctive, “It took off from there.” continued on Page 14
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ot only are Fred and Joey Guerrero father and son, they are business partners and friends as well. Joey says of his father, “He is my best friend and the master mason in the family.” Fred’s wife and Joey’s mother Marta runs the front office of Masonry Custom Design (MCD) and handles all the logistics one must handle for a business. Fred is the sole owner of MCD and Joey is the field manager. Fred got his start in the masonry trade via working for his father’s masonry business when he was 15 years old. When his dad retired over 40 years ago, Fred’s older brother took over dad’s business, while Fred started MCD. (Before Fred started MCD, he worked with his brother briefly, but, as he said, “it wasn’t a good fit.”)
Going from strictly a mason to a masonry company owner had its challenges for Fred. “It was rough, in the beginning,” he said. “When you work as a mason, you don’t have to worry about paperwork, invoices or proposals.” When Fred first began, he had three guys working for him. At its peak, Fred had about 50 employees. When Fred was sidelined for a year and a half with throat cancer, that number dwindled down to its present 8 men. “My wife and my son took up the slack,” Fred said of his down time. Joey began his masonry journey as a kid as well. “All my life, when I was working age,” he recalled, “my dad would have me be with him whenever he could, continued on Page 14
Restoring beauty
randt Constructors & Facility Services has been serving the greater Houston area for 20 years. Continually building on their reputation to exceed the expectations of their clients, they continue to represent their company with efficiency, respect and high-quality workmanship according to Brandt Constructors founder, Jason Sparks. Certain projects come along that are not just “another project.” For Brandt Constructors and the Sparks family, the interior restoration of Assumption Catholic Church was one of those projects. “My great grandparents Dominic and Lena Rizzo who were immigrant farmers from Sicily landed in Houston to work and raise a family. Since that time, five generations of my family have attended this parish making Assumption Catholic Church a special place,” says Sparks.
The main objective to this project was to restore a 71-year-old parish back to its original beauty. Project Manager Randy Dunn began the process of restoring the church back to its original beauty in June. Two short months later, the parish had the luster and beauty it had at its birth. Sparks credits Father Albert Zanatta, Deacon Mario Ortega, Annabelle Silva, Susan Braden, Roger Demny, Felipe Lopez and many others for working timelessly to make sure not only that this project was a success but to leave current and future parishioners a historical place to worship. Restoring the interior of the church weathered by seven decades and generations of parishioners worshiping and endlessly utilizing the facility required hundreds of man hours cleaning, painting and detailing the entire interior of the Restored interior of Assumption Catholic Church
continued on Page 14