Austin Construction News October 2022

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

The

Turning 120, acts of kindness

He gets fysical

The history of Turner Construction Company is remarkable, and it all started with a young engineer who had a vision to build a company for peo ple with exceptional skills. Henry Turn er, who was in his early 30s, began con structing buildings using steel-reinforced concrete in 1902. He founded his compa ny on the principles of teamwork, integri ty, and commitment.

Turner graduated in 1893 from Swarthmore College. His classmates re ferred to him as a good student, hand some and talented. He was also known for his great singing voice and a strong preference for the color “blue.”

A radical change in management at a company Turner had joined caused him to lose his job when he was 28 years old and recently married. The next company

where he worked was shut down when he was 31 years old and expecting his first child. Henry decided at that point to start his own company to provide steady and meaningful work. It was a huge un dertaking, but he believed in himself and the future of the construction methods he helped pioneer. He found that others supported his vision with as much enthu siasm. A former boss told him “I’m in fa vor of investing in anything you person ally have to do with.”

Today, 120 years later, Turner Con struction has evolved from a one-man operation to a company with over 10,000 employees worldwide and a presence in 20 countries.

“A lot of the early work performed by

on Page 12

One thing that attracted Carlos Cuèllar to the post-tension cable and rebar trade was he liked working outdoors and getting physical.

“When I was young,” he said, “I al ways liked physical work. I enjoy being out there. I was 19 years old and I never got tired.”

With his two older brothers, Cuèllar worked doing house trusses as his initial foray into the construction industry. But then they heard about a new opportuni ty doing the cable/rebar thing. They jumped at it.

Getting paid $1.15 more per hour sure didn’t hurt Cuèllar ’s decision to move on.

He applied at the company. He asked when does he start. They said 2:30 that

Great Scott!

Jordan Scott of 4GM Brick and Stone will gladly work on your house if it needs a touchup. In fact, he does a goodly amount of those type of jobs.

“I work directly with homeowners,” he said. There are two primary instances where he does this. The first is when there is a major “Oopsie!” and Scott’s re storative brickwork is needed. “A lot of people hit their garage,” he said, “like when it’s two or three in the morning, for some reason. I meet a lot of embarrassed people.”

The second reason is when the homeowner is trying to sell the house and it needs some TLC in order to make it presentable. A new house that’s, say, 1015 years old “is going to need a little bit of love,” Scott said.

Compounding the issue of weather extremes in central Texas which affects the masonry work on a house, is some times the initial quality of the house is

afternoon. And a new career was born.

Cuèllar worked for International Standard Steel when the owner sold the company to another, who in turn wanted to shut the business down when the economy went south. Cuèllar made him an offer to buy the equipment and be gan Fenix Post Tension in 2003.

Cuèllar uses the Spanish spelling of the mythological bird that rises to distin guish his company from the city. Plus, he’s in Texas, not Arizona.

All along the way, Cuèllar studied all aspects of the craft and of the business, such as how to read plans, do invoicing and estimates, how to effectively use computers and be automated, etc.

affected by the rapid pace in which it can go up. The explosive growth in the Austin area sometimes means the builder wasn’t as precise as he needed to be.

“As long as they’re going up quickly, they’re going to need to be repaired shortly after,” he said.

What really excites this fourth-gen eration mason (that’s what “4GM” means) is the restoration of historical buildings. When Scott can take a building that’s in serious need of repair and then trans form it back into its original beauty, well-that is special.

“I really do enjoy this,” he said of his restorative work.

Case in point is a recent project on Congress Avenue. The building is one of the oldest in the city, built in 1879, and was in terrible condition. “It was just crumbling,” Scott said.

Jordan Scott at the continental divide in Colorado last year

L-R: Jason Cuèllar, Marketing; Carlos Capa, Operations Manager; Miguel Santana,Operations Manager; Erwin Cuèllar, CFO; Carlos Cuèllar, Owner; Arcenia Cuèllar, Office Manager; Larry Jones, Plant Manager; Karenmia Melèndez, Bookkeeper; Maria F. Gamboa, Admin Assistant

Turner Construction Austin team members volunteer for Habitat for Humanity on the company’s 120th anniversary and Founders Day.

Keeping it real

Focusing on 55

In1975, Scott Cross founded Tempera ture Control Systems (TCS), offering a full line of commercial/industrial HVAC controls, burner/boiler controls, and building automation systems. Since then, the company has grown into a multibranch distributor that prided itself on customer satisfaction.

In 2019, the Kele Companies, an on line distributor of HVAC products, sought a storefront presence. The solution was the acquisition of TCS in July of that year.

The acquisition expanded Kele’s footprint, enhancing its ability to serve customers in the south-central United States. Temperature Control Systems, which is headquartered in Dallas had six locations across Texas and Oklahoma. This increased TCS’s and Kele’s presence, offering a broader product line, val ue-added services, and faster delivery options.

Having experienced the birth of the building automation industry while prin ciples in the G.H. Avery Company, Kele Inc. was founded by Roger Johnson and

Ronnie Randall in 1983. In those early days, they experienced the challenge of finding products that would fit the neces sary requirements of the automation sys tems and realized that a single source supplier was the answer.

At the time of the acquisition, Kele President and CEO Richard Campbell was quoted as saying “This move demon strates Kele’s ongoing commitment to transform both how and where we serve customers with industry-leading prod ucts and custom solutions.” TCS main tained its name as a Kele company and continues to provide a vast inventory. “We have over 400 different suppliers,” says Nichole Edwards, Branch Marketing Specialist for TCS. “We pride ourselves in providing two-day or less delivery. We do special orders. We’re your one-stop-shop for everything HVAC.”

Temperature Control Systems, A Kele Company, is a full-line stocking distributor of commercial and industrial HVAC con trols, burner/boiler controls, and building automation supplies. -cmw

Timesure flies when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that Joeris General Contractors is celebrating 55 years in business.

While the company is not planning a big celebration, it is recognizing the mile stone with various celebrations through out the year. And the timing couldn’t be better. Not only is Joeris celebrating 55 years as an organization, but the compa ny is also celebrating its Dallas office’s 10th year in the big D and its fifth year in Houston.

“It’s those incremental ones that we are celebrating throughout the compa ny,” says Joeris Executive Vice President Angela Cardwell. “And we are going to do some surprise things centered around the number 55.”

Although Joeris has not opened any new offices since the opening of the Houston office in 2017, the company has expanded. “We are much bigger now. We have more employees. Even our revenue is higher than it was back then,” she adds.

Joeris has always had a presence in health care and higher education but is focused on expanding its footprint into these and other vertical markets and re gionally as well. “In the past, we’ve gone to other parts of Texas when we’ve been asked to by specific clients or even an ar chitect that’s asked us to pursue some thing with them. But now it’s more wide spread,” Cardwell continues. “We’ve got people working across the entire state all the time.”

A new thing for Joeris, they now have projects in Louisiana. “A client that we were working for in North Texas asked us to go to Louisiana to build for them. We’re not going over there pursuing work, but if this client or another longstanding cli ent wanted us to build for them there, we would. We are situated now where we know how to go about that process.”

“We’re just amazingly blessed as an organization to be part of this industry, especially in Texas. I am so convinced that continued on Page 11

Raising the slab

When

CRC Concrete Raising and Repair opened its doors in 2010, the company initially focused on concrete raising and void filling ser vices using cementitious slurry. Over the years, CRC has added concrete repair as well as expansion joints and crack sealing services.

In 2016, CRC found that there was a growing demand for the use of polyure thane foam to raise slabs and fill voids and partnered with the industry leader in geotechnical polymers, NCFI. Today, they are a tier one installer of NCFI’s Terrathane range of geotechnical polymers and now have two “mud jacking” and two polyure thane rigs.

“We’ve taken on some cool projects like installing and remediating seawalls with polyurethane void fill and soil stabi lization,” says CRC Owner Neale van Streepen. “And we’ve also been doing quite a lot of deep soil stabilization by driving probes into the soil and injecting expanding TerraThane Geotechnical Polymers which can help stabilize soils at depth, providing true soil densification and load bearing improvement. This pro cess fills voids, binds the soil particles to gether, and enhances the stability of the

underlying soil structure. The TerraThane Geotechnical Polymers can also be used to create vertical ‘piers’ to stabilize and raise structures. We have used this to raise structures in some cases instead of traditional piers.”

CRC employs 10 talented technicians skilled in concrete raising. They service Central Texas from Temple to San Anto nio and Fredericksburg to College Sta tion.

In July of 2021, Neale van Streepen bought out his former business partner Bruce Dickey who had been with CRC since the company’s inception. “We still have a very close relationship, and we still share the premises with Dickey & Son Concrete which Bruce is the owner of.”

Van Streepen gives a lot of credit to his talented team. “Our company could not be where it is without our team. We are a combination of a few happy families - Operations Supervisor and Terrathane Specialist Billy Edwards, and his wife Lois; supported by James Grunert, Will Gallager, Jose Bernal, and Grant Mansell have been with us for 10 years and are the key to ensuring that our crews, equipment, as well as Polyure thane projects, run smoothly.” -cmw

Temperature Control Systems’ Austin team members L-R: Branch Manager ’Ambra Caratachea, Outside Sales Frank Guevara, and Inside Counter Sales Ashley Sanchez

Joeris General Contractors Executive team Front L-R: CFO Ryan Doege, Executive VP Angela Cardwell, and CEO Gary Joeris. Back L-R: COO Carl McClenan, COO Karl Joeris, President Kenny Fuller and COO/Operations Consultant Henry Serry

CRC Concrete Raising and Repair team members L-R: Grant Mansell, James Grunert, Billy Edwards, Will Gallager and Jose Bernal

Crunching some good numbers

The final frontier

Vicki Smith’s entry into the con struction supply business was strictly back office bookkeeping. “When I went to work in this industry,” she said, “my job was the accounting side of it. I took care of the books.”

But the numbers-cruncher used this experience to learn about the trade. “If you understand the numbers, you can figure out what you need to do with those numbers in order to get to the next step,” Smith said.

Smith came to Longhorn Stucco & Masonry Supply 10 years ago as a man ager. When the owner wanted to phase out, Smith bought Longhorn and the numbers are looking quite good, bol stered by taking care of her customers who have stuck with her.

“One thing I’m proud of is when I came here, there wasn’t a lot of people that knew this place was here. I think we’ve built a nice little loyal customer base, and it’s all in the last 10 years,” she said.

Smith’s doesn’t stay in the back of fice, either as accountant or owner. Long horn is her baby. “I’m out [in the shop], in

every part of this. This is my company. I’m part of it all.”

Smith is proud of Longhorn adding some products to their repertoire that has proved beneficial, such as scaffolding sales. “That’s been really good for us,” she said. Adding Master Wall to the lineup is another feather in Longhorn’s cap. “Mas ter Wall is Texas manufactured, so that has been really helpful.”

Being in the Austin area has the ben efit of being central to customers all over Texas. “We’re in the middle so we’re a good fit for people in both directions,” Smith said.

“I’ve learned by trial and error; just listen to people that come in, what they need and what they’re doing with it.”

Longhorn’s numbers are doing just fine. Having its owner be so invested in it and serving its customers has paid off. “I love working here and I’m not going to quit. I love it,” Smith said.

Her business model is simple: “I want people to walk in here and feel like they’re at home.”

Longhorn is based in Kyle. -dsz

Sorry,

Captain Kirk--it’s not space. It’s really metals. At least, that’s accord ing to Matthew Szynal, owner of Slight of Hand Metalworks

Szynal got into welding and fabrica tion out of necessity. He had to fix up his old Isuzu Trooper when the front wheel well was resting on the tire. Then, he took welding at ACC “and just ended up liking it so much I stuck with it,” he said. “I never looked back.”

Szynal’s work is all individual and hand-crafted. “It’s old school, traditional, hands-on stuff,” he said. “Hand-forged stuff is in demand.”

One of Syznal’s most recognized pieces is the El Arroyo sign, of which he has been commissioned to make more of for other locations.

Szynal started working with his hands in high school as his father’s hobby was woodworking. But Szynal discovered later in life that his grandfather was also a welder. “It must be in my blood,” he said.

“Metal is the final frontier, materials wise,” Szynal said. “Now, it’s gone into

carbon fiber and all kinds of things, but as far as straight fabrication goes, metals is where it’s at.”

Szynal is usually booked six to eight weeks out. “I really am busy with my workload.”

Szynal got his welding certification in 1999 and has been on his own since 2001. He would love to do more public art pieces some day.

“I like transforming yards with land scape work and planter boxes and edg ing.” The combination of the metals with the natural produces a pleasing visual.

“I’m a perfectionist,” he said. “I like a clean design.” I guess I have a creative, playful spirit. I don’t see the world as rigid and with rules maybe other people do. I still like to do things by hand just to give it that raw feel.”

When it comes to going where no man has gone before, Szynal is ready to take Slight of Hand Metalworks up to the final frontier.

Slight of Hand Metalworks does cus tom metal fabrication in Austin. -dsz

Vicki Smith, ownerof Longhorn Stucco & Masonry Supply

Giant metal flower

Szynal at work

Joe Cordi, President & Owner, Cordi Woodworks, Liberty Hills, TX

Woodworking is in the Cordi blood. Joe Cord’s great-grandfa ther brought his woodworking skills from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s and passed the trade down to his son and his son’s son. And though, Cordi himself is a professional jazz pia nist, he prides himself in carrying on the Cordi legacy of woodworking.

Where were you born?

I was born in Colorado Springs, CO. My parents moved to Texas when I was two years old and settled in Georgetown. I went to Georgetown High School and graduated in 1991.

Tell me about your parents.

My dad was drafted and sent to Viet nam. When he got out of Vietnam, he moved to Florida and immediately got a job as a superintendent. He always loved construction. He was a superintendent running apartment complexes. He had a good boss who taught him everything. When he decided it was time to move on, he started touring the country building homes for Kapp Homes. They would just tell him to show up to this place in Utah and build this house and then show up to this place in Colorado and build this house.

My parents had met and married during that time and had decided to set tle down in Colorado. When Colorado de cided it didn’t want growth and stopped issuing building permits, people in con struction fled. My parents toured around and decided to settle down in George town.

Did you go to college?

Yes, I went to what was Southwest Texas State University at the time. Now, it is Texas State University. I graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in busi ness.

I was in the jazz department there as well and studied jazz piano. I studied un der Dr. James Polk. He played with Ray Charles for about 10 years. He was Ray Charles’ organ player and horn arranger. When he retired from Ray Charles, he started teaching at Southwest Texas. He got his doctorate in music at the time I was studying under him.

Do you still play piano?

I’ve been a professional piano player for most of my life. A short time after col lege I was in a bad car wreck and decided to leave Texas. I moved up to a small town called Paonia, CO for two years. I lived there and I played music in Aspen and Crested Butte.

I later moved to Portland, OR, and played there professionally for about three years. Portland was a different kind of place.

How did you get started in construc tion?

While in Colorado, I started building StrawBale homes.

How did you get started in cabinetry?

I had been living in Portland, OR for about three years when my dad called me and said if I wanted to come back and run the business, that was the time to do it. My dad had a business making highend custom cabinetry Now’s the time to do it. So, in 2001 I moved back to Texas. At that time, he had a cabinet shop in down town Georgetown, right off the square in Georgetown that he had had since 1974. Sun City, in Georgetown, basically built his business. We did a lot of home offices, entertainment centers and kitchen re models building kitchen cabinets, and stuff like that.

Do you make furniture as well?

We have done some furniture, but that takes so much time. We basically just do high-end cabinetry and unfinished cabinetry that we do for some contrac tors and decorators.

Was it hard to learn the trade?

No, because we jumped into build ing an Arts N Crafts house for me after I moved back to Texas. It was all-encom passing. It just took time to learn and ev ery year I put out higher quality.

How did you get into playing the pia no?

I started playing piano when I was about six or seven years old. It was just something I have been in it.

Do you still play piano?

When I moved back in 2001, I was playing three or four nights a week in Austin. I would work at a shop during the day and then go play piano. I was a fulltime musician in Austin up until 2012. I played at a place in Austin called Eddie V’s Steakhouse. When the Domain opened, I had a jazz piano gig there. I also played with numerous jazz and country swing bands that were out and about from 2002 to 2012. And, I even had a small part in a major motion picture playing piano, which was a lot of fun.

The last gig I had was about three months ago. Every now and then I’ll get a gig. This time I was with a group that opened for Jimmy Vaughn.

What was the name of the movie?

It’s called Infamous. It’s about Tru

man Capote. I was in the room with eight of the most famous actors and actresses in the world today for two days. It was ex citing because that’s not what I do. Some one told me to show up for an audition and I ended up getting the part. I really lucked into it. But I was in the room with Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rossellini, Pe ter Bogdanovich, and Juliet Stevenson.

Tell me about the scene.

The scene takes place at a small par ty, and I was the piano player at this party. You don’t really see me, but they used the music for that scene. I always tell people I had 12 seconds of fame. I’m still owed three more seconds.

When did you move the shop to Liber ty Hill?

Around 2005, we bought five acres in Liberty Hill and built a 10,000-sf shop with a finishing room. We kind of got au tomated. We bought a CNC machine, an edge bander, and continued building, finishing, and installing cabinets.

When did you take over the company?

About two and half years ago my dad retired, and I took over the business. I have a good crew. I have three guys – one is a full-time finisher, and the two other guys help build the cabinets and install them.

Tell me about your employees. They’re good. Alex is a smart guy. He

knows all about electrical, plumbing, welding, and building. He’s invaluable to me. Jovannie, who just got out of high school about two years ago helps build the cabinetry, assembles, sands, and helps install. He’s great! Robert is my fin ishing guy. He picked up on finishing real quick and does all our high-end finish work.

Are you married? Do you have any chil dren?

I’m not married, but my girlfriend and I have lived together for about five and a half years. I have a son from a previ ous marriage. His name is Julian and he’ll be 11 years old in October. He really likes baseball, YouTubers, and he’s a gamer. He likes aviation games where you fly the simulator, and of course, he likes some shoot ‘em up games like Fortnite.

What do you do to relax?

I’ve got a nice home studio now and I’m starting to put music to our work. Once I get our website redone, I’m going start creating videos about our work with me putting music to the things I do.

What would you like our readers to know about Joe Cordi?

I’m dedicated to this business, for sure. I plan to do this till I retire. I’m fo cused on making sure everything we put out is high-quality. -cmw

CONSTRUCTION NEWS

The Austin Construction News (ISSN 15477630) is published monthly by Construction News LTD., dba Austin Construction News, and distributed by mail to constructionrelated companies of record in Austin and surrounding counties.

All submissions should be emailed to our editorial offices. We reserve the right to edit any materials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon in advance in writing. Submissions will be published at our discretion on a space available basis.

Construction News, Ltd., dba Austin Construction News, will not be liable for errors in copy or in advertisements beyond the actual cost of space occupied by the error. Publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement at any time.

Joe Cordi with his team L-R: Robert Boyd, Joe Cordi, Jovannie Bautista, and Alex Haechten

Honoring local heroes

Like most people who were born and raised in San Antonio, Dominica Gar za considered the Alamo City to be a great place to grow up with its smalltown feel. Big enough to offer plentiful opportunities for work, family, and life interests, but small enough to feel a part of a tight-knit community in which one can easily connect with others.

A graduate of Business Careers High School/Holmes High School, Casey at tended The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) for her undergraduate studies and the University of Mary Har din-Baylor (UMHB) for graduate school. “My experience at UTSA was wonderful. It sure has grown since I graduated. Not to give away my age, but we didn’t have a football team when I was a student. UMHB is a smaller, private university. I enjoyed the individual attention and Christian atmosphere it offers.”

Having always enjoyed writing, cre ative arts, and a good challenge, Domini ca earned a bachelor’s degree in Com munications and a master’s degree in Management. Communications offered that challenge. “There are many routes within that field of study - public rela tions, journalism, crisis communications, graphic arts, copywriting, marketing, in ternal communications, and the list goes on. I enjoy the variety of the specialties communications offers. Every company and industry needs this skill set. I studied management because I enjoy business and entrepreneurship, and I understand the importance of being a good leader.”

At PWI Construction, a nationwide commercial general contractor specializ

ing in high-end hospitality, restaurant, and retail, Dominica manages all the in ternal and external communication and marketing strategy. She works closely with their business development team and pre-construction services depart ment developing marketing collateral, proposals, and presentations. She also oversees their digital marketing includ ing their website and social media. “I am the firm’s brand manager.

“I enjoy the variety of work and chal lenges my job has to offer. One day I might be working on content strategy, other days I may be working with a mag azine or publication to feature our work. I partner with our internal administration team often on employee communica tions. I collaborate with our BD team to win work. No two days are alike.”

Dominica and her husband, Jordan Samfield, have been married for seven years. They met at a young professionals’ networking event at Dave & Busters and were married two years later in New Orle ans. They have two children – 5-year-old Henry, and 7-month-old Grace. Henry is just getting into organized sports, which means Dominica is quickly learning how to be a ‘sports mom,’ while Grace is quickly growing and is slowly mastering crawling and standing.

Specializing in the multi-family, in dustrial, education, commercial, and senior living market sectors, Ca dence McShane Construction Company offers design-build, and construction management services.

On the 21st anniversary of our na tion’s worst tragedy, 9/11, the City of Kyle hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Heroes Memorial Park, a recreational space honoring veterans, first respond ers, and other community heroes con structed by Cadence McShane.

Heroes Memorial Park is part of the first phase of the Brick-and-Mortar dis trict, a 138-acre pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development within the Plum Creek master-planned community.

The landscape architecture, Nudge Design, did an excellent job featuring the natural landscape and creating a parklike environment. Together, both the ar chitect and the Cadence McShane team worked closely with the City of Kyle to create a beautiful, commemorative hav en for its residents to enjoy.

“It was a pleasure working with the City of Kyle to build a park so deeply meaningful to the community,” said Ca dence McShane Business Unit Leader and Director of Operations Tyler Earle. “We are honored to be part of this project.”

During his ribbon-cutting speech, Mayor Travis Mitchell stated, “The best as pect of Heroes Memorial Park is the fact that it was built at all. With this much at tention to detail and this level of invest ment, building something like this re quires a collaborative effort, insight, and support, and the vision must be sustained for the duration of the project. Thankfully, there have been leaders who courageous ly carried it forward.”

Truly a collaborative effort, the proj ect could not have been done without the level of dedication shown by all. The park is now open to the public and features a range of attractions for families including an educational memorial honoring the heroes of Kyle and Hays County in an in viting and inclusive atmosphere. -cmw

Austin Construction News • OCT 2022 Page 5 Dominica enjoys quality time with her husband and doing things with the kids. She also enjoys going on long walks, hikes, movies, reading, and good food. And yes, she is one of those people who takes pictures of her food. -cmw

Ribbon-cutting ceremony, Heroes Memorial Park, Kyle, TX, Sept. 11, 2022

Dominica Garza, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, PWI Construction Inc., Austin, TX

Industry FOLKS

Beginning his construction career at the age of 16 doing various sum mer construction jobs, Barry Wur zel found his calling. He landed his first full-time job in 1983 as a project manag er. Sixteen years later went out on his own making a name for himself in the construction community.

Wurzel Builders was founded in 1998 and began its focus on retail build ing and remodeling. Since then, it has ex panded its repertoire to include industri al, healthcare, hospitality, restaurant, of fice, and education. Offering services in pre-construction, general contracting, construction management at risk, and design-build, Wurzel Builders takes pride in completing projects on time and with optimal quality.

In 2022, the company so far has com pleted two QuikTrip (QT) locations in Central Texas, the Cambria Hotel in Aus tin, the Aloft Hotel in Austin, and a Target retail store in San Antonio. The compa ny’s other projects currently under con struction include the Hotel Indigo in Ir ving, the Lexington Multifamily complex in Manor, Magnolia Senior Living center in Flower Mound, the Natures Point Wed ding Venue in Lago Vista, and a retail cen ter in San Antonio. One of the compa nies’ newest projects is the Aztec Hotel and Theater on the San Antonio River walk.

“We are doing some hospitality work in San Antonio,” says Wurzel. “We have some boutique-type projects along the Riverwalk. We are also talking about do ing two hospitality projects and a third that is in the early discussion phase. We also doing work for a big box retailer in which we are doing a zero-carbon reno vation.

“We negotiate a lot of work. We’re very transparent. We do a lot of open-

book GMP-type work. Customers like it because we’re very transparent. We share information and we’re very much a col laborative team. A true team member working through the process of finding a lesser cost through value engineering. We leverage our subcontractor-supplier network to help us with the value-engi neering process. We’re very engaged in what we do. We help customers figure out how to get their facilities built on budget.

With a growing list of projects in San Antonio, Wurzel currently has a small team in the Alamo City and is currently looking for a project manager, taking steps to grow a team in San Antonio.

Wurzel Builders, a full-service gener al contractor and construction manage ment company. -cmw

Cleary Zimmerman opens in Austin

After working together in the engi neering division of Marmon Mok Architecture, Wade Cleary and Danny Zimmermann formed Cleary Zimmermann Engineers in 2006. With a small team of six, Cleary and Zimmermann were bound for success.

As the company began to grow, the duo formed the firm’s commissioning divi sion in 2008. The division is made up of a team of agents advocating on behalf of owners, working with the design team and contractors ensuring that each step of the building process comes together as they are intended to be designed, in stalled, and operated.

The firm continued growing and opened an office in Bryan/College Station in 2018, Houston in 2019, and their newest office in Austin. The Austin office opened earlier this year in February with two team members and has quickly grown to a team of seven.

The new Austin office is in east Austin, 3218 Manor Rd. Ste. 200. Aaron Heaps, a Round Rock native, transferred from the San Antonio office to return to the area and head up the new office as Principal. Heaps is directly involved in the design of complex mechanical systems and the co ordination of these systems with other dis ciplines. He has a thorough approach to design and project management which has earned him recognition from his cli ents and peers. His experience with insti tutional and private clients includes large, multi-building campuses, phased renova tions, new construction office buildings, and manufacturing facilities. Aaron’s port folio spans a wide range of market sectors, including healthcare, higher education, K12, industrial, retail, and municipal.

“Our expansion into Austin allows us to better serve our clients statewide,” says Heaps. “Some of our core values are ser vice, responsiveness, hyper-communica tion, and being a high-touch firm. So, ex panding our wings and coming more north from San Antonio allows us to reach our clients on the other side of the I-35 cor ridor to better serve them.”

Cleary Zimmermann is proud to work with their HUB partner firm, Moose Engi neers. They established a Mentor/Protégé relationship with Moose in 2018 backed by the Texas A&M University Health Science Center in College Station.

In 2021, Cleary Zimmerman celebrat ed its 15th anniversary with a firmwide community service initiative, “15 Years Hands-On, 1500 Hours Hand-On.”

“Part of our DNA is more than just the work, it’s serving our community,” adds Heaps. “We have made it a point to be ac tive members of the community. We’ve gone down to the coast after Hurricane Harvey to help clean up. We’ve done vol unteer events at the San Antonio Food Bank, Diaper Bank, and others. We strive to go back into our communities and build relationships with the constituents that we serve.”

Since 2006, Cleary Zimmermann has been a high-touch, creative engineering partner for clients with complex building projects in a variety of market sectors. The firm will be hosting an open house at its new Austin office. The “Backyard Bash at Batch” will be held on Oct. 20.

Cleary Zimmermann Engineers is a con sulting engineering firm specializing in Building MEP, Industrial MEP, Commission ing, and Water/Wastewater services. -cmw

Service Providers

Truck &

Dealers

QuikTrip, a new project under construction

Barry Wurzel (front) reviews plans with Senior Project Manager John Mitchell at a new job site

Cleary Zimmermann Engineers team members

Front L-R: Maesan Carley PE and Jacob Fristch PE. Back L-R: Mark Green PE, Avery Pietrowiak EIT, and Aaron Heaps PE

Fighting Fraud with Limited Resources

Alan Rich Assurance Shareholder Fisher, Herbst & Kemble, P.C. San Antonio, TX

We are two-thirds of the way through 2022 and inflation has hit us like a raging cedar fire with the Federal Re serve Bank trying to stomp it down with raising interest rates. Add to those chal lenges a tight labor market and “supply chain” issues. As a result the cash flow for businesses is tight and so is the cash flow for the people we love and trust and work with on a daily basis. All of these el ements combine into a perfect storm for possible fraud. Fraud is committed be cause of greed, need, rationalization and opportunity. Fraud does not discriminate based on the size of a company and we must be smart in utilizing our limited time and resources. Having strong inter nal controls are critical to your success and include the following:

Setting the Tone

The tone of the owners and manage ment of a company requires a commit ment of leadership to ethical and honest conduct. This is your value and ethics clearly defined and demonstrated for your employees to see and emulate. These traits are a foundation that defines and sets your culture.

Assess Risk and Establish Controls

A fraud risk assessment is a proactive view of the weaknesses of a business to prevent the misappropriation of its as sets and related fraud which occurs due to a short falling of internal controls. Cor nish & Clark noted in a 1986 study that individuals chose when and where to commit fraud. The higher the likelihood of getting caught or punished the less likely they are to commit fraud. A com mon sense argument for internal con trols. The Occupational Fraud 2022: A REPORT TO THE NATIONS by the Associa tion of Certified Fraud Examiners (2022 ACFE Report) (https://acfepublic.s3.uswest-2.amazonaws.com/2022+Re port+to+the+Nations.pdf ) states 86% of fraud was due to misappropriation of as sets. For the construction industry it was an average of 12 months before fraud was detected with a median loss of $203,000. Almost half of fraud is commit ted by employees in either operations, accounting, management or sales. Some common controls include:

Establish a hotline — Approximately 42% of all frauds are detected by tips ac cording to the 2022 AFCE Report. Estab lishing a way for customers and employ ees to report fraud is an effective way to manage risk. Companies without a ho tline have 2 times the loss on each fraud than companies with a fraud hotline. The 2022 ACFE Report also shows the likeli hood of fraud detection goes up by 45% with employee training regarding fraud. Training can include teaching about what constitutes fraud, the cost of fraud, who employees can go to for ethical questions and the policy of zero toler ance for fraud.

Review — Management review and in ternal audit detects another 28% of fraud according to the 2022 AFCE Report. Re viewing the monthly bank statement and introducing positive pay with your bank are great controls in detecting fraudulent outflows of cash. The most simple of schemes regarding cash is the

fraudster writing a payroll or expense check directly to themselves and a simple review can stop this type of loss.

Background Checks Background checks are an excellent prevention con trol. The 2022 AFCE Report notes 43% of victim companies did not run back ground checks on prospective employ ees. Calling on employment history and running background checks on criminal history, education, and credit can help prevent problems before they start. This is a low cost and effective tool to prevent possible future losses.

Hire Great People and Check Them

The AFCE 2022 Report noted that when a person engages in fraud the top three behavioral red flags are living beyond their means, experiencing financials diffi culties, and usually close relationships with a vendor or customer. There are many more red flags such as control, “wheeler-dealer” attitude, addictions, le gal problems, outside pressure and insta bility.

Segregation of Duties To the extent possible have separate employees for ini tiating a transaction, approving the transaction and reviewing the activity. For example the authority to establish a vendor, to pay them and then to recon cile the bank statement should be duties that are segregated. It is not uncommon for businesses to have employees having multiple job duties as it keeps costs low er. If you cannot split these duties then implement a strong review of monthly or daily bank activity and avoid signature stamps. Ask questions and show that you are looking and monitoring.

Reconcile Reconcile everything in cluding cash, accounts receivable, ac counts payable, fixed assets, equity, sales, costs of sales and payroll. Reconcile relat ed party inter-company accounts and verify the activity. As needed a business will use these accounts to move cash and fund needs. The inter-company accounts are often out-of-balance between the re lated party companies and can hide fraud.

Email – Compromised email scams are on the rise. Cyber actors may imperson ate vendors with who you do business with on a regular basis. To address the threats on an email scam verify all pay ments with a purchase order, approval and possible call backs to trusted vendor contacts. Be alert for slight email chang es and enable security features that block malicious emails, such as anti-phishing and anti-spoofing policies.

Internal controls will not eliminate all losses from fraud but hopefully good controls will reduce the time and amount of the loss. Our intent in this article is not to list every possible internal control that could be put in place rather it is to pro vide you with a starting point to establish some good controls.

Alan Rich, Assurance Shareholder at Fisher, Herbst & Kemble, P.C. San Antonio, Texas arich@fhkcpa.com

INSURANCE

OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) Updated

Jim Greaves

Assistant Vice President of Risk Management Services Catto & Catto a division of HUB International Texas, Inc. San Antonio, TX

In a new release on September 15, 2002.   OSHA has updated their severe violator enforcement program.   This effort is to increase compliance and mitigate haz ards.     OSHA’s new expansion to the Severe Violator Enforcement Program will now include all hazards and OSHA standards and focus on repeat offenders in all in dustries.   See national news release here: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/ national/09152022

Previously, an employer could be in the program for failing to meet a limited number of standards. These new changes will broaden the program’s scope with the possibility that additional industries will fall within its parameters.   Since the inception of the Severe Violator Enforce ment Program in 2010, OSHA has focused on enforcement and inspection resourc es on employers who either willfully or repeatedly violate federal health and safety laws or demonstrate a refusal to correct previous violations.   In addition to being included on a public list of the nation’s severe violators, employers are subject to follow-up inspections.

Specifically, the updated criteria include:

Program placement for employers with citations for at least two willful or repeat ed violations or who receive failure-toabate notices based on the presence of high-gravity serious violations.

• Follow-up or referral inspections made one year – but not longer than two years – after the final order.

Potential removal from the SVEP three years after the date of receiving verifica tion that the employer has abated all pro gram-related hazards. In the past, remov al could occur three years after the final order date.

• Employers’ ability to reduce time spent in the program to two years, if they con sent to an enhanced settlement agree ment that includes use of a safety and health management system with seven basic elements in OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs.

What is SVEP?

• Enforcement policies and procedures for OSHA’s SVEP, which concentrates re sources on inspecting employers that have demonstrated indifference to their OSHA obligations by committing willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations.

What is the criteria for an SVEP case?

• OSHA considers an inspection to result in a SVEP case if it meets at least one of the criteria below. All OSHA standards are applicable to SVEP.

1 Fatality/Catastrophe Criterion. A fatali ty/catastrophe inspection where OSHA finds at least one willful or repeated viola tion or issues a failure-to-abate notice based on a serious violation directly relat ed either to an employee death, or to an incident causing three or more employee hospitalizations.

2 Non-Fatality/Catastrophe Criterion. An inspection where OSHA finds at least two willful or repeated violations or issues fail ure-to-abate notices (or any combination of these violations/notices), based on the presence of high gravity serious violations.

NOTE: Low and moderate gravity serious violations do not fulfill this criterion.

3 Egregious Criterion. All egregious (e.g., per-instance citations) enforcement ac tions shall be considered SVEP cases.

How can an inspection be removed from OSHA’s SVEP public log?

• OSHA will remove an employer from the Severe Violator Enforcement Program Log after at least three years from the date of receiving acceptable abatement verification. To be eligible for removal,

the employer must have:

1 Abated all SVEP-related hazards,

2 Paid all final penalties,

3 Where applicable, followed and com pleted all applicable settlement provi sions,

4 Received no additional serious cita tions related to the hazards identified in the original SVEP inspection or any relat ed establishments, and

5 Have received one follow-up or referral OSHA inspection.

Does OSHA offer a SVEP term less than 3 years?

• Yes, if an employer agrees to an En hanced Settlement Agreement, they may elect to reduce the SVEP term to two years. In such cases, SVEP removal is con tingent on the employer agreeing to de veloping and implementing a safety and health management system (SHMS), within the two-year period, that includes policies, procedures, and practices that are effective to recognize and abate oc cupational safety and health hazards and protect employees from those hazards.

The employer’s SHMS should include at least the seven basic elements outlined in OSHA publication 3885, Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs (October 2016) and should also include provisions for evaluating and improving program effectiveness, along with a pro vision for OSHA’s review and evaluation of the SHMS. Lastly, implementation must be verified by an independent third party (i.e., a CSP, CIH, or – for a unionized workplace – a national union safety and health representative), subject to the ap proval of OSHA.

Does OSHA maintain a public log of inspections in SVEP?

• Yes, to obtain a complete list of inspec tions in OSHA’s SVEP Public Log, select the following Link: OSHA’s SVEP List

In closing, understanding and proper compliance with OSHA safety standards is and will always be the best way to re duce the possibility of ending up on the SVEP, in addition to helping to reduce the risk of fatalities, injuries, and hazards at worksites, which will in turn reduce the risk of repeated serious citations from OSHA.

Prior to joining the team at HUB Interna tional, Jim has gained vast experience in the safety field working in the construction, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, nonprofit agencies and healthcare industries. He is closely involved with the Risk Management team members to ensure that clients receive exceptional risk management, safety and claims consultation services. Jim received his bachelor’s degree of Science in Mechan ical Engineering from the University of Tul sa. He is certified as a Field Safety Represen tative (FSR) and as an approved Profession al Safety Source (PSS) by the State of Texas. Jim is a member of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Applied Ergo nomics from HumanTech and a Master In structor for the Crisis Prevention Institute. Jim is also a Certified Active Shooter Instruc tor through the ALICE Training Institute.

LEGAL

After Ten Years of the Texas Anti-Indem nity Act, Indemnity in Construction Contracts Still Lives in Texas

Travis Brown, Principal Cokinos | Young Austin/San Antonio/Houston/Dallas, TX

Subchapter C of Chapter 151 of the Texas Insurance Code, the Texas Anti-Indemnity Act (the “TAIA”), went into effect on January 1, 2012. The Act affects not only the validity of contractual indemnity provisions, but also the availability of additional insured coverage, voiding both indemnification clauses and additional insured provisions in construction contracts that purport to indemnify the indemnitee/additional insured for its own negligence or fault.

However, despite the statute being in effect for over a decade, there was no case law directly addressing its applica bility, particularly as to a downstream contractor/indemnitor’s insurance com pany’s duty to defend an upstream con tractor/indemnitee in a claim that alleges both the negligence or fault of the up stream contractor and the negligence or fault of the downstream contractor. Many downstream contractors and their insur ers began to assume that indemnity was all but a dead issue on Texas construction projects (save for the limited specific ex ceptions in the TAIA). However, over the course of just over two months in 2022, a string of Texas cases clarified, piece by piece, both the scope of allowable risk transfer in Texas construction contracts and the related obligations of carriers in insuring this transfer of risk between con tractors.

In the first such case, BNSF Railway Company. v. Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc., No. 4:20-cv-01372-O, 2022 WL 562898 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 24, 2022), the Northern Dis trict of Texas clarified that the “complete defense doctrine”—under which an in surer or indemnitor owes a complete de fense to the entire lawsuit if there is even one covered claim—applies even in the face of the TAIA’s prohibition on requiring a defense for a claim “caused by” the neg ligence or fault of the indemnitee Partic ipants in the construction industry, par ticularly general contractors, have long relied on a complete defense from their subcontractors’ insurers when a claim arises that implicates the defective work or negligence of the subcontractor. Prior to this ruling, however, insurers for down stream contractors in Texas often took the position that, because a “complete defense” is required, they could not pro vide any defense if there were allegations of negligence or fault by the upstream contractor/indemnitor because to do so would necessarily violate the TAIA’s pro hibition of a defense against the indem nitee’s own negligence.

However, the Northern District of Texas implied that the TAIA did not over turn the decades of case law underlying the “complete defense doctrine.” If the underlying complaint alleges even one covered claim, i.e. a claim for the negli gence or fault of the indemnitor, the in demnitor must defend the entire suit against. Although this case was a person al injury lawsuit and not a construction defect suit, and it did not involve insur ance, its reasoning arguably applies more broadly. For example, consider a con struction defect lawsuit filed by an owner that alleges both direct claims against the general contractor for its own negligence and contractual claims against the gener al contractor based on the negligence or defective work of one of its subcontrac tors. Under this case’s reasoning, the al legedly negligent subcontractor’s insurer would owe a complete defense to the general contractor as an additional in sured (assuming, of course, that the sub contractor’s policy was endorsed to pro vide such coverage).

The next case we will discuss, Knife River Corp. – South v. Zurich American In surance Co., No. 3:21-CV-1344-B, 2022 WL 686625 (N.D. Tex. March 8, 2022), ad dressed this additional insured issue head

on. There, Knife River, the additional in sured, sought defense and indemnity from Zurich for a settlement arising out of an accident that occurred on a highway project. Zurich was the CGL and excess insurer for AWP, the subcontractor to which Knife River subcontracted the sig nage work on the project. The Court looked primarily to the allegations in the underlying lawsuit, where the plaintiff al leged that Knife River and AWP were jointly and severally responsible for the acts or omissions of their employees for hazardous sign placement in a construc tion zone. Because only AWP’s employee actually placed the signs, but Knife River was alleged to be jointly and severally lia ble for those acts, the underlying petition alleged that KRC was liable for AWP’s negligent acts. Applying the TAIA to these facts, the court determined that while the TAIA disallows indemnification for claims caused by the party seeking in demnification, it permits indemnity for claims caused by the indemnitor. Taking the allegations of the underlying plead ings as true, and giving the benefit of any doubt regarding coverage to the insured, the court held that it could not conclude that Zurich had no duty to defend Knife River as in the underlying suit against al legations that it was responsible for the defective work of its subcontractor, the indemnitor.

In the final case, Southwest Electrical Contracting Services, Ltd. v. Industrial Ac cessories Company, No. MO-18-CV-00123DC, 2022 WL 1468384 (W.D. Tex. May 10, 2022), provides the cleanest example of how indemnity should work in a con struction defect suit, in light of the TAIA’s restrictions. There, the subcontractor, SWECS, subcontracted to perform electri cal work for the general contractor, IAC, in the construction of a sand plant in West Texas. After SWECS sued IAC for breach of contract on a delay claim, IAC counter claimed against SWECS for breach of con tract, indemnity, negligence, and breach of implied warranty. The court dismissed IAC’s negligence and breach of warranty claims, but upheld recovery by IAC for breach of contract, and specifically, in demnification for a $2,000,000.00 “credit memo” deducted from IAC’s final invoice to the project owner. The credit memo was found to be attributable to the de fective work of the indemnitor, SWECS, and the court reasoned that because the $2,000,000.00 reduction from IAC’s final invoice to the owner solely related to losses arising out of SWECS’s work, the in demnity agreement was permissible un der the TAIA because it does not require SWECS to indemnify IAC for any amounts arising from IAC’s wrongdoing.

Even after ten years, there remain questions to be answered about the scope of permissible indemnity on Texas construction projects, but as is clear from these cases, it is still permissible for a gen eral contractor to require its subcontrac tors (and their insurers) to defend the general contractor for claims that al legedly arise out of the subcontractor’s defective work. If, as in the final case dis cussed above, it is ultimately determined that the property damage was attribut able to the subcontractor’s defective work, the subcontractor and its carrier owes indemnity as well.

Suicide Prevention: Five Things You Should Know

Joann Natarajan, Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX

Suicide rates increased 30% between 2000–2018, and declined in 2019 and 2020. Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, with 45,979 deaths in 2020. This is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020, an estimated 12.2 million American adults se riously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.2 million attempted suicide.

Suicide affects all ages. In 2020, sui cide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 25-34. By race/ ethnicity, the groups with the highest rates were non-Hispanic American Indi an/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White populations. Other Americans with high er than average rates of suicide are veter ans, people who live in rural areas, and workers in certain industries and occupa tions like mining and construction. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behavior compared to their peers who identify as heterosexual.

Everyone can help prevent suicide

Mental health and suicide can be dif ficult to talk about—especially with work colleagues—but your actions can make a difference. When you work closely with others, you may sense when something is wrong. Know the warning signs of sui cide.

There is no single cause for suicide but there are warning signs. Changes in behavior, mood, or even what they say may signal someone is at risk. Take these

Industry FOLKS

signs seriously. It could save a life. Ask “Are you okay?”

If you are concerned about a co worker, talk with them privately, and lis ten without judgment. Encourage them to reach out to your Employee Assis tance Program (EAP), the human resourc es (HR) department, or a mental health professional.

If someone is in crisis, stay with them and get help. If you believe a coworker is at immediate risk of suicide, stay with them until you can get further help. Con tact emergency services or the 988 Sui cide and Crisis Lifeline.

Suicide prevention resources are available

Call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

• Visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.afsp.org) to learn more about suicide risk factors, warning signs, and what you can do to help prevent suicide.

Resources: https://988lifeline.org https://www.osha.gov/preventing suicides

natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232

Casey Giles, PE , AssociatePrincipal/Operations Manager – Austin, Manhard Consulting, Austin, TX

For Casey Giles, growing up in Austin was a fantastic place to be. He lived in Rollingwood and spent every day in the summer at the neighborhood pool, from the second it opened until it was time to go home for dinner. He played most sports for a bit but eventually fo cused on soccer. “We’d play teams from all over town. I remember how far away all the games felt. Now all the fields are surrounded by neighborhoods and de velopment. Back then, it seemed like everyone was asleep by 9pm. I remem ber lights flashing on Bee Cave Road and on 360 by 8 or 9pm on weeknights. In the summer when school was out and the legislature wasn’t in session, it felt like such a quiet little town.”

Naturally, Casey went to the Uni versity of Texas at Austin where he spent most of his time earning his civil engineering degree and playing club soccer for UT. In the summers he worked full time.

“I was always good at math, so ev eryone encouraged me to go into engi neering. Mechanical, electrical, and most of the others were too dang hard! I liked civil because I was dealing with things you see and deal with every day.”

Casey and his wife Tiffany have been married since 2008. They met when she was invited by a teammate to come watch a soccer game. “I guess I was lucky enough to catch her eye in stead. She played some soccer herself but mostly did triathlons as her sport. She did the Iron Man, a 2.4-mile swim,

112-mile bike, and marathon three months after we got married.

“We have three adopted children. Our oldest is Micah, whom we adopted 10 years ago out of El Paso when he was nine days old. He’s a future soccer star for sure! Four years later, we adopted a two-year-old girl named Shyanne and her 6-month-old brother Blue. Blue is a living breathing cartoon character. He is so full of joy, though sometimes hard to handle. Shyanne is every bit of the girly-girl type, wanting to wear make up, piercing, etc.”

Though his construction experi ence is limited to general inspections, Casey enjoys being on site and seeing everything over the course of the proj ect come together. He also enjoys see ing what he designed come to life.

“I was lucky enough to be chosen to help Manhard Consulting start their Austin office. As a 50-year-old company with 12 other offices, I knew they would have a great roadmap that would help us succeed. I work with such a great group of people. Every office I have been to is full of young, hard-working people with a work hard/play hard mentality. They rally to help each other when needed, and we all strive to im prove every day. We have the support of the home office, but also the free dom and autonomy to make the office vibe our own.” -cmw

Fall Redfish Forecast

by Capt. Steve Schultz Sponsored by: Waypoint Marine/Waypoint Customs, Shoalwater Boats, Mercury Marine, Shimano Reels, E-Z Bel Construction, Costa Sunglasses, Simms Fishing, Columbia Sportswear, ForEverlast Fishing Products, PowerPro, Interstate Batteries, MirrOlure, JL Marines Power-Pole, and AFTCO Clothing

Some of the best fishing of the year is starting this month in October. Water temperatures are starting to fall and air temperatures are comfortable through out the day. This is one of my favorite times of the year to be on the water be cause of the various species that are available to catch. One of the most sought-after fish in our system is redfish. These fish make great table fare on the grill or even blackened in your favorite cast iron skillet. I have lots of clients that wait for this time of the year to book be cause of the awesome weather and the chance to catch reds. If you’re looking for some line stripping pole bending action on one of the hardest fighting fish in our bay system, this is your calling.

Most of you who have fished with me know that I primarily fish for speckled trout thoughout the year. Over the years, I have enjoyed chasing trophy size specks and enjoyed seeing my clients catch their personal best trout over and over. Since the freeze last year and the regulation changes, we have had more opportuni ties to pursue other species of fish. Red fish have become a target fish, especially the closer we get to October. This is the time of year when these fish come to gether and start forming schools for their fall migration into the gulf. These schools can be found anywhere between ninemile hole and the JFK Causeway along the King Ranch shoreline in the east shorelines in the Meadows and Yar brough Pass.

One of my favorite methods of catching these fish is what I called the run and gun method. After spotting a school of fish, you need to try and position your boat where you can make a long cast down wind into the fleeing fish. It is important to have at least a quarter ounce jig head with your favorite plastic or a half ounce weedless spoon so that you can get a far enough cast. If the fish are willing to stick around, you can typically follow them with your trolling motor. If not, after a

few casts, fire up your big motor and try and locate the school again. Of course, the best time to do this is in the middle of the day when the sun is up high and pen etrating the water. Another great time is early in the morning before the wind gets up where you can see the wakes of these fish as you’re running across the flats. It takes a sharp eye to spot these schools and maneuver your boat into a striking position.

My fishing will come to a halt for this sea son at the end of October, and I will turn to hunting. If you need a referral for a guide, don’t hesitate to call me. My 2023 calendar is open, so if you have a date in mind, shoot me a text. I’m also booking South Texas whitetail hunts for the com ing season. Don’t wait ‘till all the good dates are gone!.

To schedule your next bay fishing or hunting trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or e-mail me at Steve SchultzOutdoors@gmail.com. Good luck and Good Fishing.

Denise Bendele of San Antonio caught this redfish on a recent fishing outing with Steve Schultz Outdoors. October is a great month for chasing reds in the flats of the Laguna Madre.

Bubba Montalvo, Marcus Eagan and Danny Storbeck tripled-up on these schooling redfish several week ago in Corpus Christi Bay while fishing with Steve Schultz Outdoors. We hit the school several times before letting them return to their migration.

Winding down

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

Hunting has come a long way too. Even in a hostile environment like south Texas, hunting is a whole new game. You can get in a nice big truck, ride out to a favorable spot, raise the whole top of the truck up a few feet and take your best shot with the pinpoint precision afforded by modern firearms and optics. No more running from the Javelinas and picking out prickly pear thorns by the campfire!

The thing is though, that’s not really how is goes, is it? Darned if nature doesn’t just take us in stride and keep on hum bling us. You see it when the feller with the $60,000 bass rig gets out fished by the kid in his grandpa’s hand-me-down boat. How many times have you seen the first time hunter bag the buck the whole hunting camp has been after.

Well

summer is finally winding down for this year. The days are getting shorter and just a little bit cooler.

The stripers will cool off and their ap petites will pick up so they can feed all winter to be ready for spring spawning. While the fishing is always good, the catching will get a whole lot better. The deer will be haunting the oak trees in search of acorns and the bucks will lose their velvet. It won’t be long now until the hunters and the hunted resume their an cient dance.

Yes, things have changed an awful lot in the last two or three hundred years. We don’t have to make nets or sharpen sticks to catch a fish dinner, or hunt for miles on foot with a sling or spear to bring down our supper anymore.

Now we just point the boat to where we want to fish, take a look at ‘em with our fish finder and tempt those fish to bite with all manner of tasty seduction. They ought to just be waiting in line to hop in the boat and come home with us!

That’s just nature I guess! We love to think it is all about us and how hard we try, but the fact is we are at the mercy of random luck and the ability of the wild to pit us against creatures that have evolved every moment of their existence just to avoid us and our predatory tendencies. Let’s face it – they are good at it and al ways getting better!

When you get right down to it, for all our great ideas and inventions, we hav en’t really changed at all. I defy you to tell me the high-roller drawing a bead on a trophy buck from a high rack is having any different buck fever than the 10-yearold kid has sighting in his first buck.

Whether you are shooting for excel lence or shooting for supper, you still get that old shaky, heart-banging, funny breathing spell. You can learn to control it, but you get it because you are made that way.

That is what I like about fishing. When something big gets on the other end of that line you just never know what it might be, and it sure gets you wound up!

Come on! Let’s get out there!

Texas Parks & Wildlife 2022-2023 Hunting Seasons - Travis County

Alligator (Non-core): Apr 1–June 30, 2023

Dove (Migratory Game Bird Endorsement & HIP Certification Required: Sept 1–Oct 30, 2022 and Dec 17, 2022–Jan 15, 2023

Duck (North Zone) Regular Season: Nov 12–27, 2022 and Dec 3, 2022–Jan 29, 2023

Quail (Statewide) Regular Season: Oct 29, 2022 Feb 26, 2023

Squirrel (General Season): Sept 1, 2022–Aug 31, 2023

Teal (Statewide): Sept 10–25. 2022

White-tailed Deer (General Season): Nov 5, 2022–Jan 1, 2023

Wild Turkey (North Zone) FALL: Archery Only: Oct 1–Nov 4, 2022 Fall Season: Nov 5, 2022–Jan 1, 2023

Woodcock (Regular Season): Dec 18, 2022–Jan 31, 2023 -rd

there’s something special about the peo ple that work in this industry. My daugh ter is studying construction science and she says even her professors talk about it and say the people in construction in Tex as are just different. They care so much about other people, and we want to be a

reflection of that as an organization. So, we are focused on continuing to invest in our people and in communities across the state as we live our mission of transform ing people and places.”

Joeris General Contractors was founded by Leo Joeris in 1967 in San Antonio. – cmw

continued from Page 2 — Focusing on 55, Joeris Construction

Leo Joeris, founder of Joeris General

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) held their Annual NARI Clay Shoot on Sept. 9 at Reunion Ranch. Congratulations to the 1st Place of team Lighting Inc. (pictured) and 2nd Place team Realty Restoration. -cmw

Ladies take aim

Industry FOLKS

According to Michael Luxeder, growing up in Wooster, OH where he was born and raised, was a small, quiet, Midwest town. “Think of something like the Seaver family’s household from Growing Pains without all the crazy stuff Mike Seaver did.”

Michael graduated from Wooster HS before attending college at Ohio Northern University and Case Western University. “Both, being in small towns, were very small, and everyone knew each other. It was a lot of work, but fun. And, cold in the winters.”

George. She too plays soccer. Their an gel, Michael, is in heaven and forever in their hearts.

Associated General Contractors (AGC)

Diversity & Inclusion hosted a Ladies 101 Clay Shoot Training on Sept. 15 at Capitol City Clays. The concept behind the train ing was to teach ladies how to shoot so they can participate in AGC’s up coming CLC Clay Shoot.

The ladies learned safety, shotgun mechan ics, fundamentals, what to expect at a clay shoot, and target reading. “It was ex citing to see the progres sion from being nervous to shoot to busting clays by the end of the class,” says Toni Osberry, Director of Member Services. “A big thank you to Renee Blaine with Austin Hot Shots for teaching.” -cmw

Interested in business and always good in math, Michael earned both a Bachelor of Accounting and a Master of Accounting degree.

Michael and his wife, Celeste, have been married for 25 years. They met at a wedding of ONU graduates. He had just graduated from ONU and Celeste was still in school.

Together, they have seven chil dren and no pets. Molly, who is 23, is into books. She loves books. Alex is a student at Texas A&M. He is 20 years old and still enjoys Legos. Thomas, 17, plays baseball as does their 13-yearold son, Dixon. Charlie, 10, plays base ball and soccer. Their 7-year-old daughter, Margo, loves Curious

As Senior Tax Manager for RMS US LLP, Michael reviews business tax re turns, and provides tax savings ideas to his clients. “My favorite part of my job is my clients. I really like my cli ents!”

When Michael lived in Ohio, he was blessed to establish a great rela tionship with someone he considers his mentor and who he still talks with on occasion. “He’s helpful in giving me perspective and reassurance.”

Michael is a peaceful, simple man. He coaches his kids when he’s not crunching numbers. He listens to au diobooks and his favorite podcasts. His most recent favorite audiobook was Al Michael’s biography. His favor ite podcasts are Truth for Life, and This Morning with Gordon Deal

“I have a very wonderful and sup portive family. I have lived in the Aus tin area for five and a half years.” -cmw

Turner was concrete,” says San Antonio Marketing Manager Kayla Wiggins “Turner was the first general contractor to use steel reinforced concrete, which is very commonplace, very normal, and kind of mundane now. It really helped Turner Construction get its start helping to build the early skyscrapers in New York and onto the skylines of some of the big gest cities across the country.”

Turner Construction built its first San Antonio project in 1980 and officially opened an office in the Alamo City in 2006. They built their first project in Aus tin in 1981. The company performed work in Austin through its San Antonio office until expanding into the Capitol city fulltime in 2010.

Celebrating its 120th anniversary is a

“We celebrated our 100 years in Tex as in 2019 in a pretty big way,” adds Wig gins. “But every year we celebrate our anniversary on what we call ‘Founders Day.’ We celebrate that nationwide. All Turner employees take a day on our anni versary in May, and we commit a day of service. Sometimes we do a bundle of service throughout the month of May with multiple events, getting our em ployees out into the community. “This year we did multiple volunteer days. In San Antonio and in Austin, we volun teered for Habitat for Humanity. As a

Rene Blaine, Austin Hot Shots, teaches AGC lady members the mechanics of clay shooting and gun safety.

Seven AGC members participated in AGC’s Ladies 101 Clay Shoot Training

Michael Luxeder, Senior Manager – Tax, RSM US LLP, Austin, TX

continued from Page 1 — Turner Construction

on Page 14

milestone few in the construction indus try have had the pleasure of doing, so for everyone at Turner Construction, it’s a big deal!

1919 Turner Construction personnel – company slogan, “Turner for Concrete”

Association Calendar

Content submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABC

Associated Builders & Contractors

Oct. 13: Member Mixer, Barrow Brewing Company, 108 Royal St., Salado, TX, 4:306:30pm.

Oct. 22: American Heart Association Heart & Stroke Walk, Q2 Stadium, 10414 McKalla Pl., 8-11am.

Oct. 24: Fall Golf Tournament, River Place Country Club, 4207 River Place Blvd., 10am, $950 Team. For more info, contact Mandie Farabaugh at 512-719-5263 or email mfarabaugh@abccentraltexas.org

ACEA

Greater Austin Contractors & Engineers Association

Oct. 13: Monthly Membership Luncheon – MS4s A Term of Art, Norris Conference Center, 2525 W. Anderson Ln. #365, 11:30am-1pm. $40 Member, $55 Non-member. For more info, call Silvia Pendleton at 512-893-7067

AGC

Associated General Contractor Texas

Oct. 6: Lunch & Learn - Identify & Prepar ing Delay Claim, AGC Offices, 609 S. La mar Blvd., 11:30am-1pm, In-Person $20 Member, $30 Non-Members, Virtual $10 Member $20 Non-Member.

Oct. 13: Fall Golf Tournament, Plum Creek Golf Course, 4301 Benner, Kyle, TX, 8am3pm. $Member Team w/Hole Sponsor $1000, Member Team Only $800; Non-Member Team w/Hole Sponsor $1,200. Non-Member Team Only $1000. For more info, email Toni Osberry at 512994-4401 or email tonio@agcaustin.org

CTSA

Central Texas Subcontractors Association

Oct. 11: Monthly Lunch Meeting, Speaker: Spike Cutler, 2700 W. Anderson Ln. #202, 11:30am-1pm. For more info, email Wendy Lambert at wendy@ctsaonline.org

DACA

Drywall Acoustical Contractors Association

Oct. 6: 1st Annual Lake Social Member Mixer, Austin Party Cruises, Loop 360 Boat Ramp, 5019 Capital of TX Hwy. N., 4:30pm. $100 Per Person. For more info, contact Eddie McCormick at eddie@da caaustin.org

HBA

Home Builders Association

Oct. 21: 2022 Fall Golf Classic, Avery Ranch Golf Club, 10500 Avery Club Dr., 8:30am. For more info, contact Erin Scott at 512982-9187 or email erin@hbaaustin.com

NARI National Association of the Remodeling Industry

Oct. 28: Austin NARI Chili Cook-off & Cornhole Tournament, Arizona Tile, 2121 Scarbrough Dr., 8:30am-7pm. For more info, Kayvon Leath at 512-997-6274 or email kayvon@austinnari.org

SEAot

Structural Engineers Association of Texas Oct. 27: Chapter Meeting, Casa Chapala, 9041 Research Blvd. #100. For more info, call 512-301-2744

TCA

Texas Construction Association

Oct. 11: TCA PAC Clay Shoot, Greater Houston Sports Club, 6700 McHard Rd., Houston, 1pm. For more info, email Pat rick Finnegan at pfinnegan@texcon.org

TACCA

Texas Air Conditioning Contractors

Oct. 27-28: TACCA AC Live Conference, Lakeway Resort and Spa, 101 Lakeway Dr., Lakeway, TX. $349 Members, $399 after Oct. 13; $429 Non-Members, $479 after Oct. 13. For more info, go to www.tacca.org

TSPE

Texas Society of Professional Engineering

Oct. 5: Monthly Luncheon, Maggiano’s Little Italy, 10910 Domain Dr. #100, 11:30am-1pm, TSPE Member $40; Non-Member $50, Government Official or Full-time Student $30 For more info, email tspe.travis@gmail.com

TXAPA

Texas Asphalt Pavement Association Oct. 20: TXAPA Live! Expanding the Tx DOT Bituminous Rated Source Quality Catalog (BRSQC) and the Aggregate Quality Monitoring Program (AQMP) Oct. 31-Nov. 17: Engineering Asphalt Es sentials. For more info, Beck Schaeffer at 512-312-2099 or email bschaeffer@texas asphalt.org

I would probably be Storm from the X-Men because of her superpowers for fighting for peace and equal rights.

Nicole Edwards, Temperature Controls Systems

A political figure because it just makes for better jokes.

Rich Antoine Niece Equipment

I’m not a costume kind of guy so I would probably go as myself.

Joe Cordi Cordi Woodworks

I would be a Mexican wrestler, a luchador. It’s a culture in Mexico; it’s not just some solo sport kind of thing. Luchador means to fight, and that fits in perfectly with my way of seeing things, of doing life.

Carlos Cuellar Fenix Post Tension

I’d be Jerry Garcia because of all the joy he brought people.

Matthew Szynal Slight of Hand Metalworks

Oh, man, I gotta go with Eddie Munson from ‘Stranger Things’ this year—one of the coolest characters I’ve seen from any television show in a long time.

Jordan Scott 4GM Brick and Stone

Deadpool (an antihero appearing in Mar vel Comics).

Jim Greaves Catto & Catto

I would need an accomplice, but it would probably The Dukes of Hazzard or maybe Knight Rider. Definitely something ‘80s.

Casey Giles, Manhard Consulting

I secretly wanted to be the school mascot in high school, so any costume that would give me enough disguise to be silly and playful without being detected.

Dominica Garza, PWI Construction Inc.

I don’t know who I would dress up as now. But, once for a party, I dressed up as Angus Young from AC/DC and got a great laugh. I’m bald and wore a wig, and dressed as he does – jacket and tie, and shorts. It’s so not me. So, it was very fun ny!

Michael Luxeder RSM US LLP

I would go as myself!

Marvin Ohlenbusch Alamo Crane

I always like those families that do themes with their family. If I was to do a theme, we would probably do something related to hunting. We all hunt so maybe we would all just do this easy thing and dress in camo. I’m the only one that doesn’t hunt so maybe I could go as the deer.

Angela Cardwell, Joeris General Contractors

I have gone as many different and ob scure things over the years. This year, I plan to dress as “Fat Thor” so nobody will recognize me. Also, I plan to attend the Big Texas Comic Con in the same cos tume!

Judi Telenko, Construction News

It’s one that I’ve already done and would do it again – Carmen Sandiego because you never know where I might pop up next. I’m always traveling, and I love it.

Joyce Watson , Cleary Zimmermann Engineers

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

If you were going to a Halloween costume party, what would you be?

Round-Up

Amber Haeberle, CPA joins the Ridout Barrett team as an audit senior. She brings over seven years of experience in public accounting. Haeberle is a gradu ate of California State University, Sacra mento. After starting a successful ac counting career in California, she moved to Texas in 2020. -cmw

Faisal Naveed has been promoted to Co-Director of the Workplace Interiors studio at Gensler. Naveed started working in the DC and Detroit offices 22 years ago before joining the Austin office in 2015. His workplace experience spans financial and professional ser vices, fintech, and technology clients, including Capital One. Naveed will over see operations and business develop ment, as well as provide mentorship and talent development for the studio. -cmw

John Dewitt, CPA joins the Ridout Bar rett family as a Tax Se nior. He is a US Army Veteran and received the Army Commen dation Medal for Ex cellence. Dewitt brings over five years of experience in public accounting with extensive experi ence in preparing tax returns for business es and individuals. -cmw

Elena Custhall has joined the Gensler family as Co-Direc tor of the Workplace Interiors studio. Her project experience includes workplace design for corporate headquarters, law firms, and technolo gy companies such as Meta, as well as multifamily work. In her new role, Cut shall will manage day-to-day opera tions, support business development, and provide mentorship & talent devel opment. -cmw

Humble Oil – Turner Construction’s first Texas project, 1919 company, we select an area of focus for our philanthropic efforts to provide a uni fied effort across our business units. This year homelessness was selected and our motto, ’One Act of Kindness Can Change A Life,’ fell into full effect with the oppor tunity to partner with Habitat for Human ity in both Austin and San Antonio.”

The stone culture of Turner Construc tion today, remains a true reflection of Henry Turner’s commitment to providing quality work. “We know that each office has different needs, different markets, but what ties us all together as one company is the core values,” Wiggins states. ”We serve our individual markets as needed, but we all go back and share the same val ues of teamwork, integrity and commit ment.”

“Henry was a visionary, says Austin Marketing Manager Alexa Walkerow

“He set up Turner with a vision for what it could be, rather than what was capable at the time. Henry spent half a century at Turner and saw his dreams realized. Imag ine if he could see how much more we have grown as a company: more than 10,000 exceptionally skillful and talented employees engaged in steady and mean ingful work, and a portfolio of projects that have taken the built environment to new heights and forms. He created a place for him to belong and a place for our people to belong. What a history. What a legacy!

“We honor Henry for his vision and thank our people for continuing the pur pose and spirit of Turner for the current and future generations in our company.”

Turner Construction is an internation al contracting firm with offices through out the United States and Texas. -cmw

Matt Sener has been promoted to Associate. Sener has worked on a variety of projects since joining the firm in 2018, with a focus on high-end residential. He is also co-leading the Emerging Pro fessionals group within the office. Nota ble projects include the completed James Avery Office, as well as two cus tom residences in Austin and the Pent house at Katy Trail in Dallas, all currently under construction. -cmw

Rhodes Russell as a Project Manager. This addition will contin ue to improve the cli ent experience and project delivery as well as Raymond Construction’s posi tion as a leader in the office and industrial market. -cmw

MW Builders proud ly announces that Aaron Hoelscher has been promoted to Vice President | Regional Manager of the MW Builders’ Austin and Midland offices. In his new role, he will oversee business growth and manage opera tions for the region. Previously VP of Op erations out of the Midland office, Hoe lscher relocated to Austin for this new role. He has been at MW Builders for nearly 18 years and has overseen proj ects in a variety of sectors including light industrial, multifamily, federal, healthcare, and public projects. -cmw

Dustin Neal, CPA also joins the Ridout Barrett team as a Tax Supervising Senior. He comes from a mu sic background and loves teaching music. He has over seven years of experience in public accounting and two years of experience supervising a team. In his new role, he will be assist ing supervising Ridout Barrett’s tax de partment. -cmw

Julia Dubcak has been promoted to Associate. Dubcak has worked on a vari ety of interior design projects since join ing the firm in 2018 ranging from highend retail to office and multifamily amenity spaces. Notable projects in clude Uchi Miami, Zadok Jewelers, Re public Property Group offices and La La Land Kind Café at Montrose Collective. -cmw

“When computers came out in the early ‘90s, I used to spend a couple of hours a day with a guy who used to do all the estimating.”

Cuèllar ’s goal was to keep “my mind open all the time to learn more. And that’s why I’m here.”

Cuèllar found that going from labor to management wasn’t easy. “That was scary,” he said. “Very scary. It’s very de manding.” He found out that the work never stops at the whistle. “We got to get more jobs,” he would always think. “We got to make payroll,” as he was now re sponsible for his employees. Being the owner was “a 24-hour a day job.”

yond their understanding,” he said. “They know when they call me, I’m going to answer the phone.”

Cuèllar looks back with pride that he’s kept many of his contractor custom ers for decades. He isn’t one to rest on his laurels. “Don’t be comfortable,” he said. “Never be comfortable. What keeps me going is knowing I provide a friendly place to work and my employees are hap py.” That, and “the most important thing for me is doing a good job for our cus tomers because I have customers that have been with us for 30 years. I see my customers as good friends.”

Cory Westfall as a Senior Project Man ager. This addition will continue to im prove the client ex perience and project delivery as well as Raymond Construc tion’s position as a leader in the office and industrial market. -cmw

Ensight Haynes Whaley is pleased to announce Douglas Parker PE , is now an ownership partner of the structural engi neering firm. As a Principal in the Aus tin office, Parker manages project de sign and delivery on projects of all scales from massive corporate campuses to minutely detailed building forensics. He will continue EHW’s commitment to cli ent service, team leadership, and growth of the firm. -cmw

Cuèllar has a lot more than the three original employees than when Fenix be gan until now.

As the boss, and a little older, Cuèllar doesn’t have to get as “fysical” as he did in his earlier days. “I spend all my days in the office,” he said. “But every now and then I get out there with the guys, trying to remember the good old days.”

Cuèllar also lets his folks know that he is ready 24/7 to impart any of his expe rience with them should the need arise.

“I tell them how they can call me at any time and ask questions that are be

continued from Page 1 — 4GM

“I just think it’s a beautiful thing to go in and use the techniques they used back then and some of the same mortar com binations” to bring the structure back to its formal glory.

“Man, what a reward,” he said.

Scott’s family has been doing ma sonry all over Texas for a long time now. After learning the craft from his father and apprenticing with him, Scott found ed 4GM in 2010.

When Scott works on an old build ing, he can tell what company made the original brick and even at times where it was quarried from. “You can figure out where it came from,” he said.

Cuèllar has an insightful approach to one’s work or life calling. “If you’re not good at what you love,” he said, “I think it’s better to love what you’re good at.”

Since running Fenix is so much fun, there is no end in the near future. Even so, “I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” he said. Even when he officially does, he said he’ll still come into the office a couple of days a week.

The bottom line is Cuèllar loves get ting fysical and doing a great job.

Fenix Post Tension is a post-tension and rebar manufacturer, supplier and in staller, based in Hutto. -dsz

got them 30 feet in the air,” he said.

The original builders even took great care when they built parts of structures that weren’t visible. “You go in there and it’s still immaculate; everything’s perfect. They didn’t cut corners just because they didn’t think [you’d ever see it],” Scott said.

Scott’s love of things historical ex tends to what he sees his post-masonry future to be: preserving endangered spe cies of plants. “I’m really into botany now,” he said.

Catamount Con structors is pleased to announce Emily Livorsi has joined the Catamount team as Vice President of Peo ple. Livorsi has over fourteen years of ex perience in management consulting, HR technology, and coaching programs. She has deployed and implemented leader ship development solutions that reach thousands of leaders. -cmw

Even though Scott will gladly use a modern piece of equipment if needed, like a hydraulic lift, he will go old school and use the equipment and techniques of the original builder. “As far as physical work,” he said, “you’ve got to use the old tools. You have to use the trowel and the brush [in order to get] the same finish.”

And even in the era of smart phones, Scott knows when to be amazed at the skills of the old folk. “It’s kind of mind-blowing how they have these stones which are several tons and they

“Texas is one of the most diverse ar eas of the country,” he explained. The massive growth of construction projects in Texas means that what has been undis turbed for millennia is at risk, and Scott would like to be a part of the solution of preserving it.

“I only do things that I’m comfortable with,” Scott said. It’s a good thing he’s comfortable with fixing your ran-into ga rage as well as buildings from Texas’s past, to be used and enjoyed by Texas’ present and future. Throw in saving en dangered fauna, and it’s a great thing.

4GM Brick and Masonry is a masonry business, located in Austin. - dsz

Ridout, Barrett & Co. PC is pleased to announce the addition of:

Gensler is pleased to announce:

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is pleased to announce:

Raymond Construction proudly welcomes:

continued from Page 1 — Fenix Post Tension

from

12 — Turner Construction

Load test in 1905 for Turner’s pioneering steel-reinforced concrete

Construction excellence

The

Central Texas Chapter of Association Builders & Contractors (ABC) celebrated construction excellence at this year’s Excellence in Construction Awards banquet. The event was held at the beautiful Bullock Texas State History Museum on Sept. 27. Winners of the coveted Excellence in Construction award as well as the Chapter Safety Awards of Excellence, and participants of the Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) were acknowledged. -cmw

2022 Excellence in Construction Merit Award winners:

Specialty Contractor Interior: MK Marlow Company – Moody Center Arena

General Contractor Renovation $4$10 Million: Flintco LLC – University of Texas CMB Renovation

General Contractor Renovation $10$100 Million: Rogers-O’Brien Construction – Medical Park Tower

General Contractor Industrial Less Than $5 Million: Alpha Building Corporation – Decker Creek Power Station, New Installation Control Center – Phases 1&2

General Contractor Institutional Less Than $5 Million: Alpha Building Corpo ration – The University of Texas at Austin, University Avenue Median Renovation

General Contractor Commercial Less Than $5 Million: Structure Tone Southwest – Westlake Dermatology at the Domain

General Contractor Institutional $10$25 Million: Joeris General Contractors – Hutto ISD Stadium Improvements

General Contractor Institutional $10$25 Million: American Constructors –Blazier Elementary School

General Contractor Institutional $25$100 Million: Joeris General Contractors – Round Rock ISD Redbud Elementary School

General Contractor Commercial $1025 Million: Joeris General Contractors –Austin ISD Casis Elementary Moderniza tion

General Contractor Commercial $25$100 Million: Harvey-Cleary Builders –Eastbound, 3232 E Cesar Chavez

2022 National STEP Diamond Award winners: 3G Drywall

Alpha Building Corporation Austin Commercial Balfour Beatty Construction BETCO Scaffolds EBCO General Contractor Fast Track Specialties Flintco LLC GMI

Harvey-Cleary Builders

Lott Brothers Construction Company MAPP MK Marlow Company

Rogers-O’Brien Construction Company Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc. Structure Tone Southwest TDIndustries Inc.

Way Mechanical White Construction

2022 National STEP Platinum Award winners: Alston Construction BakerTriangle Austin Beckett Electrical Services Cadence McShane Construction Co. Capital Industries Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing Intertech Flooring Kitchell Contractors Inc.

LASCO Acoustics & Drywall MW Builders Inc.

QA Construction Services Inc. Swinerton

2022 National STEP Gold winners : Bergelectric Corp.

Big D Metalworks

F. L. Crane & Sons Inc.

MAREK Brothers Systems Inc.

2022 National STEP Silver winners : 360 Electrical Contractors Inc. Airco Mechanical Inc.

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors BCS Concrete Structures Biggs Plumbing Co. DPR Construction Flynn Construction S. I. Mechanical STR Constructors

2022 National STEP Bronze winners: American Constructors Joeris General Contractors

Specialty Contractor Specialty Construction

Specialty Contractor Mechanical Commercial $10-$25 Million: Capital Industries – University of Texas School of Nursing Union Replacement

Specialty Contractor Interiors All Contract Amounts: Greater Metroplex Interiors – 2400 Seton Student Housing

General

Renovation

General Contractor Pre-Engineered Building Up to $10 Million: Kitchell Contractors Inc. – Texas State University Round Rock Campus Services Building

General Contractor Mega-Projects

Bob and Peggy Duda Chairper son’s Award: Darla Sommerfield, Airco Mechanica

The Loren at Lady Bird Lake

TheLoren at Lady Bird Lake is a new luxury mixed-use development in downtown Austin. Constructed in partnership with owners Sardis Lone Star LLC and Rhode Partners architects, the Loren comprises eight stories that in clude 108 hotel rooms, 25 condo units, 8,000sf of restaurant and event space, 8,500sf of retail space, and a two-level, below-grade parking garage. The hotel offers beautiful 180-degree views of Aus tin’s ever-expanding city skyline and in cludes such amenities as a luxury spa, gym, rooftop swimming pool, and 24hour concierge service. The hotel will also give guests the opportunity to partici pate in outdoor activities, with access to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail.

Construction on the project required creative solutions to challenges created by the building’s waterfront location. Be cause the lower level of the below-grade garage was below the lake level, Hoar Construction utilized a deep well point dewatering system combined with a con ventional earth retention system. This choice resulted in millions of dollars saved for the owners compared to other systems that would block the groundwa ter. To execute this plan, the project phas ing and permitting had to incorporate an early phase with a new 30-in. storm line that was bored from the project site to Lady Bird Lake to have a location to send the water from the deep well dewatering system.

The project design called for natural bronze panels on the exterior of the building and bronze coils sourced from

Bulgaria. Shipping delays threatened to delay the delivery of the bronze coils, which would be bent and rolled in Texas, so Hoar worked with an international im ports company to arrange for the coils to be air-freighted to the United States, avoiding four months of delay.

The project started right before COVID restrictions were put into place, so the team had to deal with continually changing restrictions on work conditions. The subsequent supply chain crisis added significant challenges for the project as many of the high-end finishes were sourced from Asia and Europe. Hoar worked with its trade partners to source domestically available materials and move the fabrication of goods to the United States. Despite the challenges and unprecedented times faced, Hoar re mained nimble and successful through out this project.

Hoar Construction is a general con tractor with offices in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Washington DC, Dallas, Houston and Austin, TX. -cmw

Hoar Construction Austin, TX

Building rendering of The Loren

Motor court

Condo kitchen in The Loren

Condo bathroom in The Loren

Western façade in progress

In2016, Datum Commercial Contract ing was established by industry ex perts in Austin, TX and has since ex panded to include Datum East which is based in Northern Virginia. They are li censed to work in 48 states and specialize in Class A office space, industrial, big-box retail, tenant improvement, and groundup construction.

“We know that you can choose to do business with any number of general

Ground-up construction

Solar Roofs are the next generation of renewable energy. So, when GAF asked Austin Roofing and Con struction to be one of the first roofing contractors in Central Texas to start offer ing their new Solar Roof Systems, they jumped on board. “Our installers liked it too since it installs just like a regular shin gle roof for the most part,” says Austin Roofing and Construction CVO Christine Bowen

Their clients like the affordability of these new systems compared to other so lar roof manufacturers. Additionally, to make these solar systems even more af fordable there is a Federal Tax Rebate for 30 percent of the total install price. A Tax

contractors,” says Datum Managing Part ner Sean Dalle. “While construction pro cesses and trends are typically similar across the board, our approach and at tention to our clients’ needs are what sets us apart from the other general contrac tors. Our goal is to prove to you why you should work with us, time and time again. Our clients and others call it the #Datum Difference, but at Datum Commercial Contracting, it’s just what we do. REPUTA

TION is our marketing tool. “

Regardless of how large or small the project may be, Datum begins every proj ect with the same level of intensity and attention to detail. Because they under stand every project is unique, they tailor their services to specifically meet each client’s needs and vision. “With our hands-on methods and transparency from start to finish, our clients know they can trust us with every aspect,” adds Dal

le. “With Datum, what you see is what you get. There’s nothing we can’t do. We do it all!

Ground-Up Construction…from re tail shopping centers in Leander, TX to state-of-the-art car washes in El Paso, TX.

Datum Commercial Construction is a general contractor in Austin, TX. -cmw

Residential solar roof

Rebate is a dollar-for-dollar rebate of tax es owed to the Federal Government. With a solar roof, the shingles are part of the system, created specifically to fit the photovoltaic shingles, qualifying the en tire roof for the 30 percent Federal Tax Rebate. Batteries or generators installed at the same time for backup power also qualify. This creates a “net cost” for the solar system. “Our first solar roof client had a paid insurance claim to replace the roof, which made it even more afford able,” adds Bowen.

Permitting for a solar install takes about one to two weeks in the City of Austin, and six to eight weeks in the sur rounding Travis County areas. Thankfully,

their first GAF Solar Roof client lived in Austin Proper.

Coordinating with GAF went smooth ly as GAF provides solar reps to chat with Austin Roofing’s clients about solar during the initial appointments. “This was helpful since we are typically just “regular roofers,” Bowen says. “They put together the bids, the permitting, orders, and material shipments. They even sent out their own electricians for hook-up.”

The installation took a quick two days and Austin Roofing used their regu lar crew. GAF trained their crews ahead of time, so the project went smoothly.

“Electric hookup takes another cou ple of days and then it’s done,” Bowen

adds. “You do have to wait for the electric company to give the green light to turn the solar system on and that happened five days after the electric hookup.”

Austin Roofing and Construction is a Master Elite Contractor with GAF. It is only GAF Master Elite Contractors who can purchase the materials and install the GAF Energy Solar Roofs. This is due to the 25-Year Guarantee on Energy Production and the 25-Year No Leaks Guarantee. Cli ents are happy to have an affordable hedge against rising energy prices with options to protect against the next pow er outages.

Austin Roofing and Construction is a full-service roofing company. -cmw

Datum Commercial Contracting Austin, TX

Texas Medical Association Breakroom – Austin, TX

Tommy’s Express Car Wash – El Paso, TX

Texas Tribune – Austin, TX

Planet Fitness – Huntsville, AL

Plantet Fitness locker room

Austin Roofing and Construction Austin, TX

Aerial view

GAF Energy Solar Roof installed by Austin Roofing and Construction

Golfing at The Star

Niece doing nice

It’s

not too often that a local company, or one that’s in our own backyard, can claim to be the largest in the country with sales not only to the entire lower 48, but to other continents as well.

But, according, to Rich Antoine, sales manager for Niece Equipment, his company can make that claim.

“We’ve got the largest fleet of water trucks and fuel trucks in the country,” he said. “We’ve got over 200 trucks in our fleet.”

If that weren’t enough, Niece’s reach extends to continents like Africa and Aus tralia and countries like the Philippines.

Because Niece’s equipment can be tailored to the client’s needs, “it’s allowed us to expend our clientele into the min ing industry,” Antoine said. “And with that, our footprint has expanded around the world.”

Which begs the question: Is there no company in a huge continent like Austra lia that has what Niece Equipment has? “There is,” said Antoine. “We’ve partnered with one of them. However, they can’t meet the demand alone, so they’ve con tracted with us to supplement some of their production.”

Niece Equipment started 44 years ago by Al Niece. “He focused on water trucks and fuel lube trucks,” Antoine said. A customer can either rent or buy one of their pieces of equipment.

What has started as a central Texas business has morphed into a worldwide operation. “We’ve sold trucks all over the world,” Antoine said.

The main store is in Buda, but one on the Fort Worth side of the Metroplex will be opening soon. Niece also has a Fort Scott, Kansas location that manufactures some of the big pieces.

Antoine was an agriculture major at Texas A&M, Commerce, and worked for Enterprise Car Rental post-college. With his background in sales and rentals, go ing to Niece Equipment was a natural move.

Antoine doesn’t have to travel as much as he used to, but with the lower 48

as essentially his turf, “I’ve been all over,” he said.

The new DFW location will add to Niece’s reach and capabilities. “It will be a full sales and rental location,” Antoine said.

Even if Niece’s reach didn’t extend all over the country, Texas alone would keep it busy. “Right now,” Antoine said, “the DFW Metroplex, Austin, San Antonio and Houston” are the big hotspots for con struction which needs Niece’s equip ment.

“Texas has always been hot for us,” Antoine continued. “We’ve got trucks out in West Texas at a radioactive waste facili ty.”

The COVID situation of last year, for tunately, didn’t affect Niece. “With con struction being considered an essential industry,” he said, “we really didn’t stop.”

Customers from other states will sometimes have the equipment shipped up to them, or they will send their own personnel down to Texas and they will drive the truck back.

“Rental is our bread and butter,” An toine said. “That’s how we pay the bills. Sales are just icing on the cake.”

The long, hot summer Texas just had was actually a boon to Niece Equipment. “We haven’t been able to pump trucks out fast enough,” Antoine said. “It’s a good problem to have.”

“We can build both custom stuff and we sell standard configurations,” he said. “Different companies have different needs, so we try to accommodate them as best we can.”

Apparently, Niece is doing a very nice job of accommodating its customers, if the new location in the Metroplex is any indication. “The future is bright for us,” Antoine said. “We’ve been very fortu nate.”

In other words, Niece is doing just nice.

Niece Equipment sells and rents a wide range of water and fuel trucks, as well as water towers and other equipment trucks, located in Buda. -dsz

at work

Chalk Line Construction

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) hosted their Annual Golf Tournament on Sept. 13. The sold-out event was held at the Golf Club at Star Ranch. Texas Curb

Cutting took second place, while Chalk Line Construction took first. Proceeds from the tournament go towards NAWIC’s Trade and Scholarship fund. -cmw

L-R: NAWIC Trade Scholarship Treldon Mace, Austin Electrical Training Alliance; Marcell Ellison Memorial + NAWIC Trades Scholarship Jolie Earp, Austin Electrical Training Alliance; Jolsna Thomas, NAWIC Scholarship Committe; NAWIC Trades Scholarship Derrick Herrera, Winn’s US DOL Registered Apprenticeship Program; 2nd Place Academic Laura Zattar, Texas State; 1st Place Academic Rebecca Russick, UT Austin; and NAWIC President Misti Shafer-Webb

Texas Curb Cutting

Construction News ON LOCATION

Continental Cut Stone team members take a moment to smile for the camera.

L-R: Production Manager Doug Hutchinson, Production Administrator Anjella Blair, Office Administration Ashlyn Huggett , Founder and President of Continental Cut Stone, Continental Quarries and Continental Cream Quarries Rob Teel, Lime Resource Katherine Teel, Office Manager Gina Cannon, and Drafter Dana Hughes. -cmw

L-R: Gilbert Vasquez, parts manager, and Chris Compton, outside sales, discussing layouts and workflow for our expansion from Austin and into D/FW

Outback

Vic Sanchez loves playing golf and basketball, Sport Court of Austin

The skull entrance to The House of Torment in Austin, Harbinger Events, Dan McCullough.

L-R: Ross Miller, Kiwi Builders and Grant Keelty, Outback Masonry Co.

The Architectural Division 8 Austin branch team

L-R: Geoff Graham, Cavalier Construction with Will Davies, Davies Group Architects

Spotlight,

Construction

The BCS Concrete Structures office staff

The Bobcat Stadium North Side Complex, Austin Commercial

Carrlton Construction superintendent and owner Lance Deal stands with Rudy Cardenas of H&R Construction as they work on the finish out for a new 7-Eleven in San Marcos. –mp