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BUSINESS
TheMesaTribune.com
THE MESA TRIBUNE | JUNE 27, 2021
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Contractors watchdog: shortages demand patience BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
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small inventory of available homes isn’t the only problem impacting the Valley’s housing industry. Building material shortages and an inadequate labor pool have become bad enough that the state watchdog for the contracting industry is urging building and remodeling companies and their customers to exercise patience, candor and understanding. And price increases over the past 12 months have raised an alarm by the Associated General Contractors of America over the future solvency of many companies. Citing shortages in key materials such as wood as well as a need for workers, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors last week urged homeowners and contractors to have patience and keep open lines of communication regarding their projects. “From new home builds and pools to installing air conditioning units, both residential and commercial contractors alike have been struggling to get materials and
While the soaring increase in lumber prices appears to be stabilizing, its supply is still creating nightmares for contractors and homebuilders. (Special to the Tribune)
�ind enough workers to ful�ill existing contracts and start new ones, according to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America,” ROC noted in a release. Moreover, the contractors association last week released an analysis that concluded, “The cost of goods and services used in construction climbed by a record-setting 4.3 percent in May and 24.3 percent over the past 12 months, jeopardizing contractors’ solvency and construc-
tion workers’ employment.” Last week, another wood-related group gave a different take even as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said lumber prices appeared to be falling. The American Wood Council said, “A variety of issues have spurred an imbalance between lumber supply and demand, and more importantly, what can be done about it. “Sawmill capacity increased by 1.4 billion board feet in the last year and Forisk
recently announced that it expects another 1.6 billion board feet in expanded capacity the second half of this year,” the Wood Council said, noting another company announced it will build a new sawmill – but it will take two years to become operational. Noting Powell’s assertion that lumber prices appeared to be falling, the Wood Council said, “The most meaningful opportunity to address constraints to lumber supply is to focus on transportation and workforce limitations. These challenges were present before the pandemic and have exacerbated the current situation.” The Associated General Contractors of America cited a variety of products impacted by steep price increases over the last 12 months – including products made from wood, metals, plastics, and gypsum. “The producer price index for lumber and plywood more than doubled—rocketing 111 percent from May 2020 to last month,” it said. “The index for steel mill products
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Mesa plastics company found a great future BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor
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ne of the most memorable lines in the 1967 classic �ilm “The Graduate” comes when a family friend tells a young Dustin Hoffman’s character: “There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it.” Two decades after the movie’s release, Jack Thompson found out he was spot-on. He started Fiesta Plastics in 1988 with already 30 years of experience in the industry, purchasing a small injection-molding machine that paid off so well within a few months that he bought three more. Today, Fiesta Plastics powers 18 injection-molding machines ranging in size from 25 tons to 650 tons in a 20,000-square foot factory near Dobson
Road and Main Street in Mesa. Thompson is now retired but Fiesta Plastics is still a family-run and familyowned business with Operations Manager Mike Greathouse at the helm. “I’m as close to family without being blood-related,” he said. “The owner still takes us to lunch and makes sure we’re doing our job. He likes to come in and check out everything. We have one press that he can still work on since it’s very basic. We have a lot of new customers so sometimes he’ll meet and greet them.” Fiesta Plastics’ 35 employees who work in three shifts days a week, 24 hours a day. Greenhouse explained that injection molding involves “taking pelletized plas-
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Mike Greathouse is operations manager at Fiesta Plastics in Mesa. (Melody Birkett/Tribune Contributor)
