Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News January 2015

The Industry’s Newspaper

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For more than a decade, two firms have worked side-by-side on public infrastructure projects along the In-

terstate 35 corridor. As of Nov. 30, 2014, the two teams became one. Dallas–based full-service engineer-ing consulting firm CP&Y acquired The Wallace Group, a comprehensive engi-neering, architectural, survey and sub-surface utility engineering firm. Both firms boast more than 30 years of service in their respective regions. CP&Y, with its Texas, Colorado, Okla-homa, Virginia and Arkansas locations, absorbed more than 45 employees working in The Wallace Group’s Dallas, Killeen, Round Rock and Waco offices.

With a combined staff of more than 225 employees in 15 regional offices, the ex-panded firm now offers clients a larger portfolio of engineering, architectural and surveying services. Wallace Group founder Bob Wal-lace, PE, says the firm, employees, own-ers and clients will benefit from the ac-quisition, and that negotiations were made with that goal in mind. Restyled under the name “The Wallace Group, a CP&Y company,” the company now oper-ates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CP&Y. CP&Y’s CEO Pete Patel says the long-standing relationship that the two com-

L-R: The Wallace Group founder Bob Wallace with CP&Y’s founderWalter Chiang and CEO Pete Patel

When Superior Builders® owner Jeremy Molinar learned his general contracting company

would be building a LEGO®-themed ad-dition to a popular Grapevine attraction, the kid in him couldn’t wait to play. The 4,500-sf addition to the LEGO-LAND® Discovery Center was to be com-prised of two parts: A 3,500-sf splash pad and a 1,000-sf area with a pump room, two-guest restroom, changing rooms and a merchandise kiosk area. Designed for ages 3-10, the water playground would involve more than 30 interactive features pumping and spraying thou-sands of gallons of water. As fun as the highly creative project promised to be, Molinar needed a team that could complete the project quickly while respecting the enjoyment of the Discovery Center guests. He enlisted the help of project manager Rod Caskey of Merlin Entertainment, assistant superin-

tendent Jamie Craft, project foreman Robert Jones and architect Glenn Griggs of Griggs Group. “Scheduling was the project’s big-gest challenge; we were on a really accel-erated schedule,” Molinar, who acted as project superintendent, says. “The only challenge we ran into was working nights so that we didn’t interrupt the mall visi-tors. There were things we did during the day, but the loud tasks were done at night.” Aeroflow Plumbing Service’s Johna-than Strangmeier guided the crew as they staked out sanitary sewer drain placement before digging for plumbing. Molinar said installing the massive water tank was like “putting a submarine in the ground.” However, the space it takes up in the environment is offset by what it spares the environment.

Superior Builders® came out to play while constructing its latest creation in Grapevine.

Action Gypsum Supply just rolled its seven in 11. The Texas drywall distributor recently opened its

seventh location since managing part-ners Lenin Juarez and Terri King Peak established the Houston headquarters in 2003. The Carrollton office is the newest for the company, which also has Austin, Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, Pearland and San Antonio stores. Regional manager Chris Hawkes says the Carrollton office was opened with customers’ needs in mind. “Action Gypsum Supply has always desired a statewide presence and the ability to service our customers that have work across Texas,” he says.

Branch manager Mickey Layne and operations manager Jerry Hamilton will oversee the new office and its approxi-mately 15 employees. Hawkes says Layne brings 17 years of Dallas/Fort Worth dry-wall industry experience and a wealth of customer relationships to the branch, and Hamilton is a 28-year drywall distri-bution industry veteran known in the area for his operations expertise. In addition to the store’s 2,000-sf showroom, Hawkes says the Carrollton office, located at 1706 I-35E just north of Beltline, “offers a convenience factor that no other drywall distributor is able to of-fer in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. All of

The team at Action Gypsum Supply’s new Carrollton office.

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Jan 2015

McQueary Henry Bowles Troy (MHBT)’s competitive fire doesn’t smolder down to a warm

ember simply because of the feel-good holiday season. If anything, the flame is fanned to rise as high as the stakes! This year, the company offered $25 gift cards to the winners of the office’s “ugliest sweater” and “best office decora-tions” contests. Employees were encour-aged to participate, but of course no en-couragement was needed. As they have since the tradition’s beginning years ago, MHBT went all out, bringing in entire trees, baking and decorating ornaments by hand and plugging in enough lights so as to be seen from space. When the smoke settled, the marketing depart-ment took first place for its Christmas tree “gown” and Debbi Vice’s “Naughty/Nice” sweater made her one gift card richer. –mjm

Deco-rating

The marketing department’s Christmas Couture tree won first place.

Debbi Vice’s ugly sweater wins apretty nice prize.

Cindy Cox’s cabin holiday décor

It was a ho-ho-ho lot of fun Dec. 11 at Eddie Deen’s Ranch in Dallas.

The Independent Electri-cal Contractors Associa-tion’s Dallas (IEC) chapter hosted its annual Christ-mas party featuring a cocktail reception, barbe-cue dinner, casino night, a photo booth with props, music and prizes. –mjm

Cashing through the snow

L-R: Zubras Electric’s Simon Zubras,Intex Electric’s Keith Bell and Phyllis Zubras

Winner wonderland


CONSTRUCTION NEWS

©2014 Construction News, Ltd.

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Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy DoebblerEditorial/Production . . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cyndi WrightProduction Mgr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue JohnsonSales Representative. . . . . . . . . Kent GerstnerAdministration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Hughes

Melissa Jones-Meyer . . . . . Dallas/Fort Worth [email protected] 817-731-4823

Dallas Fort Worth

The Dallas Fort Worth Construction News (ISSN 1547-7657) is published monthly by Construction News Ltd., dba Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction related companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. All submissions should be mailed 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 Dallas Fort Worth 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.

If you are a construction-related companyin Dallas, Tarrant, Collin or Denton counties

and are not receiving a free copy of theDallas/Fort Worth Construction News, callfor a Requester Form, or visit our website.

On Feb. 1, Construction News will be launching a brand new version of its website at construc-

tionnnews.net. “We are delighted to be able to up-grade our site for our readers and cus-tomers,” said Buddy Doebbler, publish-er of Construction News. “Additionally, we will bring in new readers from around the state and nation.” Construction News, with five papers in Texas’ growing areas, now enters a new age, taking advantage of technolo-gy to bring the content its readers have come to expect to the web. “The staff at Construction News has spent many months working on the new site,” Doebbler said. “What is really excit-ing about this is that now we can bring

our readers some of the late-breaking news as it happens. And while you will still look forward to receiving your Con-struction News monthly in order to get all the full news and advertising it contains, you can now expect to find photos and information quickly from the events we cover, as well as much more.” One thing the editors of the five pa-pers will accomplish is to bring news from home to those who may be far from their homes, such as military men and women. “We encourage our readers to check out our new web site. Please let us know what you think,” Doebbler said. “We will continue to work to upgrade the site to make it a better viewing experience for our readers, so your comments and sug-gestions are always welcome.” –cw

‘Web’-site construction

New Year’s transitions at HOLT

The New Year brought tremen-dous change to

HOLT CAT. One of the pillars of the company, Allyn Archer, presi-dent and COO, retired Dec. 31. Dave Harris, executive vice presi-dent and general man-ager of HOLT CAT, has transitioned into his role at company head-quarters. Archer started with HOLT in April 1971 on the shop floor as a mechanic, working his way up through the company. In 1987, the same year he became general manager of B.D. Holt Company, the company merged with Holt Machin-ery in San Antonio. After 28 years as president, Archer counts several highlights in his tenure, in-cluding the creation of HOLT’s Vision Mis-sion and Values that continue to guide the organization today. Since ’87, the company has grown from one of the smallest Caterpillar dealers to the largest Caterpillar dealer in the U.S. representing 118 counties in Texas. At 68, Archer plans to get more in-volved running his family ranching and farming business in Uvalde County, fish more at the coast, and spend more time with his three grandchildren. “I’m leaving it in the worthy hands of Dave Harris, my successor,” says Archer. “We have set the foundation for much growth in the future at his direction, and

For Howard Hicks, the New Year

brings a major life change with his re-tirement from HOLT CAT as the equipment dealer’s vice president of public affairs offi-cial as of Dec. 31, 2014. For Jim Campbell, the New Year finds him transitioning into HOLT CAT as senior director of public affairs. Having earned his master’s degree in agricultural eco-nomics from Texas A&M University, Hicks, now 68, began his 38-year career at HOLT in May 1976. In re-tirement, he plans to be more involved in his church’s ministry, work on more proj-ects at his family’s ranch in the Hill Coun-try, and spend more time with his wife of 45 years, Helen, and their three children and six grandchildren. “While I’m still in good health, I want to do some different things,” says Hicks. “It’s been a great career. I love the com-pany. I love the people, but I don’t know how many years I’ve got left, so I thought I better take advantage of whatever time that is. To me, it’s more of a career change than it is a retirement. I don’t plan to slow down much. I just plan to devote my en-ergy to other things.” In the last few months of 2014, Camp-bell made his own career change joining

I’m very proud of that.” With the company since 1997, Harris started as regional manager at Peter Holt’s former dealership, Holt Ohio. In 1998, he came to Texas as general man-ager of the Machine Division, and three years ago, he was promoted to executive vice president and general manager. “I will continue to use our values as the basis for additional and stable growth going into the future,” says Harris, noting that a big job in the next few years will be continuing the transition to the fifth gen-eration Holts, Corinna Holt Richter and Peter John Holt, taking over as dealer principals. “Allyn has been a wonderful coach and mentor to me through the years, and that will serve me well as I take on his re-sponsibilities for a few years.” –mh

Archer stepping down after 43 years Hicks turns reins over to Campbell

HOLT. His previous role was consulting for public relations and marketing firm the DeBerry Group, and he had done consulting work for HOLT under contract with Hicks. He is excited to return to a public affairs role as he once held with the City of San Antonio and CPS Energy. Also an Aggie, Campbell holds a bache-lor’s degree in political science and en-joys being “one of those rare people that’s actually doing what I was trained for in liberal arts.” Campbell is already undergoing a sort of orientation program, meeting with 60 different individuals and familiar-izing himself with them and their roles at HOLT. He says this helps him better un-derstand the company and industry as well as build a rapport with people he will need to work with to be successful. –mh

L-R: Allyn Archer, president and COO of HOLT CAT, retired at the end of 2014 and passed the job on to his successor, Dave Harris,

who has previously served as executive vice president and general manager.

L-R: Howard Hicks, HOLT veteran team member, has now retired, and Jim Campbell is transitioning into his new position at the company’s

San Antonio headquarters.


Todd SternfeldOwner

Superior Concrete ProductsEuless, TX

3010 LBJ Freeway, Suite 920, Dallas, TX 75234-2750

Anyone can write yourbusiness insurance,

but it’s the resources we bringto your business that

distinguish usfrom the competition.

(972) 231-8277www.indinsgrp.com

Building suretyrelationships for

25 years

(972) 459-4749www.pclbonds.com

Don’t fence Todd Sternfeld in! The Superior Concrete Products own-er thrives on busting through bar-

riers in tried-and-untested areas, such as when he introduced – then sold – precast concrete fencing and paneling to a skep-tical U.S. market.

Were you the type of kid that liked to build and construct things and solve problems? I always enjoyed drafting and build-ing things. One of my grandfathers owned apartments, and he would take me around and show me the buildings and people moving in and out. My other grandfather was in the tool business, and he went out and sold tools to farmers and different businesses. My dad was a sales manager in the clothing business who traveled a lot, so traveling has never been an issue for me. I was born in Los Angeles and fortunate to grow up around my family who were very, very hard workers and who had a lot of influence on me. They instilled that in me. I was more interested in building things and doing things as opposed to academics! I enjoyed being outdoors. I was 16 when I went into the landscaping busi-ness; I used to work with a friend of mine in the summertime. I was 19 when I went into the precast business; we had met some people who were trying to bring over the precast concrete post and panel concrete fencing from another country. My dad, Earl, likes to tell the story that when I was 19, he told me that he was going to invest a little money in my business since I wasn’t going to college. To this day, he still gets to reap the re-wards of that subsidy!

Explain how you started the business. I started the business in Los Angeles 1981. In the beginning, I was just kind of on an adventure and this was all new to

me. A tremendous amount of learning took place over time because this is such a unique concept; there’s a huge block wall market in Southern California and, of course, as I got more involved with the business we realized there are certain segments of the country where it was predominantly block walls or predomi-nantly brick. It was to the point that I was pioneering something completely for-eign to people, and had to overcome [people’s doubt].

What do you mean? People in the construction industry had been putting up block walls their en-tire career and all of a sudden I was ask-ing them to put up something they didn’t know that had no credibility. I got it off the ground in ’81, ’82 and then in ’83 we decided we would go to the International Home Builders Show in Houston to market the product and see the reaction from builders. That was the first time I visited Texas and people were just blown away by the product. Brick fences are used so much here and of course our product was going to be so much less expensive. They don’t put block walls up in Texas! Over the years, I’ve learned every area of the United States has its own ar-chitectural standards. We decided we needed to come up with a better design that would fit different areas and markets of the country.

How did you go about doing that? We decided to franchise or license the concept in Texas and couldn’t get anyone to run with it. In ’86, the S&L crisis hit. The late ‘80s was a really difficult time in Texas. Lo and behold, right before the sav-ings and loan crisis hit, I decided to move to Texas because we couldn’t find anyone to get involved with it. I sold a job in Irving for a customer I met at one of the shows. That got me over here, and we set up a small shift op-eration on a Redi-Mix plant. We started marketing the product to the cities, be-cause I found out there were a lot of cities that had requirements for a masonry wall between commercial and residential zones and around subdivisions. I started calling on the developers like we did in California and then we brought more product lines out. People out here want the brick look so we came up with a custom brick design, the rail fencing and then the stone pattern. It sounds like things were moving along nicely. In ’96 I bought the Texas company from my partner and I started to rebrand the product and develop some new product to add to the existing ones that we had. Then I went to the manufacturing plant I established in Cleburne. Being here in Texas has allowed us the ability to

continue to market the product nation-ally and internationally. I’ve developed nine product lines over the last 32 years and I continue de-veloping new products. It’s exciting to come out with and have people see our new products and the fact that we’re an established com-pany gives it credibility.

Do you have plans to grow the busi-ness? I would like to expand the business further. At one time, I was considering looking at another facility in central Cali-fornia, because California is still a very big market; it’s an agricultural area, but it’s expensive to do business there. I want to get involved with other people who can help me grow the company further. I real-ize I’m only one person and can only do so much.

What is the secret to the longevity of your business? We’ve weathered the difficult times with the economy but the thing that kept us in business and has kept our company moving is that we make the product and install it as opposed to just making the product and selling it to distributors or contractors. We’re very customer service oriented so we try to meet what the cus-tomer wants. Also, I have about 45 employees in the Euless plant and Cleburne office. I have people who have worked for me for more than 25 years, and they’re all really good solid people. I think it’s important to keep the em-ployees engaged in what is going on with the company. I recently remodeled the Euless office and basically retrofitted the whole office using our product and the last office that I did was mine. I felt it was important to make sure that I got ev-erybody else taken care of first. I try to treat my employees the way I would want to be treated. I try to treat people with Texas hospi-tality with a California twist!

How do you like to spend your time away from work? I like to golf. I was always athletic; I

played baseball in high school and junior college before I got involved with the business. My dad was athletic; he used to coach us when we were younger and he got us involved in golf. When I was younger I would drive the golf carts for him, and on Sunday mornings I looked forward to spending that time with him. I’m a member of the Timarron Coun-ty Club and that’s been good for a variety of reasons – good for business, good for relationships and good for the family. I kind of look at it as my playground!

Your dad is still reaping the benefits of his initial investment; has he ever worked with you? My dad worked for me for a while in California. When I broke off with the guy I was in business with in 1996, my dad was retired and it gave him something to do, it was good for him. It was interesting because he gave me money for the business but had not been involved until 16 years later, and all of a sudden I’m training my dad. He wasn’t technically savvy and didn’t know a lot about construction so I kind of had to coach him along. He really enjoyed it though; he liked going to the trade shows and talking to the people. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been in good health and hasn’t been working.

Is he proud of all you have accom-plished? Recently, I took my mom and dad out to the plant and it had been 15 years since my mom had seen it; she didn’t re-ally remember what it was all about. She cried and was very happy to see what I’ve done. She said, “I can’t believe you’ve built such a good business!” It’s nice that they’re still alive to be able to see it and the progress I’ve made. I’m very lucky because I enjoy what I do. I don’t mind working where I work at, I enjoy the people I work with and I’m al-ways making progress. It’s turned out to be a very nice, successful business. Superior Concrete Products engineers, designs, manufactures, customizes, con-structs and installs concrete wall systems. –mjm

California-born Todd Sternfeld enjoys making his good fencesfor his good neighbors in Texas.

H Location

H Location

H Location

H Location

H LocationPublishing the Industry’s News . . .

TEXAS Style

Home Office(210) 308-5800

www.constructionnews.net

Dallas/Fort. Worth

Houston

Austin

South Texas

San Antonio


Leading by example

On Dec. 18, the construction indus-try’s finest examples of excellence were honored at TEXO’s Holiday

Awards Gala. Held at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas, awards were pre-sented to companies and individuals that exemplify the highest standards in their field. –mjm

2014 Distinguished Building Merit AwardsBuilding 2 ($2-$5 Million)Andres Construction ServicesCistercian Founders Hall SquareBuilding 4 ($10-$30 Million)Lee Lewis Construction Inc.City of Southlake North DPS Training FacilityBuilding 5 ($30 -$75 Million)Satterfield & Pontikes ConstructionBilly Earl Dade Middle SchoolBuilding 6 (Over $75 Million)Manhattan Construction CompanyGeorge W. Bush Presidential CenterHealthcare 1 ($0-$10 Million)Ridgemont Commercial ConstructionRiver Walk Medical Park IIIHealthcare 3 (Over $30 Million)McCarthy Building Companies Midland Memorial HospitalInterior Finish-Out 4 (Over $5 Million)Andres ConstructionOne Dallas Center/HKS Dallas office relo-cationSpecialty ConstructionSouthern BotanicalRoyal Oaks Country Club

2014 STEP Award WinnersGold Level CompaniesAUI ContractorsBig D MetalworksDynaTen CorporationHumphrey & AssociatesRogers-O’Brien ConstructionThos S. Byrne LTDPlatinum Level CompaniesAdolfson & Peterson ConstructionAguirre Roden Building Systems Inc.Baker Drywall (Dallas)Chamberlin Roofing & WaterproofingFSGInfinity ContractorsLASCO Acoustical & DrywallLEMCO Construction Services LPPolk MechanicalSpawGlassTDIndustriesAustin Commercial LPDiamond Level CompaniesAndres Construction ServicesBalfour Beatty ConstructionJohnston ProductsKwest GroupManhattan Construction CompanyMDI Inc. General ContractorsSEDALCO Inc.

Construction Safety Excellence AwardLocal Winners:Specialty Building DivisionBakerTriangle (700,001-1,000,000 Man Hours)Brandt (Over 1,000,000 Man Hours)TDIndustries (Over 1,000,000 Man Hours)

Local and National Winners:LEMCO Construction - Under 100,000 Man HoursCadence McShane Construction(100,001-250,000 Man Hours)Structure Tone – Southwest250,001-450,000 Man HoursMEDCO Construction450,001-650,000 Man Hours

TEXO Individual AwardsSuperintendent of the Year (Specialty)Omar Salas, Burleson ElectricSuperintendent of the Year (GC)Daniel Caulkins, Andres Construction ServicesSafety Professional of the Year (Specialty) Luciano Perez, KPost CompanySafety Professional of the Year (GC)Tim Kuykendall, The Beck GroupMagnolia AwardMorgen Schroeder, Turner Construction Skill/Integrity/Responsibility (SIR) AwardTom Kader, SEDALCO, Inc.Vision AwardMEDCO ConstructionChallenge Cup WinnerHumphrey & Associates

Electrical 2: ($5-$10 Million)Walker Engineering

Piano Pavilion at the Kimbell Art Museum

Building 6: (Over $75 Million)The Beck Group

Piano Pavilion of the Kimbell Art Museum

Design Build 1: ($0-$10 Million)Bob Moore Construction

Tandy Leather Store

Industrial Warehouse 2 (Over $5 Million)SEDALCO Construction Services

PECOFacet Marney Dunman Perry Jr. Technology Center

Mechanical 1($0-$5 Million) TDIndustries

CMC Heart Center Interventional Suite Renovation

Building 2: ($2-$5 Million)McCarthy Building Companies

AT&T Performing Arts Center Box Office Pavilion and MarqueesBuilding 3: ($5-$10 Million)

Steele & Freeman Inc.Temple Ancira Cinemark XD12 Theater

Health Care 1: ($0-$10 Million)MEDCO Construction LLCSpecialty Operating Room

Building 1: ($0-$2 Million)Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing

Exterior Envelope Restoration at the White Rock Control

Health Care 2: ($10-$30 Million)Austin Commercial LP

Texas Health Dallas Presbyterian Hospital Surgery Phase I

Interior Finish-Out 4: (Over $5 Million)The Beck Group

Reunion Tower Remodel

Residential Multi-Family: (any amount)AUI Contractors/Centerpoint, LoftVueMechanical 3: (Over $10 Million)

TDIndustriesParkland Central Utility Plant

Industrial Warehouse 1: ($0-$5 Million)DynaTen Corporation

Bank of America Plaza Chiller Changeout continued on Page 14


New standards for revenuerecognitionLance Trammell, Principal - Assurance ServicesLane Gorman Trubitt, PLCCDallas, TX

In May 2014, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released the new accounting standard on rev-

enue recognition with the intent to provide a compre-hensive, and consistent, method of accounting for reve-nue across entity, industry and geographical lines. While

there are some exceptions, most industries are subject to the new standard.

The reasoning behind the change is to reduce inconsistencies and the risk of recognizing revenue incorrectly, to re-duce the options of industry-specific U.S. GAAP guidelines and to create a collabo-ration between FASB and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for improved and converged rules. The guidance is based on the overall premise that the entity should recognize revenue in an amount that reflects the ac-tual consideration that the entity expects to be entitled to. In order to determine the amount of consideration that the entity is entitled to, the standard provides for a five step pro-cess that includes:1) Identification of the contract2) Identification of the performance ob-ligations3) Determine the transaction price4) Allocate the transaction price to per-formance obligations5) Recognize revenue upon the satis-faction of performance obligations Contracts, whether written, oral or implied based on the entity’s customary business practice, create the enforceable rights and obligations. Consistent with the current standards relating to contract accounting, some contracts can be com-bined if they are negotiated together or if successful completion is interdependent on one another. Additionally, contracts can be modified due to change in scope or pricing. The performance obligations within the contract are the determinants for rev-enue recognition. The performance obli-gation is the promise within the contract to deliver goods or services to the cus-tomer. Revenue is recognized when or as the performance obligation is satisfied. Multiple performance obligations within a contract may have specific costs or may be satisfied at different periods in time, therefore, contractors will be required to determine distinct performance obliga-tions within the contract in order to prop-erly allocate the transaction price among the obligations. Transaction price is the actual amount that is considered probable to be collected from the customer upon satis-faction of the performance obligation. Transaction price is not necessarily the

stated contract amount, but instead the contract amount net of any variable con-siderations. Revenues are recognized upon satis-fying the performance obligation. This is considered to occur either 1) over a peri-od of time or 2) at point in time. These methodologies can be considered similar to the current percentage of completion and completed contract methods of ac-counting used by contractors. Revenues recognized over a period of time must meet one of the following:1) The customer simultaneously receiv-ing and consuming the benefits of the entity’s performance as the service is per-formed2) The entity’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer con-trols as the asset is created or enhanced3) The performance does not result in the creation of an asset with an alterna-tive use to the entity and the entity has a right to receive payment for performance completed to date If the above criterion is met, the “pe-riod of time” is measured based upon in-put or output methods. If choosing at a point in time, the ownership of the project under contract will transfer once the performance obli-gation has been met. The new five step process may not be so “new” to contractors, as many of the considerations regarding performance obligations, transaction pricing consider-ations and timing of revenue recognition are all points that many contractors cur-rently use in their bidding, estimating and performance activities. For public companies, the new regu-lation goes into effect on Dec. 15, 2016 and on Dec. 15, 2017 for nonpublic com-panies. Founded in 1950, Lane Gorman Trubitt PLLC (LGT) is one of the largest certified public accounting firms headquartered in the Southwest. Dedicated to serving the middle market, the firm represents a broad range of clients, from individuals to public companies, in a variety of industries. LGT offers tradition-al accounting, audit and tax services, as well as various other specialized services. LGT has launched three affiliated companies, LGT Fi-nancial Advisors, LLC, LGT Insurance Services Inc. and LGT Retirement Plan Solutions.

Invisible exclusions, part ICharles E. Comiskey, Sr. V.P.Brady, Chapman, Holland & Associates, inc.Houston, TX

Many insurance policies today include “invisible” ex-clusions – exclusions that may not be brought to

the attention of the insurance buyer and that will not be declared on a certificate of insurance. This article will address three of the more dangerous such exclusions and what to do about them.

But first, a little background: Con-struction agreements include provisions requiring indemnification of the up-stream party (the party requiring the coverage). In Texas, it remains permissi-ble to require indemnification for the up-stream party’s joint, concurrent and/or sole negligence at least with regard to an injury to an employee of the downstream party (the party being required to pro-vide coverage) or their subcontractor, and for any municipal or residential work. General liability insurance customar-ily provides “contractual liability” cover-age applicable to such provisions, cover-ing liability for bodily injury and physical injury to tangible property arising from a contractual assumption of these expo-sures. Beware: This contractual liability coverage is being deleted or eroded in a variety of manners that are sometimes difficult to recognize. CG 21 39 10 93, Contractual Liability Limitation Endorsement Contractual liability coverage is pro-vided in a general liability policy through a series of six definitions of an “insured contract.” These definitions are applica-ble to an exception to an exclusion of the coverage provision. Confusing, right? What’s critical to know is that the sixth definition is the one that provides cover-age for liability assumed in an indemnifi-cation agreement. The Contractual Lia-bility Limitation Endorsement deletes that sixth definition, completely eliminat-ing insurance funding for that indemnity, and should be avoided at all cost.

CG 24 26 07 04, Amendment of Insured Contract Definition This endorsement modifies that sixth definition, eliminating claims based upon allegations of the sole negligence of the Indemnitee (the upstream party). This is problematic for two reasons:

1. As stated above, most indemnifica-tion provisions do require that the up-stream party be held harmless for at least some portion, if not all, of its sole negli-gence. The downstream party will be held responsible for such protection, whether funded by insurance or not. 2. The most common type of claim aris-ing from ongoing work is what attorney’s refer to as a “third party over action.” This

occurs when an employee of a down-stream party is injured on the job. He can make a workers’ compensation claim against his employer, but also retains the right to bring litigation for that injury. That said, he cannot sue his employer due to the exclusive remedy rule of work-ers’ compensation, so suit is brought solely against the upstream contractor or owner, who then demands protection from the downstream party under the in-demnification agreement. That type of claim is usually funded by general liabili-ty insurance, but this endorsement elimi-nates coverage for the assumption of an-other party’s sole negligence.

Modification of the Employer’s Liabil-ity Exclusion Another way that insurance compa-nies eliminate cover for suits brought by employees of a downstream party is to change the wording of the Employer’s Li-ability exclusion. This provision, part of every general liability policy, excludes coverage for injury to an employee of the insured, but has an exception stating that the exclusion does not apply to liability assumed by the insured under an “insured contract.” Some insurance companies de-lete the exception to this exclusion, there-by eliminating the very provision that would otherwise provide coverage. Discuss these exclusionary endorse-ments with your insurance broker, and verify that they are not included in your insurance program. But what if you are the upstream party depending on a cer-tificate of insurance? Two steps can be taken:

1. In your insurance requirements, state that these endorsements are pro-hibited on the downstream party’s insur-ance program; and2. Require a copy of the Schedule of Forms and Endorsements page verifying that they haven’t been included in the underlying insurance program. Charles E. Comiskey, CPCU, CIC, CPIA, CRM, PWCA, CRIS, CCM, is Sr. V.P. of Brady Chapman Holland & Assoc. and is National Chairman of the Construction Insurance Practice Group of RiskProNet International, the 5th largest brokerage organization in the U.S. He can be contacted at 713-979-9706 or [email protected]


Free transportationtraining resourcesJoann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

Every 12 minutes someone dies in a motor vehicle crash, every 10 seconds an injury occurs and every 5

seconds a crash occurs. Many of these incidents occur during the workday or during the commute to and from work. Employers bear the cost for injuries that occur both on and off the job. Whether you manage a fleet of vehicles, oversee a mobile sales force or simply employ commuters, by implementing a driver safety program in the workplace you can greatly reduce the risks faced by your employees and their families while protecting your company’s bottom line.

Fatal transportation incidents accounted for about 2 out of every 5 fatal work inju-ries in 2013. Of the 1,740 transportation-related fatal injuries in 2013, nearly 3 out of every 5 (991 cases) were roadway inci-dents involving motorized land vehicles.Non-roadway incidents, such as a tractor overturn in a farm field, accounted for an-other 13 percent of the transportation-related fatal injuries. About 16 percent of fatal transportation incidents (284 cases) in 2013 involved pedestrians who were struck by vehicles. Forty-eight of these occurred in work zones.

Motor vehicle crashes cost employers $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage, and lost productivity. They drive up the cost of benefits such as workers’ compensation, Social Security, and private health and disability insurance. In addition, they in-crease the company overhead involved in administering these programs. The average crash costs an employer $16,500. When a worker has an on-the-job crash that results in an injury, the cost to their employer is $74,000. Costs can exceed $500,000 when a fatality is in-volved. Off-the-job crashes are costly to employers as well.1

The real tragedy is that these crashes are largely preventable. Recognizing the op-portunity that employers have to save lives, a growing number of employers have established traffic safety programs in their companies. No organization can afford to ignore a major problem that has such a serious impact on both their per-sonnel and the company budget.There are a number of free resources that provide training and written programs for driver safety. The National Safety Council in partnership with the Texas De-partment of Transportation is offering free training in Texas to employers and employees on driving safety. To sched-ule a free training session, contact Lisa Robinson at 512-466-7383 or [email protected]. Free resources are avail-able at http://www.txdrivingconcern.org.

Another resource for training resources is the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. There is a free toolkit for employ-ers to download at http://www.traffic-safety.org/drivesafelyworkweek/. The tool kit has sample policies and training materials to educate workers on trans-portation safety.

[email protected] x232

Responding to worksiteaccidentsMarc Young, Founding PrincipalCokinos, Bosien & YoungAustin, TX

The construction industry routinely leads all other in-dustries in the total number of deaths per year, there-

fore it is imperative to understand the role of your com-pany and your legal representative in the event of a fa-tality or major incident on the construction worksite. Having a plan of action can assist your company and

your legal team in preparing for, and handling, a major incident, should it become necessary.

BEFORE AN ACCIDENT OCCURS• Create an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)• Have your risk manager and safety committee review the ERP with your at-torney so there is no confusion during a response. • Your attorney should have in his/her vehicle a “go-bag” containing tools nec-essary to document and investigate an incident at a moments’ notice. IMMEDIATE STEPS IN THE EVENT OF A MAJOR ACCIDENT• The immediate response should al-ways begin with a 911 call at the first indi-cation of a major injury or fatality. • Remove all non-essential workers from the area. Secure an area around any continuing danger or hazard to workers.• Notify key corporate personnel as soon as the area is secured and individu-als are no longer in danger.• The attorney should be called to the scene to assist with the investigation and OSHA visit.• Notify insurance carrier.• Once your attorney arrives at the site, meet in the company’s work trailer as soon as possible. Confirm that Emergency Response Plan has been followed thus far.INVESTIGATION Your attorney should begin con-ducting the investigation before the site conditions change, witnesses leave and equipment is moved. Designate a private place to talk - typically the job trailer is the best place to perform interviews. Your attorney may need someone with technical expertise from your company to participate in the interviews. Some attorneys don’t pursue record-ed statements at this stage because any party in the subsequent litigation will be entitled to that recording. Your attorney may take photographs to document the scene and everything relevant to the in-cident, but avoid any conditions such as blood or medical waste. If equipment in-volved in an accident was moved prior to emergency responders arriving, it is im-perative to establish exactly where it was at the time of the accident. OSHA OSHA must be contacted within 8 hours of a fatality, or within 24 hours of a work related in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye. OSHA has a 24-hour fatality contact number at 800-323-OSHA. However, it’s not uncommon for OSHA to hear about the incident through media accounts and drive di-rectly to the site. Before OSHA investigators arrive, your attorney may advise you of any ob-servable conditions that may result in vi-olations of various OSHA standards so they may be immediately corrected. An OSHA investigator is not limited to the

site of the injury when investigating an accident, and may identify numerous cit-able conditions unrelated to the acci-dent. Consult with your attorney about drafting and implementing a written policy regarding whether to allow war-rantless OSHA investigations before it is ever needed. MEDIA• Understand what deadlines the me-dia are under and advise them that you will get back to them after you have had an opportunity to conduct a reasonable investigation. • Answer questions as directly and as completely as possible. If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest. False information can damage credibility and the public’s perception of your abili-ty to tell the truth and convey accurate information. • Avoid using “no comment” as an an-swer. • Never give “off-the-record” informa-tion.• Give the facts as you know them and cite sources. • If the emergency or disaster is long term in nature, it is important to hold fre-quent briefings or press conferences. • Advise all employees not to speak to the press or give statements. Provide em-ployees with a designated individual or telephone number to refer inquiries. While no plan can foresee every de-tail of a catastrophic event, being pre-pared with the basic elements and secur-ing legal representation before an event can mitigate further injuries to workers and protect the legal position of the company in subsequent litigation.

Marc A. Young is a founding principal of Cokinos, Bosien &Young, a full service law firm with offices in Houston, San Anto-nio, Dallas and Austin. For more informa-tion on our services, please visit www.cb-ylaw.com

Past editions can bedownloaded at

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Did youknow?


Partygoers were feeling warm and fuzzy from the inside out at the American Sub-contractor Association’s North Texas (ASA) chapter’s holiday open house. Host-ed Dec. 4 at the association’s Grand Prairie office, the party gave members the

perfect opportunity to don their most hideous holiday sweaters and donate much-needed blankets and new coats to benefit the Dallas Life Foundation. –mjm

Warmest wishes

L-R: Striland Construction’s Traci Strieker and MEMCO’s Sarah McCready

L-R: Retired ASA executive vice president Linda White and Executive Director Beverly

Reynal

L-R: EyeSite Surveillance’s Dean Olson, Johnston Products’ Lori Chung, Morrison Supply’s Randy Hazzard and Hicks Resource Consulting’s Ann Hicks

Eaves-swapping

Members of the Mid-west Roofing Con-tractors Associa-

tion momentarily stepped away from their shingles to attend MRCA’s 65th Annual Conference. Hosted Dec. 10-12 at Grapevine’s Gay-lord Texan Convention Cen-ter, the “Connecting Op-portunity” event gave members a chance to net-work with and learn from fellow roofing contractors, industry experts, leading suppliers and service pro-viders. The conference kicked off with a community service event sponsored by the Young Contractors Council (YCC), fol-lowed by a welcome reception and foun-dation auction. Industry awards were presented and the exhibit hall was avail-able the second day, punctuated with a YCC learning lab, product demos and a YCC reception. The final day provided at-tendees with the opportunity to receive foreman and superintendent training, learn about the state of the industry, visit exhibits and compete for the “Best Mid-west Shingler” title at the “MRCA Nailing Contest.” –mjm

The Young Contractors Council

Eco Chief Products

Siplast

Superior Equipment & Supply

Roofing Supply Group

Racing roofers

While it’s fun to take a drive and look at holiday lights, it’s even more fun to take a drive around

the go kart track, which is how some local roofers recently celebrated the season. The North Texas chapter of the Roofing Contractors Association (NTRCA) held its

Holiday Party and Associate Appreciation Dec. 9 at Arlington’s indoor go kart racing track, K1 Speed. Dividing themselves into teams, they got into both the holiday and competitive spirit as they raced each oth-er to vie for prizes. –mjm

L-R: A Race winners Chris Nagy of C-CAP/Firestone, Charles Fairchild of Metroplex

Roof and Fence and Jeff Loud of Wholesale Roofing & Supply

L-R: B Race winners Oleg Shtereb of Roofing Giant, Jo Ann Moreno of GAF and Seth

Wardlow of Springtree Roofing & Restoration


BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUTSPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUN DER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

STEVE SCHULTZ OUTDOORS, LLC

(361) 813-3716(361) 334-3105

www.baffi [email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard &Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

ASCO Equipment, a Texas-based construction equipment distribu-tor, presented a check to A Sol-

dier’s Child Foundation (ASC) in the amount of $262,707 to benefit ASC’s on-going efforts to provide birthday and Christmas gifts for children of fallen sol-diers. The check resulted from a yearlong effort by local employees at ASCO’s 22 locations to benefit ASC in 2014. ASCO has a corporate and personal commit-ment to community and philanthropy, selecting deserving organizations each year to benefit from the efforts of their employees and staff. Employees at each ASCO location

Employees and their children in Belton run an obstacle course as part of that team’s fundraising efforts for A Soldier’s Child Foundation.

Honoring the fallen

determined the individual fundraising ef-forts. ASCO and the founding Wright family matched all money raised to reach the total amount. “Giving back to our communities has always been an important value of ASCO and our family,” said John Wright, one of the third generation owners. “It’s gratify-ing to see our employees nominate and support this effort on behalf of A Sol-dier’s Child Foundation. It’s an honor to support the families of those who died in service to their company.” The $262,707 check was presented to A Soldier’s Child Foundation and will be distributed throughout the year. –cw

Looking into theNew Year

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Premier Yamaha Boating Center,

Majek Boats, E-Z Bel Construction, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor,

Aggregate Haulers, Interstate Batter-ies, Pure Fishing, Mirr-O-Lure and

Columbia Sportswear.

Well I hope everyone had a won-derful Christmas and a great New Year holiday. I am very ex-

cited to start the year off on a good foot, or should I say a good leg after missing out on most of last years fishing. I was able to get in some trips in September and October as the fishing seemed to pick up after a mediocre summer. Hope-fully things will be much different this season with the new changes on speck-led trout regulations implemented by Texas Parks and Wildlife that took effect on September 1st last year. I am also looking forward to seeing all my clients and friends this season and continue making memories in the outdoors that seem to last a lifetime.

As most of you already know, winter fish-ing is by far the best time of the year to catch trophy size specks. Although our winters sometimes may not feel like win-ters you see up north, there is definitely an inconsistency in the weather that trig-gers fish to feed as the barometric pres-sure changes. Most of the larger specks tend to feed up before major changes in weather and may go for several days be-fore feeding again. Larger trout don’t do

real well in colder water temperatures; they tend to stay in deeper water and in soft mud bottoms trying to keep warm and conserve energy. As water tempera-tures progressively warm, they will ven-ture out in search of their next meal. Larger mullet, menhaden and other fin-fish typically are the choice of diet for hungry specks, subsequently keeping them satisfied until the next cold snap ar-rives. This is the reason so many anglers use larger baits and plugs in winter trying to imitate a wounded fish that make easy prey for lethargic trout.

I’m by no means a psychic knowing when fish will eat, what they will eat and how big they will be. There is also no way any-one can guarantee you will catch a tro-phy trout on any given day. I have many clients that have fished many days each year and have never caught a trophy quality speck. Then there are the clients that catch one on their first outing, and say, “That’s the biggest fish I’ve ever caught.” I can tell you that your chances are better if you put in some sort of an effort during the prime months.

Every month this year in my column I will feature a product that I believe will help make you a better angler. From boats, tackle apparel or electronics, I will discuss the advantages you will gain by using these products. While we are on the sub-ject of winter trophy trout fishing, let’s start with the lures of choice this time of the year.

Starting with the most popular will be the Corky line of lures by MirrOlure. There are several styles of Corky’s avail-able, Original, Fat Boy and Devil. All are slow sinking mullet imitations that boost big results when presented in front of feeding fish. These lures became popu-lar in 1996 when James Wallace of Hous-ton landed a 13-lb. 11-oz. speck on the original corky. This is one lure I will not leave without as I ease over the edge of the boat this winter!

To schedule your next bay fishing trip, give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Already booking for the 2015-fishing sea-son. Good luck and Good Fishing.

TexasStyle

San Antonio Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Houston South Texas

www.constructionnews.netpublishing the industry’s news


Half or Full Day Fishing Trips

All Bait, Tackle & EquipmentFurnished

Your catch Filleted andBagged for You

Furnish your TPWD FishingLicense & Refreshments,

and WE DO THE REST!Ken Milam Guide Service(325) 379-2051

www.striperfever.com

Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSince 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8

AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com

The passing of the holidays always reminds me of a passing storm. It’s exciting and engaging while it’s go-

ing on, but always a relief when you get to the blessed calm after the storm. It is always nice to get back to normal and start looking forward to what’s next – Spring!

I know, not yet. We still have a little more football to go, some more cold fronts and time to pass. I always figure any time af-ter winter solstice is getting closer to spring bit by bit.

The tournament trails are getting started so the bass boats will start moving again. If you really get lucky and land a 13-lb. or better largemouth bass – you still have time to get in on the Toyota ShareLunker program until April 30th.

These nice warm sunny afternoons are starting to make me wonder how long it will be until the crappie start moving up into shallow water around structure to start wanting to bed. All you need is some frisky minnows or your favorite jigs to catch a nice mess of crappie. If the weather gets cloudy and cold they will go back deep and wait for the next nice spell to come shallow again. You just have to catch them when the catching is good.

Stripers and hybrids are loving the colder water. They are chasing shad in open wa-ter under the birds and feeding hard so they can be as strong and healthy as pos-sible for their spawning run, later in the spring. Except for Lake Texoma, stripers can’t successfully spawn in Texas because we don’t have the right conditions for the eggs to hatch. Don’t tell the stripers though, they don’t know the difference

and they will put all their energy into try-ing to reproduce. As they school up and chase shad they will give us some of the best freshwater fishing to be had!

If white bass are more to your liking, then get ready! As mild as the winter temper-atures have been this year I wouldn’t be surprised if they start running upstream on their spawning runs a little early this

year. This usually happens around Valen-tine’s Day, give or take a week or three depending on the weather. Keep in touch with your tackle shops and fishing reports. When the run begins the word spreads like wildfire. On low lakes and rivers the run may not happen in the usu-al places for lack of water. This is where good current information is really impor-tant.

If you love jug lining for blue catfish, get those jugs ready. From now through February is when you can catch the big ones. You want to concentrate on areas where the river and creek channels con-verge.

Spring’s acoming! Be sure you have your boat running good and always get good weather information before you set out. Weather changes fast this time of year. Fishing the day before a cold front comes through will usually be much better, and you want to avoid those old windy days as a front moves through. High pressure systems tend to keep fish from biting.

If you plan on booking some guided fish-ing trips this spring, you need to get your reservations pretty quick. It looks like we are getting ready for a nice season!

Fish On!

Going the distanceSubmitted to Construction News

The Beck Group employees went the extra mile for a good cause when they ran in the 2014 MetroPCS Dallas Marathon, Half Marathon and Behringer Relay Dec.

14. The event, formerly known as the Dallas White Rock Marathon, benefits Beck’s client, Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. –mjm


Meet “Freeman Batman Phillips,” a 3-year old miniature schnauzer whose mid-dle name comes from a black Batman-shaped mark in the middle of his back. Was it a signal Freeman sent out for someone to adopt him? If it was, it

worked! Freeman, who once suffered from heartworms, hookworms, hepatitis, a lac-eration and a matted coat, was rescued and treated through Miniature Schnauzer Res-cue of Houston before finding his “forever home” with Air Balancing Company’s Don Phillips and his wife Sarah. –mjm

Batman’s best friend

During the Thanksgiving holiday, Architectural Services Inc. owner and presidentMichael Gibbons, FSCI, and his wife Sharon traveled to Tuscon to visit their son Brian,

his wife Lacretia and newborn grandson Grayson. During the stay, Gibbons and his sonpaid a visit to to the Pima Air & Space Museum, where Brian took a photo of his dad nextto the airplane Gibbons had flown most often during his time in the Air Force. Gibbonssays he logged in more than 2,500 flying hours as an instructor and flight examiner in

T-38s while stationed at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. –mjm

Long flight

The smoker and grill on site at CG Environmental-Cleaning Guys is not to be missed – no, really, you

can’t miss it. Pulling in the business’ driveway, it’s hard not to turn slack-jawed at the sight of the locomotive-like smok-er and gun-shaped grill sitting alongside the cleaning equipment. For owner Erick McCallum, it’s the ultimate in upcycling, and another way he walks the talk of his environmentally focused company. Because CG Environ-mental/Cleaning Guys’ services include biohazard cleaning for industrial and commercial clients, the company manu-factures its own proprietary machinery to clean the spills. “We try to use all of the scrap parts we have left over from building things,” he explains. “We don’t want to throw them away just to end up in a scrap yard. There are so many useful pieces from what we make around here.” Pieces that are just right for making, say, a revolver-shaped grill, which McCal-lum calls “a really neat piece.” Or enough parts to outfit a giant train-shaped smok-er with a loud working horn and bell, red

LED lights on the undercarriage and a railroad crossing sign on the back. The smoker, which is 15 ft. long, 7 ft. high and 5 ft. wide, is fully functional and boasts large areas dedicated to smoking and barbecuing. The contraptions aren’t available as party rentals, but they do get plenty of use at the company’s functions. “We use it just for the guys here,” Mc-Callum says. “At Thanksgiving, they did a turkey and a beer can chicken, which was the best thing ever.” Whether at the business or on the road, people can’t help but stare. “When it goes down the road, it defi-nitely breaks necks,” he says. “People look and kids have their face up against their car windows. Cops don’t pull us over, but they’ve definitely eyeballed it!” A third eyeball-buster will soon be joining the line-up. “We’re actually going to work on a fireplace that is the head of Darth Vader. We have a drawing of it and a tank here to build it out of,” McCallum promises. “It’s going to be pretty neat! -mjm

Cooking from scrap

Train your eye on this smoker.

Gunning to grill!

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Last February, we featured adorable (and now 7-year-old) Marshall, son of McCarthy Building Companies’

Matthew Clarke. At the time, Marshall wasn’t yet old enough to hunt but would tag along with Dad or sit on a bucket in the backyard tracking incoming doves with his BB gun, just counting down the days. Well, what a difference a year makes: Marshall just returned from his first-ever hunt and Dad has a tale to tell of the ex-perience. “Although my son Marshall loves to come hunting and fishing with me, I’ve always said that he was going to have to wait until he is 8 before I let him hunt. He enjoys just coming along and being a re-triever for the birds. Also, he’s got a great eye, and can spot a dove in the middle of a flock of starlings, which is a great help in the field. “A few weeks ago, a family friend gave Marshall a break-over 20-gauge sin-gle shot youth model that is small enough for him to hold and shoulder by himself. After a week of him begging me to let him shoot a duck the next time I went hunting, I agreed since this gun was small enough for him to handle. I’ve taught him gun safety since he was a toddler and have allowed him to shoot my guns on

Legend of the fall

occasion, so I figured he was ready. “When we got to the lease, I told him to show me how to shoulder the gun, and he snapped it up, leaned back and was ready to shoot on command. I re-minded him that he had to lean in to the gun so it didn’t knock him backwards. We walked down to the lake, found a nice log behind some bushes to set up at, and placed our decoy spread out. I re-minded him that when the ducks came in, not to make a move. I told him that I would tell him when they were in his range, when to pick up the gun, lean into the shot, and I’d tell him when to shoot. “When the first duck came in to-wards the decoys, I told him to raise the gun, and I shouldered mine also so in case he missed, I could harvest the duck. Looking down the barrel of my gun, I could see him out of the corner of my eye. When the duck was in a great posi-tion, I told him to shoot. “With a loud BOOM, he disappeared out of my sight flying backwards like a cartoon. I looked down and back behind the log we were on, and he was lying on his back! I laughed and asked what hap-pened. In a funny, mopey voice, he an-swered, “I didn’t lean into my gun.” We both had a good laugh, and he had a fine

lesson learned. “Needless to say, we missed that duck but did manage to come home with three for the day and a great first hunt memory. I’m looking forward to years of enjoyment in the wilderness with my boy.” –mjm

L-R: On Dec. 15, Site Barricades’ Ben Wallace and his 8-year-old son, Bay, took a Comanche, TX hunting trip, where Bay scored a seven-point buck – Bay’s first! Judging by their smiling

faces, we think father-son hunting trips will become a family tradition! –mjm

Bucking tradition

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Did you keep last years new year’s

resolution?

Brandon StewartEstimator

Demolition Specialties

Industry FOLKS

Brandon Stewart has always been a bit of a math whiz – even as a kid, he

could solve complicated problems in his head. The 30-year-old’s knack for numbers makes him a perfect fit as an estimator for Demolition Specialties, where he celebrates his one-year anni-versary this month. Interestingly, it was his gift for soc-cer playing as much as math that put him on the road to working in the con-struction industry. His foot action caught the recruiters’ eyes at the Uni-versity of Kentucky, where he majored in French and International Economics. “I was somewhat interested in poli-tics and with a math background, eco-nomics was pretty interesting to me,” Stewart says. “Since I was playing soccer and wanted to be a professional soccer player – which is so much bigger in Eu-rope and I was over there all of the time – I picked French, although I regret not picking Spanish a little bit now!” During his senior year of college, Stewart worked his way up to assistant manager at a car dealership. He then worked for a financial services compa-ny, followed by a sales and manage-ment position at Adidas, before finding a niche in sales estimating for an asbes-tos abatement company. When Demolition Specialties hired the company as a subcontractor, Stew-art was impressed with their faith-based values and became an employee of the business two years later. He says he appreciates working with his team, which includes general manager Todd Ingersoll, office manager Michelle Go-

mez, warehouse manager Chris Flores and Ernestine Rosales, who share his values. He also enjoys being able to walk through older structures to learn about the different ways buildings were constructed in the past. Although an injury is temporarily suspending his soccer play, he enjoys fantasy football, horse races (a holdover from his time in Kentucky), paintballing and volunteering. He also writes a soc-cer blog under a pen name on the “Chelsea in America” website. Most of his free time, however, is spent with his 2-year-old daughter Chelsea (named af-ter his favorite soccer team, of course!). “I like to take her out and do differ-ent things. We go to the park, and she loves animals so we go to the zoo – any-thing to get her out of the house!” Since his daughter has been born, he’s developed an interest in how the mind works and researches methods on how to enhance it. “Everyone thinks their kid is smart, but Chelsea’s smart!” Stewart says. Only time will tell if he’s raising a math whiz. –mjm

Yes, just trying to improve my quality of life.

Terry Ford, Zomac Electric

My resolution is basically the same every year: To try and do the right thing, be a good person and treat others like I would like to be treated and I think everything will work out. Of course, I’m always trying to lose weight …

Willie Davis,Butler & Butler Construction

In our industry because of the long hours and the stress, trying to eat better and exercise is always a resolution. I got a gym membership and vowed to do bet-ter in 2014 but didn’t keep the resolution. I hope to do better in 2015!

Keyan Zandy, Skiles Group

I don’t think I made a resolution in 2014; in 2015, my resolution might be to lose a little weight!

Kevin Ochs,Turner Construction Company

I think it’s the typical resolution – getting healthier. I feel I’ve been successful. In the last few weeks it has been a little bit of a setback because of all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I’m not too wor-ried about it though, I’ll be back on track soon enough.

Melissa Lesch,PCL Contract Bonding Agency

I didn’t have one. I generally don’t make New Year’s resolutions!

Scott D. Jones, Azteca Enterprises

I made a resolution, but I don’t remem-ber it. I did what I can’t remember! For certain I did it, and I’ll defend my position no matter what!

David Ensminger, SafePro

I don’t even remember what it was, so I don’t remember keeping it! I just set my own goals and don’t rely on the New Year to make them.

Wayne Foster, Eco Chief Products

I didn’t have a resolution, so I didn’t even keep it!

Bret Carroll, CAN

It was to increase my physical fitness and I did meet that. It wasn’t a particularly measurable goal, but I did meet it. I go to a gym regularly. It’s an interesting phe-nomenon every January when there is an increase in gym memberships and then by March it dwindles!

James Higgins, Aguirre Roden

I’m always looking for ways to get rid of anything I don’t want or need, and so this year, I made it my mission to annihilate stuff in general. Every weekend, I asked my family if we could get rid of posses-sions that no longer served us, and they were great about tossing and donating every time I asked. I’m thrilled with the results!

Melissa Jones-Meyer,Construction News


L-R: Wealth Concepts’ Claudia Ronzani, Gadberry Construction’s Tonya Watson,North Texas Ductworks’ Carmen Smith, Hicks Resource Consulting’s Ann Hicks,Hill & Wilkinson’s Kristen Marcis, Lane Gorman Trubitt ’s Donna Nuernberg and

Balfour Beatty’s Kate Humphries were announced as the 2015 board of directors forthe Women in Construction Owners and Executives Dallas (WCOE). The announcement

was made – after a fun gift exchange game of “Left Right” – at WCOE’s holiday party,held Dec. 4 at the Vendome on Turtle Creek. -mjm

Submitted to Construction News

Board game

L-R: Judging from those festive sweaters, no one is feeling more pumped about the holidays than the folks at United

Pump Supply! Service manager Ryan Aaron, construction administrator April Siddens, service technician Lon Turner

and service dispatcher Kandace Douglas wore their sweater bests to the company

party at the Arlington office. –mjm


Wool tide cheer

Building 5: ($30-$75 Million)Rogers-O’Brien Construction

SMU Moody Coliseum

Building 4: ($10-$30 Million)Adolfson & Peterson ConstructionKDC-NBC Universal Studios DFW

Specialty Construction (any amount)AUI Contractors

JFK Tribute & General Worth Square

Interior Finish-Out 2: ($500K-$2 Million)T&G Constructors

Stonebriar Country Club

Health Care 3 (Over $30 Million)MEDCO Construction LLC

New Patient Bed Tower and Expansion

continued from Page 5 — Leading by example

L-R: Atlas Plumbing’s Ben Friedman and Tommy Thompson of ACIS at National Wholesale Supply are ready to get to the meat of the matter! The 5th annual National

Wholesale Supply and Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC) barbecue was held Nov. 6 benefitting the North Texas Food Bank. –mjm

Meat and greetSubmitted to Construction News


Construction Forecast

The Lone Star State is a leader in job creation, among other things

Anirban Basu, Chief EconomistAssociated Builders and ContractorsWashington, D.C.

We are now in the sixth year of economic recovery and the U.S. economy finally looks like it is expand-

ing with conviction. The winter of early-2014 was brutal, robbing the U.S. economy of the momentum it enjoyed during the final six months of 2013. But the nation’s economy rebounded nicely as the final snows melted, particu-larly in the form of expanding business investment. Construction projects that were delayed by the harsh winter are now underway, auto sales are surging, the nation sup-ports 2.734 million more jobs than it did a year ago, and for the first time in six years, unemployment has fallen below 6 percent.

The quality of jobs being added has improved of late as well, with more mid-dle-income jobs being produced in con-struction, manufacturing, energy, profes-sional services and IT. After shrinking dur-ing the first quarter, the U.S. economy bounced back with a robust 4.6 percent annualized performance during the sec-ond. Third quarter growth stood at 3.9 percent on an annualized basis and the year’s final quarter should be decent. The most recent International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth projection for the U.S. from 1.7 to 2.2 percent for 2014, par-ticularly impressive given the fact the economy spent the first three months of the year shrinking. What does all of this mean? Associ-ated Builders and Contractors believes that the U.S. economy is approaching the peak of its business cycle. We are now in a period in which the economy is gaining momentum while the Federal Reserve acts as if that’s not occurring, and there-fore is expected to maintain low short-term interest rates well into 2015. Keep in mind that many companies have managed to grow profits in recent years through aggressive cost-cutting measures. Even in the presence of a more active mergers and acquisitions market, that can only continue for so long. To

grow earnings, businesses will increas-ingly have to bulk up top-line revenues, which implies faster capital spending and inventory accumulation. For residents of the Lone Star State, however, the economic numbers were headed in the right direction long before the remainder of the country. Already a job creator while the rest of the U.S. was struggling to stop the economic bleed-ing, Texas was the economic outlier that quickly shrugged off the lingering ef-fects of the 2008 financial crisis. Looking ahead – 2015 will be good for Texas So as the rest of the country finally gets back onto its economic feet, what’s in store for Texas? There are reasons to believe that the Lone Star State’s economy will face some new headwinds even as the U.S. econo-my settles into a period of relative prog-ress. Consumers, who represent 70 per-cent of the nation’s economy, have be-come far more confident of late, in part because of falling oil and gas prices. Most of America benefits from cheaper fuel, but Texas is easily the nation’s largest oil producer, and the impact of falling oil and gas prices on the Texas economy re-mains unknown.

Presuming that oil production at least holds its own, Texas’ economy should be in for a terrific year in 2015. By October 2014, the state’s unemployment rate had declined to 5.1 percent, a 1.1 per-cent decline from the same period one year prior and 0.7 percent below the na-tional average. Among the state’s 25 statistical ar-eas, nine recorded unemployment rates of 4 percent or lower recently, with un-employment rates of 2.5 percent and 3 percent in Midland and Odessa, respec-tively. The state’s major metropolitan areas all posted unemployment rates below 5 percent as well (Houston, 4.7 percent; Dallas, 4.8 percent; Austin, 4 percent; and San Antonio, 4.5 percent). Over the past 12 months for which data are available, Houston has created 120,000 jobs (an increase of 4.3 percent), Dallas roughly 112,000 (3.6 percent), and Austin has added more than 29,000 (3.4 percent). Overall, the state added 436,700 jobs over a recent twelve-month period, a 3.9 percent increase from the year before and roughly double the national rate. Demand for industrial construction in Houston is surging as well. Total net absorption of industrial space totaled more than 2.6 million square feet during the third quarter of 2014 alone, with the industrial vacancy rate sliding to 5.4 per-cent. Over the first three quarters of 2014, net absorption exceeded 5.8 million square feet. The region presently has more than 6 million square feet of indus-trial space under construction. While en-ergy production still drives a significant portion of Houston’s economic expan-sion, the city also acts as a transportation hub for its region, with more steel being shipped through the Port of Houston Au-thority in July 2014 than in any other month since 2008. With oil prices falling recently, it is conceivable that some of the edge will

be taken off the Texas economy over the near-term. A few months ago, several government and private reports indicat-ed that it would take a further drop of $10 or $20 a barrel, to as low as $60 a barrel, to slow energy production even modest-ly. Oil presently sits below $60 per barrel, though that price could rise next year due to the onset of the driving season or other factors. While lower prices mean that taxes and royalties on oil production will de-cline, potentially impacting the finances of oil producing states like Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma and North Dakota, current lev-els of output are likely to be sustained in the shale fields of America in 2015. The U.S. Energy Department recently report-ed that only 4 percent of shale-derived oil production in North Dakota, Texas and other states required an oil price above $80 dollars a barrel for producers to break even on their investments. Therefore, the dip in oil prices should not affect the majority of production across the U.S., and in particular, Texas. Moreover, while low oil prices nega-tively impact some, they represent a boon for the majority. Texas’ drivers, whether commuters or truckers, stand to benefit next year as do consumers. Manufactur-ers are also a beneficiary of cheaper en-ergy, which is important because Texas is home to the second largest number of manufacturing positions in America. Correspondingly, even if oil produc-tion slows more in Texas than is expect-ed, there are other segments that are po-sitioned to more than compensate for the associated loss in construction vol-ume, including both manufacturing and commercial segments. Leading indica-tors also indicate that all of the state’s major metropolitan areas, including Aus-tin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio ap-pear positioned for meaningful growth in nonresidential construction spending next year.

“A great year” aheadKevin Butler, PresidentMerrick Butler, Vice PresidentButler & Butler ConstructionLancaster, TX

What markets do you expect your company and industry to see an increase in over the course

of 2015? Kevin: As far as the forecast from the bids com-

ing out, I see a lot of educational, retail – there’s a little bit of everything going on right now. 2015 looks to be a great year. Merrick: I would say schools, federal jobs and airports. We cover a mixture of them all; we’re diverse. I think there is going to be a considerable increase over what we were doing in revenue for the past few years. This will be our greatest year.

What do you foresee as the biggest challenge your company and others like it in the industry will face in 2015? Kevin: One, a labor shortage, and two, getting materials on time; with so many projects going on, the lead times on materials are exceeding job sched-ules, they’re getting pushed back further and further, especially specialty items. Merrick: It will be personnel, finding qualified people as the industry has bounced back so rapidly. People who filled those positions before in the down-turn have gone to other places. Now we’re flooded with projects, and there are more projects than there are people. Finding people – qualified people – is the challenge, as well maintaining job sched-

ules due to the increase in work that has been presented.

What do you think will be different for your company and the industry in 2015 compare to the previous year? Kevin: 2014 was a great year for us and a great year for the economy, so I hope not too much will change. I hope that there’s an increase in opportunities there, and I think there will be. Merrick: I would say the increased revenue and the potential revenue that we stand to capitalize on based on an in-crease in workflow is going to be great for our company. It will give us the capital we need to reorganize the structure and to stand on more firm ground.

Is there anything that might present a challenge unique to the new year? Kevin: Laws; there’s an election com-ing up. Immigration is probably one of the biggest issues that could affect our industry. Merrick: As new laws are passed, whatever those laws encompass could affect us. There are a lot of things going on with immigration, so that could be a factor.

What are your company’s plans for 2015? Kevin: We’re actually trying to grow our office; we need to add a couple of more project managers and estimators because we want to make sure we cover everything we need to cover. We also will be showing the value of our company to potential clients – [general contractors] and owners – to grow our company in that capacity. Merrick: We want to be one of the elite masonry companies out there. For us to do that, we’ll be doing some in-house strategizing. With the increased workflow and profitability, we’ll be able to do that. We’ll be able to train more per-sonnel and be able to retain the same core people for longer periods of time. The problem until this time has been the high turnover rate, so we want to mini-mize that.

What is the most important take-away or lesson you’ve learned in the past year? Kevin: In the past year, I’d say the most important take-away would be to manage what you have going on. Don’t overstep your bounds, just stay in your lane and be in a comfortable position. There are a lot of opportunities out there, but make sure you can handle those op-portunities as you take them on. Also, just take care of your people; your peo-ple are on your front line. They make the engine work, so make sure you have qualified people and take care of them as your company grows in the direction you want it to grow in. Merrick: Be patient. When you have a lot of opportunities coming in, you can inundate yourself. You have to know where your balance point is. You don’t want to exceed that with employees, payrolls, job schedules and all the factors that play into trying to perform a project. When we perform a project, we want it to have our signature on it, to put the quali-ty into it. We do that by maintaining our balance point. Brothers and co-owners Kevin & Mer-rick Butler reincorporated Butler & Butler Construction, a family business for more than 30 years, in 2006. The company, regis-tered as a general contractor in cities throughout the Metroplex specializes in commercial masonry with a focus on brick, block and stone. –mjm


Construction Forecast

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2015Schedule

Construction Safety

What shape will the frame take?

Neilesh Verma, PresidentGalaxy BuildersSan Antonio, TX

With ongoing labor issues and economic factors up in the air, Neilesh Verma, president of Galaxy Build-

ers, shared some thoughts on how the future might be framed as the industry builds up again, particularly regarding multifamily projects.

What markets do you expect Galaxy Builders and the industry will see in-crease over the course of 2015? The multifamily industry will contin-ue to remain strong in 2015. Individuals continue to be challenged with the pro-cess of getting approved for single-fami-ly home loans due to tightened credit re-quirements. People need to live some-where and multi-family has become the biggest beneficiary of such.

What do you foresee as the biggest challenges your company and others like it in the industry will face in 2015? And how does Galaxy plan to address or overcome this challenge? The availability of skilled labor con-tinues to be the greatest challenge to our industry today. There is no short-term fix to this problem, as many in the labor

force left during the recession and have not returned. The solution is to make a dedicated effort to promote students in trade schools. Show them that they have a future in our industry, provided with opportunities through internships and scholarships. Another challenge is the continued rise in construction costs. At some point, these costs will no longer be feasible for the developments to make sense. When interest rates rise, and I suspect they will, we will truly be tested in how creative we can be to make the numbers work. Are there any potential wild cards, or variables, that you think might be a factor in the construction industry and economy in 2015? How could they affect the rebounding climate? It will be interesting to see how the

sharp decline in oil prices will impact our industry. We are all connected one way or another, so the impact to us will surely be felt. What do you think will be different for Galaxy and the industry in 2015 from 2014? That is what is exciting about this business. There is always something new to work through on the horizon. The Af-fordable Healthcare Act, Immigration Re-form, pressures from the Fed to raise in-terest rates and the upcoming 2016 presi-dential election are some of the issues that we will have to watch closely as we position ourselves into 2015 and beyond.

What are Galaxy’s plans for 2015? How does the outlook for 2015 seem as compared with 2014? The outlook for 2015 is bullish, with anticipated growth in revenues from 2014 to 2015. We have a pipeline of proj-ects that are strong, supported with a backlog that is healthier than we have seen in the last few years. We have work statewide, all of which is in multifamily. How would you sum up the last five years for business at Galaxy, and what would you predict for the next five years? In the last five years, we have seen

how important it is to operate your busi-ness conservatively by thinking with your head and not your heart. We braced our-selves for impact when opportunities were not as readily available as they are today. I consider us one of the fortunate ones to stand the test of time. We are certainly on an upward trend; however, I believe you are always in the first year of a five-year plan. Only time will tell and market conditions will dictate how the next five years are. For now, we have to be willing not to bite off more than we can chew.

What is the most important takeaway you’ve learned in this past year? Great question! This has arguably been the busiest year many of us have had to be a part of. With that, I will defer to answer this until the end of the year when I take appropriate time to reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and how we can be better in 2015.

Established in San Antonio in 1991 by Arun Verma, Galaxy Builders specializes in multifamily, institutional and governmen-tal projects. Arun’s son, Neilesh, started in the company in 2005 as director of business development and marketing and took on his current role as president in 2012. –mh

2015 big year in Houston

Brad Flack, PresidentStorm-Tex ServicesSpring, TX

What is your opinion about the current state of the Houston construction industry?

I think that the current schedule of construction activi-ty in Houston is growing at what appears to be a more sustainable rate than in 2006-2008.

I also think that there are more green infrastructure and low impact develop-ments, which are better for long-term water usage, as well. We have grown by over 25 percent this year in new clients. We have been successful in getting people the help they needed in their construction, post-construction and in-dustrial storm water permit needs. We recently opened an office in Cen-tral Texas to help clients out there keep up with the changing regulations.

What do you think is on the horizon for the Houston construction industry in 2015? I think 2015 is already shaping up to be a big year for construction in Houston.

Why do you think so? I have had some GC’s telling me they were booked up through the end of the year already and having to turn away work or face expanding their current op-erations.

That tells me that the near future is bright for construction in Houston!

How do you stay up-to-date in your in-dustry? I attend several conferences around the nation to stay up-to-date on my in-dustry. I pick up a lot of information at these conferences. The other way I stay up-to-date is I read several industry publications and I read emails from the Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) and the State of Texas on new changes. I have a great relationship with the city inspectors and city engineers. They keep me abreast of things coming down the pipeline. Why do you enjoy what you do today? My favorite part about my job is helping and interacting with the people. Since this type of work is a legal re-quirement with the county or state, folks are required to do this.

I want to help them along the way. It is very rewarding.

What advice would you give a young person who wants to work in the con-struction industry in 2015? If a young person wants to work in the construction industry in 2015, I’d say jump right in and start doing it. Get good job training and learn as you go!

Brad Flack has been nominated for a 2015 TCEQ Texas Environmental Excellence Award and awarded the 2015 International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Young Professional of the Year Award. He is now Re-gion 6 chapter president for EnviroCert Inter-national and president of the South Central chapter of the IECA, Co-Chair of the Storm-water Management Track for Region 1 IECA Education Committee, TCEQ Enviromentor, TCEQ Small Business and Government Assis-tance Committee for Houston Region, Certi-fied Erosion, Sediment and Storm Water In-spector (CESSWI) Instructor and Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control CPESC Instructor-In-Training. –ab


Round-UpJQ Infrastructure (JQi) has recruited Jerry W. Snead II, PE, as an associate to support the com-pany’s water and wastewater proj-ects. Snead served as past president of the American Water Works Association’s North Central Texas Chapter and currently serves on the state board of the AWWA. Snead earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Sci-ence degrees in civil engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

After four years of overseeing the $100 million Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas Capital Im-provement program in Eagle Pass, Luis Galnares has re-turned to Fort Worth as project executive for Yates Construction’s North Texas Divi-sion. Galnares, who is a Certified Profes-sional Estimator and LEED Accredited Pro-fessional BD+C, brings more than 25 years of progressive construction and program management experience to his role.

Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproof-ing announced the following:Bill Lawson has been promoted to vice president of roofing operations for all Chamberlin markets. Having joined the company 17 years ago as a roofing mechanic, he has natural leadership skills and ex-tensive knowledge of commercial roof-ing installations.T.R. Mayfield has been promoted to vice president of roof estimating ser-vices for all Cham-berlin markets. With the company for 14 years now, he was previously a roofing estimating manager and has roofing sys-tem expertise and commitment to pro-viding clear and detailed cost estimates.

Douglas Dover joins Stantec’s Pla-no office as a de-signer in the firm’s buildings practice. Dover has 28 years of experience in the architecture profes-sion with a focus on education design, and served as an ad-junct professor in interior design at the University of North Texas School of Visual Arts and Design.

Raba Kistner Infrastructure Inc. an-nounces the following additions: Russel W. Lenz, PE, recently joined as chief operating offi-cer and vice presi-dent. Lenz brings 34 years of experi-ence to his new role, having served in executive leader-ship positions within TxDOT and most recently as director of Heavy, Municipal and Utilities Divisions for Associated General Contractors of Texas.Kevin F. Milner, PE, has been hired to serve as associate engineer I in the company’s Dallas office. Milner, who has 15 years of con-struction manage-ment and quality assurance experience, will assist in pro-viding independent quality assurance for Pegasus Link Constructors and the Texas Department of Transportation for the construction of the Dallas “Horse-shoe” project.Justin W. Nipp, PE, recently joined in Dallas as a Project Manager I. Nipp’s main focus in his new role is work on the City of Kaufman SH 34 Pass-Through Toll project. Nipp, who is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, brings more than eight years of experi-ence to the team.

Balfour Beatty Construction recently announced the following additions:Brandi Case joins the company as lead estimator. Bringing eight years of experience to her role, Case will pre-pare sections of schematic, design development and construction docu-ment estimates for the special projects group.Kevin Parr joins the company as lead es-timator in the spe-cial projects group. Parr brings 15 years of experience to his position with an ex-pertise in finish outs. Parr will pre-pare and coordinate all work associated with creating estimates.

SubmissionsThis is a section for brief company

announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of charge

as space allows. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Email with “Round-Up” in the subject

line (w/digital photo, if available)by the 15th of any month, for the

next month’s issue to:

[email protected]

Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

AIA - DallasAmerican Institute of Architects

Jan. 20: AIA/TEXO Economic Forecast, 4pm

AIA - Fort WorthAmerican Institute of Architects

Jan. 24: Awards Ceremony, Renzo Piano, Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, 10am

ASA North TexasAmerican Subcontractors Association

Jan. 22: Membership luncheon, Las Coli-nas Country Club, 11am registration.Jan. 28: Walk on the Capitol, Washington D.C. Call the ASA - NT office at (817) 640-8275 for more information

CFMAConstruction Financial Mgmt Assn.

Jan. 15: TEXO/CFMA Education Confer-ence, TEXO Dallas Conference Center, 11111 N. Stemmons Frwy., Dallas, 7:30am

NAWIC - DallasNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Jan. 19: Monthly dinner meeting, MCM Elegante Hotel, 2330 W. Northwest High-way, Dallas, 5pm

NTRCAN. Tx Roofing Contractors Assn.

Jan. 14: Lunch and Learn, Debbie Sar-done: “Creating a Business that Runs Without You,” International Bowling Mu-seum Arlington, 621 Six Flags Drive, Ar-lington, 11:30am

PHCC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

Jan. 20: Lunch meeting, Brookhaven Country Club, 3333 Golfing Green Drive, Dallas, 11:30am

SAMSubcontractors Assn. of the Metroplex

Jan. 8: Dinner Meeting, MCM Elegante Hotel, 2330 W. Northwest Highway, Dal-las

TEXOThe Construction Association

Jan. 15: TEXO/CFMA Education Confer-ence, TEXO Dallas Conference Center, 11111 N. Stemmons Frwy., Dallas, 7:30am.Jan. 20: AIA/TEXO Economic Forecast, 4pm

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America’s North Texas chapter had a blast gathering Toys for Tots donations. The donations were collected at ACCA-NTX’s Holiday

Membership Appreciation BBQ and Toy Drive Dec. 16 in Arlington. –mjm


Cool and collectedGeneral contracting and construction management firm Skiles Group in Dal-las recently hired Keyan Zandy as the construction company’s director of operations. Zan-dy previously served as a project manager at Linbeck Group and earned a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from Texas A&M University in College Station.


continued from Page 1 — Together as one

continued from Page 1 — Building blocks

continued from Page 1 — Lucky seven

panies share coupled with their compati-ble visions made The Wallace Group an ideal partner for his firm’s growth. He plans for the acquisition to be a first step

L-R: Regional Hispanic Contractors Association (RHCA) President John Martinez presents Aguirre Roden’s Pedro Aguirre and Innovation Mechanical’s Mike Treviño Sr. with

Lifetime Achievement in Construction Awards, assisted by Acme Brick’s Ben Muro, RHCA chairman of the board. The awards were presented Dec. 17 at the association’s holiday event,

“A Conversation with the Wisemen,” at Dallas’ Latino Cultural Center. –mjm


Lifetime of wisdom

Terry Ford is a journeyman electrician for Zomac Electric in Fort Worth, but conducts business throughout the Metroplex, including this Dallas site. –mjm

Plugged inConstruction News ON LOCATION

“It’s set on a recyclable system,” he explains. “The tank underground pushes thousands of gallons of recycled water up through the features.” Molinar credits Cruz Electric’s Jesus Cruz with installing an efficient electrical system with guests’ safety in mind. He also applauds Griggs during their first-ever collaboration for his ability to trans-form a blank slate of land into a fantasy world. “He’s a great architect; he brought a different aspect of creativity to the table with his designs,” he says. “My absolute favorite feature out there is the alligator that is made out of LEGO®s. I think that’s what makes the project so unique is how much creativity comes in building these features out of LEGO®s! It’s every kid’s dream to see something like that.”

Since the attraction’s opening at the end of August, Molinar can tell by follow-ing social media that Pirate Beach is a splash with the guests. “We’ve had a good response,” Mo-linar says. “If you look at (visitors’) photos and hashtags on Instagram, everyone is enjoying it. It’s a pretty successful proj-ect!” Molinar says he was “ecstatic” to be a part of the project, and plans to bring three new visitors along with him to ex-perience it. “I have triplet baby boys that are just turning 1 year of age, and it will be awe-some to show them that this is something I helped build!” Fort Worth general contractor Superior Builders® LLC specializes in commercial re-modeling and additions. –mjm

our competitors are off the road or out of the way, so we offer our customers some-thing that would allow them to get right off the freeway, get what they need and get back to the job site. That will improve their productivity on a daily basis. “The reaction has been very positive. We’ve had a lot of great response both from our manufacturing partners as well

as our customers. I feel like the Dallas lo-cation is another piece of the puzzle that will allow us to continue to grow and partner with our customers on both a lo-cal and a statewide level.” Action Gypsum Supply is a Texas dry-wall distributor with seven offices through-out the state. –mjm

in CP&Y’s long-term expansion plan. Established in 1980, CP&Y delivers solu-tions to a wide range of engineering proj-ects. –mjm

Turning the Page

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Building a hogpenSubmitted to Construction News

L-R: Alliance Architect’s senior

vice president Carlos DeSaracho,

Texas Harley dealership owner

Adam Smith and Bob Moore

Construction executive vice president Kyle

Whitesell got their motors running

at the Nov. 12 groundbreaking

ceremony for Smith’s new

retail store in Bedford. The

71,000-sf facility will consolidate the dealership’s three separate

buildings into one two-story building and expand it by 20,000 sf. –mjm

Some lucky field employees recently found new boots in their stockings. While many employers struggle

to find the perfect holiday gift for their employees, Trinity Drywall & Plastering Systems Inc. thought outside the shoe-box and came up with just the thing for their workers, who spend much of the day on their feet. “As a Christmas gift, and with the help of our key vendors, we had Red Wing Boot Company come to our office and custom fit each of our field leader-ship team members,” Jeremy T. Darden, who works in the company’s estimating and business development, says. “They were asked to stand upright, hands down, with a relaxed posture on the foot board while the computer calculated all

Happy feet

Alfonso Sanchez, Celso Castillo and Jesus Aguilera find their perfect fit.

aspects of their feet - pressure points, length, width and arch size. Then the computer would determine which foot support insert and boot size was recom-mended.” “They were also given a choice of six styles to choose from,” Darden contin-ues. “Fortunately, Red Wing brought about 200 pairs of boots and was able to outfit about 90% of all the guys that day. Otherwise, [the boots] were ordered and received the following week.” Even workers who had to wait to scoot into their boots were grateful for the thoughtful present. “The men seemed genuinely happy about their gift and hopefully it will help them since they are on their feet all day!” Darden says. –mjm

Wing span

As an Air Force Academy graduate with a Bachelor’s degree encom-passing law, psychology and polit-

ical science and as a six-year Air Force veteran, Michael Gibbons would have been an asset to any company. But it was the construction industry that knew just how to signal him to its landing strip. “I ended up in the construction busi-ness because, when I got out of the Air Force, a construction company offered me the most money and I took it!” Gib-bons laughs. Three years after joining a large na-tional construction materials manufac-turer, he worked for a smaller business while earning an MBA with a specialty in real estate finance from Southern Meth-odist University. After quitting his job and setting off for a year to become the “world’s next big real estate developer,” the financial realities of supporting a family steered him to establish Architec-tural Systems Inc. in 1977. Thirty-seven years later, Gibbons ex-presses his astonishment – not that he ended up in the construction industry, but that he’s still in an industry at all! “I thought I was smart enough to be retired or rich by now, but I’m still work-ing!” he jokes. Still, Gibbons enjoys his work. “I like the variety of things, from be-ing in an office with an architect, show-ing him how to do things, to being on a

job site looking at a big hole in the ground, talking to the waterproofing subcontractor,” he says. Gibbons and his firm have won nu-merous awards, with the most recent honor bestowed by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which promotes green roofing throughout the world. When he’s not winning awards, he enjoys winning at Texas Hold ‘Em, spending time with his family and collecting custom handmade knives, an interest sparked by his days on the Air Force Academy’s Saber Drill Team. Michael Gibbons, FSCI, is owner and president of Architectural Systems Inc. in Dallas, which specializes in representing products and systems to the commercial construction industry. –mjm

Michael Gibbons came in for a landingin the construction industry.

Members of the National Association of Women in Construction’s Fort Worth chapter (NAWIC) were treated to a dance performance at their annual holiday party on Dec. 18. The Momentum Dance Company of Irving presented excerpts from the Nutcracker for the association at the Colonial Country Club, where members also collected more than

120 pounds of food to deliver to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. –mjm


A party with Momentum

A merry meetingSubmitted to Construction News

Did the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) engineer this visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus? Maybe so! The association’s Dallas chapter met the couple at its holiday

party, hosted in the upstairs ballroom of Maggiano’s Little Italy on Dec. 11 –mjm


The staff at Dallas architecture, engineering, construction services and program management firm Aguirre Roden brought their can-do spirit this holiday season! As

part of their “Holiday Challenge,” employees donated food items in both November and December to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. –mjm

Food chainSubmitted to Construction News

Rest for the reindeerSubmitted to Construction News

All Santa wants is a truck for Christmas! The Beck Group used their “pull” to make sure St. Nick didn’t miss his appearance at Mansfield’s Texas Hometown Holidays Parade on Dec. 6. Partnering up with Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, Beck transported Santa through

historic downtown Mansfield and gave the reindeer a break before their big day. –mjm

L-R: Muckleroy & Fall’s Zach Muckleroy, Site Barricades’ Ben Wallace and Jeff Schuessler, Fort Construction’s Matt Averitt and Eugene Warren and Muckleroy & Falls’

Winfield Crumley and Taylor Hale enjoy Site Barricades’ Dec. 3 open house. The event welcomed the construction industry to learn about Fort Worth’s newest traffic control and

barricade company. –mjm

Site to beholdSubmitted to Construction News

The news has a nose for BBQConstruction News ON LOCATION

The Construction News team at Construction News headquarters in San Antonio hosted a Christmas barbeque Dec. 19. L-R: Buddy Doebbler, publisher; Jim Reilly, sales; Cyndi

Wright, managing editor; Sue Johnson, production manager; Mary Hazlett, San Antonio editor; Kent Gerstner, sales – and barbeque cook! –mh

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News January 2015

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Transcript of Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News January 2015