Investing in the future Not too `Pharr` to rent Electric birthday

Transcription

Covering the Industry’s News
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CONSTRUCTION
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Volume 2
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Number 10
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OCTOBER 2014
Not too ‘Pharr’ to rent
Electric birthday
The guys from the Pharr office of Blue Line Rental were gearing up recently for the annual
Associated General Contractors Rio Grande Valley Chapter (AGC) fishing tournament.
L-R: Javiar Gomez, Rick Ruelas, Casey Cavazos and Javiar Ryan
Jack Gerdes is indulging in a longtime passion to restore a 1933 Ford Roadster.
B
lueLine Rental in Pharr, TX. may be
just one rental store out of 130 in
North America, but it’s going
strong.
Formerly known as Volvo Rents, the
company changed its name and identity
this summer. The new brand followed
the company’s transition to new ownership. Platinum Equity, a Los Angelesbased operations-focused private equity
firm, acquired the business from Volvo at
the end of January.
Outside sales representative Casey
Cavazos has been with the Pharr location since September 2011. He was invited to apply for the job after his state job
ended when funding dried up. He says
the roughly 15 employees at the deep
south Texas location are a close-knit
group.
“For the most past, we’ve all worked
together since 2011 or before,” he said.
“We know each other on a personal level.
We tend to help each other out.”
A recent employee outing to a local
bowling alley was a fun event.
“A couple of us were pretty good and
a couple were pretty horrible,” he laughs.
“You know the old saying: Don’t quit your
day job.”
Another recent day trip involved
hauling the company barbecue pit to
continued on Page 14
T
urning 75 on Aug. 15 has not slowed
Metro Electric Inc. founder Jack
Gerdes down much – he’s still coming into the office every day and is busy
restoring a 1933 Ford Roadster on the
side.
“I don’t know what to do when I’m
not working,” he says. “I got my work ethic from my dad – he never sat down.”
Gerdes founded Metro Electric in
McAllen 1973 – on July 4 actually.
“It was the great July 4th escapade,”
he laughs. “The first week was tremendous – then my brand new pickup truck
got stolen.”
Not to be daunted, Gerdes and his
wife, Margaret, now deceased, ran the
new shop in town by themselves.
“She worked right alongside me,” he
remembers. “She was also raising a
young family at the time.”
Gerdes got his start in the business
right out of high school in San Antonio,
working as an estimator for an electrical
contractor for 17 years.
“It was a family owned business and I
went as far as I could go,” he said. “I wanted a little more out of life than just working for somebody else.”
From those humble beginnings,
Metro Electric has grown to a current roster of 190 employees; before the 2008
recession, there were 250.
Investing in the future
I
t’s been said that a school is a building
that has four walls with tomorrow inside. So when the team at KJM Commercial Inc. of Corpus Christi undertook
the $1.5 million build of First Learning
Tree school in Rockport, they were investing in the future.
The major challenge of the build, according to project manager Patrick Kopecky, was the construction time frame.
The build took 185 days. Project supervisor was Robert Nunez.
“In order to open the Learning Tree
for the fall term, the facility had to completed and ready for the state licensing
inspection on a set date,” Kopecky says.
“That goal was accomplished, the center
passed inspection and opened as scheduled.”
What made this project unique, according to Kopecky, was the working relationship with the building’s owner, First
United Methodist Church of Rockport
and the architect for the project, Ferrell/
Brown & Associates Inc.
“This project was unique due to the
seamless working relationship of the
owner, architect and contractor,” he says.
“After bidding the project, the cost exceeded the owner’s budget. KJM Commercial presented value engineering
that was acceptable to the owner and
architect and met the desired budget.
“During construction, numerous
changes were made to accommodate
the needs and requirements of the owner. The architect was able to quickly provide the necessary documents and KJM
Commercial initiated them immediately.
Change order cost was approximately 1
percent of the contract amount.”
The new school is built with concrete slab on grade, wood framed exterior and interior walls, wood roof trusses
with wood deck and composition shinThe challenge of building First Learning Tree school was finishing in time
for the students fall term.
Page 2
South Texas Construction News • Oct 2014
Loving the Valley life
I
t’s a one-man show at Walker-Perez
Architectural Services in Brownsville
these days, and that’s just the way
owner Calvin Walker likes it.
Walker moved to the Rio Grande Valley straight out of college from his home
state of Louisiana. A buddy from college
called him and persuaded him to come
to Brownsville and give the firm, SHW
Group Inc. and the area, at least one year.
“I told him I know what is going to
happen,” Walker laughs. “I knew I was going to end up marrying a Mexican woman and living there the rest of my life.”
At the time, in 1967, SHW Group had
offices in Harlingen, Corpus Christi and
Brownsville. Walker worked for the group
for 30 years.
“I was partner in charge of the
Brownsville office from 1979-1997,” Walker says.
But starting in the 1980s, the firm began closing its offices in the Valley. Walker was offered a position in the Dallas office when the decision was made to close
its last South Texas office in Brownsville.
“I was willing to move to the Dallas
area,” he says, “but I realized I had spent
30 years here building my reputation.
The more I thought about it, the more I
realized I didn’t want to move.”
Calvin Walker has played a large part in
the redesign of the Brownsville library
and that work is continuing.
So he sold his ownership in SHW
Group, bought the buildings and kept
the same phone number and address.
“The clients were still having me
walk in the door,” Walker says. “The only
difference was the checks were made out
to Walker-Perez instead of SHW.”
The Perez in the name is Carlos Perez, a man who began working for SHW
pretty much straight out of high school.
He wasn’t an architect, but he had been
there even longer than Walker. Walker
asked Perez if he could use his name in
return for a share of profits, if there were
any. Perez, who retired about 5 years ago,
agreed.
After a few years of struggling with
the demands of running a business with
employees, Walker downsized and now
just hires whatever services he needs.
“The past 5-7 years I have focused on
doing work for the City of Brownsville,”
he says. He also handles governmental
work, police and fire and has had a hand
in the Brownsville library redesigns.
And that premonition about his life if
he moved to Brownsville? It all came true.
He married his first wife, Yolanda,
and the couple had two children – a
daughter, Elka and a son, Brian. Sadly,
Yolanda passed away from cancer in
1996.
His second wife, Marianela, and he
have a son, Calvin.
“I fell in love with the Latin culture,
the strength of the family,” Walker says.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have
married two beautiful women.” –cw
Construction News ON LOCATION
Safety services
Dora Brazan is ready to help everybody
get geared up for safety at SafetyPros
in Karnes City. –cw
South Texas
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
South Texas Editor: Cyndi Wright
[email protected]
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Page 3
That’s a 10
Rocky’s road
L-R: (back row) Oscar Pacheco; Alys Taylor; Robin White; Adam
Martinez; Sandy Lenz; Elisa Vasquez; (front row) Emilee Keith;
Robert Lopez, AIA; Francisco Lopez
(Inset) Laura Bennett runs the firm’s Corpus Christi office.
Isaac and Lynn Camacho are happy to celebrate 10 good years in business.
A
man his brother says was destined
to own his own business started
Camacho Demolition & Recycling
in August 2004. Now the company is celebrating 10 successful years.
“My brother has always wanted to
own his own business,” says Julian
Camacho, business manager
He’s talking about owners, Isaac and
Lynn Camacho, who began dating in the
eighth grade.
According to Julian, their father was
in the scrap business and even though he
passed away in 1976 while Isaac and Julian were small children, they still remembered.
Now the company that started as a
metals recycling business in Sinton with
one yard has expanded to two metal recycling yards (Sinton and Beeville) and
two demolition offices (Corpus Christi
and Edinburg) and has 70 employees.
Cash flow is good today, but it wasn’t
always that way.
“In the earliest days of the business,
Isaac and Lynn hired their first employee,
Rosendo Maldonado,” Julian relates.
“Isaac and Rosendo would load 40,000lbs
of short iron into scrap trailers by
hand. They performed all the demolition
projects on their own. At the end of the
week, Rosendo would get paid. On Monday, he was lending Isaac money to buy
more scrap as the company struggled to
get cash flow going.” Today, Rosendo is still employed
with Camacho and works at the Beeville
scrap metal yard. The company is active in its communities, sponsoring a barbecue team and
kids showing in area livestock shows.
“Lynn has made it a point to have
birthday cakes for employees, many
times baking them herself,” Julian says.
“She has done this since the company
started business. She likes to see the expressions on their faces.” –cw
A
s the founding principal and owner of Lopez Salas Architects, Robert “Rocky” Lopez finds it hard to
believe that the firm marked its 15th anniversary in early May. With a decade and
a half of history, the industry has changed
and Lopez Salas is growing.
With 10 people in the San Antonio
home office, Laura Bennett, a licensed
architect and a principal with the firm, is
now operating the Corpus Christi branch.
In Corpus, the firm’s work has included
jobs at Texas A&M and the Naval Air Station. Lopez Salas is also setting up an office in Austin, where they aim to have fulltime staff soon.
Over the course of his career, Lopez
observes that Building Information Modeling has changed the way they design
buildings and communicate those designs with those who will bid and build
them. When he first got out of school in
1985, Lopez, now 53, recalls doing manual drafting until computers slowly worked
their way into firms where everyone had
to train on them and then sign up for
Driving force
time to use them.
Coming up in the architectural industry doing private work, Lopez modeled his firm to do private work as well.
Estimating that 95 percent of the workload was private, with very few exceptions for many years, he says all of that
changed in 2009 when Lopez notes they
had to reinvent themselves. They turned
to the public sector, and hired a marketing director to help them pursue this new
market. Also, pursuit of other opportunities led the firm to healthcare, which took
off starting with a design study for a hospital in Sweetwater.
Additionally, Lopez Salas handles
K-12, higher ed, municipal/civic, commercial offices, retail, federal and religious
facilities. Since its inception in 1999, its
projects have included the City of San
Antonio Public Safety Headquarters, the
Emergency Operations Center at Brooks
City-Base, and Americus Diamond. They
also just started work on the Consolidated Rental Car (CONRAC) facility at San
Antonio International Airport. –mh
Gearing up
The Geo-Systems team took first place.
A
25-year tradition was celebrated at
Trophy Club Country Club on Sep. 8
as 167 golfers played two courses,
dined at the club and bid on items to raise
funds to benefit charity. To date, the Fire
Sprinkler Contractors Association of Texas’s (FSCAT) annual golf tournament has
raised more than $1.2 million for Texas
Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. –mjm
At 4-Star Hose & Supply’s new location in Kennedy, Evelyn Altamira, David Vasquez
and Brian Medina are gearing up to service the area’s needs. –cw
Specializing in Industrial Scrap Metal
& Container Service
Winners:
1st Place: Geo-Systems (score 52) – Kurt
M. Richter, Tiffany Richter, Luke Morrow,
Chris Degroot, David Oveson, John Fox
2nd Place: Lone Star Fire Sprinkler (score
52) – Steve Bennett, Brandon Blakenship,
Steve Cook, Larry Mathis, Ivan Sparkman,
Thomas Winingar
3rd Place: Automatic Fire Protection
(score 54) – John Begnaud, Paul Begnaud, Kat Cook, Ken Cook, Greg Mootes,
Marty Self
Straightest Drive (Hogan): Rachel Noblett,
Ameripipe Supply
We buy Aluminum, Brass, Copper, Iron, Stainless Steel,
Steel, Brass & Radiators
Closest to the Pin: Luke Morrow,
EPAC Sales and Service
2300 Frio City Rd.
210-927-2727
www.monterreyiron.com
Page 4
Osvaldo Sosa
President
Harlingen Glass & Mirror
Company Inc.
Harlingen, Tx
O
svaldo Sosa says he isn’t a history
buff per se, but one of his favorite
things to do is jump in the car and
travel the back roads of Texas – looking
for small communities and towns that
have an interesting history.
He is lucky that his wife Bettye is just
as spontaneous.
“Some of these little towns are really
interesting,” he says. “While traveling
back and forth from jobs in Laredo, I used
to just bypass them. We’ve found it very
interesting to go in and see the history.”
He says when it gets dark, they find a
room and start again the next morning –
letting the wind blow them where it may.
What is your history?
I was named after my mother’s
grandfather. My mother came from a
small community in Nuevo Leon. She was
a teacher there before she migrated to
the U.S.
My father was from Tampico, Mexico.
In the U.S., he worked in a canvass company, they made awnings, bags.
My mother was a seamstress in the
U.S. She worked for a local cleaners that
did alterations. She also made curtains.
The curtains in my house were made by
her.
What was your upbringing like?
I was born and raised in Harlingen. I
wasn’t really athletic in high school, I was
more the kid who was skipping school.
I worked as a busboy at the country
club during high school.
My parents divorced and my mother
raised us. She taught us to work hard, be
honest and save for a rainy day. She always said, “It’s not how you earn the
money, it’s how you spend it.”
We are all successful. My brother is in
the banking business in Austin, my sister
is a middle school teacher and my other
sister is an obstetrician-gynecologist.
What did you do after high school?
I attended Texas State Technical College and took classes in accounting,
math, real estate and computers.
After that, I moved to Illinois where I
have family. My aunt and uncle both
worked for Caterpillar and they told me
they could probably get me a job.
I was married to my first wife and we
had a daughter. I stayed there five years.
(Laughs) The winter of 1977 was brutal so
we moved back to Harlingen.
What happened when you moved
back to Texas?
I started working a part-time job repairing and renovating an old building
and turning it into a dry cleaners. It was
supposed to be a four to five months job,
but it lasted two years. It was just me, the
owner’s son and another fellow. There
was a lot to be done. In 1980, that job
ended.
I went out looking for work and
walked into this little glass shop, Harlingen Glass Company Inc. I talked to the
owner, Claudio Gonzales. He had worked
for PPG Industries for 25 years and when
they closed, he opened his own glass
shop in 1978.
Was Mr. Gonzales a mentor for you?
Yes. He hired me and I started working that next Monday. That was April
1980. The business was located in what
used to be a small, two-stall gas station.
I had no glass experience at all. At
Caterpillar, I was a welder. At the renovation, I was a carpenter.
But I started to learn and I learned it
quick. I was doing auto glass, mirrors,
shower doors, etc.
About six months later, he comes
over and talks to me and asks if I would
like to work in the office. I told him I had
never done it before, but I never shied
away from anything.
That Monday, I walked in and there
was no secretary. He had told me there
would be a secretary to help me for a
week.
That same day he had to run errands
and he left me alone at the office. A lady
and her daughter came in and I was selling her some glass over the counter.
The phone rang and I picked it up
and kept saying, “Hello? Hello?”
The customer had to show me how
to answer the phone by pushing the
blinking button.
Ha ha! You were really learning on the
job!
Yes, I was.
Later on, I started learning the glass
business – estimating small jobs, residential, mirrors, shelf drawers and more.
We moved into our present location
in 1982.
Throughout the years, I learned everything except the administration of
the whole company and the books.
We managed lots of projects from
mom and pop stores all the way up to 14
story condos.
What happened next?
In 2000, I had been there 20 years. I
didn’t see myself getting any higher up
the ladder. That year, I decided to do
something different – I guess it was a
mid-life crisis.
I decided I was going to do real estate. I went back to TSTC to get my real
estate license.
I got it and left the glass business in
2000 and went off to sell real estate.
The first year was hard, the following
year things were looking better. Then
Claudio decided to sell the company.
He comes into my office, but gave
the listing to the broker, not me, so the
broker lists the property and equipment,
inventory.
I actively started looking for a buyer.
After awhile, my family and friends start-
Several employees have been with Osvaldo Sosa (far right) since 2003 when he opened as
Harlingen Glass & Mirror, including, L-R: David Vidales, Bene Diaz, Ray Soliz and Elena Huerta.
ed saying, “You know the business, why
don’t you buy it?”
So I got some money together and
made an offer. After some negotiating,
we reached an agreement.
On Dec. 31, 2002, we closed the deal
and while we were in the process, I incorporated my own name: Harlingen Glass &
Mirror Company Inc.
I didn’t buy his company, just the real
estate, furniture, inventory and a couple
of jobs. Jan. 1, 2003 was the official first
day of business.
(Laughing) I like to tell people that
because I was in the real estate business
when I bought this company, I also made
a commission on the side.
Tell me about your family.
I have four daughters, two biological,
one adopted and one I raised – Sandra,
Andrea, Veronica and Lizette. The oldest
one is 44 and the youngest is 27. They
were far enough apart in age that it
wasn’t really a challenge raising four
daughters.
When they were growing up we
used to go camping in the hill country
and Big Bend, go to Schlitterbahn and go
fishing down here.
I have seven grandchildren, two girls
and five boys. We get to see them about
once a month.
What do you do for fun?
We like to travel around the state of
Texas. We like to find spots off the beaten
path, take detours and go to estate sales.
We have a couple of houses full of
things we have bought at estate sales.
Not too long ago, we bought a second house in Arroyo, Texas. We furnished
that with a lot of stuff from estate sales.
When we decide to go, we just jump
in the car and go. Take a week off and
drive. Not long ago, we went up the
coast. Places like Corpus Christi, Port
Aransas, Rockport, Fulton and Gonzales.
We took two ferries, one in Port Aransas
and one in Galveston.
We were surprised by the leaning
trees in Rockport. We toured some old
house. We also went to Goose Island to
the “big tree.”
We also like to take the train. A long
time ago, we took a train trip in Mexico.
Besides your stint in Illinois, have you
ever traveled outside of Texas?
When I was a teen, we would go up
north and work the fields – Delaware,
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and California. I
spent some time in a farming community named Wellesley, south of San Francisco and also in Pasadena, Calif.
Tell me about your employees.
We’ve enjoyed a lot of success. We’ve
had a lot of repeat customers. Everything
worked out smoothly for us.
All of the employees stayed when I
bought the company. Matter of fact,
there are a handful that are still with me.
We are currently at 16 employees.
We do a company Christmas party
every year and we give presents to each
other’s kids.
There is an incentive program for
workplace safety that translates into a
bonus right before Christmas. We strive
for safety in the workplace.
I tell my employees, “I’d rather share
the money with you than the insurance
company.”
They help me maintain a good work
environment here. They look forward to
their bonus.
How’s business?
Our main business is commercial –
schools, hospitals, banks, shopping centers – it’s about 90%. Auto glass, residential and over-the-counter sales make up
the rest.
This year and last year were a lot better, but still not back to pre-2008. We do
have a backlog and some nice jobs coming up. One of our jobs was over a $1M
project for us.
We do work down here in the valley
mostly, but sometimes travel to Laredo,
San Antonio and Corpus Christi. We don’t
advertise there, it’s mostly word of
mouth from previous customers and
general contractors we do business with.
We don’t look for work outside of
our area. Sometimes a GC will go up
there - we’ll follow them or they take us
with them.
One of the successes we have had is
working hand in hand with the general
contractor to solve issues. If there is a
problem, we don’t shy away from it - we
go back and fix it.
I learned that from the previous owner, Claudio, and its worked for us. –cw
Page 5
Using key performance
indicators to improve results
Don’t be caught unaware!
Liability insurance audit
Byron Hebert, CPA, CTR Director
Entrepreneurial Advisory
PKF
Houston, TX
Ally Carter, Commercial Risk Management
The Nitsche Group
Austin, TX
I
f you are a football fan as I am, and if you are as old as
I am, you may remember football games 35 years ago
had only a few key indicators to track a team’s performance. Mostly the tracking consisted of the score at the
end of each quarter. Maybe there was an occasional yards rushing statistic for a notable running back or quarterback. Then Monday Night Football was introduced to
Howard Cosell. Howard was a New York lawyer who gained notoriety by announcing
heavyweight boxing fights and more specifically interviews with Muhammad Ali. Not
only was Howard controversial, he had numbers to back up his commentary.
Today, you cannot watch a football
game without being inundated with statistics about the individual players, the
entire offense, defense, and special
teams. One thing is for sure, the team
with the best overall statistics wins the
game.
Business is much like the football
team playing hard every Monday night
to entertain while earning their paycheck. You can be sure they are tracking
performance along with the media.
You may have previously heard the
phrase KPI. It stands for Key Performance
Indicators. Every business and employee
has KPIs. In the long run, the company
that wins the game is the one which
tracks and improves their KPIs on a regular basis.
How do you start tracking KPIs in
your business? The key is to focus on
particular areas of concern. Try not to
track too many indicators in the beginning. First, identify the area of your business that you feel has the most possibility for improvement; for example, marketing. Much like the football games
years ago, you may only be tracking
gross revenue each quarter. But what is
that really telling you? How are you obtaining the growth you have seen or,
more importantly, what is causing any
decline?
To answer that question, spend some
time with your management team. Hold a
brainstorming session and agree on the
top two or three items contributing to
your success or decline in sales. Some
items you might identify are sales calls per
day, phone calls per day, sales by region,
etc. Once you agree on the KPIs to be
tracked; you can determine who tracks
the measurement and distributes the information on a daily or weekly basis.
One of the limiting paradigms you
need to discuss with your management
team is the concept of revenue minus expenses equals profit. Obviously from a
pure accounting standpoint this is the
case. However, this concept is limiting
and one dimensional. Discuss and enter-
tain the concept of people times process
equals profit. Now, consider the possibilities this concept presents to you.
Sales now becomes a function of ydollars being derived from x-number of
sales calls. Therefore, if x-number of sales
calls produces y-dollars of sales then an
increase of one more sales call per salesperson per day should produce what
amount of additional sales per month?
REVENUE – EXPENSES
= PROFIT
VS
PEOPLE X PROCESS
= PROFIT
If sales is a function of x-number of
customers being sold a product or service each month at an average price of y,
then it would stand to reason the average price of y+$1 would produce how
much more sales? I think you get the
concept.
KPIs will help you track and improve
these types of concepts and will have a
dramatic and instant impact on your
business.
As the owner/manager of your own
business, there is a key benefit and incentive for you to start tracking your KPIs on
a consistent basis. Over time you will be
able to manage and predict your company’s financial performance by tracking
the KPIs of your organization.
Now imagine you are on the golf
course, it’s Friday afternoon and you get
an updated KPI report on your iPhone.
You open it up and see that all of your
KPIs are moving nicely in the right direction. It won’t bother you at all that you
just put that brand new $4 golf ball in the
middle of the lake!
Based in Houston, PKF Texas CPAs
and Advisors is dedicated to the growth of
middle market construction companies and
other service/product related businesses in
the energy economy. Visit PKFTexas.com for
more information.
N
obody likes to face unplanned expenses. And a liability premium audit can come as an expensive surprise, especially if you have not experienced one for several years. Many business owners are familiar with Workers Compensation premium audits, but may have forgotten that Liability Insurance can also be subject to audit. Although insurance companies have the right to conduct these audits annually, they may not go through the
expense of an audit during times of economic down swings.
As the economy recovers and business
activity increases, insurance companies
are more likely to exercise their right to
do an annual liability premium audit. So
it’s important to keep audits in mind, especially how they work, what you will
need, and ways to avoid costly surprises.
What policies are subject to premium
audit?
Commercial General Liability (CGL)
coverage, either as a stand-alone policy
or part of a Package policy, is subject to
premium audit. A notable exception is
the Business Owners Policy (BOP) which
is generally not subject to audit. Your
policy will declare in the “Conditions” if it
is subject to premium audit.
What is the purpose of a premium
audit?
The initial liability premium charged
at the beginning of a policy term is a deposit only based on an estimate of the
rating basis (usually total payroll or receipts/sales) for the current policy year.
The insurance company may perform a
premium audit to ensure that you only
pay a premium based on your actual risk
exposure. An accurate audit at the end of
the policy term will adjust your final premium up or down when reconciled
against the initial premium deposit.
An expensive surprise to avoid!
If it has been several years since your
last liability premium audit, you may discover that you have been inadvertently
under-reporting your rating basis (this is
a very common occurrence when markets shift). That means you have enjoyed
lower premiums for years, however a current audit may now create a large addition to your liability premium (for your
policy term just ended – not prior years).
What you can do to avoid surprises.
Verify that your estimated rating basis (usually total payroll or sales/receipts)
is what you anticipate for the year. If your
estimate is too low, an audit will create an
un-welcomed bill for additional premium. If your estimate is too high, then you
will overpay the initial premium deposit
and will have to wait until audit for a refund. At the beginning of your policy
term, contact your agent to revise your
estimate and adjust your initial premium
deposit.
Be sure to keep accurate records of the
information needed to verify your rating
basis. This will be invaluable at audit.
Throughout the year, monitor your actual
numbers in relation to what was estimated. If you are having a great year with
higher payroll or gross sales than estimated, it would be wise to set aside money in anticipation of the audit premium
that will be due.
Subcontractors or Independent Contractors you hire in your operations need to
provide you a Certificate of Liability Insurance as proof they are insured. Keep a
detailed record of liability certificates on
file for your audit. If you can’t provide
this proof then they are assumed to be
uninsured subs and become covered under your liability policy causing you to
pay an additional premium.
Contact your agent for advice during the
year if you have a material change in your
operations. A change in operations may
increase or decrease liability risk and create new liability rating classifications and
rates on your policy during audit.
The Nitsche Group was created with
the independent spirit of a small-town businessman in 1949. Then, known as the
Hannes Insurance Agency, the company
had only two employees at one location in
Giddings, Texas. Today, we have more than
100 employees at nine locations across Texas to serve our ever-growing client base.
Since joining the agency, Ally and her team
have helped companies successfully design
and introduce solutions to protect their
business and bring greater profits through
risk management and innovation. Ally
Carter may be reached at (512)808-8106 or
[email protected].
Page 6
OSHA recordkeeping updates
Contractors beware: Special
requirements for liens on
residential homesteads
Joann Natarajan
Compliance Assistance Specialist
OSHA
Austin, TX
Courtney Willis, President
Willis Law, PLLC
Addison, TX
T
exas lien laws provide contractors, subcontractors,
and suppliers indispensable tools for getting paid for
their work and materials. Lien requirements differ on
commercial and residential projects, and liens on residential homestead projects have their own special rules. With the hot residential real
estate market in many major Texas cities, renovation and remodeling projects are
plentiful, and those involved should be familiar with the requirements for liens on
residential and residential homestead projects.
First, what’s a “homestead”? Basical- Subcontractors and suppliers on resly, a homestead is real estate that the idential projects must send their fund
owner uses as a home. Texas homestead trapping notices to the owner and prime
law gives the owner extra protection contractor by the 15th day of the second
from creditor claims on the property, and month after the month they provided laimposes additional requirements on bor or materials. If the project is a homecontracts and liens for construction and stead, the notice must contain a statutorily required statement explaining that
remodeling projects on the property.
Two kinds of liens are available for the owner’s property may be subject to a
construction projects in Texas: constitu- lien if the lien claimant is not paid, or if
tional liens and statutory mechanic’s and the owner has not retained construction
materialman’s liens. Prime contractors, funds. Consult your attorney for the spethose who contract directly with the cific language required for the notice
owner, can claim both kinds of lien. Sub- statement.
contractors and suppliers are limited to Residential lien affidavits must be
filed no later than the 15th day of the
statutory liens.
On commercial projects and non- third month after the month in which the
homestead residential projects, by law claimant provides labor or materials. In
constitutional liens attach automatically. addition to the homestead constitutional
However, on new-construction home- lien requirements discussed above, the
stead projects, prime contractors must homestead mechanic’s lien affidavit
meet several requirements to claim con- must conspicuously state at the top “NOstitutional liens. The requirements are TICE: THIS IS NOT A LIEN. THIS IS ONLY AN
that prime contractors must have a writ- AFFIDAVIT CLAIMING A LIEN.”
ten contract with the owner containing Lastly, the claimant has to provide
all terms of their agreement executed notice to the owner (and prime contracbefore starting work or providing materi- tor if the claimant is a subcontractor or
als. Additionally, the contract must supplier) within five days of filing the lien.
signed by both spouses, if the owners are When starting new residential projects,
married, and it must be filed with the contractors and suppliers of all sizes
Clerk of the County of the project.
should consider whether the job involves
For constitutional liens on home- a homestead, and how their lien rights
stead remodeling projects, the contract might be affected. Working with an atcannot be signed until the 5th day after torney can help contractors address
the owner has applied for project financ- these issues, avoid pitfalls, and develop
ing (if the owner is financing); it must al- procedures to ensure notices and affidalow the owner to opt out within three vits are properly drafted and timely filed.
days of signing with no penalty; and it This brief overview is intended to merely
must be signed at the office of the lend- underscore the special additional requirements for liens on residential homeer, an attorney, or a title company.
Statutory mechanic’s liens are avail- stead projects, rather than to provide a
able to prime contractors, subcontrac- general survey of all Texas lien law, or to
tors, sub-subcontractors, and suppliers, provide specific legal advice. Every case
and have the following basic require- is different. If you have questions relating
ments. Parties other than the prime con- to a lien, you should contact an attorney
tractor (subs, suppliers, etc.) must send who can advise you as to your specific
“fund trapping” notices of their claims to situation.
the prime contractor and owner. Addi- Willis Law, PLLC offers litigation and
tionally, all lien claimants must file a consultation services on commercial and
proper lien affidavit with the County residential construction matters stateClerk of the project county, and send a wide. Courtney Willis can be reached at
proper notice of the filing of the affidavit (972) 481-1779, or at cwillis@willislawpllc.
com.
to the owner.
Structural Steel Products
Pipe, Tubing, Plate & Sheets
Metal Building Materials
Ornamental Iron & Accessories
Cast Iron Spears
Fittings
Decorative Castings & Designs
Toll Free
Welders
Welding Supplies & Accessories
Fax
Power Tools
Abrasives
Shop & Safety Supplies
2042 W. Thompson @ Port San Antonio
Paint & Machinery
San Antonio, TX 78226
Trailer Products
Access Control Products
Gate & Door Hardware
Pipe Bollards
Gate Operators–Farm/Ranch
Precut – Painted
Residential/Commercial
6-5/8” OD X .188 wall X 7 Ft
210.431.0088
800.725.4776
210.431.0701
www.sss-steel.com
T
he Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s revised recordkeeping rule includes two key
changes:
F
irst, the rule updates the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep OSHA injury and
illness records, due to relatively low occupational injury and illness rates. The previous list of industries was based on the
old Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) system and injury and illness data
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The new list of industries that are exempt
from routinely keeping OSHA injury and
illness records is based on the North
American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) and injury and illness data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from
2007, 2008, and 2009.
Second, the rule expands the list of
severe work-related injuries that all covered employers must report to OSHA.
The revised rule retains the current requirement to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and adds the requirement to report all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations
and loss of an eye within 24 hours to
OSHA.
As of January 1, 2015, all employers
must report
1. All work-related fatalities within
8 hours.
2. All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses
of an eye within 24 hours.
You can report to OSHA by
1. Calling OSHA’s free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA
(6742).
2. Calling your closest Area Office
during normal business hours.
3. Using the new online form that
will soon be available.
Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of
the work-related incident must be reported to OSHA. Further, for an in-patient
hospitalization, amputation or loss of an
eye, these incidents must be reported to
OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours
of the work-related incident.
OSHA regulations require certain employers to routinely keep records of serious
employee injuries and illnesses. However,
there are two classes of employers that are
partially exempt from routinely keeping records. First, employers with ten or fewer
employees at all times during the previous
calendar year are exempt from routinely
keeping OSHA injury and illness records.
Second, establishments in certain low-hazard industries are also exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records.
Since 1982, this list has been comprised of
establishments in the divisions of retail
trade; finance, insurance and real estate;
and the service industry if the three year average lost workday case rate for their major
industry group was 75 percent or less of the
overall three year average of the lost workday case rate for private industry. OSHA’s
revised recordkeeping regulation provides
an updated list of low-hazard industries that
are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA
injury and illness records. The injury and illness rate threshold is based on more recent
BLS data.
[email protected]
512-374-0271 x232
Future is bright
B
rundage-Bone Concrete Pumping
Inc., the largest concrete pumping
service in the United States, recently selected Peninsula Pacific Strategic
Partners LLC, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, as an outside investor.
“During the restructuring of the
company in 2010, a few of the lenders
were awarded an equity position in the
company,” says President Bruce F.
Young. “The last step of our restructuring plan was to recapitalize the business
and purchase the lenders equity position
giving us a normal working relationship
with our lenders. It was determined in
September 2013 that the business was in
a position to bring in an outside investor
to partner with management to accomplish this.”
Nearly 100 interested parties were
evaluated before Young and CFO John
Hudek selected Peninsula Pacific, which
acquired the company as a whole and
plans no changes to operations or staffing. Brundage-Bone management is part
of the new ownership group.
Peninsula Pacific consists of longterm investors targeting middle-market
businesses with sustainable advantages
in durable industries. “Peninsula Pacific is excited to partner with Bruce and the team at Brundage-Bone,” says Brent Stevens, chairman of Peninsula Pacific. “We look forward to supporting management’s
growth strategy in the years to come.”
Brundage-Bone continues to lead
the industry in technology, customer service and safety. This commitment to being the best is what continues to spur its
near constant growth, and as a result,
Brundage-Bone is now a truly nation-
Bruce Young
wide company.
In a relatively stable marketplace,
business largely reflects two factors: the
economy and service. While the national
economy is out of their hands, BrundageBone considers customer service the
backbone of its company and an aspect
always worth improving. By building new
relationships and retaining customers,
Brundage-Bone grows where others
might stall.
“The team at Brundage-Bone has
done a remarkable job over the last several years through very challenging
times,” Young said. “The hard work and
dedication of our team has positioned us
for a strong future.”
Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping
has an extensive network of locations
across the country. –cw
Fall into some
redfish action
by Capt. Steve Schultz
Sponsored by:
Premier Yamaha Boating Center, Majek
Boats, E-Z Bel Construction, Power Pole
Shallow Water Anchor, Aggregate Haulers, Interstate Batteries, Pure Fishing,
Mirr-O-Lure and Columbia Sportswear.
I
t was an awesome feeling as I
backed my Majek Extreme
down the ramp early one morning last month. I had gotten the
OK from my doctor to resume nor-
Page 7
mal daily activities several days before and couldn’t wait to hit the
water. The night before, I was excited and somewhat restless like a
kid waiting for Christmas morning
to arrive. Needless to say, I have
missed fishing and being on the
water most of this season, but
most of all, I really missed being
with my clients and friends. I’m
looking forward to fishing the remainder of the fall season and
can’t wait to get through this unfortunate 2014 year.
As we get into October, the water
is cooling off from the hot summer
months. Redfish will start feeding
heavily to fatten up for the winter
that’s just around the corner. Most
of the fish you will catch will be
from 18 to 34 inches in length, but
don’t count out hooking into some
bull reds up in the 40-inch range.
One reason the fishing in October
is so good is there is just so much
bait around. There are finger mullet, menhaden, shrimp and crabs,
all of which are very appealing to
reds. As the water gets colder, the
bait will move out to the gulf waters and the redfish will follow suit.
They will feed all they can in the
bays before migrating to the gulf.
You can catch redfish on artificial
lures, live bait and cut bait. Berkley
Gulp probably has caught more
redfish since it came on the market
than anything else. With the Gulp
3-inch shrimp you really can’t go
wrong. I like using the new penny
and pearl white colors, but there
are several other colors that they
have so you may find one that
works better for you. Gulps also
come in several other styles like
the pogey, jerk shad, swimming
mullet and a crab imitation.
Topwater baits are the most exciting lures to catch redfish on, or any
fish in my opinion. It’s some of the
most explosive action when a 15lb redfish attacks a surface plug
from below and produces a hole in
the water the size of a No. 3 washtub. Heddon Spooks, MirrOlure
Top Dogs and Rapala Skitter Walks
are some of the best topwater
plugs to throw. Color is probably
not a big factor when throwing
into a school of reds, as many of
the strikes come from the action
and noise the lures produce. They
work best in calm, low light conditions and can be very effective at
night. Redfish is the hardest fighting fish you will find in our bays
and it’s a blast on light tackle, so
get out there this fall and get
some redfish action.
I’m really looking forward to getting back on the water this fall and
catching some of these schooling
reds I’ve been talking about. I
have plenty of openings for October and if the weather stays nice I
will be fishing in November also,
so pick up the phone and give me
a call and let’s wet a line. I can be
reached at 361-813-3716 or 361334-3105 or e-mail me at [email protected].
Good luck and good fishing.
Page 8
Ken Milam’s Fishing Line
Since 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in
the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8
AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com
Fall Fishing!
O
ctober in Texas means cooler
weather, football, and archery
season. While some people are
getting wrapped up in fantasy football
and the bow hunters are sitting in their
tree stands, the diehard fishermen are
enjoying some of the best fishing of the
year. The fish are gorging on baitfish in
preparation for winter. Some of my favorite top water patterns happen this time of
the year. If you are a fly fishermann and
you want to catch a striper, now is the
time to do it. Although we do not currently offer fly fishing charters, all you
need is a buddy with a boat and a pair of
binoculars. If you are a kayak fisherman
you can get in on the top water action
too.
When the water starts to cool down
the stripers start to travel in larger schools
working together to push bait schools
into creeks or into the side of long points
where they have little chance to escape,
and then the feeding frenzy begins. I
have seen schools of top water stripers
covering close to three acres, and this
year I think we will see this again. Believe
me, when you see this happening you
will know why it’s called a “feeding frenzy”. It will look like bowling balls falling
from the sky and hitting the lake. With a
keen eye you can spot the action of a
feeding top water school several miles
away. If you want to take your kids on a
truly, memorable fishing trip there is
nothing like watching 3-12 pound fish
breaking the surface and splashing you
in the boat.
I know not everyone likes to chase
stripers and I should help out the guys
who chase largemouth, so here you go.
This is the time of year when bass start
gorging on shad to prepare for winter
and eventually spawn. The trick to catching bass in the fall is to match the hatch.
The shad have spawned out and hatched
and the lakes are filled with millions of
bite sized shad, 2-3” long, and this is what
the bass are feeding on. This means it is
time to pull out the shallow running
crank baits and start fishing shallow flats
and pockets along the windy side of the
lake. There will always be those pesky
cold fronts that come in and “ruin” the
fishing, but if you take your time, pull out
to deeper water you will likely find the
baitfish along with the hungry bass. For
this pattern I like a lipless crank bait or a
Carolina rig to work submerged rock
piles and ledges, and submerged timber.
October in Texas means big fish
caught on top water plugs, bucket mouth
bass tail dancing with your favorite
square billed crank bait in her lip, and of
course spending time in the pasture.
Don’t miss out on this awesome fishing
and don’t forget to bring your kids and
family along to make memories and carry
on the tradition.
Send in your
photos and
outdoor
stories
STEEL BAR GRATING
Metelmex International
We are your Steel Bar Grating
Headquarters. We are the
manufacturer so we can pass
the savings on to you.
We offer the following:
Half or Full Day Fishing Trips
Grating in 2’, 3’, 4’, 6’ lengths
Ladders & Platforms
Skids
Stair Treads
Cut to fit fabrication
All products are bare or
galvanized with serrated
or smooth surface.
Contact us at 210.390.1618 or
855-USGRATING
Come by and visit us at
8799 Crownhill Blvd.
San Antonio, Tx 78209
All Bait, Tackle & Equipment
Furnished
•
•
•
•
•
Your catch Filleted and
Bagged for You
Furnish your TPWD Fishing
License & Refreshments,
and WE DO THE REST!
Ken Milam Guide Service
(325) 379-2051
www.striperfever.com
Page 9
Empty-handed, but fun
M
Even though, we came home empty-handed, we still had a great time. The
two-and-a-half hour trip back to port
was not quite as delightful, as most were
worn out from sun, fun and fishing. The
cabin was full of people sleeping. –cw
y husband Jay Hutchison and I
took an anniversary trip to Port
Aransas in early September and
boarded the Wharf Cat, hoping to stock
the freezer.
Traditional gifts for a 12th anniversary are listed as linen and silk. Linen and
silk? Honestly, I couldn’t think of a single
item that my Texas guy would like from
those materials. Suddenly, I started thinking of things made of silk and came up
with the idea of fishing line. Sure enough,
there’s actually a product out there called
“IronSilk” fishing line. After finding that, I
hit on the idea of a coastal getaway.
The day of the fishing trip was beautiful, calm winds and blue sky.
After a delightful two-and-a-half
hour trip out into the gulf, we joined
about 20 other people by casting our
lines into the sea.
As is usual, I out fished my husband,
hauling in four beautiful red snapper,
which unfortunately I had to throw back
since the season had just ended. Other
folks on board were luckier. One woman
caught two nice King Mackeral and
someone else caught an Amberjack.
Construction News managing editor Cyndi Wright on the trip out.
The wind farms in Taft are so close to the
road you feel like you could reach out and
touch one of these giants.
*
The wind kicked up so much on
the way out, a deckhand clambered up to
the crow’s nest to release the flapping flags.
On the way out into federal waters, it looked like we were heading straight into a squall.
Submitted to Construction News
Celebrating summer
Testengeer Engineering Services employee recreation group, TERA,
had many employees and their families join in the annual summer trip
o Fiesta, Texas in July. The annual summer trip is the biggest event,
with 164 attending this year. –cw
Page 10
H
HOLT CAT® celebrates
grand opening
OLT CAT® celebrated a grand
opening in Aug. for its new 47,000sf, full-service facility at 10701 US
281 North in Edinburg, TX.
The new location expands the company’s presence in Hidalgo County, which
currently includes a HOLT Truck Center. The addition of a full-service store
will help HOLT continue its strong commitment to serving the communities and
businesses of South Texas and the Rio
Grande Valley, where HOLT has been a
dealer for more than 80 years.
“The new Edinburg location is going
to make it even easier for our customers
operating in the Rio Grande Valley to
have convenient access to the heavy
equipment products and services they
need,” said Dave Harris, HOLT CAT general manager. “It fills in a gap in the mar-
ketplace – we bring a unique mix of capabilities customers simply can’t get anywhere else, including the most extensive
express parts system in Texas and also
the best-trained technicians.
Local and state dignitaries attended
the grand opening event, joining HOLT
CAT® senior executives including CEO Peter M. Holt.
Army First Class Sergeant Dana Bowman, a former U.S. Army Golden Knight
who is a double-amputee and a wounded warrior advocate, performed a skydiving show at the event. HOLT employs
more than 350 veterans, approximately
17 percent of its workforce, and is dedicated to actively expanding job opportunities for those who have served in the
armed forces. The new store will feature a full range
HOLT CAT® employees unfurl an American flag prior to th
grand opening and ribbon cutting.
of offerings to serve a variety of customer needs across the construction, oil and
gas and paving industries: everything
from Cat machine sales, rentals, parts
and service to comprehensive rebuild capabilities and custom product fabrication. –cw
Lights on
Priscilla Camareleno mans the front
desk at 3-G Electric Co. in Beevile.
The company handles residential
and commercial needs. –cw
STEVE SCHULTZ
OUTDOORS, LLC
BAFFIN BAY
LAGUNA MADRE
LAND CUT
SPECKLED
TROUT
REDFISH
FLOUNDER
FISHING AND
HUNTING TRIPS
(361) 949-7359
www.baffinbaycharters.com
steveschultzoutdoors@
gmail.com
U.S. Coast Guard &
Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed
Page 11
Specialty Contractors
The marriage of drywall
and technology
Michael Soreno, President
Baker Triangle
San Antonio, TX
M
ichael Sireno, president of Baker Triangle’s San Antonio office, recites a
quote he’s tired of hearing.
“’It’s not rocket science!’” he says. “If I
had a nickel for every time I have heard
that about drywall, I could probably buy
my own rocket!”
While he admits it’s not rocket science, Sireno notes that the drywall industry is utilizing advances in technology to
improve the way jobs get done.
When Sireno started in construction
32 years ago, there was little to no technology involved. Everything was done
off blueprints on the jobsite. He remembers having pagers and being paged
when the office was informed of changes, then having to make a phone call to
the office so they could track down the
details of the change.
“There was always a big lag time on
the information getting to the jobsites
from the architect to the GCs, from the
GCs to the subs, and subs out into the
field,” he recalls. “A lot of times we were
building something and had to go back
in and tear it out and redo it the way they
wanted it to be built after the changes.”
Today, Baker’s foremen carry iPads,
allowing them to open electronic drawings anywhere on the jobsite. Since the
plans are updated in real time, the crew
can get answers on the spot with the
most current set of drawings and specifications via software and cloud programs.
“We are also using BIM and scheduling software to aid in construction planning and identifying problem areas well
in advance of when the crews will be
working there,” he explains. “The use of
BIM [Building Information Modeling] has
helped us to implement some of the
‘Lean Principles’ into our projects and
use pre-fabrication to save time on the
project and to eliminate waste.
“Materials can be ordered to size and
fabricated at our warehouse without any
of the regular jobsite disruptions. Then,
Proposed silica rule hugely
expensive to industry
Marc Ramsey, Director of Communications
American Subcontractors Association
Alexandria, VA
A
fter nearly a year of review and study, on Aug. 18,
the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC)
filed its final post-hearing brief on the U.S. OSHA’s Proposed Rule on Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica.
Released by OSHA on Aug. 23, 2013,
the proposed rule “seeks to lower worker
exposure to crystalline silica,” a natural
occurring component of soil, sand, granite and other minerals. Many common
construction operations in dozens of
specialty trade activities involve silica, including those that cut, grind, crush or
drill materials that contain silica, such as
concrete, masonry, tile or rock.
In its final comments to OSHA, CISC
reemphasized its pre-hearing written
comments and testimony and presented
its final economic analysis. Specifically,
CISC said:
• OSHA has not identified all of the con-
struction tasks and worker job categories
that would be affected by the proposed
rule, nor has OSHA addressed the omitted tasks and job categories in the technological and economic feasibility analyses.
• OSHA has no justification in assuming
for all construction worker exposure
samples of less than full-shift duration
that sampled workers have no exposure
for the unsampled remainder of their
shift.
• OSHA’s analysis does not consider the
broad range of tasks and variety of settings and environments in which construction work occurs.
the pre-fabricated pieces can be shipped
to the project and installed by a smaller
crew in a shorter amount of time than
traditional construction methods.”
The move towards this more technological approach to the planning stage
started in the office with electronic drawings and estimating software, he says,
noting that now technology is being put
to use in the field as well.
Sireno learned how to do take offs
and price all his jobs by hand, and the
first few times he used the estimating
software, he did it by hand just to double
check the computer to make sure all its
calculations were correct. Then, he grew
to trust it and could perform checks to
make sure everything looked right.
When asked about any potential
drawbacks to the integration of this technology into their daily operations, Sireno
points out one disadvantage in this area.
“You’ll see some estimators that if
the power goes out, they don’t know
how to put a bid together,” he says.
“When we train estimators here, we’ll
have them price jobs out by hand the
old-fashioned way just so if there’s ever
an issue, we can actually do that.
“Plus, if you ever get a glitch in the
computer, if you don’t know how something should look or the way the pricing
works, you don’t really have a way to
check it. If you understand it, I think it
gives you a better edge when you’re actually putting things together and not
just relying on the computer to do it all
the time.”
He adds that trying to stay current
with the frequent updates to the software can present a challenge as well.
However, he emphasizes that Baker embraces the technology side of the business. They were an early adopter of BIM
technology, forming their BIM department about seven years ago. Also, the
scheduling software allows them to look
ahead at the general contractor’s schedule and use it on their side to calculate
how many men they will need on a job
for each activity.
Sireno points out that a lot of technological advances are starting to be
used throughout the construction industry. He adds that a large part of why they
use the technology is due to the shortage
of skilled workers that is presenting an
industry-wide problem right now. He observes that no matter how much technology can help with managing the workload efficiently, they still need people out
in the field installing drywall and working
on projects.
“Construction is one of the largest industries in our country and can be very
rewarding,” he says. “And while it may
not be rocket science, we build the facilities where the rockets are designed, the
schools that educate the rocket scientists, the places of worship and the cities
that we all live in.” –mh
• OSHA’s assumption about compliance
on multiemployer worksites does not account for exposure effects.
• OSHA’s assessment of each of the individual construction tasks analyzed failed
to consider the broad range of exposures
and even if it had done so, did not demonstrate conclusively that a permissible
exposure level (PEL) of 50 μg/m3 (micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air)
could be met in most operations most of
the time.
CISC’s economic analysis demonstrates that OSHA grossly underestimated the costs that the construction industry will incur to comply with the proposal.
CISC estimates that “compliance with
OSHA’s proposed standard would cost
the construction industry nearly $3.9 billion per year, nearly eight times larger
than OSHA’s estimate.”
The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) is a founding member of
CISC, which has been an active participant throughout OSHA’s rulemaking process. In its own comments, ASA joined
CISC in requesting that OSHA withdraw
the proposed rule and offered to engage
in a dialogue with OSHA regarding what
would be an appropriate approach to
dealing with the hazards of silica on construction worksites. ASA Chief Advocacy
Officer E. Colette Nelson concluded, “After thoroughly reviewing the rulemaking
record developed by OSHA, ASA continues to believe that the Agency has not
met its burden with respect to the rule
and the construction industry and should
withdraw the proposal.”
In its comments filed on Feb. 8, ASA
told OSHA, “ASA believes that the proposed rule, as it would apply to employers in the construction industry, is so fundamentally flawed that it cannot be remedied through the current rulemaking
process.”
Under OSHA’s proposed rule, a construction employer would have to measure and keep records of the amount of
respirable crystalline silica that its workers are exposed to if it may be at or above
25 μg/m3 (micrograms of silica per cubic
meter of air), averaged over an eighthour day. An employer would have to
protect its workers if the exposure is
above a permissive exposure level (PEL)
of 50 μg/m3, averaged over an eighthour day. –cw
NEXT MONTH
November 2014
Support Your Industry’s Feature Issue
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2014
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Feb: Construction Safety
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Page 12
Hear the region roar
Industry FOLKS
Michael Hernandez
Rodman
Bullseye Surveying Co.
H
e’s a fulltime member of Bullseye
Surveying Company in Corpus
Christi, but rodman Michael Hernandez
also has another gig. You can find him
most Thursday through Sunday nights
banging his drums in the John Eric band.
Hernandez’s musical talent runs in
his blood, with many members of his
family also inclined. His mother has skill
in many instruments and his brother,
John Eric, for whom the band is named,
is the lead singer.
“Music runs all up and down our
family,” he says.
The John Eric band, which calls its
genre ‘Texas Country’, has enjoyed immense success, having a few songs hit
the Texas music chart, especially their
hit “Johnnie Walker and Me.”
“We had a couple of songs do really
well down here, but ‘Johnnie’ did a lot
for us,” Hernandez says. “Even still,
when we play San Antonio or anywhere
in Central Texas, we still get requests for
‘Johnnie’.”
The epitome of a traveling band, the
group plays all over Texas, recently performing in Dallas and then Matagorda.
Formerly, Hernandez played fulltime with the Oso Texas band, but
found himself with spare time during
the week.
“My aunt and godmother [Bullseye
owner Noella Garza] needed a rodman,” Hernandez explains. “I got my
training on the job.”
He started out on an as-needed basis, but transitioned to full time in December 2013. He is enthusiastic about his job.
“I hooked up with a couple of really good party chiefs [crew leaders],”
Hernandez says. “They took me under
their wing and have been teaching me
everything I need to learn. Really, everyone here is really cool.”
As a rodman and instrument man,
Hernandez spends the majority of his
working day outside. He says there are
tricks to working in the heat.
“You acclimate to it,” he says. “You
get used to it and stay as hydrated as
possible.”
Other good ideas are sunscreen
and long sleeves.
“Once you start sweating, that
long-sleeved shirt gets wet and when
there is a breeze, it cools you down,” he
explains. “It also helps with thorns and
stinging things. It works, I promise
you.”
Hernandez started playing the
drums at age 11, just a few years before
he met the love of his life, Debra. The
two have been married for 23 years.
And yes, there are musically-inclined
children, including Jon, 21, a nursing
school student who plays the drums,
and daughters, Patricia, 19, who is in college and studying to be a court reporter
and Alyssa, 17, a high school senior.
Both girls play cello and violin. –cw
NAWIC Region 7 members attended the 59th annual national conference in Indianapolis.
T
he National Association of Women
in Construction (NAWIC) held its
59th annual Meeting and Education
Conference Sep. 3-7 in Indianapolis, IN.
Members attended from all over Region
7, which is comprised of the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston,
San Antonio, Tulsa and Waco chapters.
Region 7 chapters and members
took home several awards at the awards
gala on Sep. 6, including the National
Membership Award, PR & Marketing Social Media Award, NAWIC Education
Foundation (NEF) Fundraising Champions and the National WIC Week Award.
Additionally, Judy DeWeese, San Antonio
Chapter member, received the Lifetime
Achievement Award, and Francine
Hawkins, Dallas Chapter president for
2013-2014, received the Executive Spotlight Award.
Serving as national president 20112012, DeWeese has also served as national vice president, national secretary, Region 7 director and San Antonio Chapter
president. She currently serves as Region
7 Parliamentarian. Now, at this year’s conference, another Region 7 member, Sandy Field from the Houston Chapter, has
been installed as the national president
for 2014-2015. –mh
Sandy Field, a long-time member of the
Houston Chapter, was installed as 2014-2015
NAWIC national president.
Judy DeWeese, center, a member of the San
Antonio Chapter and past national president,
received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hoorah!
Construction News marketing guru
Kent Gerstner and his wife, Claudia
Gerstner, submitted this proud photo of
his stepdaughter, Zully Andrade, who
started Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC
and her military career during Labor Day
week. Andrade will be a Water Treatment
Specialist in the U.S. Army. Please send
your proud military moments to Cyndi@
constructionnews.net for inclusion
in the paper. –cw
Page 13
Association Calendar
Salsa through summer
Content submitted by Associations to Construction News
ACCA Coastal Bend
AIA - Laredo
Air Conditioning Contractors of Amer.
American Institute of Architects
Oct. 10: Noon monthly meeting, Hi-Ho
Restaurant, 5703 Morgan, Corpus Christi.
RSVP to [email protected]
Oct. 4: Second annual Shoot ‘N Cook at
South Texas Shooting Complex. Sporting
clays and barbecue competition.
AGC South Texas
NAWIC - Corpus Christi
Associated General Contractors
Nat’l Assn. of Women in Construction
Oct. 23: Fall mixer
AIA - Corpus Christi
American Institute of Architects
Sep. 21: Chapter meetings at Water
Street Seafood Company, 309 N. Water
St. Corpus Christi. 5:30pm social, 6pm
meeting/presentation.
A
ssociated General Contractors
South Texas Chapter (AGC) beat
the “Summertime Blues” at the
AGC Salsa Showdown & Margarita Shoot
Out in Aug. –cw
Winners
Margaritas:
1st place - STBP Inc., Keith Webster
2nd place - ThyssenKrupp Elevator, Kristin Fletcher
Keith Webster, 1st place Margarita
Lynn Camacho and Debbie Schibi
Salsa:
1st place - Allison Flooring America, Karen Saulus
2nd place - AGC South Texas, Debbie
Schibi
3rd place - STBP Inc., Juanita Hernandez
Oct. 21: Business meeting, public
welcome, the BBQ Man Restaurant,
5:30pm networking, 6pm meeting.
Program TBA, $20. Contact Vickie
Thompson, 361-299-6278 or 361-4380593.
In attendance
Up and coming
Representing National Women in Construction’s (NAWIC) Corpus Christi Chapter
at the recent national convention were, L-R: Teresa Salmans-Smith, United Rentals, and
Miki Haas, director Region 5. –cw
Tipping the scales
O
n Sept. 14, the Associated General
Contractors Young Contractors
Council (AGC) held their very first
YCC mixer. Executive director Debbie
Schibi had a desire to provide professional development for young industry professionals in the South Texas Chapter
area. Conversation started with the board
of directors in late 2013 and was introduced in Jan. 2014. Since that time, the
YCC has developed a committee and celebrated their first event at the Executive
Rio Grande Steel, Sweepstakes
he Rio Grande Valley Chapter Associated General Contractors (AGC)
held their 29th annual Fishing Tournament Aug. 16 on South Padre Island.
There were 101 registered anglers this
year. The meal and awards ceremony
were held at Tequila Sunset.
T
Redfish
Men:
1st: Martin Torres
2nd Juan Saenz
3rd Ted Veneccia
Women:
1st Amanda Parra
Sweepstakes
1st place boat: Rio Grande Steel – Kino
Flores Jr., Juan Saenz, Ted Veneccia, Ruben Reyes, Martin Torres
2nd: Eberle Materials Inc. – Ted Sunderland, Julian Lopez
3rd: GP7 Construction LLC – Jamie Parra
Jr., Amanda Parra
Trout
Men:
1st: Juan Gonzalez
2nd: Martin Torresd
3rd: Juan Saenz
Women:
1st: Amanda Parra
2nd: Rhonda Garza
Tournament results
Grand Champ Men:
Martin Torres, Rio Grande Steel Ltd.
Grand Champ Woman:
Amanda Parra, GP7 Construction LLC
Flounder
Men:
1st: Martin Torres
Heaviest Redfish: 1st – Juan Saenz;
2nd – Jaime Parra
Heaviest Trout: 1st – Martin Torres;
2nd: Ted Sunderland
Surf Club with great attendance and enthusiasm.
Mike Munoz, Beecroft Construction, is the committee chair and opened
the event with a moment of silence in
honor of those who lost their lives 13
years ago on Sept. 11.
The Committee plans on participating in community service by offering
their skills and abilities to support the
community’s needs. –cw
Page 14
What would your
personalized license
plate say?
CHILLOUT!
John Schneidawind, Director
Public Affairs and Media Relations
The American Institute of Architects
GALnPAL (Gal in Pal: I’m a gal, living in
Palacios)
Joni Brown, Executive Director
Safety Council of the Tx Mid Coast Inc.
I’ve actually thought about this before
and I can never think of anything, other
than that my truck’s name is Earl, and I’d
probably just have them say EARL. Lol
Felicia Hajek, ABC-TCB
JELLO - 1
Brian Medina, 4-Star Hose & Supply
DAVID
David Vasquez, 4-Star Hose & Supply
YRUBSN
Tim Thomason, Appleman Design
I didn’t get a personalized one, but I got a
special one that supports the Texas State
Parks and it has a tent on it for camping!
If only they’d had one with a kayak on it.
Debbie Wertheim, Epicoty/Activant
POLO, for obvious reasons.
Marco Palacios, CACI International
I wouldn’t get one. Nor would I get a tattoo. I can’t think of anything that enduring that I feel compelled to share with the
general public.
G.A. Lewis, retired
Can barely afford my standard plates. No
personalized plates for me, they get
enough of my money.
Sharla Feller, self employed
MZAMERICA (just kidding!)
Cyndi Wright, editor, Construction
News
Installed and ready to serve
continued from Page 1 — Not to ‘Pharr’ to rent
Weslaco and putting on a feast for subcontractors at a job sight.
Cavazos started out working the
counter as inside sales, but was soon
moved to outside sales – a position he
says he enjoys. There are three other outside salesman, as well, who travel to job
sights, offices and have one-on-one
meetings with customers. The store covers the entire Rio Grande Valley and employees are happy about the recent
opening of a new office in Corpus Christi.
“We are so far down here in South
Texas,” Cavazos says. “Delivery drivers
could take a whole day to make a delivery
– three hours there and three hours back.
The Corpus location will get more of the
oilfield work.”
BlueLine Rental offers a comprehensive line of essential equipment for the construction, commercial and industrial markets, as well as an extensive line of Volvo
compact excavators, compactors, wheel
loaders, backhoe loaders, compaction
equipment, and skid steer loaders. –cw
continued from Page 1 — Electric birthday
“We are slowly getting back to that
point,” Gerdes said. “We don’t have idle
time.”
Part of that count includes his son,
Michael, just an infant when his parents
moved to the Rio Grande Valley and now
serving as vice president and general
manager.
“My role here is to be an advisor and
as support to him,” Gerdes says.
Additionally, two grandsons are
working their way up the company ladder: Derek is in estimating and marketing
and David works in the service department and in the field.
There is a daughter as well, Faith,
who worked in the company at one time
but now lives in Austin.
According to Gerdes, his vision back
in the early ‘70s was to run a successful
business with repeat customers.
“I wanted to become known – as we
are now known – as the preferred electrical contractor,” he says. “All that has
played out perfectly. We have many clients who will not use anyone else.”
Customer service is the top priority
for Metro Electric, where jobs can run
into the millions of dollars.
“Many people can do electrical
work,” Gerdes says. “We put our customers in the top and first place. Customers
are number one - without them, there is
no business. It’s the most important
thing in our world.” –cw
continued from Page 1 — Investing in the future
American Institute of Architects Corpus Christi Chapter (AIA) elected their officers for
the 2014-15 year on Sep. 16 at their monthly meeting. L-R: Jacqueline Carlson, AIA, Del
Mar College, president; Connie Rivera, A.I.A, TSA Director; Ira Freeman, AIA, Freeman
Architecture Studio, president-elect 2015; and Kyle Miller, Assoc. AIA, Turner, Ramirez
Architects, director. Not pictured: Jennifer Hilliard, AIA, WKMC Architects, treasurer; Josh
Seahorn, AIA, Dykema Architects, secretary; Eric Rivera, AIA, Naismith Engineering Inc.,
director; Jorge Ollervides, Int’l Assoc. AIA, Fulton Construction, intern director;
and Mitch Sanchez, Assoc. AIA, Naismith Engineering Inc., director
Inside the building, bright and cheery rooms await the kids.
gles, exterior stucco finish, interior wall
finish of gypsum board – taped, floated
and textured, suspended acoustical ceilings and V.C.T. flooring.
“Since this project was in the Texas
Department of Insurance Inland 1 zone,
exterior building components and equipment were required to meet TDI testing
specifications and inspected by a TDI approved windstorm engineer,” Kopecky
adds.
The 10,296-sf new construction daycare is adjacent to the church. The building is designed for pre-school and
younger students with capacities of each
room and staffing ratios as set by the
State of Texas for licensed day care centers. The facility is a new, free-standing
one story structure.
“The owners of the project were
some of the best you could ask for. There
were several weeks that the church staff
or parishioners would make sweets for
the crews on the jobsite, making for more
than a little jealous KJM office staff,” Kopecky laughs. “The children from the
daycare would draw pictures and write
thank you notes for the superintendent
and subcontractors and tape them up on
the walls in the new building. Upon
move-in day into the new facility, the
church’s members came in full force to
help move all of the furniture, books and
supplies into the building. This project all
around is the definition of a team effort.”
KJM Commercial, Inc. was founded in
2002 and in less than a year had quickly
grown to be one of the most competitive
construction firms in South Texas. Chris
Hamilton became a partner with the firm a
year later, and brought senior level project
management experience and an extensive
municipal, school and large-scale construction background to KJM. Over the years,
KJM has branched out into new territories
and currently is building throughout the
State of Texas. –cw
Page 15
All in the family
Job Sights
A family vacation takes a turn towards the cool side. L-R: Jared, Steven,
Tim, Thomas, Mary and Madeline
A1 Quality Plumbing Services in Houston sent Robert Torres, Adolpho Ramirez
and Oscar Losa to work on the new Hampton Inn under construction in Kennedy. –cw
A
lthough Steve Garza started his
career in the counseling business,
finances dictated finding something that would pay the bills. So, in 2011,
Garza and his wife, Mary Parra Garza
opened the doors to GP7 Construction
LLC.
Garza actually obtained a Master’s
degree in counseling and practiced for a
few years. He went to Pan Am University
on a baseball scholarship after graduating from Falfurrias High School.
When he left the counseling field, he
became a salesman for CAPA (concrete,
asphalt, pipe and aggregate) in Brownsville. He was there for 15 years before
branching out on his own.
The couple met at an Associated
General Contractors (AGC) officer installation event.
“I met her through a good friend, Edward Moreno, who is actually her cousin,”
Garza said. “Now he is my superintendent.”
Mary Garza comes from a family that
developed a furniture and loan business
in Brownsville. She is now president of
Parra Furniture and Parra Loan companies, as well as being the accountant for
GP7 Construction.
“She is the business side of things,”
Steve Garza said.
Business has been good for GP7,
Garza says, with the normal ups and
downs and learning curves. The company is currently working on two Walmart
stores. There are nine employees.
“We are the only ones who do utility
work and we also do erection of buildings,” Garza said. “We are very versatile.”
Between them, the couple has five children and that’s where the company’s
name comes from: G for Garza, P for Parra and 7 for 5 kids and Steve and Mary.
“The company philosophy is simple:
Do it once,” Garza says.
GP7 Construction handles utlity work,
building erection, underground work, commercial construction and highway and
road work, among others. –cw
Want Reprints?
Full Color, Press Quality Digital Reprints available on
any item in Construction News – $42 includes tax
Jose Resaluto (in cab), Antonio Hernandez, Ariel Nudarete and James Stranacher
with AngelBrothers Paving and Utility Contractors of Baytown are working in the
summer heat to help widen lanes on U.S. 181. –cw
Perfect for framing in the office, a promo
item, for the website or as a gift.
Digital Press Quality PDF is emailed to you. Print as many
as you like. Can also be printed by any graphics
service provider, on any paper selection, size, or finish.
To request a reprint . . .
• Email to: [email protected]
• Indicate you would like to purchase a reprint, and a credit card form will be
emailed for you to complete and return.
If you have any questions, contact the SA home office at (210) 308-5800
G&G Electric’s Joe Moreno, Jerry DeLaRosa and Juan Moreno
measure a pipe for a new shopping center in Beeville. –cw
Page 16
More than just a name
T
he message on my office phone
quickly got my attention. On the
other end was a sweet voice telling
me how she was looking for the parents
of Army Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen. I
could tell she was a little uneasy not
knowing how I might react to her call.
She explained how her daughter,
10-year-old Isabella, took to the pitching
mound for her softball team last season,
wearing the name of Clay Bowen on the
back of her jersey. They now wanted to
present the jersey to my wife, Reesa, and
me.
A call back to Vanessa Mitchell and
one to Reesa led to a meeting date at
their home in New Braunfels and the
start of finding out how this group, The
Texas Bombers, had chosen to honor
our fallen heroes.
So here we were meeting with the
Mitchell’s - Bella, Vanessa (mother), Jason
(father), Eva (2nd daughter) as well as
Coach Scott Smith just a short time after
the 5th-year anniversary of Clay’s death in
Afghanistan. We were anxious to hear
their story and to understand how all this
got started.
The New Braunfels-based nonprofit
Junior Olympic softball organization has
chosen to honor soldiers, such as Clay,
who have fallen in combat. Grouped
from ages 10 to 17, each young woman
on 25 different Texas Bomber teams
across North, Central, East, South Texas
and Houston divisions wears the name of
a different soldier.
Scott Smith, president of the organization and coach of the 18 and under
Gold team, has been in the Army for 23
years. He was inspired to take on the initiative because he felt that some people
have become numb and forgotten since
we’ve been at war so long.
So, he found a way to educate the
kids about those fighting for our country
and honor their memories.
“We want our kids to enjoy the jersey that they put on every time, and we
felt like that would be a neat way to bring
awareness to the individuals who have
fallen in service to our country, and then
at the same time, give them an opportunity to honor that individual,” explains
Smith. “That’s how it came about, and
then it just kind of took off.”
Smith’s team designed the jerseys
they wore this first season of the initiative, and they placed the name of a fallen
soldier from each player’s area on their
jersey. When Smith’s team walked into
the ballpark for the Ronald McDonald
Tournament in Houston, he was overwhelmed by the response they received
from the mothers who were crying, to
the umpires who were stopping games
to inquire about the jerseys.
Generating quite an amount of emotion and interest, Smith challenged players to find out about the person whose
name they wore onto the field. “ W e
wanted then, at the end of the season, for
the player to be able to give that jersey to
the family of the individual they wore
and say, I wore this in honor of your loved
one,” he says, noting that he wanted the
gift of the jersey to be a surprise once
they had located a family member or
loved one.
A surprise it was and our meeting
that day became emotional at times for
all of us and required a few pauses from
time to time.
As Bella stood proudly with Coach
Smith as she presented the jersey to Reesa, I wondered to myself what this
10-year-old girl thought about all of this.
So many kids today do not understand
the sacrifices made by many for them.
But with a mentor like Coach Smith
and the type of parents she has, Bella and
her sister Eva will grow up knowing the
importance of it all.
“We’re able to show the girls that it’s
not just about playing a game; it’s about
an organization that respects and honors
soldiers,” Vanessa says, holding back
tears. “And I think it helps the girls realize
look up Clay and found facts
and information about him.
Quiet and off to the side sister Eva, an 8-year old destined
to be a great catcher, looked
on.
We said our goodbyes to
our new friends with the
promise to come see Miss Bella pitch a game this season. I
wonder who she will honor
this year?
The Bombers just started
the new 2015 season and the
jerseys will be military-themed
– Marine Corps, Navy, Air
Force, Army, and “4 the Fallen,”
with whom the Bombers have
partnered as the fast pitch arm
to their slow pitch softball side
of it. – bd/mh
To the players, coaches, moms
and dads of the Texas Bombers:
“I am so honored that this
family went so out of their way
to try to find me and Buddy.
This is not an easy task, to find
Isabella (Bella) Mitchell, Coach Smith,
a fallen soldier’s family, as this
and Reesa Doebbler
information is not given out.
how lucky they are to play a game that By googling, they found us via Constructhey love, because of individuals who tion News on the internet,” said Reesa
fight for us every day. We’re very grateful Doebbler
we were able to wear the jerseys.”
Buddy and Reesa Doebbler
“It makes me proud to be a part of
this organization,” said Jason. “This organization is a step above and we walk it
like we talk it. Just very proud.
“They are all tasked to learn something here. Softball is a game but this is
real life.”
Bella was a little interview shy this
day. She did tell us she used Google to
Drilling deeper
Alamo Crane is equipped
to handle any petroleum
related work in the
Eagle Ford Shale.
Loading coil
tubing onto
coil trailer in
South Texas
Large & Sons drilling at the Refinery Terminal Fire Company's training facility
with a live fire drill in the background.
W
From El Paso
to Beaumont,
Amarillo to
Brownsville
35 Years of Service
to Texas
www.alamocrane.com
San Antonio (210) 344-7370
Austin
(512) 282-6866
Toll Free
(800) 880-0134
hen McKinney Drilling Company bought Large & Sons in Corpus Christi in 1995, Lawrence
Wilcox came on as general manager.
Prior to that, his career was in architectural drafting and estimating.
He says when Large & Sons was offered for sale, he was tempted to buy it,
but realized it was a lot of debt for a
young professional. Now, he thinks he
made the right decision.
Large & Sons was founded in the
mid-1960s and taken over by sons, John
and Terry Large, who ran it until 1994
when it was bought by McKinney.
“Since the company had a real good
reputation, they kept the name,” Wilcox
says.
In Corpus Christi, there are about 30
employees. As is the case with many construction companies in South Texas,
Large & Sons competes with – and loses
to – the oilfields for employees.
“Six years ago, we paid higher than
average,” he says. “The second the oilfield got big, we are not even close. You
can’t outspend oil money.”
Predictions have the Eagle Ford
Shale going for many years to come, but
Wilcox remembers what the oil crash of
the 1980s did to the workforce.
“When the crash happened in oil in
the 80s, all those guys turned to construction,” he says. “There were too many
workers, so the pay was low.”
So, he says, the oilfield boom of today is good in some ways.
“There is a bright side to it,” he predicts. “It will raise what people are making in construction.”
Wilcox says the company focuses on
safety at all times and has had a previous
year of no recordables. He handed out
gifts and gift cards at a recent meeting to
reward employees for their diligence.
Other employee perks are company trips
to watch the Hooks, a minor league baseball team of the Texas League, fishing
trips and other association events.
Large & Sons is a foundation drilling
contractor. –cw

Investing in the future Not too `Pharr` to rent Electric birthday

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