North American Construction Journal | Issue 1

NACJ

North American Construction Journal Representing Construction’s Best

March 2017

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BUILT T OLAST

Celebrating its 60th birthday, WHC Energy Services LLC anticipates dynamic industry expansion. PG. 10

PLUS 15 Companies across North America

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North American Construction Journal The North American Construction Journal Team takes great pride in providing a all-inclusive perspective of the construction industry. The construction marketplace in North America has traditionally been powerful and progressive market with constant activity. Last year we saw tremendous surge in multiple construction sectors. We are committedto covering all of the current growth areas from commercial, residential, healthcare and multi family/ mixed use development.

Additionally, the pipeline and natural gas construction sectors continued to grow and thrive. We are committed to delivering high-quality, timely information that reflects the diverse interests of our construction industry readers and feel that our new website products and technology will satisfy our quest.

North American Construction Journal publishes dozens of articles and features on the top development companies, general contractors, and the projects they are known for. We are always trying toi get the pulse on the marketplace and to give our readers constant updates on project management methodology, new tech and training procedures.

Kevin Doyle

Editor-In-Chief Kevin.doyle@naconstructionjournal.com

The Team Executive Director - Alex Hortaridis Editor-In Chief - Kevin Doyle Creative Director - Stephen Marino Developer - Andrew Twomey Director of Sales - Jason Wright

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Table of Contents The American Pipeline Contractors Association....................................................pg.4-9 WHC Energy Service........................................................................................................pg.10-39 Michels Corporation......................................................................................................pg.40-45 Omega Demolition.........................................................................................................pg.46-57 R.W Bob Wall Ltd............................................................................................................pg.58-69 RCC Associates..............................................................................................................pg.70-85 Herman/Stewart Construction...................................................................................pg.86-97 Pinnacle Commercial Development Inc..................................................................pg.98-111 All-Rite Contruction..................................................................................................pg.112-123 G.S. Wark Ltd............................................................................................................pg.124-141 Suncor Inc...................................................................................................................pg.142-155 Fine Line Construction.............................................................................................pg.156-169 Sierra Lane Construction Ltd.................................................................................pg.170-181 BC Comfort.................................................................................................................pg.182-193 Bridge Electric Corp..................................................................................................pg.194-201 Traine Construction..................................................................................................pg.202-217

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The American Pipeline Contractors Association:

Promoting the Mutual Interests of its Members and Associates Nearly 50 years later, APCA has grown to become a respected national body of merit shop pipeline and station contractors with headquarters in Lafayette, LA Written By; Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished in 1971, the American Pipeline Contractors Association was originally known as the Contractor’s Protective Association, formed by seven competing contractors determined to curtail ongoing acts of vandalism against their company equipment and property and physical assaults of their employees.

Nearly 50 years later, APCA has grown to become a respected national body of merit shop pipeline and station contractors with headquarters in Lafayette, LA. The association is under the leadership of Executive Director J.D. Lormand and President Sean Renfro.

According to its web site, APCA’s primary mission is “to promote the mutual interests and address industry concerns of its members and associates.”

The association keeps its members informed of key industry issues and provides information and assistance in many areas, including:

• Continuing education on

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labor law and employment issues by a law firm specializing in the industry

• Continuing education on strategic laws and regulations governing the industry

• Continuing education on safe practices, environmental quality, and drug and alcohol testing

• Ongoing communication of ideas via newsletters, meetings and the annual convention; the 2017 event was held March 5-9 in Aruba

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Safety

Safety education is a primary imperative for APCA and it fully supports its members initiatives to ensure a fair and safe operating environment across the industry.

For example, the fourth annual National Safety Stand-Down Day will be held on May 8. The goal of the voluntary event is to raise fall hazard awareness and encourages “Fall Prevention” dialogue between workers and employers. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, work-related falls accounted for

350 of the 937 construction industry fatalities in 2015.

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The APCA Safety Zone on the association website includes a document library dating back to 2009 with approximately 40 articles in both English and Spanish. The most recent is entitled “Best Practices For Unintentional Encounters with Buried Facilities” and provides detailed step-by-step directions for assessing and managing such a situation. Additionally, a series of videos discusses on-the-job protection protocol.

OSHA Alliance

APCA joined with OSHA in an APCA Alliance Cooperation Program in January 2007 and most recently renewed that commitment in October 2015.

As stated on the OSHA website, “both organizations are committed to providing APCA members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resoures that will help to protect the health and safety of workers, as well as promoting a better understanding of worker rights and the responsibilities of

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North American Construction Journal employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

The Alliance’s goals include: 1. Raising awareness of OSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement initiatives by: Sharing information on OSHA’s National Emphasis programs, enforcement initiatives, Regulatory Agenda, and opportunities to participate in the rulemaking process; and by disseminating information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including

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the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.

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2. Providing outreach and communication by: Developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to develop ways of communicating such information to employers and workers in the industry; by speaking, exhibiting, or appearing at OSHA’s or APCA’s conferences, local meetings, or other events; and by encouraging APCA members and other industry stakeholders to build relationships with OSHA’s Regional and Area Offices to address health and

North American Construction Journal safety issues in the pipeline construction industry. OSHA offers a Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) and Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).

3. Promoting Training and Education by: Implementing industry-wide use of safety and health management systems, encouraging employers to develop new or enhance existing performance programs.

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Contact APCA American Pipeline Contractors Association P.O. Box 81604 Lafayette, LA 70598 E: apca31@aol.com P: 337.278.0056 F: 866.591.8917

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WHC Energy Services LLC:

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Optimistic about what’s in the pipeline As it celebrates its 60th birthday, WHC Energy Services LLC anticipates dynamic industry expansion.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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HC Energy Services LLC embarks on its 60th year in business in 2017 with a clear vision for the future and a reputation forged as a preferred contractor meeting the needs of America’s leaders in energy delivery.

Established in 1957 as Woodson, Holzer and Crain, and formerly known as WHC, Incorporated, the company maintains headquarters in Broussard, LA. In a move that strengthened its financial position and assured sustainable growth in the oil and gas industry, it teamed with equity group Alvarez and Marsal Capital Partners in December 2014, changing its name to WHC Energy Services, LLC. Today this privately held general contractor is under the guidance of President Randy Warner and provides construction services for pipelines and related facilities.

It also offers pipeline right of way and facilities maintenance services.

Warner became involved with the company in 2004 as a consultant, brought in by George Crain Jr.,

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the son of founder George Crain Sr., to evaluate and determine whether to sell what was a small family-owned business or simply close up shop.

“I told them that I thought we could build it up and find a suitable buyer. I became President and COO in January 2005 and George Crain Jr. stayed on as CEO. In December 2014,

North American Construction Journal the sale completed with Alvarez and Marsal Capital Partners after presentations from many other interested buyers.”

In little more than a decade, WHC has transformed from a business catering to a select clientele into a dynamo that eclipsed USD $330 million in sales revenue in 2016.

Leadership is at the very core of Warner’s DNA but he deflects any

credit. “Our success is the result of dedicated teamwork,” Warner says.

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“Our culture is about family first and working together. It’s not about me, or any individual. It’s about the people who do the work. It’s about the quality of our work – we do what we say we are going to do. We live our belief in the value of safety first and treating everyone with mutual trust and respect. We have received three letters of appreciation from clients in the last month alone who appreciate our work ethic and our professionalism,” says Warner.

Warner is a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy. He flew 56 combat missions in a B-52 during the Vietnam War. Throughout his professional career, he has applied the lessons learned while leading a flight crew a half-century ago and half a world away.

Growing The Company George Crain Sr., the only one of the three founders who remained in the industry, ran the company as a small family

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North American Construction Journal business, cultivating a specific market and a stellar reputation.

George Crain Jr. joined the company after serving in the Army and eventually, with his sister Azalie Holland, bought out their father, maintaining operations as they were with annual revenue of $25 $30 million.

Sadly, the younger Crain contracted Multiple Sclerosis and could not serve effectively as company president. When the downturn of 2004 hit, the company was not fully prepared to weather the trough in available projects so George Crain Jr. financed it out of his personal resources. The company then sought Warner’s

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experience, leadership and advice.

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Becoming today’s $330 million version of its former self required both the discipline to ride out The Great Recession that eviscerated the construction industry in general and the foresight to implement measured long-term growth strategies that ultimately led to the partnership with Alvarez and Marcal Capital.

People and Training

When Warner came to WHC from the Petro-Chemical sector, he discovered the company, in general, did not have much in the way of formal business management training.

He set about to change that,

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“The industry dynamics are good. We see continuous expansion.”

President Randy Warner www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Drilltech, Inc. is pleased to have this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you.

Drilltech, Inc. is owned and operated by Gary Davidson who has over 26 years experience in the directional drilling industry.

Drilltech’s equipment includes a Vermeer D500X500 rig, Vermeer 330X300 rig, American Auger DD140 rig, Vermeer 100X140 rig, Vermeer 100X120 rig, Vermeer 36X50 rig and Vermeer 24X40 rig. We also have all of the required support and safety equipment, mud systems, vacuum trucks, excavators, frac tanks, pumps, semi trucks, pickup trucks, environmental supplies, down hole tools, reamers, tensor steering tools, and navigational equipment.

We have the capability to perform directional drilling work in environmentally sensitive areas, city streets, cross country areas, major river crossings, roadways, railroads, and remote locations. We have experience in all types of soils, including solid rock and fractured formations. We are capable of drilling up to 42� diameter pipe.

It would be our pleasure to be considered for any of your future projects. If you have additional questions or require any further information please do not hesitate to call our office.

Thank you, Gary Davidson President

Drilltech, Inc. Physical Address: Mailing Address:

111 Business Hwy 37 S Clarksville, TX 75426 PO Box 1210 Clarksville, TX 75426

Office: 903-427-0836 Fax: 903-427-1901 Email: gdavidson@drilltechdd.com http://drilltechdd.com http://pipeline-news.com/company-uses-hdd-conquer-challenging-soil-condition-andinstall-natural-gas-pipeline/

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implementing a cradle to grave approach for each contracted project.

was to send key Project Managers for formal Project Management training.

“You have to start with the people doing your work. From the time we get a request to submit a proposal for a project, we assign a Project Manager with a specific Superintendent to develop the construction strategy and estimate. If we win the job, that PM and Super will stay with that job until the last dollar is collected. They own it,” Warner says.

“From there, our guys said ‘Why don’t we just teach it ourselves’ and that’s what we did. Our key managers started an in-house training Lunch and Learn meeting for every project we execute,” Warner says.

The next step in development

“We have had maybe five people

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Personnel retention is rarely an issue. Something as simple as recognizing an employee with a company baseball hat for a job well done engenders loyalty.

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resign during the past 12 years out of 60 or 70 employed; and three of them came back. We don’t usually need recruiters; we get calls from highly qualified people who ask us when we have an opening, if we would consider them. Our Superintendents are rewarded for each project and they often share a part of their bonuses with their team employees. It is about recognizing and rewarding profitable and safe performance.

We have a good benefits environment and we make every effort to encourage transparency

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in our company,” says Warner.

Just how deep does the family culture run? Warner tells the story of eight employees who lost their homes due to recent floods that ravaged the local area “Our employees, on their own, started a collection for clothes, furniture, toys and money. We raised money with donations from other employees and from our vendors, suppliers and subcontractors. Many of our vendors donated supplies and equipment as well as labor to

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“Our culture is about family first and teamwork It’s not about me, or any individual.

It’s about the people who do the work. It’s about the quality of our work – we do what we say we are going to do.”

President Randy Warner help our people clean up and rebuild. Many employees freely donated their personal time to help the families recover their homes. This is the WHC family aspect. That is who we are,” Warner says with pride.

Safety First, Last and Always Perhaps nothing commands Warner’s attention as much as the company’s safety protocol.

Safety discussions take place on a daily basis and it is an absolute edict that employees and sub-contractors adhere to WHC’s guidelines, summed up in

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the mantra: “Stop. Think.

Observe. Proceed.”

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“Safety is Number One and it starts with me. It’s about behavior, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Everything you do and everything you have is contingent upon you being safe.

We have a reputation for that and nothing gets in the way of that.

You can’t just talk – you have to live it. If you don’t, you won’t work for WHC or for our client base. It’s just that simple,” Warner stresses.

The company maintains a pool of preferred sub-contractors who meet WHC’s strict safety guidelines. And, when it comes to bringing aboard a new sub?

“To get a contract to work with WHC, we do a thorough background check. An in-depth review and evaluation of safety records, procedures and management commitment to safety is completed. We commit to providing our clients with assurance that we will deliver a good and safe project the way we always do, so we’re going to screen all contractors very diligently,” Warner says. “Because

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North American Construction Journal of our qualifying process, we believe WHC gets the best.”

And, the company sometimes implements safety measures picked up from its clients and sub-contractors. WHC strongly encourages joint safety programs shared among the client, WHC and the subcontractors. “It’s about people going home from work in the same condition they came to work,” says Warner.

Day to Day Thanks to the current growth and

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expansion of Oil and Gas operations in the Permian Basin area in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, Warner says, WHC is experiencing long-term continued growth in the region.

The company maintains its legacy office in Lafayette, LA; a smaller branch office in East Houston, TX; field offices in Odessa, TX; and an executive office in West Houston, TX. “Now we’re getting a very large number of bid requests, about 48

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a month. Clients are booking contractors for 2018 as a protection against price increases and labor shortages.

There is high demand for both pipeline and associated facilities construction services and we are expecting to fully participate in the continuing growth,” Warner says, noting WHC is now experiencing its most accelerated demand for facilities projects in more than 10 years.

Every project has its own idiosyncrasies and Warner says the company is equipped to meet

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every client’s specific needs.

“It fluctuates by system and by client. If the client knows the pipeline needs compression because of the throughput, we will provide for that. If it’s a smaller line, they may not need a compression station to start, but may want one later,” Warner explains. “We recognize the needs of the client and we adapt to their changes while maintaining the goal of the project.”

For example, Warner says: “One of our largest clients is now in the

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building mode for compression stations for pipelines that are existing or are being installed.

At this time, we are doing about 50 percent of our total project work in compressor and meter stations.”

different breeds. The pipeline folks just want to be out in the open,” Warner says, chuckling.

Most superintendents specialize in either pipelines or compressor station construction, but usually not both.

“We don’t want to own equipment. We have a strong preference to manage our cash.

We rent on a project specific basis, or lease to purchase and sell it when we no longer need it.

We have a great relationship with our vendors. We take great pride in how we treat them and how

“We have compressor station leaders and we have pipeline construction leaders. They help each other out but they are very

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The company leases all of its equipment; good business as far as Warner is concerned.

North American Construction Journal they treat us – we’re fair and we can count on them,” Warner says.

Looking Ahead With Optimism Warner believes the election of President Donald Trump has injected new energy into an industry that largely went dormant during the previous administration.

“Part of the expected [industry] expansion in 2007-08 was that 13 LNG plants were approved for building. But U.S. companies backed away; the people in Washington failed to

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figure out who was going to purchase that gas in the international market,” says Warner, noting that Japan and China were ready and willing to step in and back prospective buyers. The discovery of several shale formations containing massive volumes of natural gas and oil, changed the strategy from importing LNG to exporting LNG. A reversal of sorts has been under way since the discovery of the Marcellus Shale that covers more than 100,000 square miles of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio

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North American Construction Journal and West Virginia about 15 years ago. Focused natural gas extraction began in 2008.

“When one of our major clients was finishing its cross-country pipeline to bring natural gas to the East Coast, the Marcellus Shale was discovered. So, the client hired contractors to turn it around and run it in reverse to the West Coast to sell natural gas to China and Japan. The LNG plant will be built and the gas supply will be readily available,” Warner explains.

Warner says much of the

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Keystone Pipeline running from Alberta, Canada to refineries, tank farms and distribution centers in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas has been fully operational for several years. However, growing opposition led to the prior administration’s rejection of Phase Four of the project in November 2015.

“Keystone already had lines operating and was bringing in a third line. It’s going to happen.

Keystone is one of the things we are going to finish,” Warner predicts, noting a pipeline from Oklahoma to Houston is also in

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North American Construction Journal the works. “The industry dynamics are good. We see continuous expansion.”

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“So, the industry is optimistic about President Trump and his administration. Everyone is buzzing about how he is going to let us do what we can to drive energy in the U.S. as the prime exporter of natural gas. We control the natural gas market for the world and now we’re going to be able to do what we’re capable of doing to further reduce our dependence on foreign oil imports,” Warner says.

Recent approval by President Trump for the completion of the Keystone Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrate the support for the expansion of the U.S. Oil and Gas industry. These projects will provide more jobs and expansion opportunities for other associated distribution systems.

Warner says conversion of coal-fired power plants to natural gas fired plants will continue to increase demand for construction services for the next four to five years. Continuing expansion of

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“Safety is Number One and it starts with me. It’s about behavior, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”

President Randy Warner

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Lafayette Lake Charles Mansfield Monroe Morgan City

New Iberia Port Fourchon Prairieville Reserve

Alexandria Baton Rouge Belle Chasse Bossier City Hammond

Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe St. Rose

© 2017 Caterpillar All rights reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

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integrity projects for the existing pipeline distribution infrastructure in the U.S. will require more service providers as the nfrastructure grows.

“We are at the threshold of probably the most exciting time for growth of our energy businesses in the last thirty years.

WHC is ready and prepared to serve,� Warner concludes.

COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name: WHC Energy Services, LLC Country: U.S. Industry: Construction Est: 1957 Revenue: USD $330 million Premier Service: Oil and gas pipeline and facilities construction President: Randy Warner Website: http://www.whcenergyservices.com/

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Randy Warner, President and CEO, has been with WHC Energy Services for 12 years. Randy received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston. While serving the United States Air Force as a B-52H Pilot, Commander and Squadron Operations Officer Randy was also able to attain his BS Degree in General Engineering. Randy is a seasoned team first executive with roughly 40 years of experience in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical construction realm. WHC responsibilities include working with all employees to daily strategically develop and expand WHC pipeline and facility construction services in multiple states. Responsible for all construction operations, project services, financing, administrative support and operational accounting.

Rick Mills, CFO and Sr. Vice President, has been with WHC Energy Services for 3 years. Rick received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Industrial Construction Management from Colorado State University. Rick has 25 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include finance and accounting, purchasing, subcontracting and equipment management.

Fred Roberts, Executive Vice President and Board Member, has been with WHC Energy Services for 3 years. Fred received his MBA in International Business and his Bachelors of Business Administration Degree in Finance from Baylor University – Hankamer School of Business. Fred has 42 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include banking, bonding, insurance, claims management and Human Resources.

Pam Romero, Vice President and Controller, has been with WHC Energy Services for 27 years. Pam received her Associates Degree in Business from Spencer Business College. Pam has 30 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all accounting functions, payroll, audit and cash management.

Rayburn Judice, Sr. Vice President, has been with WHC Energy Services for 8 years. Rayburn received his Bachelors of Science Civil Engineering Degree from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Rayburn has 36 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all pipeline operations for capital projects as well as maintenance projects.

Ryan Hebert, Vice President Pipeline Operations, has been with WHC Energy Services for 9 years. Ryan received his MBA and his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University. Ryan has 9 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all pipeline operations, estimating and project management.

Mike Cain, Vice President Western Operations, has been with WHC Energy Services for 2 years. Mike studied Business at The University of Maryland University College. Mike has 10 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all operations in Western Operations and maintenance projects in Texas.

Kevin LaBauve, Sr. Vice President, has been with WHC Energy Services for 25 years. Kevin studied Architecture at University of Louisiana at Lafayette and studied Mechanical Engineering at California State University - Bakersfield. Kevin has 26 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all facilities operations for capital projects as well as maintenance projects.

Randel Badeaux, P.E., Vice President Facilities Operations, has been with WHC Energy Services for 7 years. Randel received his Bachelors of Science degree in Civil Engineering from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Randel has 7 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include all facilities operations, estimating and project management.

Jerry Martin, Sr. Vice President Business Development has been with WHC Energy Services for 8 years.

Jerry received his MBA and his Bachelors of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Houston. Jerry has 45 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include business develop, sales and client relations.

John (Jack) Rizzo, Vice President Business Development, has been with WHC Energy Services for 5 years. Jack received his Associates degree in Law Enforcement from Sam Houston State University.

Jack has 47 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include client relations, project sales and new client development.

Beau Gervais, Vice President Business Development, has been with WHC Energy Services for 1 year.

Beau received his Bachelors of Art degree in Speech Communication and his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M. Beau has 19 years of experience in the Oil and Gas industry. WHC responsibilities include client relations, project sales and new client development

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Michels Corporation:

One-Stop Solutions Resource Michels Corporation of Brownsville, WI specializes in construction, engineering and procurement for clients across the utilities industry spectrum Written By; Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished by the late Dale Michels in 1959 as Michels Pipeline Construction, Inc., Michels Corporation changed its name in 2001 to reflect the breadth and depth of the utility construction services it provides.

The family-owned company, now under the direction of President Patrick D. Michels, maintains headquarters in Brownsville, WI and has grown exponentially through the years to encompass 18 divisions and subsidiaries at 30 facilities in the United States

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and Canada. It employs more than 5,000 and maintains a fleet in excess of 10,000 pieces of equipment.

The company specializes in construction, engineering and procurement for the communications, construction materials, civil construction, oil and gas, power delivery, renewable energy, sewer and water, and transportation industries. Its services range from pipeline construction, horizontal directional drilling and fiber optic networks to tunneling,

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paving, custom crushing and road building.

Operational Capabilities

In February 2017, the company won a $6.28 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Boardman River Dam removal and river restoration project in Traverse City, described by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as “the most comprehensive dam-removal and watershed-restoration effort in Michigan’s history.”

In September2016, the U.S. Army

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Corps of Engineers awarded Michels Corp. the $10.96 million contract for restoration of the Underwood Creek ecosystem in Wauwatosa, WI. The project consists of removing 4,000 linear feet of concrete channel from lower Underwood Creek to provide a more natural habitat and is targeted for Spring 2018 completion.

Additional projects include: • Installation of 7,000 feet of two-inch conduit in a utility tunnel under downtown St. Paul,

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North American Construction Journal MN as part of a multi-phase cell phone network upgrade project in 2015

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• Installation of 17 miles of electric and signal cables, conduits and splice boxes as part of a rail improvement project in New Jersey in 2014 • Installation of 1,200 feet of 42-inch casing crossing under a highway and rail tracks via the Direct Pipe® method in Texas in 2014 • Installation of 371 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline in Texas and Oklahoma as part of the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project from 2012-13 • A joint venture collaboration with Jay Dee Contractors, Inc. and Frank Coluccio Construction Co. on construction of the first-ever tunnel under, a five-mile, 15-foot diameter Bay Tunnel under San Francisco Bay, part of SFPUC’s Water System Improvement Program.

Safety Protocol The company follows an

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all-encompassing and straightforward mantra: “Lead Safely. Others Will Follow.” Every employee has the authority to stop any job they may feel to be unsafe. A team of more than 100 Health, Safety and Environmental professionals works with crews directly by providing training, conducting safety audits and overseeing operations.

The company earned recognition in 2015 when it was selected runner-up by the International Pipe Line and Offshore Contractors Association for its “Promise Me”

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and the public isn’t exclusively limited to the work we are performing, but also applies to the potential impact we have on the environment and the safe transport of our team members and equipment on the roadways.

Creating a safe and environmentally-friendly workplace is more than just the right thing to do – as responsible, caring individuals, we feel we have a moral obligation to look out for one another!”

COMPANY INFORMATION campaign, a video initiative in which employees’ family members ask loved ones to always work safely.

Company Name:

Michels’ HSE standards exceed compliance with regulatory requirements and are designed to protect both workers and others impacted by company operations.

Michels Corporation

A policy statement posted to its web site reads, in part: “This dedication and relentless commitment to ensuring the health and safety of our people

engineering and procurement for

Country: U.S. Industry: Construction Est: 1959 Premiere Service: Construction, the Utilities sector.

President: Patrick D. Michels Website: www.michels.us/

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Omega Demolition Corp.:

Managing risk, bringing control to implosive operations

Omega Demolition Corp of Elgin, IL is one of the Midwest’s most highly regarded full-service demolition contractors Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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ncorporated in 1997, Omega Demolition Corp of Elgin, IL has developed into one of the Midwest’s most highly regarded and sought after full-service demolition contractors.

The company’s areas of expertise include selective and total structural demolition; asset recovery; recycling; and environmental remediation serving the industrial, heavy civil/infrastructure, bridge and elevated highway, and institutional markets. Under the direction of co-owners and brothers, company President

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Chuck Gerage and Secretary Jim Gerage, Omega Demolition works throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast, employing approximately 350 individuals – a quantum leap from its modest beginning.

“I would say 1992 would be when [my brother and I] started. It was us selling our life insurance policies that our grandma bought us to buy one pickup truck and work out of a rented garage,” Chuck Gerage recalls Since then, Omega has crafted a reputation for unwavering

North American Construction Journal attention to detail, on-time execution and flawless risk management, resulting in long-term relationships with premier firms such as The Walsh Group (Walsh Construction, Archer Western) of Chicago.

“When you’re dealing with companies such as Walsh and that magnitude, you’re dealing with companies that are very protective of themselves so their subs have to be very qualified to work with them,” says Gerage.

Elizabeth Freund, Omega’s Director of Business Development, says the

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company’s level of expertise is invaluable. “Omega has been around for a long time and its ownership has great depth of expertise in the demolition industry. That translates into knowledge and experience that allows Omega to participate as a full partner,” she notes.

Gerage adds: “We manage the demolition risk as it pertains to imploding bridges, working in navigable water, and working with Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers and ATF. When we’re doing demolition work, protecting homes and

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North American Construction Journal people, that risk is really managed very tightly. The larger firms bring us in because we can manage that risk.”

High Profile Projects

U.S. Route 170 / Blanchette Bridge Working with Walsh Construction, Omega utilized conventional wrecking and blasting methods to take down the superstructure and substructure of the 4,350-foot span over the Missouri River in St. Charles, MO.

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“We had to open the river within 24 hours because it’s a navigable channel with a lot of traffic through it – and we were working with a brand new 300-meter bridge 25 feet from it,” Gerage explains.

U.S. Route 421 / MiltonMadison Bridge Another collaboration with Walsh involved the implosion of the half-mile long 80-year-old structure over the Ohio River connecting Indiana and Kentucky.

“It was another very tough job

North American Construction Journal through the Ohio River, which was very navigable,” Gerage recalls. “It was one of the first bridges built on shoring towers and off the existing concrete piers from the old bridge. That (new) bridge won all kinds of awards for Walsh because it was the first that was rolled over on bearings into place.”

“When we’re doing

FedEx Cargo Building / O’Hare International Airport

because we can manage

Working inside and adjacent to the airport’s flight security zone, Omega took down the three-story building totaling 292,395sf.

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demolition work, protecting homes and people, that risk is really managed very tightly. The larger firms bring us in that risk.”

- Chuck Gerage, President

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Concrete slabs and foundations from the building were recycled for use in the O’Hare Modernization project.

“We had to demolish the facility without impacting air traffic control and airplanes with flying dust and debris,” Gerage says.

Safety Measures

Given the nature of the business, there is no wiggle room when it comes to implementing best practices. “We follow OSHA Demolition guidelines, so then there is nothing to talk about,” Gerage asserts. “We follow the rules over and above due

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to our line of work.

“First, it’s all about each individual going home each night.

And, we expose ourselves by taking a risk for some of the coverage, so senior management has an incentive to make sure those guidelines are followed,” he adds.

The company has in place programs that drive those best practices through to every individual in the field.

“Our documentation is airtight.

There is improved linkage between

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compliance, safety, business, and field operations. It all works together very well and enhances the risk mitigation Omega offers large contractors,” Freund explains.

“The message is the same from top management to laborers – safety is first.”

shutdown, we need to be done and out of there in 59 minutes,” Gerage points out. “We do a lot of planning and that’s part of the reason our success has been what it is, because of the planning that goes in ahead of time.”

Efficient Operations

Freund says the company brings together representatives from the various work groups to contribute to the problem-solving process during pre-project planning.

Rigorous planning – sometimes six months or more in advance – is crucial to successful job execution.

“We’re a schedule-driven company.

The work we do is move and go, so there is no time for down time.

Look, we shut down highway systems. If there is an hour

“When you get people with diverse skill sets and put them in the same place in the same

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“We’re a schedule-driven company. The work we do is move and go, so there is no time for down time. We shut down highway systems. If there is an hour shutdown, we need to be done and out of there in 59 minutes.”

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environment at the same time, they identify problems from various perspectives. We can then approach the project from a proactive perspective rather than a reactive perspective,” she says.

This approach was borne out during Omega’s work on the Dan Ryan Expressway Flyover project.

“We were the first company in the state of Illinois that was allowed to shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway for full closure because the state felt so confident that we would open it up when we said we would. Not only did we open it up, we

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accelerated so well that we put them two weeks ahead of schedule,” Gerage says with noticeable pride.

“Jim oversees the field operation and I oversee the office. We’re very close brothers and we grew up in this industry so that’s a pretty dynamic team to begin with. You have ownership involved with everything in this business and decisions can be made on the spot,” he adds.

The company encourages internal advancement and provides mentoring and training programs

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North American Construction Journal for employees seeking to move into a management role.

The company has developed a deep network of trusted subcontractors through the years.

“We pay them quickly – it’s the only way to do business,” says Gerage.

Technology and Equipment

Combining an array of technology platforms with high-speed internet allows Omega to centralize and share information seamlessly with those in the field, providing in essence a

real-time dashboard.

“Everybody has the same access.

For example, are employees on a job certified to work on roadways? Our guy in Boston can tap in and find out what the credentials are of his guys on the job,” Gerage says.

When working underwater, the technology is used to detect sounds of fish and to scan riverbeds for potential risk factors.

The company owns and maintains a fleet of more than Specializing in Crane Rental & Sales for Over 45 Years

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North American Construction Journal 100 pieces of large equipment.

“I buy everything, run it for X amount of hours, then buy again.

Owning allows me to modify the equipment and do what I want with it. We customize 85 percent of our equipment. We have mechanics on every job so when we break down, they are on site to fix it,” Gerage says.

While Omega has historically been a conservative growth company, Gerage says it is looking at some different market areas and is examining the feasibility for doubling capacity from 2016-20.

COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: Omega Demolition Corp.

Country: United States Industry: Construction Est:1997

In the end, success is all about developing sustainable relationships.

Premiere Service:

“One thing we are very well known for is that we’re honest. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong. We don’t lie to our customers or our employees. We tell the truth,” Gerage concludes.

Corporation is a turnkey

Which is, after all, the very best asset of them all.

Secretary Jim Gerage

Omega Demolition demolition contractor Owners: President Chuck Gerage, Website: www.omega-demolition.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

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R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd.:

Preferred Builder of Medical and Healthcare Facilities R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. of Nanaimo, B.C. provides a full suite of Project Management, Construction Management and General Contracting services Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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hen R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. targeted the healthcare and medical facility market on Vancouver Island, B.C., it worked tirelessly to achieve and cement its reputation as the preferred contracting partner for such projects in and a round Nanaimo.

“We build all sorts of other commercial projects but the medical community is the market niche we’ve really targeted and we want to be the first call any of them make,” acknowledges company founder and President Bob Wall, an industry veteran of 50 years who cut his teeth as a

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16-year-old summer worker for his father’s residential construction firm in the 1960s.

“I just love it any time we deliver a product that’s better than anyone in our small part of the world has seen before,” he declares.

Established in 1986, R.W. (Bob) Wall’s expansive portfolio also includes professional office buildings, hotels, warehouses, retail spaces, apartment buildings, schools and churches. The company’s suite of Project Management, Construction Management and General Contracting services enables it

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to shepherd projects through from concept to closeout and beyond.

developed and nurtured through the years.

Wall is a past local President and Provincial Director of the Nation Home Builders Association (NHBA), a Registered Professional Builder with the NHBA and the holder of Gold Seal Certificates for both Project Management and Estimating issued by the Canadian Construction Association.

What differentiates R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. from its competitors?

Under his direction and that of his daughter and business partner, General Manager Donna Marie Hais, the company maintains a full-time staff of 20 and partners with a network of trusted sub-contractors

“I think the biggest difference is that [their] project gets priority from our firm. That is very significant for the doctors and caregivers to know that they are on the front burner all the time and that their needs are the most important thing on our agenda every day,” Wall points out.

“And not just that they are our prime concern but that they know they have hired a company that is very knowledgeable and can achieve and deliver all of the special needs and features that the medical community and their facilities require,” he adds.

Showcase Projects

Eden Gardens, a 130-bed dementia care facility in Nanaimo, is replacing an outdated facility with a village-like setting featuring a blend of public and private spaces and will address the specific needs of those requiring dementia care. The foundation and basement are in

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“I just love it any time we deliver a product that’s better than anyone in our small part of the world has seen before.”

- President Bob Wall, R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. place, framing is nearly completed and the project is on target for a Spring 2017 completion.

“It’s run by a not-for-profit and we were invited to submit a proposal with others. They chose our firm to help with their response to the Government RFP for facility and now we are carrying right on through with construction of facility,” Wall says.

To prepare to build the company’s first dementia care facility project, Wall and Hais

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first visited facilities across Western Canada, gathering ideas and information.

“The model we chose is the Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon. We took our architects and engineers and arranged meetings for them with every department head before we turned them loose to design Eden Gardens, using the model we found to be the best in Western Canada,” Wall notes.

R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. owns and leases the Harbour City Health Centre and the Millstone Medical Centre, both in Nanaimo. The company customizes each space to the specifications of individual tenants and Millstone

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has both a café and small gym on the premises.

“Whenever there are new tenants, one of first meetings is for the architect who custom designs to their specific needs. They (health care providers) spend so many hours in there and they are so well educated and the services are so modern and leading edge that we want the facilities to reflect that.

It’s a second home and that’s exactly what we’re trying to deliver for them,” Wall explains.

The company exhibited its diversity and won a Project Management renovation award for its work at a century-old

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building at 223 Commercial St. in Nanaimo, gutting and re-building the interior, and restoring a third storey that had been lost to fire in 1930, complete with rooftop patios.

Additional projects in Nanaimo include the Salvation Army Transitional Housing, the Oral Facial and Surgery Implant Centre, the Madsen Professional Building, a Ramada Hotel, and the Nanaimo Christian School.

People and Training

“We keep ourselves updated as changes come and a lot of that comes from seminars, courses, classes, and the continuing

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education program we have within our company for the six Superintendents. It really helps us bring up-to-date leading edge technology and information to the table when we join others with whatever board or governing body we are participating,” Wall notes.

says. “Sometimes they are just seeking input from the other Supers. They can help each other avoid making mistakes by giving each other good ideas on how to put the building together. They know they have a team to call on.”

Superintendents routinely rotate through and observe each other’s projects.

Wall takes pride in being a hands-on manager who asks nothing of employees he wouldn’t do himself, an approach that fosters a family atmosphere and staff loyalty. Senior Superintendent Ben Nychuk, for example, has been with the company for 42 years.

“It’s a chance to explain how they have overcome some difficulties on a project. It’s almost inevitable that something difficult or challenging will come up,” Wall

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“Sometimes that means jumping down into the ditch and helping to get something ready because the concrete truck is sitting there,” Wall points out. “The biggest thing that defines us is everyone showing each other how they’re doing it and helping each other out. That only works if they see leadership doing it.

“We have very good retention level of staff once they are trained. It’s because of the family atmosphere I think, from being part of a greater team and having greater

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an interest in what others are doing off the job site as well, whether that’s fishing or having a barbecue – doing the things that every company that lasts a long time does,” he continues.

“Longevity is one of the things that appeals to our people and provides security and peace of mind they really seem to appreciate.”

Wall knows a little support goes a long way: “You can’t always point out to people what could have

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been done better. You have to take the time to tell them they have done a good job. At least once a week everybody does something good.�

Operations

Superintendents maintain current safety certifications, are trained on all equipment and have the expertise to perform tasks in the field when the need arises. “That makes a difference in the level of respect our Supers get from the workers in all of the

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trades,” Wall asserts. “Something used on most sites now is a zoom boom, a forklift that can pick up materials and lumber and lift it several storeys on a telescoping arm. The Super has to get certified how to operate that piece of equipment and has to be licensed to make sure it is done properly and safely.”

going into it, so we did some research and found that the l eading architect in facilities for radiology has his offices in California. We reached out, got to know him, hired him and had him do all the plans and specifications to make sure that what we’re doing is leading edge and as good as it can be,” Wall explains.

Going the extra mile to assure client satisfaction is a company hallmark.

Operating as a single point of contact, R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. can also arrange project financing and regularly attends meetings with clients to assure compliance with all of the government healthcare guidelines.

“For example, we recently did a radiology clinic and we hadn’t dealt with some of the equipment

“It gives the medical community, or whoever it is we’re dealing with, peace of mind that they just need to know one phone number to have things be looked after, that if they don’t have all the answers, we’ll get them the answers,” Wall says.The company works to avoid the industry stereotype of project delays that cost clients more than they were promised.

“Our Supers are really good that way. If it means working evenings or working weekends and making

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North American Construction Journal certain a clinic opens on the day they were told it would open, that’s what we do,” stresses Wall, adding that heavy reliance on sub-contractors means treating them well and paying them on time.

“We have a very short list in each of 20 categories of three or four companies that we will accept prices from to bid the work because of their reputation and track record of doing a good job for the amount they quoted,” he says.

Looking Forward

The company has already purchased the land for its next healthcare project and HazMat studies have been conducted in advance of demolishing the five existing buildings.

Wall hints that he will be cutting back in the near future and takes great pride in knowing his daughter is poised to assume control.

“When I offered her the job I told her she had to work with me for 20 years before she could be a partner,” Wall recalls. “It’s now

been over 25 years and one of the things that has brought me the most joy is being able to pass on what I’ve learned to her and seeing her come to the place that she can now handle anything.

“It will give our clientele a considerable degree of comfort knowing that when I start working less that the continuity will be there. They’ve grown to know Donna and they’re going to get the same level of treatment,” he concludes.

COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: R.W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1986 Premiere Service: Commercial construction with a focus on healthcare and medicalfacilities.

Principal Partners: President Bob Wall General Manager Donna Marie Hais Website: www.bobwallcontracting.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

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RCC Associates:

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Building on a foundation of superior quality, customer service across the U.S.

Based in South Florida, RCC Associates has grown into a sought-after specialist in the construction of high-end restaurants, retail, hospitality and other commercial projects across the country.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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ollowing the 1998 death of her husband and RCC Associates’ founder Richard Raphael, Beverly Raphael chose to stay the course, deflecting – and indeed using as motivation – the pointed criticism of those who questioned her place in the construction industry.

Raphael, RCC’s President and CEO, has long since silenced that conversation, teaming with Executive Vice President Rick Rhodes to steer RCC Associates to prominent standing among those in retail construction by consistently delivering superior performance and customer service.

Established in 1971 in Chicago, RCC Associates relocated to South Florida in 1981. The company is a member of the Retail Contractors Association (RCA), generated approximately $85 million annual revenue in 2015, employs 95 and boasts an array of high-profile national and international clients across the commercial spectrum.

“I’m so glad that we’re still here, that we’ve been able to grow as

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we have. There are so many people involved in the success of any company. It’s never only one person,” says Raphael, noting that while early stories about her place in a male-dominated industry “made for interesting reading” her focus has always been “first and foremost on being successful and respected in the construction business, gender being irrelevant.”

People First

RCC’s size and family atmosphere is attractive to prospective employees. Once hired, Raphael says, most stay and are selfmotivated to pursue careers within the company.

North American Construction Journal

“I would say than nine times out of 10 they fall in love with the corporate culture, and I think that’s important,” she says, adding that she and Rhodes are hands-on owners. Their involvement in every facet of the business is an important aspect of that culture.

“A lot of the people we have attracted come to us from very structured, large companies where they never met the owner, where there were so many layers above them that nobody in upper management knew who were they were. There was really no personal connection, and their loyalty was more to a paycheck than it was to the company,” Raphael says.

“We know everybody who works for us. We know their spouses, and

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their children. We know their families. Even their mothers and fathers come to our events. The value placed on family and work-life balance has always been key to retaining people,” she adds.

There is ample opportunity for career growth within the firm.

Raphael says: “Probably every director in this company was hired in an entry-level position and worked his or her way up.”

Director of Project Management Donna Robbins, for example, was hired as a receptionist 15 years ago. It didn’t take Raphael long to recognize Robbins’ tremendous potential.

“Donna is exceptionally bright.

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North American Construction Journal Rick and I kept giving her more responsibility and promoting her.

It got to the point that we said ‘We’re looking for a Director of Project Management. Before we go out into the market, we want to give you that opportunity.’

She’s been director for three years now and she’s exceeded all expectations,” Raphael praises.

Rachael Johnson, initially hired as Estimating Coordinator around the same time, has also continually demonstrated her

value to the company. Now Director of Preconstruction and Estimating, she manages a team of eight and plays an important role in strategic decisions regarding what projects the firm will pursue.

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Raphael’s youngest daughter, Robyn Raphael, joined as a Project Coordinator upon graduation from college in 2002 and has since worked her way up the career ladder to Director of Operations, overseeing

“Probably every director in this company was hired in an entry-level position and worked his or her way up.”

- Beverly Raphael, President/CEO

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Rhodes also worked his way up from subcontractor to his current position as EVP. “Rick had been working with my late husband for 13 or 14 years.

Richard hired him, and he progressed from Superintendent to General Superintendent to Vice President. When Richard was sick he told me that if I decided to keep the company, I should consider making Rick a partner,” Raphael recalls.

Raphael stresses that “there are no dead ends” at RCC, adding that the company provides educational support and mentors employees

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seeking advancement.

“If someone has that desire and that passion to want to grow, we’ll foster it and help him or her get there,” Raphael states.

“Sometimes it can take three months for [new] employees to settle in, to learn the RCC way vs. the way it was done at a prior company. When you hire from within, there’s no time lost.”

Focused Management

The synergy resulting from Rhodes’ depth of industry experience and Raphael’s business acumen – she developed her own high-end women’s clothing company

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before joining RCC full-time in 1999 – is a huge factor in the firm’s success.

itself, Raphael felt it was important to retain its boutique company culture.

“Rick and I are a great combination – we balance each other. I’m very fortunate because he is pure construction, definitely the smartest person in construction that I know. He’s qualified our firm in 31 states.

And I handle finance decisions, oversee business development and marketing, and supervise the inner workings of the office,” Raphael explains.

“We didn’t want to lose that hands-on ability to communicate with our staff and our clients. But we had to do something unique to differentiate us. What we decided to do was step out of our comfort zone and begin to work outside of Florida. That would be our edge,” she says.

When the company began examining ways to differentiate

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At the time, RCC was already building for now long-time client The Cheesecake Factory throughout Florida. It was this important client that provided

North American Construction Journal RCC with the opportunity to take it to the next level.

“Acquiring the ability to work outside of Florida for The Cheesecake Factory was extremely important, because it meant they didn’t have to go through the growing pains and learning curve inherent to utilizing multiple new contractors as they expanded,” Raphael says.

“Once we qualified in other states for them, we decided we could leverage our mobility for other clients as well. So, we began

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“Any time we’ve needed help finding a subcontractor in a market with which we were unfamiliar, or if we needed client information, we’ve been able to lean on the RCA.” - Beverly Raphael, President/CEO

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emphasizing that we could grow with clients, saving them from having to re-invent the wheel in each new market,” she continues.

The company survived the devastation wrought by The Great Recession in relatively good shape.

“We saw a lot of seemingly stable companies get obliterated, and it wasn’t because they didn’t deliver good work,” recalls Raphael, who is now married to Joel Altman, owner of Altman Development.

“Fortunately, we saw it coming

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before it had the chance to affect our company. We saw it in the residential market. My husband was coming home every day saying ‘prepare, prepare, prepare.’

It had already hit his industry.

We made adjustments, and we were also very fortunate that we were in the commercial market.

While retail slowed down, the restaurant division remained very consistent.”

Membership in the RCA has been a key component in the company’s ability to expand its national footprint.

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“Any time we’ve needed help finding a sub-contractor in a market with which we were unfamiliar, or if we needed client information, we’ve been able to lean on the RCA,” Raphael says.

“Their networking events are great and have allowed us to meet key people within the industry. That’s the biggest benefit – a very important connection for us.”

Operations

RCC works with an extensive network of subcontractors

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across the U.S. and is always seeking qualified partners to grow with the firm’s increasing volume.“We love to work repeatedly with subcontractors that we know and trust, and will enlist additional support if a particular project needs to be accelerated. We tell our Estimating Department and our Project Managers to constantly evaluate new, qualified sources,” Raphael says. “We’re only as good as our subs, and we make sure they are paid in a timely manner.

Without them we wouldn’t be the

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With RCC’s extensive reach, technology is key to both internal and client communications. Site Superintendents have cameras to provide photos chronicling job progress on a weekly basis, and also supply daily project reports.

Video conferencing is regularly used for meetings with potential and existing clients and architects. Finally, the Accounting Department uses multiple systems to track project completion and ensure that billing is executed in a timely fashion.

Looking Ahead

Repeat business remains key to the company’s success. For example, RCC has built nearly 70 Cheesecake Factory locations across the country from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, as well as 15 Brio’s Tuscan Grilles.

The firm’s extensive and diverse restaurant portfolio also includes heavyweights Del Frisco’s, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Morton’s Steakhouse. Among its many retail and commercial clients are Versace, Harry Winston, Escada, DKNY, Fit2Run,

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Wells Fargo and Sun Life Stadium. The company has also been sought for its expertise in the renovation of numerous historic South Beach hotels.

“Clients don’t come back to you when they’re dissatisfied with quality or service. I would estimate that probably 80 percent of our business is repeat business,” Raphael says.

Locally, Miami’s ongoing construction boom will likely provide a pipeline of work in the foreseeable future, with numerous projects slated within the upscale Brickell City Centre mixed-use development, the luxurious Design District and the forthcoming Miami WorldCenter.

“Miami exploded a few years ago, and it continues to be a source of so much business for us with a lot of retail, restaurants, and specialty entertainment venues including luxury movie theaters. We built iPic in Boca Raton, and we have clients from Mexico that have been developing luxury cinemas for years, now coming into South Florida and expanding throughout the country,” says Raphael.

These days Raphael says when

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COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: RCC Associates Country: United States Industry: Construction Est: 1971 Revenue: USD $85 million Premiere Service: Specialist in

potential clients ask if the company is woman-owned, it is often part of a qualification checklist because some companies have a requirement to utilize women or minority-owned businesses.

It seems times have certainly changed for the better.

high-end restaurants, retail, commercial and hospitality segments.

Principal Partners: President/CEO Beverly Raphael, Executive VP Rick Rhodes Website: www.rccassociates.com

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Herman/Stewart Construction

Experience plus

teamwork

equals success

Herman/Stewart Construction of Lanham, MD provides General Contracting expertise for multiple sectors across the United States Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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or Herman/Stewart Construction of Lanham, MD the combination of staff stability and extensive experience has translated into long-term, repeatable success.

Established in 1990, Herman/ Stewart is under the direction of Vice President Terry Varner. The company holds licenses to work across the continental United States, specializing in hospitality, senior living, assisted living, retail shopping centers, retail rollout and food service building projects,

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including LEED initiatives.

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Varner says Herman/Stewart’s success is directly attributable to its work force.

“To be successful in the world we live in today and the industry we work in, it takes two things – your staff and your subcontractors. Our Business Development team could be on fire securing opportunities but if I don’t have the right subs and the right staff to produce the work, there’s no value in it,” he says.

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The company today employs 100 office and field staff, maintains a vast network of trusted subcontractors, and generates USD $60-$90 million annual revenue.

In 2015 alone, Herman/Stewart executed nearly 100 jobs in 19 states.

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We’ve been in business 26 years and we have employees who have been here since day one. If you hire good employees, and you don’t micro-manage them and let them do their jobs, they end up being long-term partners,” Varner notes.

Noteworthy Projects

And what of that abundant experience? According to Varner, the average Herman/Stewart employee has been with the company for 13 ½ years.

When actor Robert Redford decided to add brick-and-mortar locations to his portfolio as a complement to his upscale Sundance catalogue, Herman/Stewart got in on the ground floor so to speak.

“We consider each other family.

“We were fortunate to build their

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“To be successful in the world we live in today and the industry we work in, it takes two things – your staff and your sub-contractors.”

- Vice President Terry Varner first store and continued to build them around the U.S. They’ve been very successful,” says Varner. Sundance plans to build up to 150 stores over the next several years.

Herman/Stewart also oversaw construction of well-known international chain Nando’s Peri Peri first U.S. restaurant in Washington, D.C. The 3,800sf l ocation features reclaimed vintage wood flooring as well as exposed brick on its interior walls. “There are approximately 1,100 of them

world-wide but fewer than 30 in the U.S. and we’ve built over 75 percent of them,” Varner says.

Herman/Stewart is also the General Contractor on the Hail+Hog Kitchen and Tap, a Washington Redskins-themed restaurant opening this spring in Ashburn, VA. “That’s pretty highprofile project for us,” Varner says.

Included among the company’s numerous clients are AT&T Mobility, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Columbia Sportswear, Qdoba

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Mexican Grill, 24 Hour Fitness, Tommy Bahama, Bobby’s Burger Palace, Top Shop along with a wide range of hotel chains

Efficient Operations

The extensive sub-contractor network they have cultivated through the years is crucial to Herman/Stewart’s success.

“General Contractors used to do a lot of work internally, whether it was concrete, carpentry, framing or drywall. Now most General Contractors sub out 98 percent of the work. If your subs are not an

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extension of your team, there is a shortfall,” says Varner.

The company maintains subcontractor groups in each of its key market segments because, as Varner explains, “a great plumber for a restaurant may not be the right plumber for a hotel.”“We do have a core group of subs that work for us on a frequent basis because they’ve proven they have good competitive pricing and that they perform,” Varner notes. “And we try to add new subs on every job because you can never have too

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many of the right subcontractors and vendors.

“Typically Superintendents have weekly meetings with the foremen of the trades that may be working on site for that week or the next two weeks. From that they develop the two-week schedule and that goes to the Project Manager and the team, the Owner or the Owner’s Representative, and the Architect for discussion and comment. It’s a great tool to use because things do change at a

quick pace,” Varner explains.

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Varner says the company makes it a habit to complete all work that is reasonable on any given day.

“Construction doesn’t get done in a normal sequence, so if there’s anything you can do, then do it. Don’t put it off. It’s just good management,” he says.

The company regularly takes advantage of training programs and seminars offered by the Retail Contractors Association

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“If you hire good employees, and you don’t micro-manage them and let them do their jobs, they end up being longterm partners.”

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(RCA), attending when possible and assimilating all available information for internal use.

And, to demonstrate the importance of sub-contractors to its success, the company planned an Appreciation Night in April for its core sub-contractors in conjunction with a meet and greet for an invited group of prospective sub-contractors who could work with the company on future projects.

Safety Measures

It is the job of the full-time Safety

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Officer to make sure the company’s safety program is followed to the letter. This includes regular visits to job sites.

“He will write up our staff and sub-contractors if he finds things that are potential violations. He lets everybody in the field know when there is a problem. It is easier for us to identify and fix a problem before OSHA or somebody else comes to visit your job site,” Varner states.

All of the company’s Superintendents have either

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received or are working toward obtaining their 30-hour OSHA certifications.

competitors grapple with, most notably when it comes to finding the right employees.

“That’s becoming a requirement to work on a lot of sites. Safety has to occupy a very important place in your business model. You have to do everything you can to maintain a safe work environment,” Varner says.

“I don’t know that we do anything unique. We spend a lot of time meeting people and interviewing people and, hopefully through that process, we vet them out,” he says.

Staff Retention and Training Varner says problems Herman/Stewart faces are no different than those their

“We introduce them to our other employees and hope that they see that we are a fair and reasonable firm that is good to its employees.”

Herman/Stewart has brought on summer interns on occasion but most often works through referral agencies when seeking new employees.

For his part, Varner maintains an open door policy and all are welcome to voice their opinions.

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COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: Herman/Stewart Construction Country: United States Industry: Retail Construction Est: 1990 Revenue: USD $60m-$90m Premiere Service: Commercial General Contractor Principal Partners: Vice President Terry Varner Website: www.herman-stewart.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

North American Construction Journal

Pinnacle Commercial Development, Inc.:

Premier provider of turnkey project solutions

Pinnacle Commercial Development, Inc. of Point Pleasant, N.J. works in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, health care, light industrial and storage sectors across the country.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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rom the outset, a laser-like focus on controlled growth allowed Pinnacle Commercial Development, Inc. of Point Pleasant, NJ to realize its vision of becoming an elite provider of turnkey solutions.

Established in 2007, Pinnacle is a member of the Retail Contractors Association (RCA) and has grown to become a highly regarded national presence, generating $95 million in revenue in FY2015 while providing integrated services across the retail, restaurant, hospitality, health care, light industrial and storage sectors from concept to closeout.

“All of our growth is through repeat business. We started out with one or two clients that we geared our operations around, performing for them. Those clients went to their architect and their architect [asked] ‘Who is that firm that did those three stores?’ and then they’d introduce us to another retailer,” explains Pinnacle co-Owner and Vice President Dennis Rome, a 15-year industry veteran.

Among those earliest clients were Family Dollar and JoAnn Fabrics

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and Crafts.

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“Our growth has been with Family Dollar. It started out with two stores a year and now we’re doing 15. One of the guys at Family Dollar left and went to Dollar General, so now we have a parallel program we’re doing with Dollar General. That’s just smart growth,” Rome says.

Flexibility and a willingness to adapt have helped Pinnacle to stand out.

“We’re a young company, so we just try to be willing to learn to

North American Construction Journal change our ways if we have to.

When you get stuck in your ways, you stop growing,” Rome observes. “We function very much like a large construction management firm. Both [coOwner] Mike Kogan and myself stay involved in every project. We try to be very hands-on and approach projects as if we’re the owners. We try to be very proactive. We see what issues come up and put the correct solution on it.

“We truly value partnerships.

We want this to be mutually

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beneficial for all parties. That goes from our clients to all our subcontractors. We are long-term oriented. A lot of our competitors forget this is a service business. We want our relationships to last long after the job is finished,” Rome stresses.

Sharp Operations

Pinnacle does the majority of its work along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, but Rome – who oversees construction and operations – notes “we work nation-wide, from Indiana to

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North American Construction Journal Vermont to Florida to Texas. And we do some hospitality work in the Caribbean.”The company is equipped for projects of all types.

“We do every project from a 500-square foot yoga fit-out to four-, five- and six-story ground up buildings in New York City. We just built three of the first stores on the East Coast for Billy Beez, a new indoor concept for kids,” says Rome.

“Throughout the year we’re not just doing one-offs. We didn’t do one Family Dollar [last year], we did 15. We didn’t do one JoAnn’s store, we did 21. Your business is going to grow based upon making a fair amount of money and by turning over the right jobs amongst 15-20 jobs, not just one,” he continues.

Pinnacle typically presents clients with alternatives while providing them with tailored solutions. That could range from identifying an effective lighting solution being used at a self-storage project and suggesting that a client such as Family Dollar consider it to suggesting to a client that a single vendor providing lighting solutions on multiple projects

103 “We truly value partnerships.

We want this to be mutually beneficial for all parties. That

goes from our clients to all our subcontractors. We are long-term oriented … We want our relationships to last long after the job is finished.”

- Dennis Rome, Vice President might be worth investigating for cost savings or special programs it may offer.

“Our goal is to add value throughout the construction process. We do this by offering a wide-variety of services from site analysis/feasibility, value engineering, material selection to inspection and closeout,” Rome says. “We judge ourselves by our clients success.”

Anticipating trends and staying ahead of the curve is crucial. When investment analysts anticipated that JoAnn’s would

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decline, the Pinnacle team that worked with JoAnn’s prepared to take on other projects. And, when the self-storage market heated up, Pinnacle was ready to take advantage.“The self-storage industry in New York City is booming. These are large projects that can be $20 million a piece. We started building self-storage again when nobody else was doing it, so now we’ve become the go-to guy,” Rome says.

Pinnacle prefers to have dedicated teams working with specific clients and mixes in

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younger workers to study and learn from senior employees.

The company holds a number of events throughout the year to reward employees for a job well done, such as a day at the Jersey Shore, backyard barbecues and holiday decorating competitions.

Utilizing Technology

The company uses software such as Electrical Bid Manager™ and Procore project management tools. The latter allows each team member to log into a cloud-based server and review specific project

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North American Construction Journal “The self-storage industry in New York City is booming. These are large projects that can be $20 million apiece. We started building self-storage again when nobody else was doing it, so now we’ve become the go-to guy.”

- Dennis Rome, Vice President

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information at a moment’s notice.

“We try to stay on top advances in the industry to make sure sub-contractors get drawings as soon as possible and for our clients to stay in touch with what’s upcoming,” says Rome.

The same goes for product advancement.

“All of our clients have all adopted Energy Management Systems and Lighting Control Systems, so we stay informed as to what’srequired for them and how they operate.

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North American Construction Journal Everybody has got LED lights, so we’re in tune with that technology.

We stay on top of product advancement,” Rome notes.

Site Superintendents maintain project specific electronic folders that can be accessed and updated with job information as needed from the main office.

Pinnacle representatives regularly attend trade shows and spend time networking with clients because, Rome says, “hearing what people have to say helps you grow; it’s important to know what your clients are thinking.”

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Safety Measures

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Employees attend safety seminars on a regular basis and are also provided with webinars by the company’s insurance provider, The Travelers.

“Safety is a major issue in the Northeast, specifically in New York City. Traveler’s will send out a webinar every two or three weeks on topics that relate to our projects, such as 15 to 20 minutes on crane safety,” Rome says. “In New York there is a whole set of safety protocols to follow. We try to keep everyone in the company

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North American Construction Journal from the receptionist to the senior executives in tune with what’s going on safety wise.”

Benefits of RCA Membership Rome is an avid supporter of the RCA and its built-in support system, which consists of the best in class when it comes to retail contracting nationally.

“If we’re doing a West Coast project and we’re not familiar with the difficulties or challenges of working in that area, we’ll speak to a few of the companies out there,” he says.

He finds the Association’s annual SPECS convention to be especially beneficial.

“I look forward to SPECS every year, sitting down with those guys and talking. You’re sitting there saying ‘it would be great to figure out a way to do this, or I’m finding a hurdle in the industry’ and you figure it must be our just our company that’s not getting it. But, when you sit down with 50 or 60 companies and you’re listening to everybody, you realize it’s a trend across the nation. So it’s nice to bounce ideas off people around the country and see how they’re

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handling a problem,” Rome says.

He appreciates RCA’s efforts to go the extra mile while vetting and qualifying its members annually.

“They look at our financials, they look at our experience, they call our references and they inspect our license to make sure we can work in that state. They do that every year. They re-evaluate to make sure this is a company they want working with them. We all have our niches but everyone in the top end of the industry is a member of the RCA,” says Rome.

And, true to its name, Pinnacle is proud to stand among them.

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“I look forward to SPECS

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COMPANY INFORMATION

every year, sitting down with those guys and talking … it’s nice to bounce ideas off people around the country

Company Name: Pinnacle Commercial Development, Inc. Country: United States Industry: Retail Construction

and see how they’re handling

Est: 2007

a problem.”

Revenue: USD $95 million Premier Service:

- Dennis Rome, Vice President

Integrated services across the retail, restaurant, hospitality, health care, light industrial and storage sectors Principal Partners: President Michael Kogan, Vice President Dennis Rome Website: www.pinnaclecommercial.us www.naconstructionjournal.com

North American Construction Journal

All-Rite Construction:

If You Can Build in New York, You Can Build Anywhere!

Top retail chains order All-Rite Construction to bring their NYC construction specialty more national Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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D

uring the last quarter century, All-Rite Construction has grown from a small family NYC construction specialist to more of a multi-regional firm by delivering retail chain satisfaction in a big way.

Established in 1989, the commercial general contractor specializes in retail construction and provides a complete suite of services. The company is a member of the Retail Contractors Association (RCA) and boasts a client list that includes some of the country’s top retail chains such as GameStop, Family Dollar and AutoZone.

“We started as a small family business with my father, me and two of my brothers. Our first major account back then was Radio Shack,” recalls company President Warren Zysman.

All-Rite Construction began operating primarily in New York City and the Tri-State area but now is licensed to operate from Maine to South Carolina along the East Coast and has recently expanded into Ohio, Indiana,

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Illinois and Texas. The company retains a staff of approximately 20 office personnel and site superintendents and works with a large network of preferred sub-contractors.

All-Rite initially performed private and public sector work but quickly realized that working with national retailers provided the most stable source of income.

“The retailers typically knew what they wanted, didn’t micromanage projects and when you were done, you got paid,” Zysman says. “It was a different mindset

North American Construction Journal than public work, when you’re going up against 20 or 30 bidders.

You don’t build the same types of relationships as you do with the retailers. Once they get to know you and trust you, you’re operating on a different level than when you’re doing a one-off for a client you won’t see again.”

The company established its presence in New York by doing open store remodels for Radio Shack and others.

“It’s one of the toughest aspects of retail construction. You come in at night when the store closes and

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rip out a whole section and by 8 or 9 o’clock the next morning you make it like you weren’t even there and they are open for business. Then you come back the next night and start it all again,” Zysman says.

Now approximately 95 percent of the company’s business is for clients with whom it has relationships extending back 10 to 15 years. What makes it stand out from competitors?

“We pride ourselves in being a growing family business where the key individuals are plugged in. When a VP of construction or high-level person affiliated with a retailer calls, we’re extremely responsive. Whatever their issue is we make it a priority to give them immediate service, so they know they can rely on us to take care of whatever concerns they have. We love what we do and we give them the feeling that we’re partners and we go the extra mile,” Zysman explains.

A Key Early Decision

The move to join the RCA came at the suggestion of a Project Manager at Radio Shack who

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was a member of RCA’s Advisory Board at the time.

“He said it was in our best interest to become associated with the group. I’m really happy that we have because it’s taken our company in a totally different direction and it’s opened up a lot of doors for business that I don’t think we’d get as easily without being part of the association,” he says.

Zysman isn’t shy in his support of and belief in the RCA, lauding its efforts to educate retailers, property owners and

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management companies about the level of industry expertise of each of the association’s member companies.

“RCA brings a lot of value to marketplace, especially its education. Now, if you’re not part of RCA, you’re not going to get on that mall ‘Approved’ list. They have a very good reputation that has taken probably 20 years to develop,” he notes. “And I find they have great core values that they stick to.”

Strong Supporting Cast

From the very start, the company

North American Construction Journal has developed a broad network “We pride ourselves in of sub-contractors. Running local crews that understand the landscape and its inherent challenges has been a key component of All-Rite’s success, especially in New York City.

“We have developed a network of subcontractors and architects in the five boroughs that have helped us succeed, can cut through the red tape, and can get us permitting and inspections.

Having the right sub base is key to getting things done quickly and on schedule in New York – that’s

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being a small family business where the key individuals are plugged in.

When a VP of construction or high-level person affiliated with a retailer calls, we’re extremely responsive.”

- Warren Zysman, President

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how we grew,” Zysman says.

client Panda Express.

“When we have to ask them to jump through hoops and do something that’s not normal, since we have that ongoing relationship and years of trust, they will bend over backwards for us as opposed to somebody who is new, doesn’t work with us and doesn’t know us,” Zysman says.

“Most of the buildings are 100-plus years old and have been renovated so many times that you basically have to rip it apart and put it all back together in a cohesive way that makes sense and brings it up to local code. It’s a matter of having the right team in place that can work under those conditions, can handle that kind of pressure and excel,” Zysman says.

The company has been working on a number of challenging locations for new

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The company has also executed a number of new builds for

North American Construction Journal AutoZone for the past six years, including multiple locations in The Bronx.

“Very tough conditions dealing with all the different city agencies that have different agendas and different permitting requirements.

Everyone is pulling you in a different direction and all these deadlines have to be met. So you have to have subs that are familiar with the process, who know the inspectors, who know people in the Building Department,” Zysman asserts.

The company’s services start before and extend beyond

actual site work.

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“With GameStop, when they’re negotiating for new sites and not sure whether they’re going to sign the lease, we go out with them with the real estate agent and look at the existing conditions and give them a number. We point out some of the pluses and minuses of the site so they can use that in negotiating the lease with the property owner. We’ll do that with whatever client takes us up on it,” Zysman says.

A Patient Operation

Zysman handles the office –

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from working with insurance companies, banks and bonding companies to driving Sales and Marketing – while his brothers oversee field operations and cultivate strong relationships with key real estate brokers and retail clients.

Zysman says the small, tight-knit staff communicates constantly and that everyone is kept up to date on each project as well as the latest industry trends. All Field Superintendents are currently engaged in OSHA 30-hour training online.

“Steady growth has been our philosophy through the years.

And we’re selective about who we work for and make sure they’re a good fit. Not every job is necessarily geared to our mutual strengths,” he says.

“They all have the credential which is valuable to us and to our retail client. It keeps us up to date with all safety requirements so that we are running really safe job sites,” Zysman says.

“RCA brings a lot of value to marketplace, especially its education … They have a very good reputation that has taken probably 20 years to develop.”

- Warren Zysman, President www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Unannounced site inspections are part of the safety protocol.

“We have to be so careful managing risk. Blind inspections keep everyone honest and help make the site as safe as possible.

We’re serious about safety. Our subs have to abide by our rules or they’re not going to work with us.

Everything falls back to the GC, so we have to make sure the subs are in compliance with our insurance requirements,” Zysman notes.

He is a stickler about contracts (“I actually read them”) and is

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willing to spend money up front to review them rather than signing off blindly and facing potential long-term problems.

The company contracts with Fusion Employer Services of Lawrenceville, NJ, a third-party Professional Employment Organization (PEO) that manages Human Resources.

“They keep us up to date on all the legal changes and compliance with labor requirements. They also do our payroll and are responsible for

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our philosophy through the years. And we’re selective about who we work for and make sure they’re a good fit.”

- Warren Zysman, President

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satisfying all the tax requirements in all the states that we work in.

They also have attorneys that we can consult with about labor issues and they also provide staff training through consultants,” says Zysman.

“The PEO is a major advantage

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COMPANY INFORMATION for us. It allows us to handle more important things, such as the workload of jobs and making sure they are getting handled correctly, efficiently and with as few mistakes as possible,” he adds.

All-Rite’s approach keeps repeat business coming the company’s way.“Our ongoing relationships and proving ourselves on job after job, gets us that return business. I like to think we go above and beyond what is expected,” Zysman concludes.

Company Name: All-Rite Construction Country: United States Industry: Construction Est: 1989 Premier Service: Commercial general contractor specializing in retail construction.

President: Warren Zysman Website: www.all-riteconstruction.com

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GS Wark Ltd.

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Premier Design / Build Specialist Headquartered in Hamilton, ON, GS Wark Ltd. has crafted a reputation as a go-to provider in the ICI sector Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished in 1955 by George S. Wark Sr. as a residential home building firm, GS Wark Ltd. switched to the ICI sector in 1960 and has never looked back, meticulously crafting its reputation as a premier provider of Design/Build, General Contracting and Project Management services in the ICI sector.

Headquartered in Hamilton, ON, GS Wark is under the direction of President George S. Wark Jr. and Vice President Craig Hambly. The company employs 20 full-time office and field staff, generates $40 million annual revenue and is a member many associations, including the Canadian Construction Association, the Ontario General Contractors Association, the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association and the Canada Green Building Council.

George Wark Jr. has a Masters in Administration from Western University and took over the company in 1994 when his father retired. “With his business background he helped the company get into the

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business development market for private work and expanded our portfolio outside public institution work and more into the private industrial sector,” explains Project Manager Ryan Kneisz.

Hambly has been with the company since 1988 and became a partner in 2000. He oversees special projects.

“Currently those would be the two major Metrolinx Transit rail layover facilities in Stoney Creek and Kitchener,” says Kneisz.

What attributes separate GS Wark from its competition?

“We have core group members with over 25 years of experience with different methodologies of construction. We have experience in all the different sectors. We have strong relationships with the sub-trades, suppliers and consultants that specialize in Design/Build and the other tendering avenues we pursue. And we have a great rapport with the authorities having jurisdiction, which helps get us through the permitting required for development,” says John Morrone, who manages

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North American Construction Journal Building Development and Design/Build services for the company.

Challenging Projects LEWIS ROAD LAYOVER FACILITY: The $19m project for Metrolinx in Stoney Creek is nearing completion. The project includes construction of three buildings to house equipment and operations; installation of 2,600 metres of track to tie into existing lines; and buildout of mechanical, electrical and civil infrastructure.

Coordination between GS Wark,

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Metrolinx and rail line owner Canadian National Railway was paramount. Way-finding signage and track-switching mechanisms had to be installed to connect the layover facility to the main track line.

“We coordinated with CN on the safety side. We couldn’t disrupt freight traffic or transportation traffic because we were doing work. It had to go around the schedule of the trains. We would have a time frame we had to work, then would have to pull out our equipment and let the train go by.

Major penalties were associated

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North American Construction Journal with not getting equipment moved back in time,” Kneisz says.

BUNGE CANADA EDIBLE OILS: Completed in 2008 for Bunge Canada, the $12.2m project included construction of 58,800sf of new office and load out buildings, installation of a large tank farm as well as truck and rail scale stations, and paving and landscaping.

As General Contractor, GS Wark was responsible for the foundation and building envelope and for coordinating

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with the owner and the owner’s millwright trades performing process piping to ensure the process equipment and piping fit within the building and didn’t clash with other elements.

“The size of the project area in relationship to all else that was going on, and maintaining safety of the workers while erecting structural steel for the building concurrent with lifting tanks onto the tank farm directly adjacent to the building was challenging,” Kneisz notes.

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North American Construction Journal MCMASTER UNIVERSITY LAB: The $3.5m Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab for the study of infectious diseases and deadly pathogens is located within McMasters Children’s Hospital and features a seamless epoxy floor, ceiling and wall system that guarantees the room is 100 percent airtight. The mechanical systems have hepa filters and air locks lead in and out of the facility.

The project also involved working in interstitial space for the removal of asbestos and the installation of new electrical and mechanical infrastructure without disrupting existing fireproofing.

“Every possible penetration point had to be sealed. Every conduit that came into a room once a wire had been pulled had to be filled with high-grade epoxy silicon so there was no air penetration. We had to stay on top of quality control to make sure there were no minute deficiencies in coating. They put the room under so much negative pressure that we even had to count out how many screws were put into each piece of drywall so that negative pressure wouldn’t pull the drywall

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off the studs,” Kneisz says.

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Merritt Commissioning estimated they would find between 200 and 500 pinhole penetrations after the first negative pressure test. Kneisz says, “we bet them we would have less than 50 and actually had less than 25. They re-did the test because they didn’t believe the results.”

PIER 15: The company is working directly with the Hamilton Port Authority on construction of the 40,000sf Harbour West Marina boat storage and maintenance

North American Construction Journal facility scheduled for completion in September 2016. Minimum clearance height at the back of the larger of the two buildings is 40 feet, requiring installation of a 50-foot by 43-foot bi-folding door.

“The site conditions make this interesting to deal with. It’s being built over existing foundations, underground drainage and underground tunnels. We’re putting in new services and new foundations and an element that will be added for aesthetics will encompass the logo in a stainless steel cutout symbol,” says

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Morrone. “We are one of three contractors in the area, so the level of communication is always high so there are no interference issues with other sites.”

TANKMART: This project featured high-end stainless steel work along with construction of a main loading dock for the facility to bring in its new trucks. Large underground tanks were also installed for collection of storm water that was then slowly dispersed back into the city of Burlington’s infrastructure at a rate acceptable to their infrastructure.

Design/Build GS Wark’s preferred delivery

system provides its clients with many advantages.

“They appreciate the fact they are dealing with one entity and always looking at a single source of responsibility. We are a company with design capabilities and what we don’t have we can outsource.

We then bring that team together and are responsible for the design elements, the tendering of the cost elements and the building.

It becomes more efficient,” says Morrone.

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Not all Design/Build proposals are created equal however.

“We make sure our clients realize the differences. Sometimes you’re not comparing apples to apples.

Sometimes we’ll find that we’re submitting something and fully spec-ing it out and qualifying our proposal and (the client) will get other proposals that are not the same,” Morrone explains.

People and Training In general, the company prefers organic growth. Kneisz, for

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example, started as a laborer 10 years ago and is now Operations Manager. “When we bring someone on, we like to bring them up through the ranks.

“Ownership has always provided the resources and the willingness to support if an employee wants to attend a training seminar. I’ve been here just over a year and have approached ownership to attend a number of events and beenapproved every time,” adds Morrone.

Ten staff members are taking part

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in the Ontario General Contractors Association’s Gold Seal program and should attain certification within the next year or so.

GS Wark also maintains a long-standing internship program with Mohawk Community College and is proud to have two former interns as staff members.

“We like to train them, bring them on full-time and continue to work with them to learn construction the way we want them to learn it and the way we want them to conduct themselves. When it

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comes time to move them up to a Project Management role, for example, we know they are going to manage our projects with the philosophies, policies and procedures that we have trained them on throughout their entire career,� says Kneisz.

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Pipeline Suite software for tendering and estimating.

Safety is top of mind at all times.

Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed by management.

The company is COR registered and has gone more than five years without a lost time accident. It Day To Day was honored by the OGCA for Distinguished Achievement in The company designed its own Project Document Center, an online Health and Safety from 2006-14 and is also the 2016 recipient of portal where project documents the Hamilton Homes and are posted, and exchanges large Construction Association’s Health files via internal email. It utilizes

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and Safety Achievement Award.

“We have a full-time Safety Officer on staff. He visits all job sites every week and submits reports and recommendations.

On our last few jobs, we had zero infractions found by government agencies,” says Morrone.

The company is vigilant in its oversight of sub-contractors.

“We have open discussions and share experiences, discuss pros and cons. We definitely engage with each sub to better understand their strengths, abilities what they can do, what they want to try to do. I visit them

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in their office and other job sites to try and gain a better understanding of their capabilities,” Morrone says.

Looking Ahead Kneisz says the company will continue its practice of sustainable growth and planning strategic expansion of its portfolio. “The goal is to sustain. Moving up to $100 million revenue doesn’t mean you’re making more money.

It’s about how strategic you are about the project you’re working on,” he says.

Nurturing and maintaining relationships remain crucial to the company’s future success.

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“When you have a client shake your hand at the end of a job and thank you for what you’ve done for them and, most importantly, are giving you another job because of the service you’ve provided before, to me that’s the ultimate compliment,” Morrone says. “You have to stay focused on customer service and maintain client satisfaction. You have to build relationships and work hard to maintain them.”

COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: GS Wark Ltd. Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1955 Revenue: $40 million Premiere Service: General Contracting, Project Management, Design/Build President: George Wark Jr. Website: http://www.wark.net/ www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Suncor Inc.:

Highly regarded, in demand and debt free

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Suncor, Inc. has forged a sterling national reputation as a go-to structural steel specialist capable of tackling the toughest jobs Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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ith 18 years of industry experienc behind him and $10,000 at his disposal, Doug Kuiper took a leap of faith and founded Suncor, Inc. in 1992 with the very specific goal of building a self-sufficient, debtfree operation.

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Over the course of 25 years, Kuiper has accomplished just that.

The $25 million structural steel fabrication specialist is free of bank loans and investment partners and, Kuiper says, “a comfortable size.”

“It took many, many years to build this company with our own resources and cash flows. There are other ways of growing a business faster but we chose to grow slow and solid to maintain complete control. This requires a great deal of patience but believe it was the right path for us”, says Kuiper, Suncor’s president.

Suncor, Inc. has forged a sterling reputation and regularly works with major national contractors ranked in the Top 50 based on their volume. The company typically employs 30-40 and averages 20-25 jobs per year with

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competencies in office buildings, airports, medical buildings, public works and school projects. The company maintains offices in Longwood, FL, Hialeah, FL and De Forest, WI. Suncor’s state of the art plant is also located in De Forest, WI Suncor also shares common ownership and partners with National Metals, LLC, a separate company founded by Kuiper in 2009 with his sons.

National Metals, LLC focuses on structural steel and aluminum fabrication and the company holds

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had for many, many years.”

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Building a Reputation Patience has paid off for Kuiper, who says he is conservative by nature.

National contractors, he explains, maintain stringent prequalification guidelines and closely examine subcontractor’s financial strength and bonding capabilities. “Larger general contractors insist that their subcontractors are able to provide performance and payment bonds,” Kuiper says. current certification by the American Institute of Steel Construction.

“Our focus is on the customer.

When you develop solid relationships, we might be working with them on a sizable project but they might also need assistance on a smaller one. When you partner with customers, it is important that they know you will be there for them on projects that don’t fall within the range of our target work. So that’s why we have a pretty wide range of job sizes,” says Kuiper, adding “ most of our customers we’ve

Some of the larger contractors rely increasingly on Contractor Score, which measures a company’s short-term financial and management capacity and whether it has the available resources to manage problems on the job. Results can either be confidential or shared with the public.

“You send in your financial information and bonding limits and they grade you on a scale of zero to 2500. This is a tool that some of the

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North American Construction Journal larger general contractors use as part of their prequalification process. We just updated ours and I’m proud to say we have achieved the maximum score and are among the top three percent of companies (based on financial strength) on that program,” Kuiper says.

Suncor’s stability and long-term success all relates back to Kuiper’s founding philosophy – that slow and steady wins the race.

“It goes back to having no debt.

When you don’t have any debt, you can ride out the storm like we did from 2008 to 2012 when a lot of good people could not withstand the declining construction market. If you’re paying loans back when you’re losing money, at some point you’re going to say ‘I give up.’

Being debt-free is a philosophy that has worked for me,” Kuiper says.

Treating People Well Kuiper takes pride in the fact the company has never needed an

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“When employees feel

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that they are part of the team effort and you show them trust, they’re going to give that trust back.”

Suncor President Doug Kuiper HR Department. The reason is simple – employees are valued highly, compensated accordingly, and therefore rarely leave.

Once employed for three calendar years from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, employees are afforded the opportunity to join the company’s unique IRA program.

“Once we know they are serious about working here, we give them a high percentage of their salary once, sometimes twice, a year that they invest however they want. For example, someone making $100,000

North American Construction Journal gets $20,000 above and beyond that, tax free, to invest,” Kuiper says.

Additionally, employees get full health coverage at no cost. On occasion, when work slows a bit, Kuiper will tell workers to take a paid week or two off.

“The nice thing is that, if things get really busy, even if they have plans, they will often say ‘I’m not going to take my vacation because I know how busy we are.’ It’s a rare thing to see in business these days but I just don’t like making employees

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feel insignificant. When employees feel that they are part of the team effort and you show them trust, they’re going to give that trust back,” Kuiper reasons.

The company has not laid off a single employee in its existence.

“I might be old-fashioned, but if somebody wants to dedicate their career to me, the last thing I’m going to do is hurt them in any way, financial or otherwise,” he says.

Hence a loyal, stable workforce with decades of experience. “Why would they leave, unless they’re moving,” Kuiper asks, rhetorically.

Invested in Technology When it became clear the industry was shifting to Business Information Modeling (BIM), the company purchased Tekla software.

“I didn’t know anything about it. My background was in twodimensional detailing and I was like a lost puppy. I hired a BIM manager, Tim Reinhardt, because we had a real need to start creating these 3-D models. The Tekla software works really well for structural steel,” says Kuiper.

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The company has also purchased a computer-driven Water Jet cutting tool capable of cutting steel up to five or six inches thick; a coping machine that cuts beam ends to job specific configurations; and a computerized drill line driven by the Tekla software.

Safety Officer conducts weekly meetings that spell out the challenges to focus on. The company also self-polices – if employees are concerned about a specific job site procedure or have an idea as to how protocols could be improved, their input is encouraged and valued.

“A guy in the shop puts a beam up, sets the position, presses a button and the machine does the work,” Kuiper says. “The technology takes human error out of it and drives safety as well.”

“We’re very safety conscious but we don’t see everything. If someone is doing an unsafe thing, the workers will come in and let us know and we’ll reprimand the guy. Something like that just doesn’t happen very often,

In regards to safety, the company

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maybe one every year or two.

You just don’t see it that much,” Kuiper states.

Operations/Premier Projects Once focused almost solely on the public school sector, the company learned a hard lesson about diversification at the start of The Great Recession.

“We were 90 percent in the public school market in Southeast Florida and it was fantastic. We were making lots of money but it was a mistake. It was so good and we had so much work that I didn’t have time to look at anything else.

We got trapped and it all ended just

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like that. Thankfully, we had carryover that took us into 2009,” Kuiper recalls.

And allowed for the time to seek out and cultivate other markets.

Now the company operates in multiple sectors, doing jobs big and small, confident that if one sector slows another will provide work.

Suncor, Inc. is in the finishing stages of a $6.5 million concourse expansion of Terminal E at Logan International Airport in Boston.

Kuiper is especially proud of the company’s recent work on a $1.6

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placement of embedded materials cast by other trades, all of the framing members were different which greatly increased our shop labor costs. We had to fabricate, for lack of a better term, brackets that weighed four tons apiece – 50 of them, all a little bit different because the complications in the field. A lot of people did a really good job to make that successful. That’s the most satisfying thing – to be able to do something extremely challenging and do it well,” Kuiper says.

million project at the Miami Science Museum. He states that this project is among the most complex the company has performed with its technology capabilities yielding perfection.

“A portion of the science project included AESS structural steel framing for an exposed elevator.

From first glance, it doesn’t look very complex but due to errors in

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Other notable projects in Suncor’s portfolio have included a sports facility at Camp Lejeune, NC; a high profile garage project in Miami Beach; a Univision television station renovation project in Miami, and an entertainment facility in Arundel Mills, Maryland.

“We also have a plethora of jobs in the $100,000 to $500,000 range.

Smaller jobs take nearly as much time and money to manage as big ones as far as overhead goes, but you take them in order to continue ongoing relationships,” Kuiper says.

As for his own role in day-to-day

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“Do a job exceedingly well, regardless if it is simple or complex and always be on time. Once you get that reputation, you will stand a much better chance of booking the next project.�

Suncor President Doug Kuiper www.naconstructionjournal.com

North American Construction Journal operation, Kuiper wears many hats.

He personally oversees company finances, spends a considerable amount of time marketing with new and existing customers for upcoming jobs, travels between offices and from job site to job site (often six or seven in a single day), does some estimating and handles whatever day to day issues crop up.

“Creating estimates has been one of my ongoing tasks for many years. I’ve actually created building plans on napkins on several occasions and offered

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budgets and pricing to clients with the understanding that once the jobs move forward, we will be strongly considered for the award.

If you’re quick to fill a need, clients will be less likely to talk anyone else during the process. Even though contractors have to receive multiple competitive bids, our success rate for landing these types of projects is very high”, Kuiper says.

In The Future Aside from the occasional tweak, don’t expect Kuiper to change much – Suncor has settled on a

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formula that works. There are a number of possible jobs in new markets resulting from what Kuiper calls “the springboard effect.”

“For example, if a contractor in Florida is pleased with our performance, we will ask for an introduction to one of their offices outside their area.

Recently, this strategy has led to a new contract with a new customer in New England. That’s how you grow a business. Do a job exceedingly well, regardless if it is simple or

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“Creating estimates has been one of my ongoing tasks for many years. I’ve actually created building plans on a napkin on several occasions and offered budgets and pricing to clients with the understanding that once the jobs move forward, we will be strongly considered for the award.”

Suncor President Doug Kuiper www.naconstructionjournal.com

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North American Construction Journal complex and always be on time.

Once you get that reputation, you will stand a much better chance of booking the next project. Sometimes, clients will even pay a little more for quality

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work, especially if it is a higher profile project� Kuiper concludes.

In other words, grow smaller relationships to larger ones.

COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name: Suncor, Inc. Country: U.S. Industry: Construction Est: 1992 Revenue: USD $25m Premiere Service: Structural steel specialist President: Doug Kuiper Website: www.suncor.net www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Fine Line Construction:

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San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Specialist Fine Line Construction has built a reputation as a trusted partner and leader in the non-profit housing construction sector Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished in 1980, Fine Line Construction of San Francisco has grown to become a Bay Area leader in the non-profit sector, specializing in publicly sponsored projects such as affordable housing, transitional housing, senior housing and multi-dwelling hospice communities.

Under the direction of company Founder and CEO Doree Friedman, the company made a conscious decision to transition from residential construction in the early 1990s and has forged a sterling reputation for its

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dedication to community outreach and its execution and delivery of superior client-specific solutions for sensitive and often unique projects.

“Whatever the client is paying for, we’re putting our very best into the project. So, even though this may be low-income housing, the application has to be perfect. We want our products to be really nice. It’s as simple as that,” said Paolo Friedman, the company’s President and Chief Estimator.

Depending upon the number of jobs the company has running, it

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employs anywhere from 50 to 200 professionals and field staff while generating annual revenue in the $150 million range. Its capabilities include Design/Build, Public Works, rehabilitations and phased construction. It is a full service contractor. Fine Line self-performs approximately 20 percent of the work on any given project and collaborates with a trusted network of subcontractors.

The company has executed projects for clients such as Chinatown Community

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Development Center, the San Francisco Department of Public Works, San Francisco Women’s Centers, Inc., the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the Alameda County Community Development Agency, the San Francisco Public Library, City of Berkeley, Port of San Francisco, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, Community Housing Partnership, Bridge Housing, and Tenant and Owners Development Corporation, to

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North American Construction Journal housing project completed for the non-profit Tenants and Owners Development Corporation (TODCO); the low-income Cambridge Hotel, in conjunction with the Community Housing Partnership (CHP): and 430 Turk low income housing for Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC).

Fine Line is currently in various stages of completing five jobs that started in the fall of 2015 and are staggered through April 2017. The company has also

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recently started five more projects totaling $145 million ranging from 11 months to two years duration.

The company is regarded as an expert in rehabbing buildings that are fully occupied.

Paolo describes the challenges of Fine Line’s work: “If you can get everybody on the same page with the same goals, you’re likely going to pick up some efficiency,” Friedman notes. “Learning curves fall off in the early phases and the detailed thought process for each worker becomes almost automatic. Our crews start to

North American Construction Journal run faster and smoother.”

Operations

Fine Line adheres to a simple credo – the general contractor runs the show.

“Our Supers explain to the subs this is the type of construction we do. We specialize in occupied, phased housing. We want to be fair but firm. We’re the general contractor and work tirelessly to plan our work and then work our plan. If we stick with that protocol, we’ll not only complete

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“Whatever the client is paying for, we’re putting our very best into the project. So, even though this may be low-income housing, the application has to be perfect.”

President Paolo Friedman

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the job successfully but we’ll likely have that client for life,” Friedman says.

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make operations the best it can be?’ That’s my game,” he says.

Having grown up in the trades – he was digging trenches and carrying lumber at a young age – Friedman has developed a knack for budgeting and a keen sense of what works. The company doubled its volume within a year when he took over the estimating duties.

A differentiator for Fine Line is its commitment to value engineering while providing the client with options. For example, if a client requests an expensive feature with poor life expectancy, Fine Line will suggest a less-expensive alternative that lasts longer and maintains the integrity of the original design.

“I started as a laborer and always tried to figure out how to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

So I’m always asking ‘How can I

“We tailor our approach to the client’s needs so we need to be consistent and use protocols that get the project there with an

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undivided attention to quality, done on time and on budget without cutting corners,” Friedman asserts.

Maintaining a strong relationship with sub-contractors is vital. Fine Line has a reputation for working with local outfits and is a signatory the carpenters and laborers unions.

“When we’re negotiating a job, we ask for references and prequalify potential subcontractors. In competitive bids it’s different – you’re kind of stuck with the low bid. But, the subs know what to

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expect, know we are quick and know how to bid to work with us.

Ninety percent of those on our sub list are known factors. Ten percent might be new to us and of that group, 20 percent may not get it due to our high standards,” Friedman explains.

Friedman says the company works hard to groom and maintain an accomplished staff.

To that end, employees – many of whom have been with the company a minimum of 10 years – are provided both union apprenticeship classrooms and on-the-job training.

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Safety and Technology The company’s Safety Officer, Mandy Becquet, conducts surprise site visits and the site Superintendents holds weekly tailgate meetings to discuss project-specific topics.

“She talks about how to be safe based on the job. If we have a frayed cord, or something substandard, workers know it can be replaced and keep an eye on ensuring a safe work place. We are lucky because we do so many different projects in so many different environments and have

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strong safety protocols in place for all types of scenarios,” Friedman says.

The company is now utilizing new project software that combines accounting and Project Management, which Friedman says has been a bit challenging because “there’s a new learning curve and people have to learn the Project Manager functions of the new software.”

“Some of our best Supers are the ones that are old school. They came from a world where you

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there with an undivided

kept your job because you were productive. The best guys are the builders with knowledge of systems, not the guys who are just super savvy about technology. What we need is a balance of both,” Friedman observes.

attention to quality, done on

What’s Next?

time and on budget without

The company is in a comfort zone, so a concerted growth effort is unlikely. What clients can expect is that the company will continue forward in its mission to address affordable housing needs with projects of the highest quality.

“We tailor our approach to the clients needs so we need to be consistent and use protocols that get the project

cutting corners.”

President Paolo Friedman

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COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name: Fine Line Construction Country: U.S. Industry: Construction Est: 1980 Revenue: USD $150m Premiere Service: Affordable housing, transitional housing, senior housing, multi-dwelling hospice communities.

Founder/CEO: Doree Friedman President: Paolo Friedman Vice President: Emily Lin Website: www.finelineconstruction.com

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Sierra Lane Construction Ltd.

Building a Reputation

for Excellence

Sierra Lane Construction Ltd of Edmonton, AB has grown into a full-fledged construction firm equipped to take on a wide range of projects.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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mall, growing and driven by a desire to succeed at the highest level, Sierra Lane Construction Ltd of Edmonton, AB has laid the foundation for long-term success as a provider of general contracting and construction management services.

Established in 2005 as a residential framing specialist, the company has steadily expanded its staff and increased annual revenue under the direction of Founder and President Benson Chiu, evolving into a full-fledged construction firm equipped to take

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on a wide range of projects.

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“We’ve grown a tremendous amount over the past 10 years and every step of the way has been a building block to something bigger and better. Our projects are putting us in the spotlight both locally and nationally and we are looking forward to the day that we are on the same playing field as the other key players in the industry,” says Chiu.

That figures to be sooner rather than later given the company’s demonstrated capabilities in

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Design/Build, Bid to Build, Pre-Engineered Buildings, Preventive Maintenance, Estimating, Scheduling and Materials Procurement.

being able to address their calls and emails in a timely manner brings to them a certain level of comfort that they can always count on,” says Chiu.

Everything the company does is with the client’s best interests in mind.

That focus has been critical in establishing long-term relationships while fostering positive word-of-mouth publicity.

“Giving our clients a quick response time is an essential practice that we require every single one of our Project Managers and Site Superintendents to execute at all times. We understand that our client’s time is highly valuable and

Staff Development

Chiu recalls that one of the company’s more difficult job site challenges reinforced the notion that happy employees are the

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“We have built several oil and gas camps in Northern Alberta in extremely cold temperatures where several of our crews were feeling homesick with 21 days on and seven days off schedules. This really helped us as a company to see the value of the well-being of every one of our employees, this experience really made it clear to continue to focus on the health and happiness of our employees’,” he says.

“This has allowed us to provide our

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clients with better quality and service in all that we do. We offer our employees a great benefit package and this year have started to select some of our best performing employees to receive destination vacation packages for the outstanding work they have done,” he adds.

“Each member of our team

The company embraces a flexible schedule in order to maintain work/life balance.

Employees are encouraged to share ideas and resources and are provided the opportunity to broaden their skill sets.

our team are happy, the

is instrumental to the success of our business. If the members that make up

business is happy.”

- President Benson Chiu

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North American Construction Journal “Our members thrive on the opportunity to move up in the company, the idea that they have room to grow keeps them moving forward. With more knowledge, skills and experience, they are more confident in taking on new challenges and projects which drives business growth,” Chiu notes He enjoys the mentoring aspect of his position, saying: “I like to teach and share the knowledge and experience that I have with my team. I bring them along to do site visits and introduce them to the people involved so they can gain a better understanding of the different aspects involved in construction and project management.”

Additionally, the company recognizes employees’ accomplishments at team lunches and annual staff gatherings. “Each member of our team is instrumental to the success of our business. If the members that make up our team are happy, the business is happy,” Chiu points out.

Culture and Operations Chiu says across-the board

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improvement – including day-today operations, documentation, establishing internal and external protocols – is fluid and necessary to thwart stagnation.

“Creative intelligence is a must to avoid the chance of being fossilized. Each improvement made is strategically thought out, implemented, monitored and evaluated to meet the needs of our corporate growth while preparing our organization to be diversified,” he says.

The company’s “Zero Accidents,

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incidents then shares its findings with workers to help prevent future events.

“Everyone has to take proactive steps to enhance our accident-free workplace. We want everyone to be safe on site and go back to their families without any mishaps. It is essential that we don’t have any unforeseen safety issues occur,” Chiu stresses.

Sierra Lane keeps its clients involved throughout the construction process.

No Excuses” Safety Program promotes personal workplace responsibility. Site supervisors are charged with making sure employees understand their safety responsibilities. All workers are required to wear personal protection equipment and must report any accidents and near misses as well as sub-standard conditions or practices.

Site inspections and hazard assessments are among the tools used to achieve an incident-free record. The company’s Safety Team investigates all workplace

“We identify our clients’ needs and budgets and then work together with other industry professionals to ensure successful delivery. Staying on-time and providing an exceptional experience is just as important as the results. By keeping our clients involved, we are building a memorable experience and a lasting relationship,” Chiu says.

When snags occur, Chiu says Sierra Lane’s reputation for meeting adversity head-on is well known.

“We need to be prepared to address the problem

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North American Construction Journal transparently with honesty and integrity. If more resources and/or time are needed due to an unforeseen circumstance on site, or the work can’t possibly be completed safely, we will not hesitate to address this with the client and others involved. We would never compromise the safety or integrity of the project or people involved,” he says.

Current projects include Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Edmonton for Red Robin, a client since 2011; providing general contracting service for

“We’ve grown a tremendous amount over the past 10 years and every step of the way has been a building block to something bigger and better.”

- President Benson Chiu www.naconstructionjournal.com

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construction of Total Meter Services, Inc. (TMS) Costco Propane dispensing stations across Canada; and overseeing Design/Build projects for United Rentals in Nisku and Edmonton.

Sierra Lane has established a partnership with Standard Pacific Concrete of Edmonton to provide concrete work for Sierra Lane’s projects.

As a committed community partner, the company has donated a fire investigation mobile office to the Strathcona County Fire

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180 “By keeping our clients

North American Construction Journal Department, sponsored numerous sports teams, and participated in Operation Christmas Child since 2011.

“As a successful growing business, we need to be a responsible supporter of our community. Our high standard of excellence is derived from our strict core values,” says Chiu.

Looking Forward

What will the company’s second

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involved, we are building a memorable experience and a lasting relationship.”

- President Benson Chiu

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COMPANY INFORMATION

decade bring? Expect Sierra Lane Construction to continue to grow, learn, implement cutting edge technology, and expand the scope of its expertise. “Our team is filled with ambition and is highly optimistic in our goals and future direction. 2016 is our eleventh year in business (and) we would like to be recognized as a growing organization in the industry,�

Chiu concludes.

Company Name: Sierra Lane Construction Ltd. Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 2005 Premiere Service: General Contracting and Construction Management President: Benson Chiu Website: www.sierralaneconstruction. www.naconstructionjournal.com

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BC Comfort:

Perfecting the all-in-one Approach

BC Comfort of Burnaby, BC provides turnkey mechanical and HVAC Design/Build solutions for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished in 1972, BC Comfort of Burnaby, BC has forged a reputation as a highly regarded provider of turnkey mechanical and HVAC design/build and contracting solutions for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

The company shepherds projects through from concept to completion and beyond. Its full service offerings include sustainable design and engineering, HVAC and refrigeration, building automation controls, value engineering and preconstruction, and plumbing and medical gas.

BC Comfort values long-term relationships and more than 80 percent of its clients have been with the company for 10 years or more. Senior Design Engineer Henry Leung credits that client retention to the company’s integrated in-house approach.

“We have in-house plumbing, HVAC, controls, service and engineering. That differentiates us from the other mechanical contractors in our area. We can offer a turnkey package to either general contractors

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or developers,” says Leung, a 12-year industry veteran who is responsible for ensuring that every design sent to a client meets BC Comfort’s standards.

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BC Comfort is committed to environmental sustainability and as part of its own efforts, partnered with Climate Smart of Vancouver in 2012 and has shown a steady reduction in its own carbon and natural gas emissions.

Key Projects

BC Comfort employs 80 and its

North American Construction Journal sphere of operation is boundless, including office buildings, institutional buildings, sports arenas, community centers, data centers, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, manufacturing, and light healthcare facilities, high end car dealerships, warehouses and retail centers.

BC Comfort is currently working on a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. “It’s one of the largest Pharmaceutical /clean room projects in the western Canada region and provides a lot of different services. That’s the one tying up a lot of our time right

now,” says Leung.

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The company’s expertise was evident during its involvement with the recently completed Open Road Audi/Volkswagen dealership project in Burnaby.

The company provided a turnkey HVAC and controls project saving over half-million dollars on mechanical division alone for the client.

“The job was originally bid on in a spec type of market and the

“There is a tangible sense of satisfaction when a design gets built, knowing that you had a hand in the creation of some very different facilities.”

- Henry Leung, Senior Design Engineer www.naconstructionjournal.com

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budget came in a lot higher than what the owner had anticipated,” says Leung. “We were approached by the General Contractor to see if we could offer a Design/Build s olution, which we were able to.

We had to radically change the design but were able to meet all of the owner’s requirements at a cost that was 75 percent of the original bid.”

Why Design/Build?

That focus on delivering functional and cost effective systems makes BC Comfort an attractive project partner.

Three elements are especially attractive to clients – risk mitigation, speed of project having to tender them out and then

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Leung estimates that 75 percent of the company’s work is Design/Build. “We really like this approach because it means that we can really have control on the quality that we’re outputting from a design standpoint and that whatever design we are constructing we can make sure it’s both cost effective and constructible,” he says.

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North American Construction Journal “We have in-house plumbing, HVAC, controls, service and engineering. That differentiates us from the other mechanical contractors in our area. We can offer a turnkey package to either general contractors, building owners or developers.”

- Henry Leung, Senior Design Engineer delivery and having a single point of contact for information exchange.

“The clients are basically getting a guaranteed maximum price up front. Traditional risk because of cost overruns, design omissions, mistakes due to scope interpretation and things that the contractor might say are not within his scope is basically eliminated,” Leung explains.

“As for speed, instead of having to create a set of drawings,

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having them come back to re-design, you get a much smoother delivery. Once the project enters the design phase it’s being designed for construction and you can push through construction much faster while being aware of actual cost throughout the project,” he adds.

Pre-project planning is crucial.

The totality of the project must be accurately determined in order to provide an accurate cost assessment.

“Because you have to give a price

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fairly early in the project you have to make sure that it’s well thought out. We sit down with both our engineering and construction departments to review the Design/Build projects to make sure the entire scope of work is captured,” Leung says.

place its equipment in a coordinated manner on site, and generate drawings with dimensions and elevation grid lines for each piece of pipe.

“When our construction crews get on site, they know exactly where they need to place their systems,” Leung points out.

The company utilizes Building Information Modeling (BIM) software for its larger projects.

BIM allows for the monitoring of potential interference or clash points and gives the company the ability to

Operations, Etc.

As union members, Leung says company employees “undergo regular training in everything from working in confined spaces to fall protection. We try to make

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The company is certified by the local engineering authority and adheres to an Organizational Quality Management program, undergoing regular audits to ensure that every project is organized properly and reviewed by senior management.

Site supervisors oversee safety while overall supervisors in each of the company’s major disciplines

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regularly visit every site to make sure those protocols are consistent at each job.

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There is room for individal growth within the company.

“Most of the new positions that get filled internally are promotions or transfers within the company. When we had an opening for a Project Manager, they inquired with the field staff and trained and promoted an individual into the office,” Leung says.

Leung enjoys the mentoring

North American Construction Journal aspect of his position.

“I like to teach so that each person can repeat whatever design or skill that I currently have. I believe everyone under me should be able to eventually do what I can and understand everything they are looking at.

That adds value to the company and increases their own value by learning more and being able to catch things I might not,” he says.

As it moves forward, BC Comfort will continue to nurture those long-term relationships

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while seeking new opportunities.

“The majority of our work is for the same group of General Contractors and developers. They know the quality is always consistent in our design and our construction and that our pricing is always fair,” Leung says.

“We basically are an Engineering and a Construction company. We can offer much more in terms of sophisticated solutions and that sets us apartfrom the competition.” And it is clear the company is proud of the

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process it takes to achieve those solutions. “There is a tangible sense of satisfaction when a design

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gets built, knowing that you had a hand in the creation of some very different facilities,� Leung concludes.

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COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: BC Comfort Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1972 Premiere Service: Mechanical consulting engineering services Principal Partners: President Robert Noel Website: http://www.bccomfort.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Bridge Electric Corp.:

Powering up

The Lower Mainland

Bridge Electric Corp. has forged a well-earned reputation for delivering projects of the highest quality on budget and “on time, every time�

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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perating as the Commercial Division of The Granby Group of Companies (est.1966) for more than 30 years, Bridge Electric Corp. is an award-winning, trusted provider of electrical systems for projects of all sizes across the commercial, institutional, retail and light industrial sectors in and around GreaterVancouver, British Columbia.

and management experience, the companycontinues to grow as one of British Columbia’s largest and most respected open shop electrical contractors, forging a well-earned reputation for delivering projects of the highest quality on budget and on time.

What differentiates Bridge Electric from its competitors in a crowded field? It’s all about teamwork and trust.

Now under the guidance of President Duane Besse, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of electrical construction

“Any business knows you can only be successful if you have an engaged team and an environment that allows individuals to succeed

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North American Construction Journal in reaching their professional and personal goals. Our goal is to make sure everyone wants to get up in the morning and go to work for Bridge Electric,” Besse says.

“We genuinely care about our employees and want them to have the best work environment possible. Trust and loyalty is a strong foundation of our strength.

Individuals are motivated to do the best work they can, which energizes the management team to provide top notch service to our clients and customers, which allows the partners to focus on

business development,” he continues

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The company employs between 100 and 200 field staff, depending upon its existing workload, as well as approximately 25 office staff.

Projects and Awards

In September 2015 Bridge Electric completed installation of the electrical systems for Nordstrom Pacific Center. The 230,000sf buildout is the first of six international flagship locations for the high-end retail chain.

The company was also responsible for the electrical installation at the striking MNP Tower at 1021 West Hastings.

The 35 storey commercial tower features a LEED-certified core and shell and was completed in early 2015.

Through the years, the company has earned 13 Awards of Excellence presented by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) dating back to 1989, a point of pride for Besse.

“With so many competitors in our market we are very proud of the

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Awards of Excellence our teams have received and continue to strive for on every project we build,” he says.

Most recently, Bridge Electric earned a 2014 VRCA Silver Award of Excellence for its work on Stratford Hall Middle Years Program Private School. The 33,500sf facility is a verticaly stacked school designed for a small commercial urban lot. It featured an open concept design with interior glass partition walls, extensive multimedia systems, and a full lighting control system.

Bridge Electric also earned a VRCA Silver Award of Excellence in 2012 for its work on The VanDusen Visitor Centre at Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Gardens. The stunning 19,000sf structure is LEED Platinum certified and is recognized as Canada’s first Living Building.

In 2010, VRCA bestowed both its Gold Award of Excellence and its Innovation Award of Excellence upon Bridge Electric for the company’s work at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel and Residences in Vancouver.

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Achieving both the Gold Award of Excellence and Innovation Award on one project demonstrates the effort and resources Bridge Electric will commit to accomplishing projects of this size and magnitude “On Time”.

And, in 2003, BC Business Magazine ranked Bridge Electric as the Seventh Best Employer in British Columbia.

Maintaining A Safe Environment The company’s commitment to safety is unwavering, beginning the moment a new

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North American Construction Journal employee is hired.

“They go through an extensive safety orientation and take a safety quiz by video. All of our employees are put through safety training that is above and beyond what is required by WorkSafeBC. We provide constant onsite training and feel our dedicated commitment and our highly developed safety program provides our employees with a comfort level they are working safely at all times. Safety will always come before productivity,” Besse explains.

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The company maintains certification by theBritish Columbia Construction Safety Alliance.

A dedicated Safety Officer keeps the company current with new safety enhancements and changes in legislation. They actively visit all jobs to review the site conditions and any specific issues rising from construction while openly seeking feedback for the continued development of the safety program. In the company’s continuing effort to promote and engage employees in safety they frequently seek feedback and suggestions via a company-wide

North American Construction Journal anonymous survey. Employees buy into the programs knowing they are being heard. Their efforts are recognizedand rewarded when safety milestones are reached.

People First

Bridge Electric strongly believes in the values of teamwork and family culture. The company offers profit sharing to all employees, promotes and provides educational opportunities for its

work force, and holds several annual company-wide events.

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“I’m a firm believer in, you treat people how you would like to be treated. It comes down to having a core group that is motivated and interested in providing ahigh level of professionalism, from the management team all the way down to our first-year apprentices,” Besse says.

COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name: Bridge Electric Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1982 President: Duane Besse Website: www.bridgeelectric.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

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Traine Construction, Ltd.:

Taking A Singular Approach to Multi-

Family Building

Traine Construction Ltd of Kelowna, British Columbia delivers high-quality apartment living for an affordable price across Western Canada.

Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

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stablished in 1999 by President Matt Butler, Traine Construction Ltd of Kelowna, British Columbia has steadily evolved into a dynamic leader in the Multi-Family Residential housing sector across Western Canada.

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Much like its aspirational namesake, Traine just keeps on rolling. The company has been recognized on multiple occasions for quality and excellence in design and construction.

seeks out those who embody the company values of a positive attitude and a commitment to ethics, integrity, excellence and innovation.

Through the years the company has delivered more than 3,500 affordable individual housing units. Notably, work on its most ambitious project to date, a 288-unit development in Calgary, is now under way. As Butler notes: “They say you can’t stop a train and that’s the DNA of our company.”

Traine currently employs 65 and

“Our people relentlessly pursue

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the things they’ve been asked to do.

Our people know they are part of something that moves quickly, doesn’t stop, moves forward and doesn’t back up. We may look back but we learn from our mistakes and move forward,” he explains.

Vice President Corey Makus noted that within the past year every member of the Traine Team was given a railway spike “to remind them they are part of something larger and that they will be [figuratively] laying tracks for years to come.”

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“Inter-dependence on a larger team, we believe, leads to success by doing things consistently and in a standardized way.”

- Matt Butler, President

The company differentiates itself from the competition in a number of ways. Importantly, in collaboration with its development partner Highstreet Ventures, Traine is part of the ownership group of every project, guaranteeing ongoing facilities oversight and maintenance.

“Because we’re part of the ownership group, we’re not going to let the buildings fall apart. We treat them as we would our own house,” says Makus. “What I’ve come to appreciate about Traine and our development partner Highstreet is

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North American Construction Journal the transparency and joint decision-making – it’s a huge win for the company.”

A Proven Approach

Collaboration, consistency and repetition comprise the core of Traine’s success. Rather than having teams put their own spin on each project, the company has created a repeatable process that becomes second nature to those involved with every project from concept to completion and beyond.

“Inter-dependence on a larger team, we think, leads to success by doing things consistently and in a standardized way. By no means is that takingcontrol, authority or independence away (from the Project Manager). It’s reminding them that they don’t have to figure it out all on their own as if they are a CEO and have to make all the calls,” Butler asserts.

“They have co-workers and different reporting guides and such so they can reach out for advice and then make decisions that are more well-rounded,” he continues.

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According to Makus, “We try to repeat very similar buildings in each location. Teams know they can rely on input from other team members. We really look for that collaborative, team approach. We leave the door open and our people feel like they’re part of the project and part of the company.”

Award-Winning Operations With every development, the company strives to create sustainability as well as a tangible atmosphere that fosters a sense of home ownership among its tenants.

“Building quality homes is the goal.

We cannot stress enough the importance of having the feeling of home. We believe that people who feel like they are at home will put the effort and investment back into the places they live,” Butler notes.

Traine earned a Northern Building Association’s Building Excellence Award in 2014 for its work on Phase Two of the Upper Montney Estates, a condo-style development in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

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The recognition resulted from Traine’s ability to meet the needs of the community and its innovative approach to managing the site’s energy footprint.

“We try to repeat very

“The award was wrapped around our efficient design of the building. As partner in the development we also have input on the type and style of the building. As part of the ownership group, it’s been pretty nice to build a product that’s as energy efficient as possible,” says Butler.

they can rely on input

In addition, the company has recently completed Emerald Hills

similar buildings in each town. Teams know from other team members. We really look for a collaborative, team approach.”

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in Sherwood Park, AB and the 96-unit Heritage Landing in Fort McMurray, AB. Projects under way include: Chapelle, 160 units in two four-storey wood frame buildings in Edmonton, AB scheduled for completion in Fall 2016; Willowbrook, 160 units in Grande Prairie, AB to be completed in Spring 2016; Heritage Valley, 200 units in Edmonton, AB; and Vanier Woods, 232 units in Red Deer, AB. Key to any company’s success is delivering a quality product on time

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and on budget. That requires proper advance planning and organization and means meeting challenges as they come and adapting on the fly as needed.

“Across the industry, you’re relying on third parties for so many aspects of the project. You develop workarounds to make sure the job moves forward.

Having so many moving parts on any given day and coordinating that with a level of confidence, that’s the interesting part. You have to ensure you have staff

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and sub-trades committed at every stage to keep the building moving forward ,” says Makus.

Over time, Traine has developed a dedicated network of sub-trades.

“We honor the obligations that are agreed to, whether that’s on deals or payment terms. You’ve got to’ keep your word and stand by your commitments – that can’t be overstated,” Makus stresses.

“Traine has built a reputations of being shoulder to shoulder with the guys. Nobody ever feels exposed when dealing with Matt;

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a great deal trust has been fostered,” he adds.

The company also keeps its trades partners up to date with upcoming jobs so they know they will have work months down the road.

Safety Measures The company holds weekly safety meetings, conducts tailgate talks, holds site reviews, engages third-party consultants and has regional coordinators working with site teams “Safety is a complete mind-set.

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We think about those workers going home at the end of the day and that drives the decisions we make. Education is continual and leads toward a safety-oriented culture,”says Makus.

IT Upgrades

The PlanGrid construction platform provides real-time updates and file synching via Wi-Fi and cellular networks. It replaces the need for paper blueprints and allows sharing of field markups, progress photos and issues tracking.

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Dexter + Chaney’s Spectrum® Construction Software is a

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browser-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that allows work to be performed anywhere on any device without the need to install software, seamlessly connecting the field with the office.

“We really like these two tools – they have given us the ability to scale the business going forward,” says Makus.

Looking Forward

Measured growth is the goal.

While the company works largely in Alberta, the infrastructure is in place to expand.

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“We’re not limited geographically in what we do. That’s the beauty of what we produce – it can be done anywhere.”

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“We have worked over the last five years in the Northwest Territories and in Northern British Columbia.

We’re always going to be looking at different markets with diverse opportunities,” says Butler. “We’re not limited geographically in what we do.

That’s the beauty of what we produce – it can be done anywhere. With the team we have, we’re able to move from province to province. And we have dedicated sub trades that go with us.”

Like we said – Traine just keeps on rolling.

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COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: Traine Construction, Ltd. Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1999 Revenue: $40 million Premiere Service: Multi-Family Construction President: Matt Butler Website: www.traineconstruction.com www.naconstructionjournal.com

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