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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Dallas County Courthouse
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(210) 308-5800
Volume 14
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Number 8
AUGUST 2017
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Renegade-run business
Branching out
He may seem a little on the wild side, but Justin Silcox is taking a conservative approach to his new company.
L-R: Sergio Serrano, branch manager Randy Towns and Chris Trimble are ready to welcome customers to National Trench Safety’s new Fort Worth location.
J
ustin Silcox glances down at his tattooed arms with a self-explanatory chuckle when asked why he named his company Renegade Concrete LLC. But it’s his back tattoo asserting, “I am my family’s keeper” that explains how this renegade will be as a business owner. Being part of a construction family is second nature to Silcox. He started off in his uncle’s drywall and framing business, even moving from Texas to Las Vegas to make his mark on casino, hotel, school, water treatment plant and high-rise projects. When the construction market fell in 2010, he returned to Texas and secured work at Turner Construction as part of a self-perform group. Happy with the company but wanting to expand his
expertise, he joined DPR Construction as a project engineer five years later, just as it was building a concrete division. He was soon tackling high-profile projects such as the Facebook data center and the downtown Dallas Union project. While he enjoyed the work, he kept revisiting an entrepreneurial dream he’d had since childhood, and decided to establish his own Bedford-based concrete business. “Between the knowledge that I’ve gathered from Turner and DPR, and the knowledge and experience that I’ve gained from my time in construction, I might as well give it a shot,” he says. Silcox mastered typical new business continued on Page 17
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onstruction in Cowtown just got safer. Houston-based National Trench Safety LLC opened its 32nd branch location in Fort Worth, strengthening its presence in the Metroplex markets. The company, which specializes in the rental and sales of trench and traffic safety equipment, trench and traffic safety engineering and OSHA-compliant training classes, operates in the United States and England. The newest dedicated trench and safety branch, located at 10301 Blue Mound Road, will mirror the company’s Irving location. Also located in Irving is NTS’ specialty location dedicated to traffic paint and
ancillary products. The Fort Worth branch was added to better service contractors in the area. “Fort Worth is an important extension for our Dallas operation to allow us to continue to service our customer base,” NTS president Ron Chilton says. “We’ve had very strong growth out of the Dallas operation since we’ve opened the branch, which is a testament to the service levels provided by the Dallas team. As we looked at the market, to continue to provide the service levels and response times our customers expect, we needed to add another branch location.” continued on Page 17
Center forward
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ancaster has enjoyed a steady growth in its distribution, manufacturing and retail sectors, and in February added another jewel to its distribution crown, thanks to general contractor Arch-Con Construction and client Denver-based developer Huntington Industrial Partners. Park 20 Distribution Center, located at 3201 N. Houston School Rd., goes beyond a basic concrete building and instead strikes a stylish mix of form and function. The 468,000-sf tilt-wall, crossdock distribution center, designed by architect Mike Meinhardt of Meinhardt & Associates Architects, boasts a 32-ft clear height nestled on a 36-acre site. A few challenges met the Arch-Con Dallas team as they began work on the project. During the grading of this site, limestone was encountered and 14 ft. of rock had to be removed to get to subgrade. Not to be outdone, Mother
Nature proved to be the largest hurdle for the team, with nearly two months of weather delays largely affecting the placement of concrete and other critical path activities. Efforts to overcome the rain impacts included increasing overtime and weekend work, needing additional equipment and keeping access roads accessible for work to progress. The project includes a foundation consisting of piers ranging from 18ft. to 36ft. in diameter at various depths with a 6-in. slab on grade and 8¾-in. tilt-wall panels. The structural steel was erected and decking was pinned down followed by roofing insulation and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) material. A total of 101 overhead doors were installed in the facility, and, to finish the space, the walls received textured paint with three accent colors. Arch-Con Construction delivered on Lancaster’s new Park 20 Distribution Center.
continued on Page 17