;
Commercial Drywall, Inc. VolumeT^o. 8
Commercial Craftsman S32
June 1980
CDB Systems,
CommereSsil ©ptuns DuDlas branch Commercial Drywall has announced the opening of a new branch operation serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The new office, which opens officially in late June is located in northwest Dallas and carries the name, CDI Systems, Inc. Heading up the new branch is Mike Grogan, who for the past four years has served as vice president and general manager here in Houston. Mike will maintain that title in his role for the Dallas office. Joining Mike and responsible for ^Afield operations is brother Chuck, Fwho has been a CDI job supervisor for two years in Houston. Chuck most recently headed up the 49-story First City Tower before making the move to Dallas. Sales and estimating functions for the new office will be the job of Sam Beard. Sam has served CDI in a similar capacity for the last seven months. He has been a CDI employee for three years, and has extensive experience in a variety of wall systems and drywall construction. According to CDI president Dick ■ Phillips, the decision to make the move to Dallas was made for a number of reasons, most of which concern economic factors. “Historically, successful companies are those that grow continuously over the long range,” claims Dick. “Dallas is a growing market, and we felt it would be an ideal place for us to continue our growth. “Additionally," says Dick, “such ^Jgrowth into new markets helps the j Company as a whole by insulating itself against slowdowns in which business is limited to just one area. Overall, we feel this move will solidify
New buildings are going up in Dallas at a rate proportionate to that of Houston. Shown here is a typical commercial site where a 15-story bank building is currently under construction.
the Company even beyond our current strength, which is already tremendous in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.” Unlike Austin and San Antonio, CDI is going into the Dallas market without the luxury of a major project already under contract. However, Mike Grogan indicates that CDI is bidding a number of projects including two 50-story buildings, a Bell computer systems facility in downtown Dallas, and a major hotel, the Radisson. According to Mike, CDI Systems will strive to build a relationship with much of the same clientele as in Houston. This group includes such general contractors and developers as Beck, Bellows, Linbeck, McKee, J.A. Jones, Lincoln Properties as well as others. And, says Mike, “We will
continue to bid every major project that comes along." Initially CDI Systems will only handle drywall and acoustical tile work, waiting later to add on with finishing and painting capabilities. And, the operations will add manpower in both office and field positions as needs dictate. In comparing Dallas to Houston, Mike believes that currently there is a proportionate amount of construction going on. In other words, says Mike, “there’s an awful lot of work up there." The amount of construction activity in Dallas is, of course, the primary reason Dallas was chosen for our next branch office. “Commercial construction," says Mike, “is spread throughout several areas in and around Dallas, much like the activity in Houston.
Fmm the top
MSas=IH@[r@ w& ©©ms
%
By Dick Phillips I sincerely hope that all of you are as excited about our expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth market as I am. This is a significant step for our company to take, particularly at this
Letters to Larry Dear Larry: Just a note to let you know how very much we enjoyed your article on S.A. Sometimes we feel like CDI’s stepchild, but we do realize what a big operation Houston is and it is your main office. Since the big turnover in our S.A. office, everyone has been a little jumpy but things seem to be smoothing out. We want you to know that as many wives read your newsletter as the men. If you have time, please run an article on our S.A.S.A. project and employees. This is an important project to many families. Thanks again for the great newsletter! CDI Wives of S.A. S.A. Wives, While Houston is our biggest operation, our activities in San Antonio, Austin, and now Dallas are just as important. Our biggest barrier in putting more San Antonio news in the Craftsman is the difficulty getting information and photos from there to here. But, we are trying to improve on this so that we can inform everyone on what is happening in our banch operations. The San Antonio Savings Association project is of great significance to CDI, as it is to you. So, rest assured that we will do our best to give it proper coverage. Thanks for the kind words and always feel free to send any information you may have to the Craftsman. Larry Williams, Editor
time. Many of us had hoped and planned one day we would make this move. However, we are doing it before any of us thought we would, but when you have the opportunity and things seem right, you need to jump. Dallas is an exciting, growing market. Percentage-wise, it is probably growing at about the same rate as Houston—maybe not quite as fast. With the addition of our Dallas office we bring to an end the first phase of our expansion program. As you all know, four years ago we opened in Austin, a couple of years later in San Antonio, and in Dallas. People ask me, “Why, with all the business you have in Houston, are you taking on the additional hassle and risk of opening a new office in a new territory?’’ The answer to that is simple. As the old business axiom goes, you either grow or you die. And we certainly do not intend to die. So, when growth opportunities present themselves, we have a successful history of being opportunists in rising to the occasion. There is another answer to that question of why we take on more hassle, and that is we know we must diversify. That is to say we have grown to a size now that we are trying to insulate ourselves against any adverse economic situation that may affect one part of our business severely. If that would happen and without other products or other geographic locations, then our whole company stability could be substantially
shaken. So, to hedge against that, we have opted to geograpically spread ourselves so that if the economy of Houston did take a bad turn we could still count on help from the Austin, San Antonio or Dallas markets. If they all turn out bad at one time, of course, that's another matter. Generally speaking, Dallas is a different mix of business than Houston. Houston is largely energy related with heavy industry as an economic base. Dallas is more of a distribution center for the southwest part of the country, with lighter commercial operations and a heavy emphasis on finance. The different markets and different economic conditions should affect each of the cities differently. We feel confident that this latest move will serve as another step to reinsure the financial and employment stability of your company. To get our operation going on a first class basis and to show the level of commitment which we have in making Dallas a successful branch office, we are sending three of our most talented people—Mike Grogan, who will head up the operation, Chuck Grogan who will handle the field operations, and Sam Beard who will assist in the sales and estimating. These three working together forms a very formidable CDI team.
€omm@rei@il Craftsman Editor: Larry Williams
Trim the fat High-fat diets are often linked with heart disease, warns the Agriculture Department. To reduce the level of fat in your diet: include more fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, dry beans and dry peas. Cut down on fatty meats, such as spareribs and sausage, and eat more fish, shellfish chicken and turkey. 2
The Commercial Craftsman is published monthly by Commercial Drywall, Inc. for its employees and their families. Employees should send their news contributions to Larry Williams, Commercial Drywall, Inc., P.O. Box 10686, Houston, Texas 77018.
CD1 fish tournament suecess
Bob Marek shows oft this sixand-ahatf pounder which earned him the Big Bass award in CDt's recent "Fishin' Foots" Tournament.
Commercial Drywall enjoyed overwhelming success with its First Annual Fishin' Fools Tournament held May 17. The all-day bass tournament was staged at the Anchorage Marina on Lake Conroe and featured some 35 boats holding 70 contestants. The two-person teams in each boat competed for the heaviest stringer of bass which would earn them part of the cash and prizes totaling more than $1,200. Bob Marek, who handles material purchasing for CDI, and his fishing partner, Jim Saxon of Safeway Scaffold, captured first place honors with more than 33 pounds of bass. In addition, Bob landed the heaviest bass which netted him a jig saw valued at $120 and a first place trophy. As the winning team, Bob and Jim split the $350 first prize.
Finishing superintendent Roland Roe displays the five-anda-half pounder which won him the second place Big Bass prize.
COD softball teams completing season CDI’s two softball teams each were sporting winning records going into the final third of the season. The South team, with a 5-2 record was holding down first place in its league, while the North team at 4-3 was in third place in a separate league. The South team coached by CDI carpenter Jim Sonnier put things together since losing two of their first three games. They went into the final three games of the season with a four-game winning streak and a good chance of advancing to the playoffs. The North team with its third place standing was still in the thick of things because both first and second place games advanced to the city playoffs. At press time, the team was
(Above) CDI finisher Mike O'Brien takes his turn at the plate during a recent South team game while teammates watch anxiously from the dugout. (Right) North team pitcher Jim Rutledge delivers a pitch during a recent victory over the UER Dumps.
only one-half game behind the second place team in the standings. The North squad is led on the field by Allen Fields, also a CDI carpenter. Both CDI teams competed in a sixteam league formed by the city of Houston and playing under Amateur Softball Association rules. 3
Coming in second in the heavy stringer competition was CDI finishing superintendent Roland Roe and his partner, Frank Orsak of Southwestern Paint, who landed just over 17 pounds of bass to earn $175 between the two. Also, Roland brought in the second largest bass for a $25 reversible drill. Rounding out the remaining eight winners in order were boats led by CDI personnel: Charlie Duncan, Roger White, Leo Ryza, Joel Niederhoffer, Brad Frierson, Freddy Back, Michael Hawkins, and James Henderson. Prizes for the contest were donated by several CDI suppliers including Betco and Safeway Scaffolding, Southern Fasteners, General Power & Tools, BuildingFasteners, Ramset, and Joe Woods Sales.
Mdra ‘tilled’ as key person EMPLOYEE NEWS
GDI awards Gw© belt buckles Two CDI employees received belt buckles at the May supervisor’s breakfast. Randy Robinson and Brad Frierson, both carpenter foremen, earned the award for their efforts on separate projects during the last several weeks. Randy was honored for work on the Fugro Gulf project for Hines Industrial. Randy handled heavy exterior gauge metal framing and gyp lap installation during the project’s early weeks which included the worst part of winter—January and February. In spite of having lift problems and exterior window frame difficulties, Randy was able to beat his budget by 15 percent on both the metal and the gyp lap. According to field superintendent, Ted Hajdik, Randy’s positive attitude and acceptance of responsibility helps him to achieve his goals despite obstacles. Meanwhile, Brad Frierson was earning his belt buckle at Terminal C of Intercontinental Airport. Brad was able to achieve a number of things which proved beneficial and cost efficient for CDI. He established a good rapport with Linbeck Construction, the general contractor for the project, and he convinced the City of Houston that fire taping was not necessary on parts of the job. Additionally, Brad was able to decrease the shaftwall size in certain areas to close around piping. All of this, of course, was done while meeting city specifications which meant a tremendous amount of paper work following verbal decisions and approvals. The Craftsman congratulates Randy and Brad on their awards and hopes that they continue their fine job for CDI. We are pleased to recognize the dedication of such dedicated CDI people.
With the tremendous volume of work which CDI handles, a great number of important jobs critical to our success are often overlooked. One of these functions is billing—the job of sending out invoices to let our customers know that it is that time of month again. Melva Weggemann is in charge of this operation. And her steady, reliable performance has earned her the distinction as this month’s key person. Melva has been a CDI employee for the past two and a half years. She is a native Houstonian—one of a dying breed—and has been a great addition to CDI's billing department under Bob Bullock. Her responsibility includes all of our billing except the Century Development accounts which are handled by Joyce Kaminsky. Her duties require her to work extremely closely with CDI sales people so that she can obtain information on percentages of completion on projects so she can determine the amount to bill. Other billing information comes from work orders or come in and are processed as jobs are completed. Most of Melva’s billing goes out after the 15th of each month to meet the billing dates of our clients. CDI must meet these dates or risk the possibility of waiting until next month to receive payment. One of the challenges Melva faces in her job is keeping up with the mass of paper work which her job generates because such work must be backed up by invoices, work orders, or other written materials. Helping her in this regard is her ability to maintain excellent files which she relies on constantly. Part of the tremendous responsibility Melva carries is seen in the fact that very seldom are her billing figures checked by anyone else. Thus, CDI depends on her for accurate amounts, and Melva manages to do more than an adequate job in this respect. While not keeping up with CDI billing, Melva spends time with Bob her husband of 23 years. Bob is a ' technician for a contractor at NASA and is involved in developing medical tests for astronauts. Bob was on the 4
Key person Melva Weggemann shoulders a lot of work and responsibility in handling billing for CDI.
recovery ship during the space flight that involved the linkup with the Soviets several years ago. Melva and Bob have three children—Bobby, 20, who works for Brown Oil Tools, Ruth, 12, and Sara, 2. The Weggemans, especially Bob, are active in scouting, while the entire family enjoys camping adventures. The Craftsman extends its thanks to Melva for the fine job she does for CDI. Her reliability is another reason CDI maintains its excellent position in the drywall industry.
New faces Tommy Daniels. . Mike Kempenski . Paul W. Wood. . . Richard Martin. . John A. Turner. . . Lynell Maglorie. . A. C. Bullock ■ ■ ■ Marvin Chatom. . . Daniel Wood . William Boyer. . Thomas Samoheyl. . William Pate. Kent Madison . , Doyle Bussell • Clyde Hancock
A -
Supervisor of the month 0
I
Cliff Welsh res®|w®© homm
CDI's supervisor of the month
*CS 1101101 can be counted on to get a job done award has gone to Cliff Welsh who as efficiently as possible. heads up remodeling work at the Cliff hails from Crowley, Louisiana, Houston Center complex. He and claims to be 100 percent Cajun. received the award at the May rior to coming to Houston eight supervisors’ breakfast at the years ago, Cliff worked as a Brookhollow Hilton. roughneck on offshore oil rigs in Cliff joined CD I five years ago on the advice of his brother-in-law, Irime several areas including such remote locations as Melbourne, Australia, Manuel, who is currently a door and Anchorage, Alaska. hanger at First International Plaza. At He gave up that profession the time, Cliff was running drywall following his marriage nine years ago work at One and Two Shell Plazas to Becky. Cliff and Becky currently for another contractor. reside in Dayton, a town about 30 Cliff's first duties took him to the miles northeast of Houston. They Houston Center under construction at have three children, all the time. There, he worked under girls—Deedra, 13, Dana, 11, and Fred Lay, who Cliff credits with a lot Donna, 7. of his success. When Fred left to Cliff and his family enjoy the start the First International Bank, Cliff outdoors, as one would expect of a took over the reins at Houston Cajun. They both like to fish, and he Center. especially likes to deer hunt. But, Since then, Cliff has emerged as a Cliff claims that taking care of his top supervisor who keeps a very two-acre spread in Dayton keeps him to busy to do a lot of either. smooth running operation. His Becky is employed in Dayton and responsibilities include overseeing is very active in their church, serving our remodeling activities in One and as its secretary-treasurer. Two Houston Centers, Pennzoil Remodeling operations at the Building, Well Tech, as well as Houston Center complex involves a several others in the downtown area. One of Cliff’s outstanding assets is variety of activitites including framing, hanging, finishing, door his pleasant personality. He is well hanging, even minor carpet patching. liked by his men, his superiors, and Some of the men who help Cliff those with whom he works at coordinate the work are carpenter the Property Management Systems foreman Joe Campise and Victor property management firm for the Inge who heads up the finishing. Houston Center. And, Cliff is one who
I
gszsr-—■■* carpenter Sid Ashley.
5
Cliff works under CDI field superintendent Ted Hajdik and works closely with sales estimator Nelson Sanders. At Property Management, Cliff is associated with Bob Pocevic, who Cliff says is a real pleasure to work with. The Craftsman congratulates Cliff on his award and wishes him a lot of luck in his job as supervisor of our Houston Center remodeling operation.
ODD taking standi against thefts CDI losses due to jobsite thefts have increased substantially in recent months. Since the beginning of this year, some $30,000 in tools and equipment have been reported as stolen from CDI projects. Items being stolen range from screw guns to more expensive goods such as a welding rig and laser levels. In a recent incident, a CDI employee was found allegedly possessing stolen CDI merchandise. Investigation by the police department, at the request of CDI, resulted in charges against the individual. This incident, according to CDI management, indicates that thefts are occurring from within the company, as well as being the work of outside criminals. In order that all employees understand the consequences of getting caught with stolen company tools, CDI has issued a statement which declares, “Any Commercial Drywall employee found to be in possession of stolen tools or equipment will be terminated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, without exception.’’ To further discourage thefts, CDI is continuing to mark and identify all tools. Additionally, the company is working in conjunction with members of DISCA, the local drywall association, in the reporting of stolen items, in the event that these contractors are approached for resale of the goods.
COMPANY NEWS
CDl-Austin gearing for busy sehedlute CDl-Austin reports that much of its activity continues to center around two major projects—IBM Building 045 and the E. O. Thompson Building. However, things are expected to get hectic later this summer and fall when several new projects are slated to start up. The future projects include three additional buildings at the IBM complex. All are three-story structures with the first to begin later this month, while the other two are scheduled for later this fall. Meanwhile, Building 045 is currently about 70 percent complete under supervisor Johnny Kovar. Continuing to assist Johnny on the project are foreman Jerry Wilhelm, Gene Doughtery, and Roy Schaefer. At the E. O. Thompson Building, Bob Fritz is heading up work which has reached the 90 percent completion mark, although numerous changes are keeping the project going strong. In addition to the IBM project coming up, CDl-Austin will also be involved in major remodeling work at the Brackenridge Hospital. This work is expected to begin sometime in July. And, a new Sears store in the Barton Creek Square Shopping Center will be another CDI project to start up this fall.
Setting St right The Craftsman apologizes for erroneously reporting David Kovar as the supervisor for the IBM Building 045 in last month’s issue. David works on the E. O. Thompson Building, while his brother Johnny Kovar is supervisor of the IBM job. Sorry Johnny!
The ceiling of the nave in the St. Cyril Church required 12,000 square feet of rock. The abundance of metal framing in the ceiling is apparent in this photo looking toward peak of the domed shape ceiling.
Project ©f the month
Hangers, finishers exceiienf ©im toyglh Si Cyril Church Job The St. Cyril Catholic Church, a project for P. G. Bell Construction, has been selected as the project of the month for May. The Church, under the carpenter supervision of Dave McGuire, with finishing headed by Billy Wright, began in mid-March and has proved to be an unusual chore. The majority of the work in the church was located in the nave, a large rounded room where services are to be conducted. Following its elaborate framing, the room resembled a mini-Astrodome because of several false beams and the massive sheetrock ceiling, all of which required framing. The wall giving the room its circular shape had a radius of 102 feet. The domed ceiling had a height at the wall of 16 feet and rose to 38 feet above the altar. The amazing part of the project was the fact that all of the framing for the false beams and other drops were constructed in jigs on the ground and then put into place. This technique, mastered by CDI craftsman Dave McGuire, proved to be the most efficient means for framing the unusual ceiling. In fact, 6
Dave has constructed other intricate ceilings using jigs on previous jobs. The ceiling in the nave represented approximately 12,000 of the 17,000 square feet of ceiling rock hung in the entire church. In addition to the false beams, domed ceiling, and large radius wall, a smaller 38-foot radius wall above the altar and four skylights added to the difficulty of the job. In fact, according to Dave, “the only thing typical about the job was its two bathrooms." Assisting Dave in the framing and hanging functions on the St. Cyril job included Doyle Mason, Bill Sadler, Margarito Gonzales, Jeff Davis, David Martin, and George Bujan. All did an outstanding job despite the unusual demands of the project. On the finishing end, foreman Billy Wright headed up an unusual amount of high work. Said Bill, “There was a lot of work off the scissor lift, but except for the radius wall, everything was pretty straight forward. The good, cleaning hanging job made ours a lot easier.” Besides Billy, Larry Grimm and Roland Dube contributed to the finishing effort, all done by hand.
CDI’s time department
Four lading Just marking time
. A ^
One of the most important jobs around the CDI office (at least to the men and women in the field) is the time keeping department. This is where those in the field get credited for being on the job—time which soon shows up in dollars and cents on paychecks. The responsibility for getting, organizing, and passing this information along to payroll falls on four young ladies—all relatively new with CDI. Heading them is Barbara Smith whose tenure with the company dates back to last October. She, Kim Antonicelli, Edith Doolittle, and Susan Purvis make up the hard working time department. Barbara, besides supervising all the activity within her department, handles a load of chores herself including balancing job costs, correcting computer invalids, and assisting in taking time from foremen who call in time at the end of each work day. But, she has help—like Kim, who has been with CDI for seven months. Kim’s areas of responsibility include checking work orders for accuracy and information, then sending them to Melva Weggemann for billing, setting up job numbers and work orders for new work, and taking time from certain foremen.
The always busy time department consists of (I - r) Barbara Sm:th, Kim Antonicelli, Susan Purvis and Edith Doolittle
In addition to these duties, Kim, like everyone in the department, helps batch time sheets on Tuesdays and sorts checks on Thursdays. Handling worker’s compensation claims is Edith Doolittle, who has been with CDI for approximately two months. Edith’s job includes filling out accident reports and reports of injury for OSHA. The fourth person in the time department is Susan Purvis who takes care of the production board for the company. This involves making sure time sheets for
.
employees match the jobs that they’re on, typing a weekly list of closed jobs, and preparing a list of employees by job every Monday. Her duties with the board give her the responsibility for seeing that labels and names of employees are maintained on the board and making any changes in personnel among jobs. And, Susan keeps track of those who fail to call in their time.
Sara Antoni© busy
! * “ '
Association, going for CDI in that city.
7
CDI-San Antonio is staying busy with its major projects—the Holiday . Inn North, San Antonio Savings Association, and Alameda Properties. Currently, the Holiday Inn project is the busiest place with around 20 men working on the 11-story hotel facility. Heading up the work there are foremen Paul Buck and Wayne Schultze. At the SASA project, work is just starting to pick up on the nine-story structure also on the north side of San Antonio. Delton Sturgis is leading the way on this project which began approximately two months ago. The Alameda Properties job, a renovation of an existing building is currently winding down under the direction of Tony Bauman. The project is one of a number of rebuilding programs of old buildings near downtown San Antonio.
Mm birthdays
The budget beating Condo II team poses for a photo following one of their three recent barbeque lunches.
CoDid© U becoming fibudget teaftsrs5 The Greenway Condominium II has emerged as a consistent winner in the Group Two budget beaters contests. Condo II has won three consecutive lunches in recent weeks under the guidance of supervisor Glen Brabham. Group I contests, meanwhile, were being split between two different jobs—Kingwood Elementary School on May 7 and Corporate Plaza II on May 21. Condo II is currently in its initial stages with a crew of approximately a dozen CDI people including carpenters and laborers. The crew has done an exceptional job in beating its budget on the work which so far has included stocking, layout, and top track.
Commercial Craftsman Commercial Drywall, Inc. 3705 Piney Woods P.O. Box 10686 Houston, Texas 77018
The Kingwood Elementary School, under supervisor Charlie Slayton, is a project for Baxter Construction and is located north of the city in the Kingwood subdivision. A crew of four carpenters were on hand during that job’s budget beating period. In the most recent Group One contest, Corporate Plaza II, headed up by Cliff O’Banion, took the contest for the second time since the job started last fall. Cliff was aided by his crew of carpenters plus several finishers headed by Mike Woodruff. The budget beaters contests recognize jobs which beat their budgets by the biggest margin during a two-week period.
Edward Arrendondo Johnny Arriaga. Samuel D. Beard, Jr. . . Henry J. Breaux. . . Bradley P. Buescher. Pete Camarillo . .Juan M. Cavazos. . James Chambers . . Darryl R. Cochrell. Gilbert Colunga. .Harold L. Cunningham . Reginald Edwards. . Walter! Field III Robert Fritz. Gregory Garcia. Michael L. Gensamer Paul Hering. . Glaucus A. Jefferson . Ural L. Jefferson . Larry D. Johnson. . Louis Klovenski Johnny Kovar .John D. Lambrecht Keith M. Leshe . Juan P. Leza . . Hillman Loftin Pablo G. Mata, Jr. David Morgan. . . Joel Niederhoffer. Juan Ortiz, Jr. James W. Owens . Ricardo Perales Emilio Postal. Jack W. Pratt. .Jefferey G. Ray J. W. Roeder Roger Rust. Douglas K. Sandage. . . Ivory Sanders, Jr. Eddie R. Shaw . Everett W. Shelton Elmer R. Shelton. . .Juan Smithwick . . Ralph Stilz. . John E. Turner . Frank PValdez . R. C. Warman James! Williams. Pete D. Williams Joseph D. Williams . Cherryl Newton. .Sarah Urban. . Larry Williams.
Goals—I find the great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.—Goethe
BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE
PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 2840