INSIGHTS FALL 2022 EDITION
A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE MAREK FAMILY OF COMPANIES
MAJOR PROJECTS
DALLAS We’ve come a long way on the project at Collin College Frisco Campus! We originally built this building from the ground up in 1995. Now, we are back with a remodel, including a new, 2-story 36,000 sf add-on building. There have been several additional buildings on this campus since our original build. Our project included metal stud and drywall partitions as well as Armstrong lay-in ceiling and wood linear ceilings. Vidal Jacobo is Foreman on the project with Kenny LaDuke as PM and Juan Valdez as Superintendent. GC is Skanska and Page Southerland Page, Inc. is Architect.
Finishing Foreman Ismael Grimaldo; Safety Advisors, Brian Smith and Danny Williams; Logistics Leader, Don Hicke and Project Admin Soraya Ontiveros are doing an amazing job leading our 150-person crew every day. But the teamwork does not stop there. Our Project Managers, Operations Department, Warehouse, Office Support staff, vendors and subcontractors are all an integral part of the team building this important project. A major part of our team is our GC, Brasfield & Gorrie, and Architect Earl Swensson Associates. Luke Schlup, B & G Project Superintendent on site told us recently, “It is nice when a teammate shares the same drive and pride in the legacy they leave behind on the jobs they are associated with. It leads to doing what is right and whatever it takes to get the job done, with excellent quality and meeting the schedule, with managing costs becoming a byproduct along the way. These are the teammates you want and will fight for.”
AUSTIN Work has recently begun on a 12-story, 300,000 sf building in downtown Austin, which includes a mix of parking, retail, and office space. The project also includes a bridge on the 5th level that leads to a residential side (residential not being performed by MAREK). MAREK Austin is performing the core and shell work with MAREK Houston who is performing under-slab insulation installation (Charlie Gremillion, PM). This project includes 9 wood continuous wood ceilings, minor gyp and acoustical ceiling tiles as well as sheathing, and moisture-resistant board. Nathan Watt is Supervisor with Frank Acabal, Remigio Acabal, Jose Rodriguez, Leonardo Moreno, and Joseph Vasquez as key employees. Greystar is GC and Architect is R2L Architects.
HOUSTON Pr e s t i g i o u s financial firm, Invesco, is reducing their footprint in Greenway Plaza. With more employees working in a hybrid position, the firm has decided to reduce its office space by more than half. Just We will continue to fight to make the because the space has been reduced Ismael Bravo, Juan Lopez, Jack CHOA NDH Hospital a success! to 180,218 sf doesn’t mean they will Smith, Andres Diaz, and Martin be cutting back on what makes them Martinez; Finishing Foremen, and - Marty Shonkwiler - Project Manager a great place to work. Invesco has ATLANTA We are continuing to work hard at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA) North Druid Hills Hospital in Atlanta. Our success can be attributed to the strong team we have committed to making this massive project a success. Our on-site field team of Superintendent Tony Smith; Foremen
FALL 2022
started the process of “restacking” or temporarily operating out of some floors in Greenway Plaza. MAREK has been awarded other drywall, paint, and fabric panels scopes of work on this project. The remodel covers a total of 118,000 sf across eight floors with complete removal of carpet and acoustical ceiling on all floors, partial drywall demo on seven floors, and total drywall demo on one floor. Our teams will build back drywall partitions, sheetrock ceiling and furrdowns to some degree on all floors. Steven DeGroot is Drywall Estimator/PM, Superintendent is Michael Romero, and Foreman is Juan Briceno. Harvey Builders is GC and HOK is Architect. Invesco leaders stated, “We’re excited to begin imagining new ways of working together at Invesco, which will combine the best of what we’ve learned from working remotely, with the best of physically being together in the office,” the company said on its website. “Our future way of working will offer more flexibility, while still providing the collaboration, interactivity and client engagement that only comes from an office environment.”
ON SITE
Optima, Calla and Tectum as well as Acoufelt Filasorb specialty ceilings. Phase 2 is scheduled to begin in early November, including a buildout of the remaining two floors. Key employees include Thomas Arckivy, Eduardo Ibarra, and Raul Villegas. Humphries and Company are GC and ASD SKY is Architect. ATLANTA We are currently in the home stretch of Phase 2 for the Gas South District Project at the Convention Center in Duluth. Phase 2 includes renovation of the existing Ballroom Pre-function, Main Ballroom, three Jr. Ballrooms, Exhibit Halls A and B, Food Hall, and the Theater. The scope of work includes drywall, acoustical ceilings, wood ceiling systems, and acoustical soundscapes blades. Greg Stine is Sr. Project Manager, Joe Spencer and Damian Ontiveros are Supervisors, Humberto Gonzalez is Finishing Foreman, and Juan Gomez is Ceiling Foreman. Holder Construction is GC and Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates is Architect. DALLAS Work is wrapping up on a 7,000-sf new office space for Insight Global, a staffing and IT management company located in downtown Dallas. Martin Hernandez is Foreman, Robert
ATLANTA Work is currently underway at Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP. This four-floor renovation takes place in the top floors of the 22-story Wells Fargo Tower in Midtown Atlanta. The 100,000-sf project boasts ACT Ceilings, including Armstrong Ultima, Page 2
Brazel is Superintendent, Carson Pittman is Project Manager and Jose Olvera is Mechanic. GC is Balfour Beatty with Bennett Partners as Architect. AUSTIN Work is underway at real estate firm, Cushman & Wakefield. The firm occupies the 23rd floor of a downtown Austin building and is approximately 15,000 sf. MAREK Austin will be performing the interior build-out portion of this project, and will include acoustical grid/ tile, acoustical clouds with Axiom perimeter trim, aluminum Raco door frames, and an array of different wall types and cove details. The work is expected to take 4 months to complete. Joe Juarez is Foreman, with Raul Gomez, Jesus Perez, Joseph Moreno, and Augustin Garcia as key players on the project. NOVO Construction is GC and Interior Architects (IA) is Architect. SAN ANTONIO MAREK San Antonio continues its effort to expand into the SPD market. GC, Gilbane, reached out to us to convert existing wall murals into a more durable long-lasting form for their Lanier High School renovations. With the assistance of CS Specialties, we were able to digitize the existing
wall murals and print them into their Acrovyn by Design Wall Coverings. Through the effort of Jorge Rosario, Fo r e m a n , and John K ruithof, Carpenter, this was e a s i l y installed. HOUSTON MAREK crews began working in August on the Sodexo HOU150 Level 11 project. DE Harvey Builders has contracted our team to complete the demolition of walls, ceilings, and partitions at the restrooms, along with build back, finishing and painting. Our team will also install Mecho Shades along the perimeter of the floor and will install coffered gypsum board ceilings at the lobby. Our Drywall & Finishing team is led by Superintendents Michael Romero, and Art Villarreal, Foreman David Reyna, and Paint Superintendent Joey Buxton.
ON THE HORIZON DALLAS Building 2 is the latest addition to the southwest campus of Tarleton State University. At more than 100,000 sf of classroom and specialized lab space the Inter-professional Education Building will address the region’s two most pressing needs — increased access to quality health care and education. MAREK will have multiple scopes of work on this project which include drywall assemblies, acoustical ceilings, wood ceilings, acoustical wall panels, and fireproofing.
This project will begin in November 2022 and end in December 2023. Joe Rodriquez is Foreman, Jose Cardona is PM, Shedrick Harrison is PM Fireproofing, Fernando Tejada is PM SPD, and Robert Brazel is Superintendent. Holder Construction is GC and Perkins & Will is Architect.
AUSTIN Work has recently begun on a 1-1/2 story, 33,164 sf tenant finish out in a new mid-rise tower just completed on the up-and-coming east side of Austin for Canva. Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more. The space is a large, open office format with individual offices at the core. Project includes a large kitchen area and multiple training rooms. Armstrong DesignArt Tectum will be used in the large training room and SoundPly baffles will be installed in a random grid pattern in the dining hall. Podcast recording studios will also be included with sound absorbing wall panels.
Victor Cano is Foreman, Carson Pittman is PM, Julio Saenz and Tommy Weeks are Superintendents. HOUSTON MAREK has been awarded the drywall, acoustical, and paint scopes on this multi-phase project at Chevron KRTC. KRTC begins with constructing two new two-story buildings next to an existing building. MAREK will also remodel six separate labs inside of the existing building. Estimator/PM is Steven DeGroot, Superintendent is Ricky Morgan, and Foreman is Irving Sepulveda. The project will begin in February of 2023 and end in May of 2024. HOUSTON MAREK’s Insulation and Fireproofing team will be installing Rigid Insulation, spray foam, firestopping, and cementitious and intumescent fireproofing at Texas A&M University’s Business Education Complex. Work is expected to start in June of 2023 and end in December 2023. Estimator is Sharon Schoolcraft, Project Manager is Charlie Gremillion, and Superintendents are Cruz Aguilar and Larry Vance Jr. GC is Skanska and Kirksey is Architect.
HOUSTON Anthony Holder is Foreman, with Work has recently begun on a 2-year Jesus Contreras, Jonathan Graham, insulation project at the Cypress location Osvaldo Gonzalez contributing. GC is of Houston Methodist Hospital, one of Turner and Sixthriver is Architect. the nation’s leading health care systems and academic medical centers. MAREK DALLAS will be installing Rigid and Thermal Batt Work will be completed in October for Insulation as part of the project. 30,000 sf of remodeled office space as well as 90,000 sf of warehouse space Estimator and PM is Matthew Hlady to be used as the new headquarters and Superintendents are Cruz Aguilar of Diesel Displays, a Dallas-based and Larry Vance, Jr. McCarthy Building company that creates turn-key displays Companies, Inc. is GC and Kirksey is and graphics for retail spaces. Architect. Page 3
WORKFORCE
bootcamp.
tasks and achieved milestones within their career growth. We are extremely proud of these individuals for completing the program.
Our team attended and recruited four students (Fredrick Hunter, Lakosha Smith, Cedrick Wilson, and Deondis Mendenhall) who will be joining us at CORPORATE NEWS our next class, from the Construction After an extensive triannual audit by C3, Ready Program. In order for students to MAREK Houston has requalified at the join the bootcamp, they must complete highest-level craft training endorsement: NCCER curriculum. This is helpful in Champion. establishing the basics of what a Drywall Thanks to Quincy for gathering all the Helper is. Teaching the students and required documentation for the audit watching them take pride in their work and working through the process with is priceless. We are excited about the HOUSTON By Quincy Horton, WFD Specialist the C3 program auditor. bootcamp curriculum and teaching our next class of students! On August 5, 2022, MAREK held a lunch Thanks to the Houston team for their in honor of the 3 students from Houston commitment to training and developing DALLAS outstanding craft Independent School District (HISD) on By Pablo Zarate, WFD Head Coach professionals. their continued development around In an effort to continue making MAREK the 2021 Marek Construction Academy C3’s Craft Training Endorsement a better place to work, we believe it Summer Internship. These students Program provides recognition to begins with setting new employees up world-class construction firms that for success. One of our new initiatives worked hard and impressed not only have documented and implemented is the launch Summer Bootcamps across their coaches, but also those they training programs. These programs all locations. We’ve been honored by worked for and around. The students demonstrate corporate leadership beginning our first bootcamp with seven have learned on the commitment to the development of employees. We believe that this is a job training skills, craft workers by implementing craft great start for success. safety protocols, training programs tied to career paths. and professional The Craft Training program is a rigorous elements that standard that measures a company’s meet the MAREK training program against a standardized Standard. training framework. The endorsement, offering three levels of recognition, is achieved through the development, implementation, and evaluation of robust craft training connected to career paths for craft professionals.
DEVELOPMENT
OUTSTANDING
EMPLOYEES
ATLANTA By Reginald Coleman, WFD Head Coach We want to start off by thanking the San Antonio team for their Bootcamp Kickoff event that Jody Klodner and I got to attend. We gained knowledge and the know-how to launch Atlanta’s very first
SAN ANTONIO By Gabe Garcia, WFD Head Coach
DALLAS Alex Delgado has been driving for On Saturday, September 10th, San MAREK for 18 years. He is always willing Antonio Workforce Development to help with that extra run to a job or recognized graduates in the Helper out of town. Alex’s safety record is top and Mechanic workforce. MAREK notch as he always makes sure his loads celebrated 19 participants, along with are secure and has virtually no incidents their coaches, who completed various on the road. Page 4
The Dallas Team would like to thank in an effort to give the estimators a Alex for all he does for us every day! head start submitting bids for tenant interior projects. ~ David Sparacino, Production Great job, Marcus Manager and Victor, we appreciate you both! ATLANTA Our prayers and condolences go out to our Warehouse Coordinator, Scott “Scotty” Ervin, for the loss of his wife, Selena. ATLANTA Atlanta would like to recognize Humberto Gonzalez, Finishing Field S u p e r v i s o r. Humberto joined MAREK as an apprentice in 2012. Under the guidance of his uncle, MAREK foreman, Eduardo Ibarra, he learned the trade and what it means to be a craftsman. His work ethic and positive attitude made him a natural as a foreman. He is currently handling the finishing crew on our Gas South Center project.
PEOPLE
NEWS DALLAS As an extension of WFD, MAREK DFW Drywall Estimators have been working with Marcus Sanchez and Victor Tilliano in the Fort Worth office, educating them on performing quality take-offs
HOUSTON After 36 years of dedication to the Marek family, Roland Dube retired from his career as a Finisher Foreman. Roland has worked on many of MAREK’s most prestigious projects in the Houston area. Roland’s easy smile and work ethic will be missed by everyone who has had the honor of working with him. Thank you, Roland, for all your hard work, you will be missed! MAREK Talent Development welcomes two new faces to the team! Bianca Martinez joins the team as the new Instructional Designer. She was born and raised in El Paso where her career began in education where she taught for eight years. Her passion for learning and working with others has made her a welcomed new face to the team! Jasmin McCoy joins the team as our newest Learning and Talent Analyst. Raised in Houston, she’s looking forward to being a part of something where she can make an impact. Page 5
COMPANY HAPPENINGS
& EVENTS DALLAS A beautiful day was had at the Ballpark! MAREK DFW celebrated their employees with a MAREK Friends and Family Day watching the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington. One of the highlights of the day was showing off the beautiful work completed on the stadium by our great MAREK construction team! Win or lose, MAREK came out on top! ATLANTA We recently celebrated the 1-year anniversary of our incredibly successful merger with MSI. Over 100 employees showed up for a fun day of celebration, camaraderie, and door prizes. The fajita lunch was catered by On the Border, and the mechanical bull was a huge hit!
AUSTIN Who doesn’t love golf? It’s even more fun when you’re enjoying it with clients like the Austin team was able to do recently. It was a fun event with a great turnout!
MESSAGE FROM
STAN
Labor Shortage Here to Stay The labor shortage that is plaguing the construction industry is not going away any time soon. Its universal, widespread, and worsening. These words sound ominous perhaps suggesting things are dire. In some respects, they may be when you look at the numbers that say the construction industry is short nearly 500,000 workers, with record numbers of workers leaving the industry for various reasons, and fewer than ever new workers coming in. But the facts are that those of us in construction have been dealing with a labor shortage for decades. At least here at Marek, it has been a long time since we have felt comfortable with our workforce levels, especially in our skilled trades. We may be a little different from the majority of other construction firms as we do not hire up for jobs and then lay off at completion. Our philosophy has always been to have another jobsite waiting to man up when one finishes. As a result, every one of our new hires is looked at to be with us on a long-term basis. No doubt, this approach has it challenges on many fronts. But we believe that we must offer careers and not just jobs if we are going to attract, develop and retain highly skilled workers. It is no secret we have been raising wages here at Marek. I think this is one of the good things that has come out of the labor shortage. Workers are demanding more money and quite frankly they are deserving. Many of you have heard me say countless times that when I came into the trades it was a good blue collar career choice that created a highly regarded middle class.
Working with your hands and building things is a noble pursuit. The workers in construction are the backbone of our country and a worker can raise a family and enjoy a good living on his wages. Somewhere along the way, wages in our industry stagnated. No longer did a construction career offer what it once did. And, for the most part it still does not today. But, at Marek, we are determined to make that a reality once again. We want our workforce to be proud of who they are and earn wages that allow them to provide for their families in a respectable fashion. One of the words I have tossed around quite a bit over the past few years is “sustainability”. I believe that our industry has a “here today, gone tomorrow” image that is a direct result of our practices. Whether it’s wages, career development, training, educational involvement, community support…. you name it… I think we can do a better job ensuring our future. This in not to say we have not done a lot. We have many industry associations who actively pursue many of these ideals. But, as an industry and as individual companies, we just have not done enough. Face it… things are not going to get any easier. There will be more and more options and opportunities out there for the young men and women in our country, not less. In order to have a sustainable workforce, we will simply have to be better stewards of the working man and woman. More specifically, we need to improve wages, pay by the hour, offer benefits, and provide better job security through the payment of unemployment, social security and workers compensation premiums. In other words, we need to be true, caring employers and not just labor brokers. A sustainable workforce that ensures our future as companies and as an industry
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will only come when we once again make construction that noble middleclass career.
MENSAGE DE
STAN La escasez de mano de obra llegó para quedarse La escasez de mano de obra que está plagando la industria de la construcción no va a desaparecer pronto. Es universal, generalizado y cada vez peor. Estas palabras suenan ominosas, tal vez sugiriendo que las cosas son terribles. En algunos aspectos, pueden ser cuando se observan las cifras que dicen que la industria de la construcción tiene escasez de casi 500,000 trabajadores, con un número récord de trabajadores que abandonan la industria por varias razones, y menos trabajadores nuevos que nunca llegan. Pero los hechos son que aquellos de nosotros en la construcción hemos estado lidiando con una escasez de mano de obra durante décadas. Al menos aquí en Marek, ha pasado mucho tiempo desde que nos sentimos cómodos con nuestros niveles de fuerza laboral, especialmente en nuestros oficios calificados. Podemos ser un poco diferentes de la mayoría de las otras empresas de construcción, ya que no contratamos para trabajos y luego despedimos al finalizar. Nuestra filosofía siempre ha sido tener otro trabajo listo y esperando para cuando el otro se termine. Como resultado, se considera que cada una de nuestras nuevas contrataciones estará con nosotros a largo plazo. Sin duda, este enfoque tiene sus desafíos en muchos frentes. Pero creemos que debemos ofrecer carreras y no solo empleos si vamos a atraer, desarrollar y retener trabajadores altamente calificados.
No es ningún secreto que hemos estado aumentando los salarios aquí en Marek. Creo que esta es una de las cosas buenas que ha salido de la escasez de mano de obra. Los trabajadores están exigiendo más dinero y, francamente, se lo merecen. Muchos de ustedes me han escuchado decir innumerables veces que cuando entré en los oficios fue una buena elección de carrera de cuello azul que creó una clase media muy respetada. Trabajar con sus manos y construir cosas es una noble búsqueda. Los trabajadores de la construcción son la columna vertebral de nuestro país y un trabajador puede criar una familia y disfrutar de una buena vida con su salario. En algún momento del camino, los salarios en nuestra industria se estancaron. Una carrera de construcción ya no ofrecía lo que alguna vez ofreció. Y, en su mayor parte, todavía no lo hace hoy. Pero, en Marek, estamos decididos a hacer que eso sea una realidad una vez más. Queremos que nuestra fuerza laboral esté orgullosa de quiénes son y ganen salarios que les permitan mantener a sus familias de una manera respetable. Una de las palabras que he lanzado bastante en los últimos años es “sostenibilidad”. Creo que nuestra industria tiene una imagen de “aquí hoy, mañana desaparecido” que es un resultado directo de nuestras prácticas. Ya sea su salario, desarrollo profesional, capacitación, participación educativa, apoyo comunitario ... lo que sea... Creo que podemos hacer un mejor trabajo asegurando nuestro futuro. Esto no quiere decir que no hayamos hecho mucho. Tenemos muchas asociaciones de la industria que persiguen activamente muchos de estos ideales. Pero, como industria y como empresas individuales, simplemente no hemos hecho lo suficiente. Acéptalo... Las cosas no van a ser más fáciles. Habrá más y más opciones y oportunidades para los hombres y mujeres jóvenes de nuestro país, no menos. Para tener una fuerza laboral sostenible, simplemente tendremos que ser mejores administradores del hombre y la mujer trabajadores. Más
específicamente, necesitamos mejorar los salarios, pagar por hora, ofrecer beneficios y proporcionar una mejor seguridad laboral a través del pago de primas de desempleo, seguridad social y compensación de trabajadores. En otras palabras, necesitamos ser verdaderos y solidarios empleadores y no solo intermediarios laborales. Una fuerza laboral sostenible que asegure nuestro futuro como empresas y como industria solo llegará cuando una vez más hagamos de la construcción esa noble carrera de clase media.
BIRTHS
x
DALLAS Philip Castillo and his wife welcomed James Dylan Jesus Castillo on 02/23/22, weighing in at 8lbs, 10oz. First-time Grandma, W e n d y Castellon, welcomed her lucky charm, Isaiah Antonio on 03/17/22, weighing in at 7lbs, 3oz. Welcome to the world and the MAREK Family! SAN ANTONIO First-time Grandma, Isabel Abbott, welcomed her first grandson, Zakk Cooper, on July 11th, weighing in a 6lbs 6oz. Isabel has enjoyed her new Page 7
Insights 3539 Oak Forest Drive, Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77018 NASHVILLE ATLANTA MAREK Brothers MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS) Systems (MBS) AUSTIN RIO GRANDE VALLEY MAREK Brothers Company (MBC) MAREK Brothers MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS) Systems (MBS) DALLAS SAN ANTONIO MAREK Brothers Company (MBC) MAREK Brothers MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS) Systems (MBS) FORT WORTH MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS) HOUSTON MAREK Brothers Company (MBC) MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS) Oak Forest Lumber & Supply Company (OFL) Blue Bell - Stanley Construction Company
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