Concrete Connections - Fall/Winter 2012

CONCRETE CONNECTIONS

Fall-Winter 2012

photo credit: Spring Valley Photography

CONCRETE CONNECTIONS

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MILLER & LONG

A LEGACY

of Leadership

H

appy Holidays from Concrete Connections. As Miller & Long’s 65th anniversary year draws to a close, we look back at the unique history that is carried forward in our work and accomplishments today. From the beginning, our company founders set the course for growth and innovation. In a recent interview, Chairman John McMahon reflected on the industry firsts that set Miller & Long apart as a leader in training, safety and construction site management. It all started when lifelong friends Jack Miller and James Long took a risk and started a business.

With borrowed capital, a fifty-dollar investment in tools, a three-line newspaper ad and encouragement from their wives, Jack Miller and James Long opened for business on February 1, 1947, in Washington, DC. For their first contract, the partners were paid one hundred ninety-nine dollars to lay a concrete driveway. Today, Miller & Long Co., Inc. has a portfolio of more than $5 billion in contracts and has completed over 12 million cubic yards of concrete construction.

The early years in business brought challenges that required Miller & Long to be flexible and innovative. Business grew slowly at first, but steadily, as the company built a reputation for fair dealing with customers and delivering quality services on schedules that were not affected by strikes or work stoppages.

Miller & Long was the first contractor to use the electrically powered climber cranes and tall track tower cranes that now dot the greater Washington skyline. Company employee Sonny Keitt, who was also the first African

American crane operator in the District of Columbia, trained many operators in various companies to use the equipment that became standard on modern construction sites beginning in the 1960s.

Under the leadership of Chairman John McMahon, who joined the company in 1963, and Vice Chairman Nicholas Paleologos, who started his career at the company in 1959, Miller & Long has built a national reputation in the industry.

The company with deep roots in greater Washington has also demonstrated its commitment to communities where employees work and live.

McMahon described the founders’ legacy as a solid framework for Miller & Long’s next fifty years. “My hope is that Miller & Long has the freedom to manage people with the proper benefits and a steady paycheck,” he said. “So employees, whether they are in field operations or in the business office, will be part of a company that continues to give them every opportunity to build a career as far as their ability and ambition will take them.”

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CONCRETE CONNECTIONS

Celebrating

65!

photo credit: Spring Valley Photography

On August 4, 2012, more than 700 employees and members of their families enjoyed an old-fashioned, carnival themed celebration in beautiful Yards Park, located in Washington, DC, near Major League Baseball’s Nationals Stadium. The venue was special because the majority of guests had not visited the new “boardwalk” in Southeast D.C.

photo credit: Spring Valley Photography

“We wanted everyone to come out and have fun, so we planned food and entertainment activities, including living statues, a mariachi band and a trapeze artist, to name a few, “ said Katie Kourakis, Director of Marketing, “But, I think the highlight of the day was when CEO Dannie Burke got in the aptly named “Dannie Burke’s Dunk Tank.”

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MILLER & LONG

M&L PROJECT EARNS Platinum Safety Award The Platinum Safety Award has been given to Residential Building 2 in the 1.6 million square-foot Constitution Square Project in Washington’s NoMa district.

Vice President Shawn Gregor and Superintendent Craig Weant administered Miller & Long’s team of seventy-five craftsmen on the project completed with general contractor Clark Construction Group, LLC. Clark Superintendent John Quinn explained the platinum award is difficult to achieve because it requires four consecutive quarters with no lost times and all safety documentation 100 percent complete. “Miller & Long was key in making our safety program work,” says Quinn, “They led by example with all the safety exercises, and all other subcontractors followed suit.” During its construction, the $530 million Constitution Square site was the largest private construction project in the city.

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CONCRETE CONNECTIONS

Q&A with Miller & Long DC John Paleologos, Vice President, Miller & Long DC

Capitol 11-story residential project near Nationals Park. Have you topped out work there?

A:

Yes. We are still punching out some things, but our work is about 98 percent complete. Donohoe Construction was absolutely wonderful to work for on that project, and we have an excellent relationship with them. It’s a great building in a great location and a really nice addition to the neighborhood.

There are some very interesting plans to bring more restaurants and some retail to the area. It needs more places where people can sit for a drink or get dinner.

Q:

I

What are some of the M&L DC projects coming up in 2013?

n 2011, Miller & Long DC, Inc. opened its doors to do business A: We have a number of ongoing as a local certified business enterprise in the District of Columbia. projects, including the Hilton Garden Inn on M Street Northwest, the DC Concrete Connections recently talked with Vice President John Primary Care Association’s health clinic Paleologos about the company’s successful first year. in Northeast, and the 440 K Northwest

Q:

Miller & Long DC’s first year in business has coincided with a boom in apartment building in the District. Has that affected your pipeline?

A:

It’s been a very good first year as far as being busy. Pricing in our industry, just like in other sectors, is still coming back from the recession but there is a lot to look at now. There is a glut in

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office space in town and in the metro area. Apartments have continued to rise.

From talking with people in the industry, I understand leasing is pretty steady.

That will continue to drive projects about the city.”

Q:

Last year, Concrete Connections wrote about Miller & Long DC’s involvement on the Camden South

apartment building. Our work is continuing on the Dunbar High School redesign. We are very proud to be part of that project, and it is important to the city. We just topped out Amercan University’s AU North Hall dormitory for Grunley Construction which is another great group of people to work for. We will soon be starting work on the Washington Gateway project for Davis Construction. We are also doing

MILLER & LONG

renovation work at L’Enfant Plaza that starts at the end of the year.

Q:

What is the hiring outlook for Miller & Long DC?

A:

We’ve been hiring. Walk-in traffic where someone comes to the site to ask about a job has slowed because there is a lot of work going on. The question now is to find the people who want to take advantage of these opportunities.

We are following the mayor’s One City initiative and trying to hit some of the incentives he has challenged contractors to meet.

Q: A:

How do you train new hires?

We’ve got a good apprenticeship program through ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors). We also have an apprenticeship program that is approved through the city for carpenters and iron workers. For that program, we have localized classes at our yard while renovation work is being done on the training facility at Cardozo High School. We had 15 to 18 people sign up for the three-year program for carpenters and the two-year training for rod men. D.C. residents make up 90 percent of that group. They are taking classes in blueprint reading, engineering, standard safety training and competent building tech, scaffolding and crane signal

and rigging. Over the course of 2013, my hope is that we will have everyone in the company trained in these areas.

Everyone will need this training if they want to set foot on these jobs. The days of walking onto a site and just putting on a hard hat are over. There is too much at stake, and we need to make everyone aware.

Q:

Q:

A:

You have a very strong commitment to training. Why is that important to Miller & Long DC?

A:

It’s good business to make sure employees are properly trained, and ethically, it is the right thing to do to make sure everyone goes home at night. We have strict safety liaisons working between our employees and the general contractor, and we conduct daily and weekly safety field checks. Every morning, we conduct Safe Work Action Plan meetings, broken down by trade, where we review the hazards of the day’s tasks. With input from a health director, we’ve developed a Stretch and Flex program to teach employees how to safeguard their physical well-being. As a company, we cannot go further than our people will take us. We pride ourselves on hiring the best workers we can find and training them in the best way we can.

We’re good at it, and we will continue to get better.”

This year, Miller & Long Co., Inc., has celebrated 65 years of doing business in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

While Miller & Long DC is a separate company, your management team has grown up in the Miller & Long tradition.

What does that legacy mean, and how can the industry continue to attract new talent?

We jokingly say Miller & Long has trained most of the industry in this town.

If you ask any of the general contractors or developers, they will say Miller & Long taught them how to work hard. It is a hard job, but you can make a very good career out of this industry. To find good employees, we work with trade schools, colleges, high schools and work release programs. We want people who are looking for a career. We want to invest the time, money and effort in training employees who will have worked with us for twenty or thirty years. We have some employees like that now, and we need to keep the five-, ten- and fifteenyear veterans, too. When people realize if they put in the time and effort and show a commitment to this company, there is no limit to where they can go.

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All photo credits: Imagine Photography

CONCRETE CONNECTIONS

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MILLER & LONG

MILLER & LONG

in the Community On December 6, 2012, Miller & Long took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the first house built by students and industry training partners in the Academy of Construction and Design at Cardozo Senior High School. Miller & Long helped launch the innovative training program in 2010. “This is a significant achievement in our commitment to career and technical education,” says Carol Randolph, Vice President for Strategic Communications, “Support from more than 50 industry vendors and contractors made this project possible.”

Project Manager Mike Lenkin and experienced craftsmen Leon Hann and Lamont Pinkston worked closely with Academy students and volunteers from Donohoe Construction and other contractors on the 1,900 square-foot, single-family house. Proceeds from the sale of the house will be reinvested in the Academy’s Build a House - Build a Future training program.

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Š 2012. All rights reserved.

Concrete Connections news is published by Miller & Long Co., Inc. www.millerandlong.com We welcome your comments, suggestions and story ideas. Email us at info@millerandlong.com EDITORIAL: Carol Randolph, Vice President for Strategic Communications | Katie Kourakis, Director of Marketing DESIGN AND CONTENT PRODUCTION: Jenn French Designs, LLC | Ralph Communications