Cover Story
UTCA's 2020 Honorees By: zoe baldwin
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ach Fall, the UTCA Annual Convention brings together contractors, suppliers, and industry professionals from across the state. The event reunites old friends, facilitates new relationships, and unifies us as an industry. Beyond the networking, the Annual Convention is also the place where we take the time to pay homage to the leaders in our field and to say thank you to the individuals who have dedicated their lives to infrastructure construction and who have helped shape not only the UTCA, but the industry it represents. Unfortunately, the UTCA Annual Convention was unable to proceed this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. While this year’s considerations have precluded us from providing the convention floor experience and all that goes with it, we do hope you’ll take a moment and join us in honoring our 2020 award recipients. Ed Nyland, Jim Coddington, and Hank Dobbelaar have spent their careers in construction and have left an indelible mark on our industry and Association. Dedication and perseverance have defined each of their legacies, and we are proud to count them among our ranks. Thank you, Ed, Jim, and Hank, for your contributions to infrastructure construction.
Ed Nyland, NJ Construction Industry Hall of Fame Ed Nyland has a rich legacy in our industry, built upon his ascension through the ranks of George Harms Construction (GHCCI), his two terms as UTCA President, and his term as President of the Contractors Division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) . Starting as a self-described “coffee boy” part time in 1971 while he attended Newark College of Engineering, Mr. Nyland rose to become the President of Business Development and a Director of GHCCI. With 49 years of experience in heavy construction, Mr. Nyland is currently a consultant to the industry who draws on his half-century of experience to help firms of all sizes find success.
46 Utility & Transportation Contractor | OCTOBER | 2020
Dave Smith presents Ed Nyland with the NJ Construction Industry Hall Of Fame Award
“A lot of what I am, is because George [Harms] believes in this industry!” Ed told us during a recent conversation. It was at George Harms’ insistence that Mr. Nyland became actively involved not just in the business of construction, but in the broader effort to improve the entire field of play for public infrastructure construction. In fact, after retiring from GHCCI, he continued his involvement in organizations such as UTCA and ARTBA. To this day, Ed continues his efforts to better our field locally and nationally. He has also been heavily involved in employee relations, training, and employee safety programs. He is experienced in project management and estimating, which includes the supervision of scheduling, purchasing, cost accounting, subcontract negotiations, legal negotiations, owner relations and negotiations, labor relations, and insurance management. He served as chief estimator for new construction during much of his 42-year tenure at GHCCI. While at GHCCI during most of that time frame, Mr. Nyland was GHCCI’s primary representative in the interpretation of contract specifications and then in preventing and assessing potential claims. Mr. Nyland had the lead responsibility at GHCCI in the preparation of claims and consulted with the firm’s legal representatives in the submittal and defense of construction claims. He has extensive experience on all aspects of pricing extra work as a direct result of his estimating experience. One of the initiatives of which Mr. Nyland is particularly proud was a 2011–2019 effort to clean up the NJDOT Standard Specifications. Through dialogue and cooperative efforts between the Construction Industry and Advancement Program (CIAP), the former NJDOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere, and NJDOT staff,
