utca's 2020 honorees

from Utility & Transportation Contractor October 2020

Accounting Corner

By: zoe baldwin

Each 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.

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,

Ed was able to represent contractors’ interests in the negotiation and become a significant part of the team, which led to the NJDOT Standard Specifications becoming a fairer and more equitable document.

In addition to his professional experience, Mr. Nyland has been active his entire life in his church as an usher, deacon, and elder. He has served on various Boards and is the past Vice President of the Consistory on three separate occasions for the Colts Neck Reformed Church in Colts Neck, NJ. In this capacity, as the most significant lay leader in the congregation, Mr. Nyland spent countless hours volunteering for activities relating to the business aspects of the Church. He also serves on the Church’s Building and Grounds Committee.

Mr. Nyland has also volunteered his time to judge several different contests at the Middletown North High School, where his wife Jill was a teacher, including the annual Iron Chef competition. This involved many hours of time and involved both the students and the teachers at that school.

More recently, Mr. Nyland served as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity building a new home on Center Street in Freehold, NJ.

At the present time, Mr. Nyland and Jill have been enjoying traveling to Massachusetts to visit their children and grandchildren. They also enjoy their many bicycle trips throughout Europe and other leisure trips in other parts of the world and the USA.

Jim Coddington accepts the Robert A. Briant, Sr. Award

Jim Coddington, Robert A. Briant, Sr. Award

Jim Coddington is being awarded the Robert A. Briant, Sr. award this year as an acknowledgment of his nearly 30 years as an active member of the infrastructure construction industry. Jim has served on the Board of Directors for UTCA since 2009 and as Board President in 2017. He is also the Chair of the Membership Committee and serves on the Asphalt and Legislative Committees.

Mr. Coddington got his start as a Construction Job Cost Accountant with Mount Hope Brick Products in 1994, just after graduating East Stroudsburg University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. In April of 2001, Jim joined the family at Tilcon New York as a Construction Manager, where he was responsible for project management of contracts for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In this role, Mr. Coddington oversaw the completion of several major projects on the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, and at Newark Liberty International Airport.

While working, Jim went back to school to get an advanced degree. He graduated in June of 2004 with a Master of Science in Construction Management from Stevens Institute of Technology. From there, Mr. Coddington began to climb the ranks at Tilcon. He advanced to Area Manager, where he was responsible for sales of 500,000 tons at the Keasby asphalt plant estimated at $20M. Two years later he advanced again to Vice President of Construction where he was responsible for the execution and management of $135 million in annual construction and paving contracts.

After eight years, Mr. Coddington’s success had been noted, and he was once again raised up, this time to the position of Vice President of Commercial. In that role, he was responsible for the targeted sales with an estimated value of $350 million annually, developed delivery efficiencies, and successfully merged two commercial sales departments into one highly effective team. In January of 2019, Jim ascended into the position he continues to hold today, as General Manager of Asphalt, Construction, Recycle & Commercial Sales where he is responsible for the operational efficiency of 13 asphalt plants and targeted sales of 2.5M tons of asphalt.

The Robert A. Briant, Sr. Award is presented annually to the Association Contractor who has worked to advance the goals for UTCA and the industry. Bob Briant, Sr. was instrumental in the growth of UTCA and worked tirelessly to make the industry better for all members.

Hank Dobbelaar, Larry Gardner Memorial Award

Hank Dobbelaar has been a go-to consultant and industry staple for decades. His reputation for excellence and team building was built through years working with owner agencies, universities, developers, managers, owners, and municipal authorities to develop successful approaches for every project. Mr. Dobbelaar has

had a multi-focused career in heavy construction, construction management, construction planning, and academia. He was the founding member of HPD Associates, LLC. formed in 1995 and has spent the intervening years building a legacy of success.

Mr. Dobbelaar served as Vice President for Facilities and Community Relations at Stevens Institute of Technology. He joined the University in January 1995 as the developer and Founding Director of the Graduate Program in Construction Management and advanced to Vice President of Facilities and Community Relations in August 2002. His responsibilities included planning, design and construction, physical plant operation and maintenance, utility management and conservation, and operation and maintenance of on-campus faculty and staff housing.

In addition to his facilities-related charges, Mr. Dobbelaar interacted with the City of Hoboken, the County of Hudson, and the State of New Jersey with regard to athletics, campus development, funding, and land use board matters, as well as the long term community impacts from projects to upgrade the City of Hoboken’s School District and Flood Control. His charge spanned management of 100 employees; 2 million square feet of academic, administrative, athletic, and residential space; as well as a $15 million annual maintenance and capital construction budget.

During Mr. Dobbelaar’s tenure as Vice President of Facilities, the University completed more than $100 million of construction and infrastructure improvements allowing the campus to blend into the Hoboken environment, as well as the 2013 completion of a 10 year Facility Master Plan enabling the University to grow its student population by 50% to almost 4,000 undergraduates.

Mr. Dobbelaar is a licensed Professional Engineer in four states and a licensed Planner in New Jersey. Additionally, he is a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers, a member of the Utility Contractors Association of New Jersey, a member of The Moles, and a thirty-year member of the Hasbrouck Heights Planning Board, of which he has been chair for the last twenty five years. Mr. Dobbelaar is a frequent speaker and presenter on topics of Construc-

Hank Dobbelaar tion Business Failure. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology along with a Master’s Degree, both in Civil Engineering.

The Larry Gardner Award recognizes the contribution of an Associate Member to UTCA and the industry and has been awarded to individuals or firms. Hank Dobbelaar has been involved with UTCA since 1976. He is well-known to many members and serves on the Golf Outing Committee.