Austin CONSTRUCTION · into starting a company than any em-ployee does. You come ... ville, the event was a ... spon-sored by Johns Manville re-

Stunning stadium

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The Industry’s Newspaper

™CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONwww.constructionnews.net (512) 868-9710 Home Ofc: P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, TX 79279 (210) 308-5800 JUNE 2010 Vol. 10 No. 6

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Covering the Industry’s News

An electric team 60 years strong

Rick Hendrick and Ken Jahns are two years shy of a decade with their business KDR Electrical Services in

Austin. The two met at a company where they both previously worked. “We work great together. We are to-tal opposites. It just fits really well,” Hen-drick said. KDR stands for Ken and Rick, with the D being just filler in between. “We always joke with people and tell them the ‘D’ stands for drama,” Hendrick said. Both business partners came from the electrical field. As far as starting a business goes, Hendrick said it is not nec-essarily an aspiration they had since youth but something they felt they were

capable of doing. “You put more sweat and money into starting a company than any em-ployee does. You come to a point in your life where you just think you can do it as well or better. It is just something that evolves. At least that’s the way it was for us,” Hendrick said. Hendrick has lived in Austin since 1981. He grew up in west Texas and Fred-ericksburg. He developed his work ethics growing up on a dairy farm, helping with the management of the farm. His primary hobby he has now, drag racing, was spurred during his youth. His first car was

L-R: Owners Rick Hendrick and Ken Jahns

FTWOODS Construction was the general contractor behind the con-struction of The A.C. Bible, Jr. - Me-

morial Stadium in the Leander Indepen-dent School District, completed this past August just in time for the school year. The 10,500-seat stadium that was in existence for the school district was de-molished and the new project was creat-ed in nine months. “This was a fast paced project with many hurdles to overcome,” FTWOODS Construction project manager S.C. In-man said. “We began to demolish the ex-isting structure on the weekend after the last football game of the season.” The key team members included su-perintendent, Casey Clawson, project engineer, Chris Lalla, LISD executive di-rector of capital improvements, Jimmy Disler, LISD project manager, James Conkle, and architect, Fields and Associ-ates Architects, Chuck Fields and Roger

Mueller. The construction entailed asbestos and lead paint abatement, site and utility improvements, structural steel, a bleach-er system, an elevated press box and sev-eral masonry buildings. The masonry buildings include six restroom buildings housing 108 toilets and 24 urinals, two concession stands and three storage buildings. The press box floor stands 62 feet and 7 inches off of the ground and the roof is nearly 80 feet high. It consists of several rooms with upper and lower decks, a film deck, sound and announc-ers’ room and a serving area. The primary materials used for this project were struc-tural steel, masonry, standing seam roof, wave wall panels, EIFS, aluminum bleach-ers and concrete.

In the early 1960’s, the well-known car-diac surgeon Dr. Michael Debakey turned to William O’Connell,

O’Connell Robertson, to help create a better hospital design to accommodate the doctors. The firm is celebrating 60 years of history and business this year. O’Connell Robertson is also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the San Anto-nio office. “When Debakey was working on open heart surgery in the early 1960’s, one of the biggest limitations was the size and the arrangement of the operat-ing rooms that were 30 years old,” said managing principal Rick Burnight. “He went to Houston and watched him oper-ate. That’s the type of individual he was.”

Noel Robertson joined the firm in 1978, which is when it became O’Connell Robertson. Robertson added mechani-cal, electrical and plumbing (MEP) ser-vices to the firm. About 40 years ago, they expanded from just healthcare to the design and planning of K-12 and higher education facilities. Burnight joined the firm in 1986 and had the opportunity to work with O’Connell and Robertson. “He was very considerate of others and would give the shirt off of his back to someone who needed it. He was a very sincere individual and very committed to

Rick Burnight, Managing Principal at O’Connell Robertson

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Jesse Candelas set out to be a journalist as a young man, but he

found his love in the world of construction as founder of Materials Products In-ternational, Inc. (MPI). Candelas started the com-pany in Austin in 1975. His passion for mason-ry and construction began in 1967 while he was a stu-dent at the University of Texas. He started working for Smith Stone on North Lamar and learned the trade. He had a family at the time and could not af-ford to go the summer without work. Little did he know that it would lead to his life career and passion. He ended up working there for eight years. After deciding he wanted to venture off on his own, he leased and eventually bought a building on Kramer. This building still exists as one of the three locations for MPI in Austin. MPI has also grown to have locations in Cedar Park, Waco, Dallas and San Antonio. He also has a company in Laredo called Lar-edo Masonry Supply. “I wanted to become a journalist but life led me into masonry. I really enjoy what I do,” Candelas said. Though times were much different when he started the companies, he

Keeping up with technology

Jesse Candelas, founder ofMaterial Products International, Inc. (MPI)

thrives to integrate the newest technolo-gy. For example, the company has recent-ly updated their website. When not working, Candelas enjoys fishing, hunting and the outdoors in gen-eral. He is a member of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association and the Central Texas Masonry Contractors Association. MPI specializes in products supplies and equipment including brick, block, con-crete, glass block, stone and more. –km

Elliott Electric Supply hosted its 14th annual crawfish boil May 13. The event included a manufacturer

showcase and plenty of crawfish. –km

Celebrate good food

L-R: Elliott Electric Supply staff Lang Morrison, Dave Steele, Chris Petty, Shannon Valliaand Gib Grimmer worked hard to provide a fun and flavorful event.

David Crist and his wife, Jennifer Guerra. Steven Beverly and Gilbert Ruiz,FSG Electric, enjoy the food.

Pioneer Roof Systems hosted a Cin-co de Mayo party for their staff and clients May 5. It is the start of quar-

terly parties they plan on hosting to show appreciation. “They work really hard. Sometimes we have to mix a little play in with work,” said Bill Fornby, co-owner. –km

Cinco de Mayo fun

L-R: Susan McLaughlin, Pioneer Roof Systems; Colbey Bullock, Harvey Cleary; James Hawkins, ABC Supply; Richard Poole, ABC Supply; Leigha Creasey, Harvey Cleary and James Gould,

Pioneer Roof Systems.

The staff at Pioneer Roof Systems.

Martin Perez is ready to eat

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––––– Page 3

CONSTRUCTION NEWSAustin

The Austin Construction News (ISSN 1547-7665) is published monthly by Construction News LTD., dba Austin Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction-related companies of record in Travis and 6 surrounding counties. All submissions should be mailed to our editorial offices. We reserve the right to edit any materials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon in advance in writing. Submissions will be published at our discretion on a space available basis. Construction News, Ltd., dba Austin Construction News, will not be liable for errors in copy or in advertisements beyond the actual cost of space occupied by the error. Publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement at any time.

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If you are a construction-related companyin Travis or one of the 6 surrounding

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Many attended the AGC Golf tour-nament May 17 at the Twin Creeks Country Club in Cedar

Park despite the unusually hot spring-time weather.

Winners at the event include:1st place: Greater Metroplex Interiors, Brad Howard, Phillip Summers, Dustin Smith and James Reed 2nd place: Bartlett Cocke General Con-tractors, John Dunn, Bobby Kincaid, Ca-mille Clay and Jimmy Disler 3rd place: Hensel Phelps Construction, Jeff Clancy, Hobbie Horton, Kirby Kuntz and Willie Wilson –km

Par tee at Twin Creeks

Daniel Oates and Ryan Baker, FLINTCO, joined forces with Justin Sandberg, Western

State Fire Protection Co.

L-R: David Butler, Kyle Pearson, James Myers and Chris Lewis, Braun & Butler

L-R: Stacy Wiekel, Chris Taccio, Steve Roberts, and Matt Tucker comprise the CEMEX and Central Texas Tiltwall golf team at the event.

Central Texas roofing companies were among the many in the industry

who competed at the Roofing Contractors Association of Tex-as (RCAT) 7th Annual Fishing Tournament/spring member-ship meeting in Port Aransas May 1. According to Executive Director Vera Bryant of Pfluger-ville, the event was a success. “It was our biggest tourna-ment to date. The weather was fantastic,” Bryant said. The largest trout caught was 6.10 pounds and the larg-est red weighed in at 7.72 pounds. The ladies boat, spon-sored by Johns Manville re-turned with a total of weight of 70.74 pounds of redfish and captured $200 for their efforts. –km

Corpus competition

Lance McHaney, Lance McHaney & Associates (middle) awards the winning ladiesfor their triumphant catch.

Looks like someone from RCAT is going to have a fine feast based on this catch.

Give us a call, oremail your editorif you would like

your company and/orpersonnel to be

in an upcoming issue.

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San Antonio home office210-308-5800

Jim HasseSafequip

Page 4 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––----------------–––––– Austin Construction News • Jun 2010

Safequip has been serving the area for 26 years. The son of the owner, Jim Hasse, has played a role in the

company on and off for 17 years and is currently vice president. His mother, Judy Hasse, started the company and still serves as president. In August, Jim will leave to follow his heart for missions and Andy Johnson will become the general manager. While his mother was out, Jim shared his experience working in the family business with us.

Is this something your mom always wanted to do? Her father was named Texas Busi-nessman of the year in 1982. He was a Czech immigrant who came over when he was young. He couldn’t speak any English, but went to school and learned how to speak English. He came over and started up a machine shop. His company made customized equipment for the oil industry, hyperbaric chambers, and mod-ules for NASA and he also built the first offshore diamond mining equipment in South Africa. My mom was brought up in the industrial arena, so it just felt like a good place for her to be. It’s definitely a part of who she is.

How did she come into this industry? My father was military and we were moving around a lot when I was a child. He was a Lt. Colonel in the Army, and he retired in 1991. My parents bought this company from another gentleman after my dad’s retirement. My mother basically ran it though. She is more business mind-ed and has a degree in business from Uni-versity of Houston. She basically took it and ran with it. She grew it into what it is today. She says I helped her out, but I don’t want to take any credit for that. I think it’s mostly the work she did.

How long have you been here? Off and on, I’ve been here for 17 years, but I’ve been working full time here for 10 years. I have been involved ever since high school. In this company you have to be at least 18 to work, but it

used to be 16. Ever since I became the le-gal age, I have been working here. I have a small portion of the owner-ship. Judy owned the majority of Safequip, and is semi-retired. It is a wom-en-owned enterprise, which makes us unique. We have other employees who have worked here for 17 years and employees whose children now work here, not just me.

How many employees were there at first? Back then, there were four. Now, we have 14.

Tell me more about what you do here. We have two main services, fire ex-tinguishers and fire alarms. Safequip started 26 years ago as a fire extinguisher company and we have expanded servic-es. In the last seven years or so, we have gone into fire alarms. It is an area that we’re growing. We also supply FE cabi-nets and new extinguishers for jobs. Fire suppression systems are another thing we supply to contractors as well as safety products.

What is the company’s role in the con-struction industry? We do installation for new builds and supply FE cabinets. We also do online training for safety.

What do you enjoy most about your job? At the end of the day when you go home, you know that you made some-body safe and that’s where you feel the gratitude. I’m going to miss this job in many ways.

Have you wanted to be a missionary for a long time? Yes. My wife and I met at the Univer-sity of Mary Hardin-Baylor and originally we were thinking that we would one day go off on a mission together. That mis-sion mindedness was what attracted us to each other initially. We have three kids now. They are 8, 6 and 3.

Is your family from this area? My family is from Texas originally. I grew up all around the world and have lived in Germany and Hawaii. My parents wanted to come back to Texas. My father grew up in San Antonio and my mother grew up in Victoria. They met while they were both students at Texas Tech Univer-sity.

Do you have brothers and sisters? I have one half brother and one bio-logical brother.

What are some things that make the company stand out? The customer service is unique. Also, the experience level is one of the biggest

areas that make us unique. Everybody here has years of experience. What do you think stands out about your mom? She has a very, very strong work eth-ic and that was taught by her father. He was an extremely hard worker. He never gave up working. In fact after he retired, he literally died within months. He was one of those types of people that if he slowed down, that was it. We’re not scared that my mom is going to have a heart attack when she stops working, but she saw her dad’s American dream work ethic. She got the best teaching from her parents. Her mother was an extremely hard worker too. My grandparents would take in the employees if they didn’t have a place to stay; and my grandmother was constantly taking care of room and board for these workers. My mother got to see that growing up and I think that’s also something that’s alive here. Just as my grandparents took their employees in, we feel like our em-ployees are family. It’s very much family oriented. They all call my mother “mom”. Everybody feels like family. Everybody is treated as family and our customers are all treated like friends.

What will you take with you from your time here? It is important to treat everybody like they are special and not to look down at any customer or anyone at all. Just be pa-tient with them and see what their needs are. It’s pretty much what I’ll take with me. Treat everyone as if they are family.

What will Andy’s role be when you leave in August? He will be the general manager in charge of operations. Since he’s been

with us, I’ve been working extra hours dumping as much as I can. I’m not taking it lightly. He’s kept me on my feet.

Do you and your family have any hob-bies outside of work?The main thing is church and Bible stud-ies. I do like to hunt and fish. I also like to go visit family. My wife has family that lives on Lake Buchanan. We enjoy that a lot. We like to spend time with the kids. They are just regular kids. They like to swim and ride bikes, go hiking in the greenbelts. We’re just your regular aver-age Texas family.

What are your goals for the business and your personal life? My goal for the business is to see it move forward and not just stop where it is right now, and really not go backwards. I want to see it boom forward. I want to see it improve on what it has become during my time here. That’s my number one goal. I want to see the employees be as fulfilled as they can be. Each employee feels like family, so it’s hard giving that up. Some people couldn’t believe I was leaving and were shocked. What I’m going to take from Safequip is to implement some of the les-sons I’ve learned here. At this job I’m concerned about the physical safety of people and I’m just go-ing one step over to be concerned about the spiritual safety of people. It is differ-ent but there are some connections. The customer service can interweave, not perfectly but it will have its benefits. That’s also why I’m going to training for two years. I’m going to missionary train-ing and then off to the mission field. Safequip, based in Austin, supplies safety gear, fire extinguishers, alarms and offers online training. –km

Jim and Judy Hasse

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Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––––– Page 5

Mike Hall and his wife Rebecca Hall, 360 Digital Systems, are dedicating themselves to catch-

ing thieves in the act with the wireless security system manufactured by Texana Security. The couple has been talking to local police departments about the pro-gram and plan on getting these systems on jobsites locally. “We are the first in the Austin area to have this system,” Mike Hall said. The system has a silent alarm and is monitored live by a staff in Carrolton, near Dallas. They also have a crew in San Antonio and Houston and can place the security system in those regions as well. The system was recently featured on the CBS evening news regarding a story about how thieves were caught stealing solar panels in California. Mike and Rebecca moved here from Houston and have been acclimating

Catching crooks

themselves to the area. Rebecca volun-teers at a horse ranch, Open My World, which helps autistic children in Leander and Mike is fascinated with the technical world. “Rebecca loves volunteering. She was named volunteer of the year in Hous-ton. She is great. She is basically my right arm,” Mike said. Mike is also passionate about install-ing home theatres and technology in general. Both Mike and Rebecca are familiar with the construction world. Mike’s fa-ther was a builder and Rebecca used to work for Construction Expo. 360 Digital Systems specializes in home theater, structured wiring, security systems, electronic access control and other services for commercial and residential projects. –km

Mike Hall, 360 Digital Systems

Frying up fun

About 125 staff and personnel in the construction industry took a break May 12 to enjoy some fish at the Dealers Electrical Supply branch in south Austin. Branch Manager Rodney Hodge said the various branches rotate hosting the

fish fry events throughout the years. “We had a pretty good turnout,” Hodge said. –km

Hosts of the event – Dealers Electrical Supply staff.

L-R: Bill Kirkland and Steve Hall traveled to the fish fry from the corporate office of

Dealers Electrical Supply in Waco.

Kathy Garcia and David Hipp work hard to prepare the fish and fries for the event.

L-R: Bill Hyle, Encore Wire, and Dealers Electrical Supply employees Gordon Holt, Robert Zuberbueler, Shayne Brightwell, Richard Taylor and Joe Durham

Engineer excellence

Through a twist of fate, Rick Guerra became an engineer and has be-come the president and CEO of his

father’s company Jose I. Guerra, Inc. Consulting Engineers. Rick’s mother, Bertha Guerra, sub-mitted his application to the University of Texas School of Architecture. Not only was he accepted, he received a full schol-arship. Guerra was ready to pursue a medical career at Austin College, but his mother knew that his real desire was to become an engineer. “She knew I was an engineer at heart. Ever since I was a kid, I loved tearing things apart and putting them back to-gether,” Guerra said. “In hindsight, I am so thankful. I would have been a misera-ble doctor.” Rick followed in the footsteps of his father, Jose Guerra, who started the firm in 1973. Rick Guerra joined the company in 1994 after a stint in California. He im-plemented the mechanical, electrical and plumbing portion of the company. In 2009, Rick took over as president and CEO of the company after his father re-tired.

Recently, the Travis Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers recognized him as engineer of the year. When not working, he says he enjoys spending time with his four children and his wife, Ann. Jose I. Guerra, Inc. specializes in struc-tural and civil engineering as well as me-chanical, electrical and plumbing. –km


According to Blue Book representatives, approxi-mately 1,200 people were in attendance and par-ticipated in the annual Blue Book General Con-

tractor showcase at the Marriott in Round Rock Apr. 27. The event included appetizers, drinks and a prime op-portunity for subcontractors and general contractors to network. –km

Mingling opportunity

Hensel Phelps

Yates Construction

Alpha Building CorporationRed Hawk Contracting

Metropolitan Contracting Company

Embree Group

Emerson Construction Ltd.

TruVoltz

Winners:

Jackpot1st: Georgetown Transportation2nd: Statewide Materials3rd: Insurance Network of TexasChicken1st: Chaparral Professional Land Surveying2nd: H&H Foradory Construction, Inc.3rd: H&E EquipmentRibs1st: Cash Construction Company2nd: H&H Foradory Construction, Inc.3rd: Ramming Paving, Co., Ltd.

Grilling glory

The Greater Austin Con-tractors and Engineers Association (ACEA) host-

ed the second annual BBQ cook-off May 1. –km

Jackpot 1st place

Insurance Network of TexasStatewide Materials

Brisket1st: RGM Constructors2nd: H&E Equipment3rd: Geo Solutions

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––––– Page 7

The Austin chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) hosted their annual golf tourna-

ment at the Twin Creeks Country Club in Cedar Park Apr. 26. The individual winners of the tourna-ment were Robby Madsen, Alpha Insu-lation, long drive; Mike Collins, Brown-ing Construction, long drive; and Mike Jaggers, Century Fire, closet to pin. The team winners were Journeyman Con-struction, 1st place; G&R Electrical, 2nd place; and Action Mobile, 3rd place. –km

In it to win it

L-R: Andrew Magel, CMC; Steve Schutze, C.A. Schutze Agency;Chad Gallagher, Seretta Construction; and Rick Rhodes, Transit Mix

L-R: Matt Darling, Summit Electric, and Brandon Guthrie, Spectrum Lighting, wait for

their turn at the green.

Current legislative trendsin immigration

The need for Comprehensive Immi-gration Reform (CIR) has never been greater than it is right now. During

his campaign, President Obama prom-ised to push Congress to tackle the issue of CIR. Congress has failed to make prog-ress towards CIR and states have begun to take immigration matters into their own hands. On April 23, 2010, the Governor of Arizona signed a bill titled “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighbor-hoods Act” (SB1070). Simply stated, the law makes it a misdemeanor for anyone who is unable to prove lawful residence in the U.S. upon request, and requires po-lice to make a reasonable attempt, when practical, to determine immigration sta-tus if there is cause to suspect (“reason-able suspicion”) an individual is an illegal immigrant. It includes a provision speci-fying that in addition to any violation of federal law, a person is guilty of trespass-ing if the person is present on any public or private land in the state and is not car-rying his or her alien registration card or has willfully failed to register. What does this mean to Texas em-ployers? Lawmakers in Texas and nine other states are already considering simi-lar bills. On April 29, 2010, President Obama stated: “The continued failure of the federal government to fix the broken immigra-tion system will leave the door open to a patchwork of actions at the state and lo-cal level that are inconsistent and as we have seen recently, often misguided…I have repeatedly said that there are some essential components that must be in im-migration legislation. It must call for stronger border security measures, tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and clearer rules for controlling future immigration. And it must require those who are here illegally to get right with the law, pay penalties and taxes, learn English, pass criminal background checks and admit responsi-bility before they are allowed to get in line and eventually earn citizenship.” The risk of losing votes on either side of the issue has left federal lawmakers re-luctant to debate immigration reform during an election year. The passage of SB1070 has forced the hand of pro-immi-gration senators, who fear that other states may draft and present their own state immigration laws. Colorado Repre-sentative Jared Polis states, “While we still may not agree on each individual provision, we have now seen the conse-quences of inaction.” The proposal, intro-duced on April 28, 2010 by six U.S. Sena-tors, includes:• Prevention of future illegal immigra-tion through enhanced border enforce-ment: This includes the increase of CBP officers and ICE agents.• Removal of unlawfully present per-sons in the U.S. through interior enforce-ment: Implements a system to monitor overstays and provides for closer evalua-tion and monitoring of the Visa Waiver Program. • Requiring employers to verify em-ployment authorization through the use of biometrics: Implements a fraud and tamper resistant Social Security Card that includes a photograph and biometrics in-formation. Fines for knowing violations of the employment verification system, such as employment of an unauthorized worker, may increase as much as 300 per-cent. Employers will also be prohibited

Submitted byRichard A. Gump, Jr.

The Law Offices of Richard A. Gump, Jr.Dallas, TX

from deducting wages of unauthorized workers. • Reform of the current employment and family visa system: Provides for im-mediate green cards to foreign students who obtain an advanced degree from a U.S. institution of higher education in specific and who have an offer of em-ployment from any employer in that field. The H-1B and L-1 visa programs would be revised; the proposed H-2B Ag-JOBs bill would be incorporated; and a new H-2C visa would be added for non-seasonal, non-agricultural workers. • Registration of the unauthorized population and providing an opportuni-ty to earn legal status. Republicans have long supported ef-forts to increase and strengthen border security. The proposal’s Democratic au-thors, knowing the stance of most Re-publicans, have attempted to sweeten the proposal by including border and in-terior enforcement, increasing CBP and ICE agents, implementing a tighter entry/exit system to monitor overstays and monitoring the visa waiver program. The road to CIR will be a tough bat-tle. As the issue of CIR becomes increas-ingly contested, significant political and legislative compromise will be required for CIR to become a reality.

The Law Offices of Richard A. Gump, Jr. concentrates on immigration law, with a special em-phasis on employ-ment immigration. Gump provides im-migration solutions for companies and individuals, e.g. tem-porary and perma-nent visas, strategic planning from recruit-ment to retention, worksite enforcement compliance (audits, training, etc.), and mergers and acquisitions structuring for foreign national transfers. –dn

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ACCOUNTING INSURANCEContractor tax considerationsfor tax savingsJay SiegelShelton & Van Houten, LLP Round Rock, TX

Tax savings for contractors in these tough times is im-portant. This article summarizes some potential tax

savings for contractors.

Depreciation and certain capital ex-penditures The 2009 Tax Act extends 50 percent bonus depreciation for certain property purchased and used before January 1, 2010 and certain property placed in ser-vice before January 1, 2011. However, as with bonus depreciation, certain proper-ty placed in service after January 1, 2010, but before January 1, 2011, will only re-ceive bonus depreciation on costs in-curred prior to January 1, 2010. Also, the maximum expensing of capital purchas-es in 2009 is $250,000 reduced dollar for dollar by the amount which capital pur-chases exceed $800,000 and cannot ex-ceed taxable income.

S Corporation built-in gains tax relief Many contractors converted from C corporations to S corporations for federal tax purposes. The 2009 Act provides some relief for built-in-gains tax. The built-in-gains holding period for 2010 is temporarily reduced from ten years to seven years. The resulting benefit pro-vides C corporations that converted to S corporations status in tax year 2003 (2003 plus seven years is 2010) the ability to sell certain assets held when a C corporation. (Examples include goodwill and fixed as-sets.) The tax savings is taxed at the high-est corporate tax rate, although some benefit is received as the tax deduction is passed through the to the S corporation shareholders. However, cash is cash and a tax deduction can sit in second place to cash.

Income tax basis reporting versus generally accepted accounting princi-ples Certain benefits exist in using finan-cial statement income tax reporting as opposed to financial statement reporting under generally accepted accounting principles. The main benefit of income tax basis reporting is that some of the rules and disclosures required under generally accepted accounting principles are not required or are minimized by in-come tax basis reporting. Examples of some of the benefits of income tax basis reporting are that cer-tain related or affiliated entities do not require consolidation, income tax depre-ciation is allowed, certain loss reserves and deferred tax reporting are not re-

quired. Another factor to consider is certain third parties such as government agen-cies may not accept tax basis financial statements. The key is to check with all key third parties such as financial institu-tions, insurance or bonding entities be-fore any change to income tax basis re-porting is considered.

Federal manufacturing credits Although manufacturing is not al-ways thought of in the same context, construction, architectural and engineer-ing services are included in the definition of manufacturing activity. The manufac-turing credit is 6 percent in 2009 and in-creases to 9 percent in 2010. Qualification can include parts assembly even if there is no “actual” manufacture and could in-clude subcontractors such as electricians, plumbers, remodelers and roofers.

Cashing in on unused AMT and re-search and development credits The American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act of 2009 expanded the rules of the prior 2008 tax act by allowing corpora-tions to “cash out” unexpired pre-2006 al-ternative minimum tax (AMT) and re-search and development credits by elect-ing out of the 50 percent bonus deprecia-tion. Corporations that have been operat-ing at a tax loss or subject to AMT are likely to benefit from the potential 6 percent re-fundable credit. In brief, the cash credit potential is calculating bonus deprecia-tion less depreciation excluding bonus de-preciation multiplied by 20 percent. In closing, don’t shoot the messen-ger, but all signs point to taxes increasing in the coming years so think about taking the advantages now and store a little money away for the rainy tax days to come. This is only an overview of complex rules and is not intended for specific pur-poses. A qualified CPA should be sought who can apply your specific situation to the tax laws.

Jay Siegel is a Certified Public Accoun-tant with Shelton & Van Houten, LLP a full service audit, tax and consulting firm in Round Rock, Texas which also services a broad range of construction industry cli-ents. Contact him at 1.512.310.9277 ext. 103 or email [email protected]. –dn

Protect yourself against fraudTim Riley, Vice President for Special InvestigationsTexas Mutual Insurance CompanyAustin, TX

The majority of workers’ compensation claims filed in Texas and other states stem from real instances of

on-the-job injuries. Unfortunately, people who cheat the system drive up costs for employers, consumers and insurers.

Fraud is lying for financial gain—with claimant fraud being the most com-mon type. Claimant fraud happens when workers:1) Fake or exaggerate injuries.2) Collect benefits for injuries that were not work-related.3) Continue to collect benefits after re-turning to work.4) Engage in activities that are inconsis-tent with their injuries. As a corporate executive once noted, if workers’ comp fraud were a legitimate business in the United States, it would rank among the Fortune 500 companies. The Texas Department of Insurance notes that insurance fraud is the second most profitable crime after drug trafficking. The latest statistics from the Coali-tion Against Insurance Fraud estimates that workers’ compensation premiums, taxes and other expenses reached $557 million in 2008. Protecting against fraud has many rewards. Previously, the Califor-nia Insurance Department reported that every $1 invested in workers’ compensa-tion anti-fraud efforts has returned $6.17, which totaled $260.3 million in 2006-07 alone. Companies need to pay close atten-tion to red flags that help detect possible workers’ comp fraud. If you encounter two or more of these situations, it is best to contact your insurer: • A tip from a credible source, such as an

employee of your company.• A new or disgruntled worker.• There is no witness to an alleged injury.• Inconsistent or illogical descriptions of how an injury occurred.• Difficulty in contacting an injured work-er.• An injured worker who’s upset when he or she is contacted.• A suspicious injury occurring on a Mon-day or Friday. Some insurance carriers write off workers’ comp fraud as merely a cost of doing business. Other companies—such as Texas Mutual—take a zero tolerance approach to combating employee fraud. Texas Mutual employs three teams of ex-perienced, full-time investigators who take fraud claims with the utmost seri-ousness. Workers’ comp fraud can be cur-tailed if employers, insurers and others are vigilant about this type of crime.

Tim Riley is Vice President for Special Investigations for Texas Mutual Insurance Company. Austin-based Texas Mutual In-surance Company is the leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Texas. For more information about workers’ comp fraud, visit www.texasmutual.com/fraud/fightfraud.shtm. –dn

Troy Jamail and Matt Strickland, formerly with Parking Planners,

entered into a new venture with structural engineering firm Haynes Whaley Associ-ates. The new firm’s name is HWA Parking and they are incorporated by the state of Texas. ”Despite the economy, we think now is the perfect time for this partnership with Haynes Whaley,” said Strickland. “The new firm will provide analysis, planning, design and operational as-sessments for new and reno-vated garages and parking lots. “Under the new alliance, Haynes Whaley Associates and HWA Parking will offer their clients both structural engineering services and parking plan-ning services under a single contract.” Jamail and Strickland have a com-

Park it

bined 25 years of planning and design experience and have completed more than 200 parking projects. Haynes Whaley Associ-ates president and CEO, Lar-ry Whaley, sees the alliance with HWA Parking as an effi-cient way to design parking facilities “I have worked with Troy and Matt for five years and am completely confident in their skills and abilities, Whaley said. “Our respective areas of expertise comple-ment each other well. And, very importantly, their ethics and business philosophy are very compatible with ours.” HWA Parking has an of-fice in Houston and Austin. The company provides servic-es to facility owners, develop-ers, architects, and contrac-

tors on parking facilities for corporate, re-tail, hospitality, academic and residential projects. –ab

Strickland

Jamail

Whatever your life’s work is,do it well.

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––--------------––––––––––––––––– Page 9

Federal projects: Securinginterest on late paymentsShelly LeVick Masters, AttorneySegal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd.Austin, TX

LEGAL OSHAOSHA’s revision to thepenalty structureJoann Natarajan, Compliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

The time frame for considering an employer’s history of violations will expand from 3 years to five years.

An employer who has been inspected by OSHA within the previous five years and has no serious, willful, repeat, or failure to abate violations will receive a 10 percent reduc-tion for history. An employer who has been cited by OSHA for any high gravity serious, willful, repeat, or failure to abate violation within the previous five years will receive a 10 percent increase in their penalty, up to the statutory maximum. Employers who have not been inspected and employers who have received citations for serious viola-tions that were not high gravity will receive neither a reduction nor an increase for history.

The time period for repeated violations will also be increased from three to five years. Area Directors will retain the au-thority to determine if a size or history reduction should be granted. Area Direc-tors will be authorized to offer up to a 30 percent penalty reduction to employers at an informal conference, any reduction over 30 percent will require Regional Ad-ministrator approval. Area Directors will be authorized to offer an employer with 250 or fewer employees and additional 20 percent reduction if that employer agrees to retain an outside safety and health consultant. OSHA will no longer allow penalty adjustments to an employ-er at an informal conference where the employer has an outstanding penalty balance owed to OSHA from a prior in-spection. This provision would not apply to employers on a penalty payment plan who is making timely payments.

Area Offices that utilize the expedited in-formal settlement agreement will be lim-ited to offering a 30 percent reduction. If the employer commits to hiring an out-side consultant, the Area Director may grant an additional 20 percent reduction.

OSHA will be adopting a gravity based penalty determination that provides for a gravity based penalty between $3000 and $7000. The minimum base penalty will increase from $1500 to $3000 before size, history, and good faith adjustments are made, with a resulting minimum pro-posed penalty of $500. The proposed minimum penalty for a posting violation will increase to $250 if the company was previously provided a poster by OSHA. The final penalties will be applied serially, unlike the present practice of in which all the penalty reductions are added and then the total percentage is multiplied by the gravity based penalty to arrive at the proposed penalty.

The OSHA memo that explains the changes to the penalty structure can be accessed at eh following link:

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/ow-adisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17544

[email protected] x232

Of growing concern to contractors entering into con-struction contracts on federal projects is the timeli-

ness of progress payments. It is no secret that timely payments are directly correlated with a construction company’s ability to secure funds necessary to continue and complete the project. The problems associated with late payment can drastically impair the contractor’s ability to meet contract requirements, pay its subcontractors and suppliers or even to continue business operations. Secur-ing payment is dependent, in part, on mastering federal statutory deadlines and re-quirements described herein.

Almost three decades ago, a national study reported that government agen-cies were late in paying 30 percent of their bills. To address this late payment problem, the Federal Prompt Payment Act (FPPA), 31 U.S.C. § 3901, et seq., was enacted in 1982 to establish time dead-lines for payment. The enactment of the FPPA was meant to decrease the risk of late payment on public projects by re-quiring federal agencies to pay for con-struction work on a timely basis or face the imposition of interest penalties on late payments. Despite the FPPA’s goal, late payments are still a reality on today’s federal projects. Under the FPPA, payment is due upon the date identified in the contract or, if the contract fails to specify the date, payment is due 30 days after receipt of a proper invoice. 31 U.S.C. § 3903(a)(1)(A) and (B). Payment must be remitted by the agency within 14 days after receipt of a proper payment request. 31 U.S.C. § 3903(a)(6)(A) states earlier payment may be requested by a contractor by offering the agency a discount provision. A proper invoice is defined as an in-voice containing the “substantiating doc-umentation” which includes the follow-ing: (1) contractor identity and invoice date; (2) authorization for the delivery of property or services; (3) description of the property and services including price and quantity; (4) shipping and payment terms; (5) other documentation as re-quired by the contract; (6) name, title, telephone number, and mailing address of the responsible contract representa-tive to whom payment is to be sent; (7) taxpayer identification number; and, (8) Electronic Funds Transfer information necessary to effectuate payment. A contract modification to incorpo-rate the value of any changed (or addi-tional) work may result in an improper progress payment request. Courts have held that an invoice submitted to the contracting authority before execution of a contract modification which in-creased the contract price was not a

proper invoice. Where a contract modifi-cation is present, a progress payment re-quest is only deemed proper if it is sub-mitted after the execution of a proper change order. If the government fails to render timely payment for goods or services duly provided under the contract, the FPPA requires it to pay an interest penalty to the contractor on the amount of the payment due. When an agency remits a late payment, it must simultaneously ten-der the interest penalty. The interest penalty is computed at the daily rate and the interest is compounded every thirty days. The payment deadlines and result-ing interest penalties of the FPPA were not meant to apply where there is a valid dispute. The FPPA provides that the time period for payment is tolled if the agency and the contractor are in dispute over the amount of payment or compliance with the contract. It is important to remember that, ab-sent a material breach, a contractor’s sole redress for late payment by the govern-ment is through the interest penalty. In the event certain subcontractors and suppliers remain unpaid, they can typi-cally file a claim against the surety who bonds the project under the Miller Act. Subcontractors and suppliers may have additional claims against the prime con-tractor and, likewise, the prime contrac-tor against the contracting authority. The foregoing was provided for in-formational purposes only and is not in-tended to provide legal advice or to serve as an alternative to seeking legal counsel.

Shelly LeVick Masters is a Shareholder in the Austin office of Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd. Ms. Masters repre-sents construction contractors, suppliers and design professionals and has been in-volved in prosecuting, negotiating and de-fending against construction disputes in mediation, arbitration and litigation. She may be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. –dn


About 350 people in the construc-tion industry attended the annual Associated General Contractors

(AGC) annual fish fry. The event included fish dinner with all the trimmings, an auc-tion and socializing. AGC also recognized Robin De Haven, Binswanger Glass, with an award for his rescuing efforts when a plane crashed into the Echelon building in February. –km

Fish and fun

Rogers O’Brien Construction

National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) ladies Solis Construction, Inc.

Vanguard Fire Systems

The Central Texas Subcontractors Association (CTSA) hosted their annual golf tournament at the Star Ranch Golf Club in Hutto Apr. 30. Teams in the industry

came together for some friendly competition, lunch and dinner.Winners were the George D. Alan Company; BASF, 2nd place and

Ferguson Enterprises, 3rd place. Larry Roepke, Floyd’s Glass, received an award for his 10th year running the tournament. –km

Subcontractors in the sun

The George D. Alan Company wins first place.

L-R: Binswanger Glass and Allensworth and Porter, LLP enjoy the festivities.

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––– Page 11

BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUTSPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUNDER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

(361) 949-7359www.baffinbaycharters.com

[email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard &Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

STEVE SCHULTZ OUTDOORS, LLC

Satisfying yourfishing addiction

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Trans Sport Boats, Yamaha Outboards,

Ronnie’s Marine, Minn Kota Trolling Mo-tors, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor,

Pure Fishing, Pflueger Reels, All-Star Rods, Mirr-O-Lure, Bass Assassin, FINS

Braided Line and Columbia Sportswear.

Angler Berto Torres landed this 31.5” trout while fishing near Baffin Bay with Capt. Steve Schultz. Fish will be sent to the taxidermist.

Martell Adams of Security State Bank & Trust in San Antonio landed this 28-inch trout fishing the rocks in Baffin Bay.

Fish was released after photo by Capt. Steve Schultz.

Randy Wyatt caught and released this 28.5” speck on a recent Aggerate Haulers Team outing at the coast with

Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Didyou

know?

Construction Newsreaches

your target market

The winds have finally calmed down and the bite has drastically im-proved in the bay. May fishing has

brought new hope to the slow start we experienced the beginning of the sea-son. Summer fish patterns are now mak-ing fishing seem more like catching and that’s a good thing. If you haven’t planned your summer fishing outing yet, better get on the ball and get it done. Well it’s a beautiful day out, and you’re at the coast for a family outing on the beach. Your buddies have been on the water since daylight with their favor-ite guide and you’re stuck spending the day with the wife and kids. Don’t fret, it’s not the end of the world, but don’t go to the beach without your fishing rod. Many people believe that since there are people everywhere on the beaches that there are no fish to be caught. This is a very large misconception. I mean, ideal-ly, if you plan on fishing you should prob-ably try and find a secluded part of the beach or a beach that doesn’t get a ton of traffic. I know what you are thinking – what beach in the Coastal Bend doesn’t get a lot of traffic? Well there are places that you can go and surf fish and have a

great time, but also catch many fish. You definitely don’t want to go putting out shark bait at your local beach where there are people all around. Be sure to use good judgment. I don’t think you would want that on your conscience. There are many different types of tackle, rigs, etc, that you can use while surf fishing. Normally the tackle is larger than regular boat fishing or pier fishing tackle. You need a longer rod to be able to cast past the break of the waves, and you need larger reels to heave the heavy tackle as far as you can get it. This is the case most of the time but not always, de-pending on location and conditions you can use your regular spinning gear and it will be just as effective. The term “surf tackle,” however, is applied to rather stout, long-distance casting equipment. The reason for the long cast is to try and reach holes or pockets where game fish may be. Surf rods are usually ranging from 8 ft. to 14 ft. or more. The stoutest of all surf outfits are those used for toss-ing out bottom rigs with heavy pyramid

sinkers – mainly in quest for red or black drum. It takes a strong rod to handle five or six ounces of sinker, and the tips of these gigantic rods are as thick as your thumb. Surf specialist agrees that 10 ft. to 11 ft. is best all around for surf fishing. Good surf tackle won’t guarantee you a fish but will help your odds of landing the fish when they show. If you’re not equipped with some of the heavier tackle I’ve mentioned above, your light bay tackle will satisfy your ad-diction while the kids body surf the waves. Mirr-O-Lures and soft plastics with a 1/4 oz. jig head are most common wading knee to waist deep in the second gut. Trout and redfish patrol these guts

trying to ambush mullet which become disoriented with wave action close to shore. If you have a portable live well and oxygen system, stop by the marina and pick up a few dozen live croakers. You will probably be surprised on how many fish you can catch while everyone enjoys the day at the beach. To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-949-7359 or 361-813-3716, or e-mail him at [email protected]. Good Luck and Good Fishing.


Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSponsored by Tropical Marine and Honda Marine

My name is Ken Milam and, for the past 26 years, I have been guiding fishing trips for striped bass onLake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity of getting to know

a good many folks in the construction trade.

Tonight we got to run our first trip off our main dock in almost two years. I can’t tell you how hard it has been

with all the drought months we’ve been through and seeing that nice, new Spillar boat dock sitting there aground. We fi-nally got a dock custom made for what we do and then the lake went dry. I guess that Lake Buchanan may be the only lake in Texas to still be lacking water. We have been helped by the rains, coming up to within the last 10 ft. of full, but it is that last 10 ft. that gets the boat ramps and gas docks and resorts back to 100 percent. The water has come up over all that brushy vegetation in the dry lake bottom and the fishing is getting better with each passing day. Things are still a little mixed up, kinda like an elementary school play where nobody seems to know where they should be. You go out bass fishing and slay the crappie. Go out for stripers and come in with stripers, hy-brids, white bass, crappie, largemouth and catfish. The fish are pretty scattered, but the one thing they have in common is THEY’RE HUNGRY!

Another great thing is that this is spring. The fish are spawning and this year there is plenty of vegetation to nour-ish and hide their offspring. That means we will see the benefit from our drought recovery for years to come in the way of good strong sport fish populations living in a healthy lake. Another good sign that things are turning around is that we are beginning to see some familiar faces coming back to the lake. You know who you are! It is good to see you have weathered the storms of the last several months. Wel-come back! I guess that is the best thing about hunting and fishing. It doesn’t matter to the fish what your bank balance is, and don’t expect a deer to care who sits in the White House. In this day and time that is a refreshing attitude to come across. It is almost like they think we are silly if we do care. That is why being outside is so good for us. We need to be reminded from time to time that our concerns really don’t amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. Even if we can only briefly catch that outdoor attitude, it lets us catch our breath and get a little stronger. It’s getting late now and I need to save some room for pictures. Until next time, “Tight Lines!”

Back at the dock!

Hilti Corporation

Assorted catches

Sunrise on the main dock the day we got to start using it again

Quality Custom Decks brought the Streetman guys out fishing.

L-R: Shane Helm and Trent Lake, Solis Constructors, stayed in a recently remodeled 1964 Cardinal Travel Trailer for a luxurious three-night retreat

in Ozona and caught their share of deer. –km

Solis deer huntingSubmitted to Construction News


Jennifer Morton, BRANDT, and Laura Culin, Austin Lumber Company, were the only women competing in the BRANDT Steel Boss Fishing Tournament the weekend of Apr. 23 at Lake Fork near Dallas. Though their competitive spirits were disappointed with their outcome of no fish, they say the trip was worth their while. –km

Construction women

on the lake

L-R: Jennifer Morton, event organizer Ronnie Schreiber, and Laura Culin

Jennifer Morton tries to land a big one at the BRANDT Steel Boss Fishing Tournament.

Half or Full Day Fishing Trips

All Bait, Tackle & EquipmentFurnished

Your catch Filleted andBagged for You

Furnish your TPWD FishingLicense & Refreshments,

and WE DO THE REST!Ken Milam Guide Service

(325) 379-2051www.striperfever.com

Avid hunterSubmitted to Construction News

Austin Mitchell,Pro Vigil,

shows off the225-pound hog

he hunted inPearsall, Texas

at Keystone Ranch.

Mitchellalso tracked

down a turkeyon a deer lease

in Ozona.

Send Construction

News your outdoor

photos and we will

include them in the

Great Outdoor sec-

tion of the paper. It’s

a great way to show

off your athletic abil-

ities, hunting and

fishing prowess, or a

good time golfing

with your best buds

and employees.

Six-foot sailfish Shanon Gilmore, Big Red Dog Engineering reeled in this 6-ft sailfish while

offshore fishing in the Gulf of Mexico on the Royal Flush boat from Rockport.She is pictured with Darrell Kubenka, The Anderson Group

and with the boat mate, Jake Close. –km


June 14 is Flag Day. It is a day that we recognize and pay tribute to the symbol of the

United States of America. www.USA.gov provides these flag facts:•June 14, 1777: Continental Con-gress passed the Flag Act estab-lishing the first flag, symbolizing the United States of America.•1916: “President Woodrow Wil-son issued a proclamation calling for a nationwide observance of Flag Day on June 14.”•1949: Congress passed a resolution to establish June 14 as Flag Day. President Harry Truman signed it into law. Francis Scott Key, the author of our national anthem, chose the flag as the subject of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Key’s words describe the American flag, “Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ram-parts we watched were so gallantly streaming?” As you know, Key was describing the outcome of the battle at Baltimore in 1814. He saw the American flag, rather than the British flag, flying at “dawn’s ear-ly light.” Given the words of the poem that he wrote, Key obviously found comfort in seeing the American flag flying. Maybe that is why today an American flag is raised after terrible tragedies or battles. It brings comfort and purpose to those who have suffered. We are approaching another Flag Day, and I wonder how this day will be observed. From television news reports, I see the U.S. flag being used as a symbol of disdain, being torn, burned, stomped. I

What does this symbol mean?Symbol: 1. Something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign. – Random House College Dictionary.

see the U.S. flag being hung upside down, a symbol, by the way, of distress. I see students taking down the U.S. flag and flying it below another country’s flag. I see people refusing to stand when the flag passes by or refusing to say the pledge allegiance. I also see people raise the U.S. flag at scenes of tragedy, as in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, or after hurricanes Katrina and Ike ravaged our coastlines. I see flags fly-ing outside many businesses, homes, schools, and on antennas of cars and trucks. I see flags flying at sporting events, and even flags high atop cranes at construction sites. The United States flag is a symbol. That is an undisputed fact. What appears to be disputed today is what this symbol means. June 14th is your opportunity to show what the American flag symbolizes to you. Fly it outside your business or home – or not. You have the freedom to choose. Many people in our country’s his-tory have bravely fought and died to give you that freedom. –dn

Espinoza Stone Inc., J&J Stone Co. Inc. and Capitol Products Inc. are all headquartered at an office in

Georgetown and owned by Jesse Espi-noza and his brother, Margarito Espi-noza. The Espinozas definitely stay busy — they also own a fourth business, ESI Ma-sonry Supply in Georgetown. They have quarries throughout Texas and Oklaho-ma. In their spare time, they own race-horses and enjoy that as a hobby. Addi-tionally, Margarito owns a boxing gym, which famous boxers such as Jesus Chavez have competed. Matt Nausenfluke, Espinoza Stone, said the company maintains a family at-mosphere with the staff and the clients. “We take our customers hunting and feed them fajitas,” Nausenfluke said.

Three in one

“That is a pretty good tradition we have each year. We are a very family oriented business” Espinoza Stone was established in 1996 and J&J Stone was established in 1999. Capitol Products began operations about a year ago. The Espinozas part-nered with Martin Aguado of Aguado Stone, Inc. to start Capitol Products. They hope to hold a grand opening for Capitol Products in the near future. They also opened a retail yard in New Braunfels in addition to their Georgetown location. The businesses are located in George-town at 1465 County Road 234. Espinoza Stone specializes in full stone and architec-ture; J&J Stone is full stone and Capital Products is thin stone and block. ESI Ma-sonry Supply specializes in a variety of ma-sonry products. –km

L-R: Matt Nausenfluke, Kris Burleson, Lily Floriano, Maria Diosdado, Lynae Schwartt,Larry Thompson and Jesse Espinoza.


Office readyConstruction News ON LOCATION

L-R: Terri Hall and Kim Davis have customer service coveredat Ornamental Iron Fence Supply. –km

Pro Vigil has been responsible for catching thieves in the act since they began implementing their vir-

tual guard stations, a mobile system that is monitored live 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A young entrepreneur, Jeremy White, CEO, started the company about four years ago. The headquarters for Pro Vigil is in San Antonio, but they also have staff in Austin, Houston and Dallas. Pro Vigil recently expanded their business to serve Oklahoma and California. Outside sales representative Austin Mitchell covers the Austin region, be-tween New Braunfels and Waco. “I came from the construction indus-try so I enjoy still being in the realm of the

Proactive security

Austin Mitchell, outside sales representative

business,” Mitchell said. “People call me the road warrior because I am always driving.” Aside from attending all of the asso-ciation golf tournaments, he enjoys golf-ing in his free time in addition to many other outdoor hobbies. From mountain climbing to hunting and fishing, Mitchell has a multitude of interests. “I have almost too many hobbies. I have a garage full of hobby stuff,” Mitch-ell said. As far as the virtual guard systems go, Mitchell said people are starting to recognize that the security systems are monitored and have sirens. “People are starting to recognize it and know to stay away,” Mitchell said. Pro Vigil supplies virtual guard security systems that can be used to monitor job sites live. –km

A 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was brown with a beige vinyl roof.

Mike Donahue, C.Young & Co. Inc.

A Pontiac Firebird.Chris Camos,

Rudick Construction of Texas

A 1973 Gremlin. It was white with Levi’s seats.

Saul Robles, Robles 1

A 1967 Mustang Fastback. My dad got it. It was pretty slick. That is where my love of cars comes from.

Rick Hendrick, KDR Electrical Services

A blue 1967 Camaro.Manny, BMC Plumbing

My first car was a 1959 Galaxy 500. That was in 1970. That was the biggest car that I had ever seen in my life. Looking back, that’s probably one of the best cars I ever had. It was a great car.

Rodney Hodge,Dealers Electrical Supply

A 1982 Pontiac Bonneville. It was beige. It had a brown leather top and a brown in-terior. It was a very nice car until a Subur-ban ran into it. But then I got a Mustang, so I went from a boat to a Mustang.

Jim Hasse, Safequip

My first car was a 1984 Jeep CJ7.Devon St. Martin,

New Line Construction

A four door Chevy Caprice. It was my dad’s friends’ car. It was a big old boat. I got teased quite a bit on that one.

Mike Hall, 360 Digital Systems

A 1987 gold, standard Rabbit.Justin Sandberg,

Western State Fire Protection Co.

A Dodge Dakota.Daniel Oates, FLINTCO

A mustard colored F150.Steve Roberts, CEMEX

A 1964 Studebaker Lark 4 door. David Butler, Braun & Butler

A 1948 Dodge Coupe. It was ugly. I paid $100 for my first car with my own money. I bought an old car and overhauled the transmission and engine. I drove it for a while.

Terry McBee, Edgar Machinery Corp.

I didn’t have a car. I had a burgundy 1978 Ford Ranger pickup truck.

Dawn Csernai, The Cleaner Way

My first car was an old Army Jeep. It was full green. It was my dad’s old Jeep that he bought for me to learn to drive. I drove it for about a year.

Susan McLaughlin,Pioneer Roof Systems

What was your first car?

L-R: David Villado and Tim Garcia show off their safety gearat United Tool & Fastener in Austin. –km

Customer serviceConstruction News ON LOCATION


It’s that time of the year in Texas – hot. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to cool down on the weekends

or after work in nature’s swimming holes, lakes and area pools. The bad news is the danger that the heat presents to con-struction workers such as heat stroke, cramps, heat exhaustion and rashes. “Our biggest problem is that gener-ally, workers don’t recognize when other workers are starting to have symptoms. And when you start having those symp-toms, your brain is affected,” said Larry Connelly, AGC Safety Director. According to the Centers for Disease Control web site, signs for heat stroke

Keeping your cool

may include any of the following symp-toms:• A high body temperature• Red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating)• Rapid, strong pulse• Throbbing headache• Dizziness• Nausea• Confusion• Unconsciousness To reduce the affect that high heat and humidity has on construction work-ers this summer, you may consider incor-porating some or all of the recommenda-tions from the OSHA web site while on the job:

Avoid cold, sugary and alcoholic beverages in hot weather

The Central Texas Independent Electrical Contrac-tors (IEC) trade show & wire-off competition was hosted May 20 at the Palmer Events Center in Aus-

tin. Many contractors showcased their services and 4th year electrical apprentices competed in a wire-off com-petition. –km

Rick Skinner, IEC, helps greet at the IEC trade show L-R: Larry Scott, David Pringle and Shelby Shellenberger, Elliott Electric Supply

L-R: Lynn Smith and Joe Sarvadi, SOI L-R: Brad Kolb and Glenn Kolb, Platemakers Paul Goldsmith, Accubid

Justin Gamble, Federated Insurance Shane Womack, Fluke Gene Tramp, E-TEL Manufacturers

L-R: Laura Ard and Scott Douglass, ERT Lighting & Sales, Inc. L-R: Todd Willetts and Chip McDaniel, Milwakee L-R: Mike Danridge, Abe Rhodes, Amy Pollard, Randy David and John Hamilton, Hill Country Electric Supply

• Work the job schedule around the cool-er part of the day. UV rays are most in-tense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., offi-cials say.• Encourage workers to wear cooler clothing.• Monitor yourself by occasionally check-

ing your heart rate.• Wear reflective clothing as loose as pos-sible.• Consider wearing water-cooled gar-ments with equipment such as a battery-driven circulating pump or liquid coolant.• Avoid caffeine, alcohol or large amounts of sugar.• Eat smaller meals before working. • Take short breaks in the shade if possi-ble.• Wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. “Alcohol dehydrates you, so if you go home and have a few beers, you have to drink lots of water before you go to bed,” Connelly added. “And drink water throughout the day.” For more information on heat safety, visit www.osha.gov or www.cdc.gov.–km/dn

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––--------------––––––––––––––––– Page 17

HVAC & PlumbingThis

Month

Prosperous plumbing

Manny Nabarette, OwnerBMC PlumbingRound Rock, TX

Demand for air conditioning continues

George Aivazian, OwnerPartsCoHouston, TX

What is your perspective on the air conditioning and heating indus-

try today? Well, the air conditioning and heat-ing supply business is going to be around a long time because people have to have air conditioning in this part of the coun-try. However, the economy has had some impact on people’s savings. I have no-ticed customers needing repairs and re-placements over the past year. In addition, there have been changes in refrigerant codes. As far as improve-ments in the industry, I think the equip-ment has become more energy efficient. Is there a certain time of year when you are busier than other months? The hotter it gets, the busier we get. June, July and August are our busiest months of the year.

What are the challenges in your indus-try? I think a challenge is adjusting to the different environmental laws, which I think are good. In addition, we have to keep up with the new equipment that is phasing out the older equipment. Of, course there are price increases on mate-rials too.

What are the cost increases you have seen? The price increases are on raw mate-rials, which reflect eventually on the fin-ished product coming to us. Of course, everything gets passed on to the end user. I have seen price increases for steel and copper.

What is your opinion about copper theft? I think copper theft has been phased out because the copper prices leveled to-ward the end of last year. Now, for some reason, even though new construction demand is down, the copper prices are going back up. Usually when there is a demand the prices go up. Copper theft will probably come back, especially with the economy the way it is today.

Have you seen any new technologies in your industry? Air conditioning is generally an old technology. It takes Freon to cool the air and it takes electricity to pump the Fre-on. That part of it is really the same. I have seen some changes in environmen-tal and temperature controls.

What are the rewards of your indus-try? I have always been service-oriented. I used to be an air conditioning contrac-tor and have really enjoyed being self-employed. I always like helping people. I get the most satisfaction out of that. This has been a great business for me!

In your experience, what are the keys to success? In our business, having access to in-ventory is number one. It is also impor-tant to stay knowledgeable about what you are doing. Be customer-service ori-ented.

How do you stay up-to-date in your in-dustry? I still hold my contractors license and I need to do continuing education cours-es in order to keep it. When I attend the continuing education courses every year, I get updated on codes and changes in the industry.

What is on the horizon? I am hoping we will see things be-come more affordable for people. Right now, the economy looks bleak. The only reason we stay in business and have stayed in business is because of the de-mand for air conditioning. I think that will continue.

Established in 1990, PartsCo is an air condi-tioning, heating, refrigeration and appli-ance supply business. The company has two locations in Houston. –ab

Manny Nabarrette, BMC Plumbing, says the plumbing industry has

seemed to be immune to the economic downturn in his opinion. With hard work and perseverance, he says the Austin area is the perfect location to work in the plumbing field.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general? In Austin, it seems like residential is up when commercial is down and com-mercial is up when residential is down. You have a lot of people saying they can’t find work. I don’t understand why that is. The construction here in the Austin area seems to be booming for the most part on the commercial side.

Have you heard of an increase lately? When the housing market crashed a few years ago, that’s when the commer-cial part of construction began to take off. It seems like the commercial side has not peaked yet. It’s growing from what I see in the jobs we’re obtaining. You haven’t seen a slowdown at all in your business? Not at all. Plumbing companies are growing. I don’t see anyone collapsing or going bankrupt.

Do you think more contractors will come in from other areas? I have seen many general contrac-tors and contractors getting jobs here and I don’t think that’s good for our busi-ness. I am not saying all out of state con-tractors are bad, but I have heard horrible stories about it causing problems. One thing it does is it brings the quality of work down in some cases. What it does for the financial end of it is it drives the prices down. As far as plumbers and those types of jobs, they tend to hire lo-cal. It is better for our economy to hire lo-cally.

What do you think are some of the ma-jor issues right now in the industry? The major issue is licensing. We have unlicensed people doing work every-where. I have heard about stings that they are doing right now. They have done some on electric contractors recently.

What do you see in the horizon for the industry as far as upcoming technolo-gy or trends? I see everybody going green and if you can get on the green wagon and start studying that, I think you’re going to prosper. I believe if you don’t jump on it,

you’re going to be left out. I’ve seen dif-ferent trends throughout the years, but the green is here to stay. Here in the Aus-tin area, it has really taken off. It’s our fu-ture.

Do the new water restricting fixtures impact plumbing installation? No. It doesn’t impact it. It’s better for water conservation and it doesn’t affect installation. It provides savings for the consumer. I think it’s one of the best things they have come up with.

What is the biggest challenge your in-dustry faces right now? Out of state contractors.

Is plumbing education available to those who wish to enter the industry? You can go to school, but mainly you have to put in a lot of hours. You have to start out as an apprentice, tradesman and journeyman. It’s like anything else. You can read books on it, but until you start doing it, you’re not going to learn it.

Have you noticed any labor shortag-es? No. There’s not a shortage right now for anybody.

What are the cost increases? Mainly copper.

Has copper theft affected the pricing? There is always an issue with copper. If there’s an open job site, there’s always a chance the copper will be missing. Nor-mally you’ll budget the cost, but some-times you’ll find it will be stolen.

Have you found a solution? No. Just try to keep your job site se-cure.

What do you think are the biggest re-wards in the industry? Just meeting the people you get to meet and the friendships you develop.

What do you think are the keys to be-ing successful? I think integrity is the most impor-tant thing and providing quality service.

BMC Plumbing is based in Round Rock and has been in existence for five years. –km

Page 18 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––--------------–––––– Austin Construction News • Jun 2010

HVAC & Plumbing

No splash indoor poolHVAC designs

Donald B. Prather, Technical Services SpecialistAir Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)Arlington, VA

When you unroll a plan and see an indoor pool and hot tub do you see HVAC re-lated trouble ahead? Do you feel confident enough in your understanding of all

of the variables involved to know if the architect designed a structural envelope that is appropriate for indoor pool applications? Are you afraid of getting a future call back because of wet sagging ceiling panels, rusty steel beams, wet insulation, dripping glass panels; or worse yet, mold and or algae growing on the walls? Unfortunately, once there is a problem it can be in the HVAC equipment design, the usage, or in the structural design.

In order to avoid an ugly endless round of finger pointing, you need to start the project with a professional HVAC contractor who understands indoor pool design. Better yet is to get that HVAC con-tractor involved during the design phase if possible. To do the job thoroughly, a HVAC contractor needs to evaluate de-signed indoor humidity consequences for the all of the selected building materi-als especially the following items:• building surfaces • minimum R values• vapor barrier locations• door and window type If it is not possible to involve the HVAC contractor in the design process… look out, there may be an unforeseen problem due to the unique and special-ized challenges in indoor pool design.

For example, if there are other living spaces incorporated in the enclosed pool area there should be warning lights and sirens going off in your mind. Before bid-ding, or at least before starting construc-tion, make sure an HVAC contractor has studied the plan. Be sure to ask if your HVAC contractor will follow the design guidance detailed in the newly released American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recognized ACCA Manual SPS (HVAC Design for Swimming Pools and Spas. Proper application of the design guidance in Manual SPS by a professional HVAC contractor will result in indoor pool HVAC system that can be counted on to perform properly. Hank Rutkowski P.E., the author of Manual SPS, is an internationally recog-nized authority in residential and com-

mercial design applications. As the prin-cipal author of numerous ANSI Design Standards, he was uniquely qualified to lead the team that developed Manual SPS. All of the team members were ex-perts on pool design. Original equip-ment manufacturers, mechanical con-tractors, and pool design consultants were all represented on the team. Their cumulative knowledge was focused into the HVAC industry’s first indoor pool and spa design standard. Now contractors everywhere have access to the informa-tion needed to select the specialized equipment needed to control the unique dynamics of indoor pool applications. Mechanical systems for indoor pool applications must be designed to contin-uously control the dew point tempera-tures of space air as well as space tem-perature. From the 30,000-ft view, Manu-al SPS addresses the following special-ized HVAC design considerations for pools and spas:• Dehumidification system must control airflow dew point all of the time regard-less of outdoor conditions, and provide indoor air quality.• HVAC Systems must be compatible with moist air and pool chemicals.• Ductwork needs to be properly sealed and insulated.• Due to higher operating and installation costs: Higher efficiency options and the expense of ongoing maintenance should be considered in the design process.• The envelope must be compatible with

the pools operating design parameters. Those planning to build indoor pools or spas should become familiar with the new Manual SPS. Manual SPS is available online at the ACCA bookstore.

Donald Prather has been with ACCA since 2007. He is a graduate of Thomas Edi-son State College with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology and has over 30 years of HVAC experience. Prather is cur-rently a licensed HVAC contractor in Florida and holds a 1st Class Stationary Engineer Certification in Maryland. He was the prin-cipal author of the Technician’s Guide for Quality Installations; a compendium to the ANSI/ACCA HVAC Quality Installation Spec-ification, and Manual B Balancing and Test-ing Air and Hydronic Systems. –dn

Fear no evil

Joel Stolarski, OwnerSATEX Plumbing Company Inc.San Antonio, TX

How would you describe the state of the construc-tion industry in general terms?

Right now it is starting to boil. Things are starting to move a little. I’ve got careful hope.

What do you attribute that to? People finally got over that fear of this administration and I think people are saying, “The heck with you politicians. We are going to do this anyway.” Espe-cially in Texas. I think people are just say-ing, “I don’t care what you guys are play-ing with in Washington, we are going to keep building here.”

Since construction has declined in other parts of the country, do you see an increase in the number of outside contractors coming into the area? Yes, and I have made some new cli-ents because of it. With the Internet ev-erybody is accessible. We just get stuff emailed to us from we don’t know who. There is some fear in that. I don’t know who I am working for. I have always been

relationship oriented. I have my custom-ers and I like to know people. But this is a whole new world for me to have to trust somebody that I can’t go look in the face when they don’t pay me.

What are the “hot button” issues in your industry? Talking with my peers, the hot but-ton issue is that when the housing mar-ket slowed down, the residential plumb-ers came in to do commercial jobs and messed up everything. Because, again, like when I started, they didn’t know what they were doing. All their bids were real low and it threw off the whole sys-tem. They were just trying to survive. I don’t think it was done out of any kind of malice. It was just done out of lack of knowledge.

What is the most significant challenge your industry faces? The challenge is changing the think-ing of the next generation. This genera-tion has heard about entitlement and what I’m owed. We went through the 10 years of the employee having the upper hand. We were at their mercy, because a good guy could get two more bucks across the road. Even though you hate this recession, it is exactly what we needed, even though we were not making the money that we did before, it was out of control. It is teaching this generation that nothing is owed to you and you’ve gotta go find these kids that are willing to work and want to work with their hands, and there are not many out there anymore. They want to press buttons. There is such a joy and such fulfill-ment in doing something and stepping back and looking at it, and saying, “Wow.” I even miss that now because I am a pen-cil pusher and I swore I would never be. That is why I went to trade school. I passed one of those tests in high school that said, “You will never work in an of-fice.”

My guys get that fulfillment and I envy them sometimes because I don’t get to put that pipe in and stand back and say, “Man, that looks good.” If I catch hold of a kid that’s got it (and I can usually tell in the first couple of months), he’s got a future. That is my joy now, being able to say, “I impacted this kid’s life.”

Would you consider that to be one of the rewards of the industry? That is the reward of a spiritual man. I could have become a pastor, or I could have gone to seminary. But I felt like God’s calling for me was, “Just do what I give you to do. You don’t have to change the world. Just be obedient and do what I need you to do with one person at a time.”

Joel Stolarski founded SATEX Plumbing Company Inc. in 1983, focusing initially on new home construction and repairs. The focus later shifted to new commercial new construction and repairs. –kf

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––––– Page 19

HVAC & Plumbing

Consumer driven plumbing

Among the hot-button issues current-ly affecting plumbers are customer-

driven demand for new, green technolo-gies (commercial and residential), a new statewide water-saving mandate, and a move by some cities to tighten rules on the location of water heaters in new con-struction. Ken Reinhardt, representative for Braswell & Associates in Farmers Branch, TX, has been hearing “buzz” about new hybrid water heaters, but hasn’t seen any installed yet. He wonders about the relatively high cost, actual performance efficiency, and operational impact on existing plumb-ing. New tankless water heaters and elec-tric-hybrids are aimed at providing “on-demand” hot water to reduce heating

costs and water usage (by not needing to let water run before hot water is deliv-ered). Some manufacturers claim energy cost savings of around 25 percent, an in-dustry stride in light of The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s first Energy Star standard for water heaters in 2008. Some manufacturers offer training on tankless technology applications, in-stallation, proper sizing, and service; they add that the technology may require some changes in plumbers’ business ap-proach. Tankless and hybrid water heater manufacturers say the technology will appeal to customers who want to reduce their “carbon footprint,” a leading con-cern of global warming advocates. Lee McFarland, Herndon McFar-

land Plumbing in Addison, TX, points out that tankless and hybrid water heaters are expensive and that many customers may not see payback of their investment anytime soon (or ever). Still, he acknowledges that custom-er-driven interest in green energy tech-nology is shifting the business climate for plumbers beyond just payback consider-ations. “There are advantages to tankless water heaters in that you don’t have to continuously heat water, he says, and this may be enough to spur demand in a po-litical climate that is promoting green en-ergy awareness and compliance. From a plumbing perspective, of course, going green isn’t just about con-serving energy. In fact, it may be even more importantly about conserving wa-ter. In the 1990s, the federal government mandated ultra-low-flush toilets (1.6 gal-lons per flush, or gpf), first for residential toilets and later for commercial toilets. Now, Texas has taken a more aggres-sive step to mandate a 1.28-gpf toilet standard on and after Jan. 1, 2014 for new construction. “Over the next three or four years, cities will be phasing in this requirement, so builders may want to do it today and get ahead of the curve,” says McFarland. Paul Peterman, inspector for the City of McKinney, has been impressed with the low-flow toilets he has installed in his older home. He thinks design has improved significantly over the years.

Ken ReinhardtBraswell & Associates

Gail LuxInspector, City of Cedar Hill

Lee McFarland Herndon McFarland

Plumbing

A change occurring in several Texas cities that is drawing sighs of relief, even applause, from plumbers is the passage of ordinances regarding placement of water heaters in attics. On Jan. 13, 2009, the City of Cedar Hill approved an ordinance that banned water heaters in attics in new construc-tion. “Fort Worth took water heaters out of attics two years ago. The City of Grape-vine took a different approach by restrict-ing water heaters to “conditioned spac-es,” so that they cannot be located in un-finished attics,” says Gail Lux, inspector for the City of Cedar Hill. “In attics, water heaters cost twice as much to replace, cause three times as much damage and frequently are not right for the load-bearing capacity,” he says. Plus, water heaters in attics are “a servicing nightmare,” adds McFarland. Some residential customers find out too late the special problems posed by water heaters in the attic. The Internet is filled with discussion boards of home-owners sharing their stories of the addi-tional costs and inconvenience they faced when water heater problems arose. Inspectors for 10 North Texas cities discussed hot-button plumbing issues with contractors at a session hosted by the Plumbing Heating Cooling Contrac-tors Association of North Texas in May.– mh

NEXT MONTHJuly 2010

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Jan: Construction Forecast Feb: Construction SafetyMar: Construction Education

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2010Schedule

It’s all about attitudeConstruction News ON LOCATION

Jarrod McBay, store manager at Youngblood Auto & Tire,provides service with a smile. –km

Jeremy Garst, The Pipe Ranch, is familiar with the pride and joy feeling that comes with being a dad. He welcomed his baby girl, Tryniti Jada Garst, to

the world five months ago. Garst is definitely among the many proud dads in the construction industry. “I spend every second I can with her,” Garst said.

“I enjoy seeing all of the ‘first’ moments.”To all fathers, enjoy your day. –km

Happy Dad’s Day

Page 20 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––---------------–––––– Austin Construction News • Jun 2010

Readers of Construction News have brought to our attention two is-sues that we want to address.

First, is the solicitation for reprints/plaques of articles in our papers, which range from $200-$400. It appears that when Construction News publishes an article in one of our publications, someone later calls back to sell reprints in expensive frames or plaques. It’s not us! We do not call back or solicit anyone in our newspapers for reprints. We provide digital reprints for $42 (unframed), and we offer those only in an ad in our papers – we do not call anyone. When a reader contacts us via email about a reprint, we will return by email an information sheet on how to

It’s not us!obtain additional papers, rack loca-tions, and reprints offered by request only. Second, we do not charge for ar-ticles printed in Construction News. Each editor in Austin, Dallas / Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio con-tacts companies to set up interviews and write “good news” stories about the business. While many of our read-ers believe that our stories are worth a million bucks, we don’t charge one red cent, nor do we ask for your subcon-tractor list. There are independent compa-nies throughout the country that solic-its stories for a fee and sells reprints of other publication articles. We are not connected with or make any referrals to these companies. –rd/dn

Big Tex Trailers is known through-out the U.S. and in Texas, but the company is fairly new to the Austin

area. The company opened a branch in Georgetown in October 2009, and will open another in Buda in the near future. “We will have the Austin area cov-ered,” Georgetown store manager Shan-non Kaatz said. Kaatz is also new to the company and was recruited when the Georgetown store opened. He spent 17 years working in sales for Don Hewlett Chevrolet in Georgetown. He says he has enjoyed the opportunity to work for the company and continue to work in his hometown. “The support they give us here is just phenomenal,” he said. “I really have en-joyed working here.” Big Tex has 22 factory-owned stores across the U.S. and seven in Texas as well as 350 independent dealers. Factory stores are located in Houston, Dallas-Fort

Texas trailers

Astronomical history

Worth, Rockwall, Wichita Falls and Odes-sa. There is also a manufacturing facility and headquarters in Mt. Pleasant. The owner, Ricky Baker, is based out of Mt. Pleasant. “He is a great man. It is a very family-oriented business,” Kaatz said. When not working, Kaatz is a mem-ber of Legacy Outfitters, a Christian based group for men who enjoy the out-doors and volunteering. They help with youth activities and soldiers who just re-turned from war. “It is a really neat group,” he said. Kaatz also has two grown children and a wife. As far as the store goes, his goal is to continue to see it grow. “It is going really well and I want to continue to see it go that way,” he said. Big Tex Trailers offers flatbed utility, gooseneck, trash, construction, haz-mat, as well as many other trailers. –km

Georgetown Store Manager Shannon Kaatz.

Astro Mechanics has a 63-year his-tory in Austin, and it is not just in construction. When it was found-

ed, the company manufactured tele-scopes, which is where the name Astro originated. In the 1980’s, the company began focusing more on other types of welding and moved away from the tele-scopes. “It is really special to be a part of a company that has been in Austin for 63 years,” owner Tom Stacy said. Stacy purchased the company in 1991. He had a welding shop in Pfluger-ville for about six years and also worked for a lime supplier in Austin prior to own-ing Astro Mechanics. Angie Stacy, his wife, worked at the business as an office manager from 1991 until 1999. Their daughter, Carrie Stemp, took over the position when Angie retired from the job. “I love working here. I wouldn’t trade

it for the world,” Stemp said. “The right opportunity came at the right time.” Stemp’s background is actually in criminal justice, but she says she needed a change and had experience working at Astro while attending Texas State Univer-sity. “I love working here, because I don’t have to look over anyone’s shoulder,” Tom Stacy said. During his spare time, Stacy says he enjoys fishing and the outdoors. Growing up in Taylor, he was in Future Farmers of America and always knew he wanted to pursue a hands-on career. “I love fixing things,” he said. Carrie added that he also has a knack for mathematics. “He is a huge math wiz,” she said. Astro mechanics specializes in weld-ing, machinery and fabrication for primari-ly commercial construction. –km

Owner Tom Stacy and his daughter/office manager, Carrie Stemp.

Austin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––----------------–––––––––––––––– Page 21

Round-Up

Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABCAssociated Builders & Contractors

June 18: PAC Clayshoot, 8707 Lindell Lane, 11amCall (512) 719-5263

ACEAAustin Contractors & Engineers Assn.

June 3: Thirsty Thursday, Third Base Sports Bar, Round Rock, 4-7 pmJune 8: Summer Golf Tournament, Twin Creek Country Club

AGCAssociated General Contractors

June 16: First Aid/CPR in English, AGC Boardroom, noon – 4 pmJune 17: OSHA 10 hour training, AGC Boardroom, 1 pm

CFMAConstruction Financial Management Assn.

June 15: Monthly meeting, Headliners Club, 221 W. 6th St., in Chase Building.E-mail [email protected].

CSIConstruction Specifications Institute

June 21: Chapter awards banquet, The Belmont at 305 W. 6th Street, 6:30 – 9 pm. Cost is $35. Call Guy Cornett at (512) 447-1418.

CTSACentral Texas Subcontractors Association

June 8: What employers should know about the DWI/DUI process, Embassy Suites North Austin, 5:30 – 8pm. Call (512) 255-6373.

NARINatl Assn of the Remodeling Industry

June 8: Renovation, Repair & Painting training, 5975 CR 110 (Pro Build), Round Rock, 8 am – 5 pm. Cost is $250.RSVP immediately.June 10: Austin NARI/Frost Bank golf tournament, Avery Ranch Golf Club, Aus-tin, 11:30 am. Cost is $135.

NAWICNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

June 3: Builder and Contractor Night, Round Rock Express Dell Diamond, 6:30 pmCall (512) 608-8388.

PHCCAssoc. Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

June 24 - 26: PHCC Texas Annual State Conference, The Woodlands Marriott Wa-terway Hotel. Visit www.phcc-tx.org.

TXSESTexas Solar Energy Society

June 6: 2010 Austin Cool House Tour, 10 am – 6 pm. Visit www.txses.org.

US Green BuildingCentral Texas-Balcones Chapter

June 15: Lecture series featuring climate change expert from New Zealand, Austin Convention Center Ballroom B, 6 – 10 pm.

Central Texas Equipment is proud to announce the addition of Allan N. (Chip) Kee, III to their sales team. Chip has spent the past 18 years in sales for the industrial and con-struction industry. Chip will primarily be responsible for sales and rentals in the San Antonio area.

Andy Johnson was recently hired at Safequip in Austin. He will take over as general manager in August. Johnson’s background in-cludes operation manager experi-ence in the reprographic business.

Tim Garcia recently started in outside sales at United Tool & Fastener in Aus-tin. He has 14 years of sales experience.

Round-UpSubmissions

This is a monthly section for brief company announcements of new or recently promoted personnel, free of

charge, as space allows. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Email (w/digital photo, if available)by the 15th of any month, for the

next month’s issue(published 1st of each month).

Email info to appropriate city issue, with “Round-Up” in the subject line:––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––San [email protected]@constructionnews.netDallas/Ft. [email protected]@constructionnews.net

ASCO Texana Ma-chinery hosted their first annual

contractor’s day at the Manor location May 20, with about 120 people in attendance. The event included catfish, door prizes and showcased the new look of their store since ASCO acquired Texana in mid-December. ASCO Texana Machin-ery specializes in equipment rentals and supplies. –km

Beginning a tradition

L-R: Tim Lougee and Mike Roberto, Genie Darryl Acker, OLG Industries

L-R: John Norton, Darran Markham and Rinny Johnson, ASCO Texana Machinery

L-R: Kris Hankins, Cody Almquist and Robert Lineberry, ASCO Texana Machinery

Page 22 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––---------------–––––– Austin Construction News • Jun 2010

a 1967 Mustang Fastback. As for other interests, he says he and Ken invest the majority of their time into the company and with their family. As far as work goes, he says his favor-ite aspect is seeing the finished projects.

continued from Page 1 — An electric team

“I enjoy seeing jobs go from nothing to complete, watching it evolve from just a bunch of dust to a nice job,” he said. KDR specializes in security lighting, electrical design and aerial lighting. –km

Some of the challenges the construc-tion team faced were making provisions for safety and working out the timing with athletic practices. “Once we were able to, we quickly removed and replaced the field with new artificial turf and allowed the students to begin using the field for practice for the next season without hindering our schedule or construction process,” Lalla said. Coordination played a major role in the successful completion of the stadi-um. The site work had to be scheduled so that both crews on the different ele-ments could work in the same place at the same time, officials said. The bleacher installation and structural steel towers were installed simultaneously while workers also installed flat work and build-ings below. “This was a complete demolition and ground up new construction project. The schedule and coordination of trades in the time allotted was very unique. It took

extra effort from the construction team, owner and consultants to work through issues and resolve conflicts on the fly,” Clawson said. Though they had their share of ob-stacles, the crew enjoyed collaborating to complete the task. “The FTWOODS project team, the LISD project team and Field and Associ-ates Architects had a great working rela-tionship and were able to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. On site project management and a timely responding team of consultants led to the success of the project,” Inman said. The consultant team also included Pickett Kelm and Associates, MEP Engi-neering Inc. and PBS&J.

FTWOODS Construction is a general contractor founded in 1989 by Todd Woods. The company self performs site work, utili-ties and concrete work on their projects ranging from commercial buildings to heavy highway. –km

continued from Page 1 — Stunning stadium

what he did,” Burnight said of the found-er, O’Connell. Burnight moved to Texas in the 1970’s to obtain his graduate degree from the University of Texas and fell in love with the state. He has a wife, two children, and a dog. “I decided this would be a good place

continued from Page 1 — 60 years strong

to raise a family,” he said. The staff at O’Connell Robertson plan on commemorating the anniversary all year and hosting a celebration in the fall at the San Antonio branch. O’Connell Robertson offers services in architecture and engineering, primarily for healthcare and education. –km

Several representatives of local construction companies, organizations, and staff members at Crockett High School met May 13 for the new construction technol-ogy program’s partnership council meeting. The council members and students are pictured in front of a building that was built by students in the program. –km

Building the futureSubmitted to Construction News

At Construction News, we pride our-selves in not being caught up in mainstream media hype. Our

niche is providing interesting articles about construction related companies. Once in awhile though, a story comes along that must be covered. In late April, CBS News published an investigative report regarding personal information being stored on photocopi-ers. According to information on CBS’ web site, digital photocopiers made after 2002 may store information from copied, scanned or emailed documents in an in-ternal hard drive. If the hard drive is not removed or cleaned prior to being dis-carded, sold or leased, the copied infor-

mation is available to the next owner or recipient of the photocopier. Does that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck? It did us once we began discussing all the copies that have been made at the various entities where we do business, not to mention hospitals, banks, car dealerships, etc., etc. etc. (The etceteras really concern me.) If you haven’t already seen the inves-tigative report, you can view it at www.cbsnews.com. Search for “Photocopier Investigation.” Read or play the CBS video “Digital Photocopiers Loaded With Se-crets.” Sometimes I wish we still used mim-eograph machines or carbon paper. –dn

ALERT:Your information is at risk

Job SightsAustin Construction News • Jun 2010 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------––––––––––––––– Page 23

L-R: S.C. Inman and Greg Hampton, FTWOODS Construction, at the site of their new office in front of their current location in Georgetown. The building is slated for completion in July. –km

Lorenzo Sanchez, H&T Utilities, gets ready to work at the future site of Austin Bible Church on Braker Lane. The general contractor is Riordan Construction Group. –km

Marco Johnson, Ahern Rentals, drops off a piece of equipment at the site of a future assisted living facility in Georgetown. The general contractor is VRW Construction Company Inc. –km

Victor Manuel stands on site at the CVS on Williams Drive in Georgetown. The general contractor, Smith Contracting, is completing the project. –km

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Documents

Austin CONSTRUCTION · into starting a company than any em-ployee does. You come ... ville, the event was a ... spon-sored by Johns Manville re-