Texas Professionals Honored for Excellence

From regional construction projects and international developments, engineers, subcontractors, architects and contractors are among the professionals honored for their achievements.

South Texas Associated Builders & Contractors Present Awards

The Associated Builders & Contractors - South Texas Chapter recently presented its 2007 Chapter Awards at the annual “Excellence In Construction” awards. The Chapter awards recipients include: Andy Koebel of Kunz Construction Co. as General Contractor of the Year; Donna Ibanez of Moore Erection LP as Subcontractor of the Year; Steve White of AmeriCrane Rentals as Supplier of the Year; Denise Bendele of Padgett, Stratemann and Co. as Industry Professional of the Year; and Kathleen Acock of Alpha Building Corp. as Volunteer of the Year.

Olene Stone, the recently retired district director for U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith, was awarded the Chairman’s Award, which is given to an individual whose contributions to the local construction industry deserve special recognition.

Excellence In Construction awards were presented in 18 categories to 14 construction companies. The awards were for outstanding projects completed in the last 12 months in the San Antonio region. 

This year’s local winners, by category, are:       

Leonard Contracting Inc. for the Citibank La Cantera project for “commercial, less that $2 million”; Leonard Contracting, Inc. for the Citibank - 5th & Rio Grande in “commercial $2 to $5 million”; Middleman Construction Co. LLC for the La Arcata Development in “commercial $10 to $25 million”; SpawGlass Contractors Inc. for the McAllen Convention Center in “commercial $25 to $99 million”.

In the health-care categories: for “less than $5 million” was Koontz McCombs Construction Co. Ltd. for the Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio; and in the “$10 to 25 million,” also Koontz McCombs for the Texas Center for Athletes.

In historical restoration, Galaxy Builders Ltd. for the Fort Sam Houston, 66 Historic Homes (c. 1890 - 1932). In the residential category, Metropolitan Contracting Co. Ltd. won for the Artist’s Loft.

In the institutional category, for “$10 to $25 million,” W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. for the new U.S. District Court Building in Alpine; and in the “$25 to $99 million category” Bartlett Cocke, LP/Beecroft, a joint venture for the Del Mar College New Health Science & Emerging Technology Center.

In the commercial electrical category, Bexar Electric Co. Ltd. won in the $2 to $10 million category for the Bass Pro Shop; in commercial mechanical, A/C Technical Services, Ltd. won for the Hill Country Retreat in the under $2 million category; TD Industries, Inc. won for the less than $2 million category for the Staybridge Suites Hotel; in the industrial mechanical category for a project “under $2 million,” A/C Technical Services Ltd. for the H-E-B Weslaco; for the interior construction category, Baker Drywall Ltd. won for the Center for the Intrepid.

Other specialty construction awards went to The Keller-Martin Organization Inc. for the St. Mary’s University Barrett Memorial Bell Tower & Plaza; Alpha Insulation & Waterproofing Inc. for the Center for the Intrepid; and SpawGlass Contractors Inc. for the Tony Hawk’s Big Spin & Boardwalk Improvements.

The local winners are eligible to enter the national competition. National award winners will be announced at the 2008 ABC-National Excellence In Construction Awards Banquet to be held in Wash., D.C.

Another category of recognition known as the Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) program was developed and written by contractors, for contractors. There are four levels of recognition - bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

The STEP award winners by category were: The Koehler Co. and Koontz McCombs Construction Co. Ltd. in the silver category.

In the gold category: A/C Technical Services, Ltd.; Baker Drywall Ltd.; Bexar Electric Co. Ltd.; Browning Construction Co. LP; C.A. Landry LP; DEA Specialties Company Ltd.; Flasher Equipment Co.; Galaxy Builders Ltd.; Joeris General Contractors Ltd.; The Keller-Martin Organization Inc.; Kunz Construction Co. Inc.; MANCO Structures Ltd.; Marek Brothers Systems Inc.; Metropolitan Contracting Co. Ltd.; Middleman Construction Co. LLC; Moore Erection LP; and Texas Fifth Wall Roofing Systems Inc.

In the platinum category, winners were: Alpha Building Corp.; Betco Scaffold; CCC Group Inc.; G.D. Interior Construction Inc.; H.E. Butt Grocery Co.; Leonard Contracting Inc.; SpawGlass Contractors Inc.; TIC - The Industrial Company; Troy M. Jessee Construction LP; W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co.; and Zachry Construction Corp.

Wilder Construction Becomes Subsidiary of Granite Construction

Lewisville-based Granite Construction Inc. acquired Pacific Northwest-based heavy civil construction company Wilder Construction Co. Granite currently holds (through a subsidiary) a 76.8% interest in Wilder. Under the terms of the agreement, the minority shares of Wilder will be acquired for approximately $28 million.

After the merger becomes effective early this year, Wilder will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Granite Construction Co. and its operations will function as two separate branches, the Northwest Washington Branch and the Alaska Branch. In addition, Wilder’s Washington assets will be contributed to Granite Northwest (a wholly owned subsidiary of Granite Construction Co.) and the Alaska operations will be merged into Granite Construction Co.

International Award Presented to Houston Architecture Firm

Houston-based EDI Architecture, Inc. was awarded an International Project of the Year award from the Developer and Builder’s Alliance of Florida at the Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach.

ABC Members Receive Top Honors at CURT Awards

An ABC-South Texas Chapter award went to the Del Mar College New Health Science & Emerging Technology Center, by Bartlett Cocke LP/Beecroft, a joint venture.

Photo by Clem Spalding

Associated Builders and Contractors honored regional ABC chapters, their affiliates, partners and member companies for receiving top honors in the Construction Users Roundtable’s, or CURT, Construction Industry Safety Excellence Awards and the Workforce Development Awards at CURT’s national conference in Naples, Fla.

ABC members won in all three categories in the CURT CISE Constructor Safety Awards. Winners recognized for their outstanding safety performance over the past three years include: S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd. of Houston and Protherm Services Group LLC of Houston in the category of more than 2 million man hours per year; and L-CON Constructors of Houston and Remedial Construction Services, LP of Houston won for the category of 500,000 to 2 million man hours per year.

 In the CURT Workforce Development Awards, ABC members and related organizations took five of the six top honors in recognition of their recruitment, training and education of construction professionals. They include: Central Dallas Ministries of Dallas, and the Construction Education Foundation, an affiliate of ABC’s North Texas chapter in Irving; and Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative, in which ABC is a partner.

LJA Engineering & Surveying Marks 10th Anniversary

Houston-based LJA Engineering & Surveying, Inc. recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, having grown to be the seventh largest civil and structural engineering company in Houston. During that time, the company has compiled a list of clients and projects to support that growth.

The company has enjoyed phenomenal growth since August 1997 when it became LJA Engineering & Surveying Inc., an employee-owned and operated firm. The number of employees has grown from 47 to more than 325, and in addition to its headquarters in Houston, LJA has expanded its Texas presence with offices in The Woodlands, Austin and San Antonio.

San Antonio Firm, TxDOT Share National Design Award

San Antonio engineering firm, Structural Engineering Associates Inc.  received a National Design Award from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute for the design of four bridges in the Loop 340 Overpass in Waco. SEA shares the award with TxDOT, which was the owner and co-engineer for the project. 

SEA was responsible for the design of the bridge superstructures and TxDOT designed the bridge substructures. The bridge superstructures consist of a new bridge beam, called the pre-topped U-beam, which was invented and developed by Jesse S. Covarrubias and David T. Covarrubias, engineers at SEA. The pre-topped U-beam was developed as a part of TxDOT’s rapid bridge replacement program to speed up on-site construction time.

Structural Engineering Associates Inc. Receives PCI Design Award

San Antonio engineering firm Structural Engineering Associates Inc. received a National Design Award from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute for the design of the Loop 340 Overpass in Waco. SEA shares the award with TxDOT, the owner and co-engineer for the project.

SEA was responsible for the design of the bridge superstructures and TxDOT designed the bridge substructures. The bridge superstructures consist of a new bridge beam, called the Pre-Topped U-Beam, which was invented and developed by Jesse S. Covarrubias and David T. Covarrubias, both engineers at SEA. The Pre-Topped U-Beam was developed as a part of TxDOT’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Program in order to speed up on-site construction time.

Hillsboro Concrete Plant Acquired by Florida Firm

Jacksonville-based Gate Petroleum Co. acquired two architectural precast concrete manufacturing facilities from Arkansas Precast. The plants are located in Hillsboro and outside Little Rock.

The acquisition of the plants will complement existing manufacturing facilities and allow Gate to better serve its marketing area,  which includes all of the eastern United States as well as a major portion of the Southwest and Midwest U.S. markets. The Construction Materials Group of Gate Petroleum Co. now operates 10 manufacturing plants. 

Houston Design Firm Wins Workplace Flexibility Award

Houston-based national design firm PGAL won the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility distinguishing the firm as one of the top practitioners of workplace flexibility in the nation.

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility are part of the When Work Works project, an ongoing initiative of Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce , an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Twiga Foundation to recognize businesses that are dedicated to making work “work” for the employer and the employees. 

Through When Work Works, these partner organizations provide research, resources, and recognition to businesses nationwide, and share the results of the research on creating effective and flexible workplaces that meet the needs of the 21st century.

Applications for the Alfred P. Sloan Awards were open to all businesses in the greater Houston area with more than 10 employees that had been in business for at least one year.  Applicants were evaluated in a rigorous two-step process, first comparing the employer’s application to nationally representative data from Families and Work Institute’s National Study of Employers, and then validating what employers report against employee survey responses.  Some of the defining criteria that led to PGAL’s win include flexible hours and schedules, employee “perks,” overall company culture, special incentives and emphasis on creating a healthy balance between work and family obligations.  

Scholarship Designed for Construction Marketing Students

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Houston chapter has established a new endowed scholarship at the University of Houston. The scholarship will be administered through the Bauer School of Business at the university and will be awarded annually to a student enrolled in the Bauer College Undergraduate Business Program. The recipient of the first scholarship will be announced prior to the fall 2008 semester.

SMPS Houston established the scholarship to reinforce its mission as the preeminent educational resource for marketers within the architecture, engineering and construction industries. The chapter is dedicated to community stewardship through charitable contributions and scholarships.

San Antonio CPA Firm Merges with Austin CPA Firm

San Antonio-based Padgett, Stratemann & Co. LLP, one of the largest CPA and business advisory firms in Texas, has merged with Sprouse & Anderson LLP, a leading Austin-based CPA firm. PS&Co. clients include a variety of construction companies throughout Texas.

 The firms will unite under the PS&Co. name. With the merger, PS&Co. will be working on behalf of more than 100 leading general contractors, subcontractors and construction companies based in Texas. 

 With the merger, Lester Sprouse will become managing partner of PS&Co.’s Austin office. All 25 Sprouse & Anderson employees will remain with the new firm, bringing the PS&Co. statewide headcount to 150 employees. Sprouse & Anderson’s five partners will transition to partners of the new PS&Co.

IRWA Chapter 36 Selects Professional of the Year

Fort Worth-based Greg Cook, a senior analyst with Integra Realty Resources DFW, has been named Professional of the Year by the International Right of Way Association Chapter 36.

Cook is the 2007 local chapter secretary and the lead education co-chairman for IRWA. This year, he will be the chapter’s treasurer. He was selected because of his consistent dedication to excellence as a real estate appraiser and his tenure of service to the local chapter of the IRWA.

Earlier this year, Cook earned the SR/WA designation – senior member, International Right of Way Association.  It is the most prestigious professional designation, granted by IRWA to members who have achieved professional status through experience, education and examination.

The SR/WA designation requires training and examination in several major right-of-way disciplines, and requires a minimum of five years of right-of-way experience.