Three Texas Companies Make Fortune List

Another Texas firm earns ranking in Top 125 for best training programs; also, ABC honors Texas craft instructor; across the state, construction professionals earn recognition, certification.

Brazosport High School Welding Teacher Instructs Students on Craft and Life

Jimmy Crainer Named One of Four Regional Winners for the ABC 2009 Craft Instructor of the Year

Jimmy Crainer works with a student at Brazosport High School. Courtesy of Colby Kuchar.

Jimmy Crainer doesn’t just teach his students about welding in his Career Technology Education class at Brazosport High School in the Brazosport ISD, south of Houston. He also teaches them about a strong work ethic and doing a good job.

His instruction and role modeling earned him a spot as one of four finalists for the Associated Builders and Contractors 2009 Craft Instructor of the Year award. Crainer was the winner of Region III, which includes all ABC chapters in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and was nominated by the ABC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter in Freeport.

Jimmy Crainer, ABC Craft Instructor.

While he didn’t win the title, his prize comes from the results he sees in his students.

Garth Bailey, a 2007 BISD graduate and former student under Crainer, told the ABC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter in Freeport that Crainer “finds a way to help you learn, but that’s not what makes him the best.

“He’s the best because he teaches you how to succeed in life,” Bailey says. “I am not a welder, I am an electrician by trade succeeding because of what he taught me.”

Crainer admits that he probably has an unusual teaching style from most craft instructors.

“I do it a little differently here than [other instructors]. I teach about working with metal, welding and the various aspects of that,” Crainer says. Most of the students come to him when they are juniors and seniors. “I want them to be good employees when they leave here,” he told Texas Construction.

“I want them to know that when they get a job, they have got to be there on time and work hard every day to earn a good living,” Crainer says. “They need to help clean up before they leave. And, they should always want to gain more knowledge to move up the ladder. I push that real hard rather than just showing them how to weld.”

His students are encouraged to continue their education.

“Many don’t go to four-year colleges, but they need to get at least an associate’s degree in welding, pipefitting or as an electrician,” Crainer says.

He has recruiters and technical school representatives talk to students about opportunities they have. While the Freeport area is busy with industry-related construction, there may not be as many welding jobs there now as there have been in the past. However, Crainer adds, the technical schools told him students may have opportunities in other regions.

“For many of these students high school is the end of their education road. We are now certified with The National Center for Construction Education and Research program for welding,” Crainer says.

He adds that while he’s been fortunate to have worked with the industry for a number of years and people come to him to talk to his top students about jobs, “that may be different this year.” “For the past four years or so, I’ve had almost every graduating senior offered a job.”

The benefit of these classes, Crainer says, is to get students on a career path even in high school and give them a start.

“I still go to classes and continue my education, and I’ve been thinking about how I’ll teach these students this year. Many of them have parents in the industry who are out of work and I’ll still try to help them on jobs.”

The local ABC chapter has a summer program for students. They take them to Brazosport College for a two-week introduction and the students are paid to come to school and get basic certifications.
--Tonie Auer .

TDIndustries, KPMG and Gilbane Named to Best Companies to Work For List

For the 12th consecutive year, Dallas-based TDIndustries has been named to Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. This year the firm ranks No.  37. TDIndustries is a Fortune “All Star,” a distinction that only 13 companies hold because they have been on the list every year since its inception in 1998.

According to the magazine, one of the defining qualities of TDIndustries is its fairness among its employees. Health insurance premiums are indexed to pay. Everyone is a shareholder through an employee stock ownership plan which is why the company calls its staff partners and not employees.

Other Texas construction-related companies on the list include KPMG and Gilbane.

Fortune works with a global research and consulting firm, Great Place to Work Institute, to conduct employee surveys in corporate America to select its winners. More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to the 57-question survey.

SpawGlass Ranks 90th in Training Top 125 Awards Program

SpawGlass, a Texas-based general contractor, construction manager and design/builder, earned a No. 90 ranking in Training magazine’s Training Top 125, a national awards program that recognizes employer-sponsored training and development. This is the first year SpawGlass entered the Top 125 awards competition.

The Training Top 125 ranking was determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs and how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives. Benchmarking statistics included total training budget as percentage of payroll; number of training hours per employee program; goals, evaluation, measurement and workplace surveys; hours of training per employee annually; and detailed formal programs.

More than 100 topics and courses are offered through SpawGlass University, the company’s in-house leadership development and training program. Safety training is provided on all jobsites. Within two years of employment, employees attend a week-long Leadership through Teamwork course away from the workplace. Employees also have the opportunity to attend external professional development and training courses. Every employee is expected to attain a minimum of 32 class hours annually.

Innovative Developers Honored as a Chamber Small Business of the Year

Fort Worth-based Innovative Developers Inc., celebrating its 40th year of business, was selected as a 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

The honor recognizes companies for best practices in areas such as business growth and performance, sound business strategies and practices, customer service strategies, business challenges, unique and innovative approaches and community involvement.

The firm is a  real estate solutions provider for clients who desire to own and occupy office, medical, retail or industrial projects, was honored in the category of businesses with 11-50 employees.

The other 2009 winners included Designs for Living, a general contractor for custom homes in the category with less than a dozen employees. Eleven finalists in four categories were judged on their written application and a site visit by business owners and professionals who are members of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and entrepreneurial students from Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business.

WorldWater & Solar Technologies Rebrands as Entech Solar, Moves to Fort Worth

As part of a name change from WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. to Entech Solar, Inc., Entech Solar relocated its headquarters from Ewing, N.J., to Fort Worth to the Alliance Global Logistics Hub.

The building Entech Solar is moving its headquarters to has been used solely for manufacturing and distribution. Now they will also incorporate their headquarters into that space as well.

Entech Solar is a provider of concentrating solar energy systems. Entech designs, manufactures and installs systems that provide both electricity and thermal energy for commercial and industrial applications. Entech uses its proprietary concentrating photovoltaic and thermal technology to deliver the ThermaVolt system, which produces cost-competitive distributed energy.

Carl Crow of Smith Seckman Reid Earns ASHRAE Certification

Carl Crow, vice president, Smith Seckman Reid.

Carl Crow, vice president with Smith Seckman Reid Inc., a Houston-based engineering design and facility consulting firm, recently earned his high-performance building design professional certification from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

ASHRAE’s certification program identifies individuals who have demonstrated they have the necessary training and tools for the design of high-performance buildings according to their performance capability.

The content of the exam includes sustainability concepts related to HVAC, sustainable processes, environmental improvement programs and rating systems; energy analysis; indoor environment; controls and monitoring; benchmarking with performance metrics; water conservation, commissioning in sustainable construction; and operation and maintenance of high-performance buildings.

A registered professional engineer in 11 states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, Crow is responsible for the management and direction of the education, science and technology design team in SSR’s Houston office.

Gary H. Lantner Named President of HAS Development Corp.

Gary H. Lantner was appointed president of the Houston Airport System  Development Corporation. Lantner, a 40-year airport and airline corporate real estate executive, joins Robert C. White, who has been promoted to vice president of airport services for the HAS Development Corp.; and Sandra C. Gonzalez, who has been promoted to director of business development for the HAS Development Corp.

HAS is a non-profit, Houston-based group, which is affiliated with the Houston Airport System. Its is to export the expertise of those who manage the fourth largest airport system in the United States to those who want to learn from the vast knowledge accumulated within the team of professionals at Houston Airports. To learn more about HAS Development Corporation, go to hasdc.net.

The Houston Airport System served more than 50 million passengers in 2008, ranking as the fourth largest multi-airport system in the U.S. and the sixth largest airport in the world.

Two Speed Fab-Crete General Contractors Earn DBIA Award, Green Certification

David Bloxom, president, Speed-Fab Crete.

Two veteran members of Fort Worth-based Speed Fab-Crete General Contractors gained certification as design-build professionals from the Design-Build Institute of America and as builders from the Delaware Valley Green Building Council.

Ron Hamm and Mitch Hanzik, business development executives, received the Designated Design-Build Professional award. This award recognizes professionals in the construction industry who possess a high level of expertise in the design-build method for delivery of building projects.

The pair also are newly accredited Green Advantage Certified Builders, awarded by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. This means they have knowledge of the latest in environmentally efficient and friendly building technologies. Hamm, who is a co-owner of Speed Fab-Crete, has been with the company 20 years. Hanzik has represented Speed Fab-Crete for 22 years.

DBIA is a national organization founded in 1993 to promote the design-build project delivery method throughout the construction industry. The Southwest chapter, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico, has 200 members.