The Industrys Newspaper

CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONwww.constructionnews.net Mailing: P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio TX 78279 Dallas/Ft. Worth Fax & Phone (469) 549-4643 April 2005 Vol. 3, No. 4

P.O. Box 791290San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290

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Covering the Industrys News

Texas Style

Bob Moore Construction delivers mega- distribution center

A Garland-based specialty contrac-tor providing sales and installation of fuel and lube systems, Les Gray & Co. Inc. celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

Les Gray, the companys founder and president, was raised in the Texas towns of Heath and Garland. Following his 1960 graduation from Garland High School, Les entered the workforce as an employee of Dallas Exchange Park Bank. That job led him to a very promising future with Southwest Airmotive, which was soon interrupted by a greater calling - an opportunity to serve his country. After a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Naval Air Services, Lesreturned to Garland and went right to work as a lineman for Southwestern Bell Telephone, and later as a quality control technician for Texas Instruments. He

Les Gray & Co. heralds30th anniversary

eventually teamed up with afriend and classmate to purchase a ser-vice station business. I loved the service station business, Les said, even though the hours were very long and demanding. At the time, I was a young married man and our fi rst child was on the way. It was during a dove hunt in 1966 that Les learned of an opportunity to work for a service station equipment supply house. My initial duties included sweeping fl oors, mopping, cleaning toilets, shipping and receiving goods. I started studying fac-tory brochures detailing the equipment that the company sold. After a few months on the job, I felt comfortable in making sales calls. Some of the customers could be very intimidating, and I learned how imperative

L-R: Les Gray, Miguel Osegura, Maxine Gray, Johnny Gaulden,Mary Jane Tate, Antonio Carrillo, Roger McKinley and Mike Warren

continued on Page 16

Developer/owner Logan Dallas As-sociates LP hired Horton, Harley & Carter Inc. as the architect and Bob Moore Construction Inc. as the gen-eral contractor for an 851,025-sf, single-story distribution center project occupied by furniture company Rooms-To-Go. Located in Arlington and costing more than $15 million, the new construc-tion project was completed within an ag-gressive 12-month schedule and includes offi ce, warehouse, and future retail com-ponents, as well as two guardhouses to control building access. The building encompasses interior fl oor space equaling the size of 15 foot-ball fi elds. Its hard to really appreciate the size of this building, said Rooms-To-Go senior project manager Bill Colello. You need to see the aerial photograph to truly get a perspective on just how big it is! The six-inch concrete fl oor, poured in 32 individual pours, was water cured

and poured to specifi c fl atness and level-ness tolerances to accommodate the tenants constant use of forklifts to pick up and retrieve stored materials. The buildings walls are comprised of 194 separate seven-inch-thick concrete tilt-up wall panels, each weighing from 50,000 to 93,000 pounds. Overhead, the expansive built-up asphalt roof is a four-ply unballasted Johns Manville system. Circling the facility are 126 separate loading bays, allowing warehouse em-ployees to load multiple orders onto 18-wheelers simultaneously. The overall site was 1,907,862 sf, which included a detention pond to feed the irri-gation system, said Bob Moore Construc-tions senior project manager Curt Hellen. Fed mainly from rainwater collected from the 19.5-acre roof, the system recycles the pond water and charges the sprinkler sys-tem. In dry months, the pond is charged

continued on Page 16

With a combination of energy, self-admitted perfectionism, and faith in one another, two young structural engineers have recently thrown their hats into the entrepreneurial ring. After considerable planning, John A. Lobsinger P.E. and Cory W. Potts P.E. have formed Lobsinger & Potts Structural Engi-neering Inc. and now hang their collective shingle in southwest Ft. Worth. A graduate of the University of Okla-homa, Lobsinger brings nearly 15 years of structural engineering, estimating and fi eld sales experience to the fi rm. His ten-ure with a leading manufacturer of pre-engineered building systems has provid-ed a diverse background and valuable industry contacts, including Potts. Potts is a graduate of Texas Tech Uni-versity and has been engineering proj-ects in Texas since 1999. With hundreds

Lobsinger and Potts form structural engineering fi rm

of completed projects across the state, he has experience with all types of con-struction on all sizes of projects. Over the past six years with his previous employer, he has established an excellent reputa-tion with builders and architects. We both bring a different set of skills to the table, Lobsinger explained. In do-ing so, we cover each others weaknesses and complement each others strengths. Its also benefi cial that we are good friends and share similar personal and professional val-ues. I believe in his ability to be successful even more than my own. When both part-ners feel that way, youre set. Potts agreed, adding, John has a lot of contacts as a result of his years of ex-perience working with contractors and in the fi eld. The majority of my experience

Structural engineers Cory Potts P.E. and John Lobsinger P.E.

continued on Page 16

Page 2 Dallas/Ft. Worth Construction News Apr 2005

Each year, Austin Commercial invites its employees to an awards dinner to recognize outstanding achieve-ments in jobsite safety. Recently, more than 250 men and women gathered at the Dallas Radisson Hotel to review and exalt the fi rms ac-complishments with regards to safety. The event also featured the annual presentation of Austin Commercials Subcontractor of the Year award, which was presented to the company exhibit-ing superior achievements in workplace production and safety. Austin Commercials safety director, Jesse Cole, presented the coveted award to Baker Drywall Co. Ltd. for the compa-

nys exemplary record on projects per-formed with Austin Commercial as gen-eral contractor. The acknowledged projects includ-ed the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center, the University of North Texas Victory Hall, Dining Facility and Athletic Dormitory, and Marriotts Horse-shoe Bay Resort. With credit going to the commend-able safety programs of both Austin and Baker respectively, the on-site workmen accrued 134,000 man-hours with no re-cordable injuries. Teri Dunn, James Purdy, Tony Bai-ley, Javier Crispin, and Jim Hollis repre-sented Baker Drywall at the event.

L-R: Tony Bailey, James Purdy and Javier Crispin, Baker Drywall Co. Ltd.

GC names Baker DrywallSub-of-the-Year

When the Associated Builders and Con-tractors (ABC) an-nounced the top fi nishers in its 2005 National Craft Champion-ships competition, one ABC-North Texas chapter member was proud to be on the list. Fourth-year HVAC appren-tice David Robert Buckland, an employee of Dyna Ten Ser-vice, a division of Dyna Ten Corp., proved that he is one of the best in the fi eld of construc-tion workers when he garnered his silver-medal fi nish at the associations annual national convention in Orlando, Florida. More than 125 craft profes-sionals competed in 10 different craft areas during this years con-test. Buckland and the other competitors qualifi ed or won previous competitions at the regional level. In Orlando, the competi-tors fi rst took an intense, three-hour written exam and then competed in side-by-side, hands-on building projects. The Craft Championships is always one of the highlights of ABCs national convention, said 2005 ABC national chairman Gary Roden, president and COO of AGUIRRE Corp., Dallas. These craft competitors represent the best-of-the-best in the construction industry. Each year, we are honored to provide these craft professionals the op-portunity to demonstrate their high-quality workmanship, technical knowl-edge and safe work practices. We recog-nize each competitor for their dedication to the industry and craft excellence. The participants proved their exper-tise in carpentry, electrical, fi re sprinkler, HVAC, masonry, millwright, pipefi tting, plumbing, sheet metal and welding. A portion of each participants score was based on his or her reliance on good safety practices and procedures. The ABC National Craft Champion-

ships program was developed in 1987 to help celebrate and recognize craft train-ing in construction careers. The competi-tion evaluates the contestants knowl-edge of the craft as well as their skill and talent. A National Crafts Championships committee made up of leading merit construction fi rms plans throughout the year for the two-day competition. As David Bucklands instructor in HVAC levels II and IV, Ive come to know David as a responsible, hard working, stu-dent, said Mark Hull, TDIndustries. I always tell my students what they get out of this class is a direct refl ection of what they put into it, for they are re-sponsible for their own education. Da-vids recent success at the Craft Champi-onship is a direct refl ection of his effort and commitment to his own education and career, Hull said. At CEF we are proud of Davids accom-plishment and confi dent that he will have an outstanding future in the HVAC industry. Buckland is scheduled to graduate from the Construction Education Foun-dation (CEF) HVAC apprenticeship pro-gram in May 2005.

Buckland wa