Pacific Builder and Engineer articles from February 2009

Pacific Builder and Engineer archives from February 2009

Industry Watch.
February 2, 2009... Staff Billings, MT -- Titan Machinery, Fargo, N.D., has signed an agreement to acquire Western Plains Machinery Co. and WP Rentals, adding nine construction equipment locations in Montana and Wyoming. Western Plains Machinery was...

Control Contractors Adds Account Executive.
February 2, 2009... Staff Seattle-- Control Contractors has hired Vik Duggal as an account executive in its construction group. Duggal has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and has five years of experience in...

New Project Manager Joins Schuchart.
February 2, 2009... Staff Seattle-- Schuchart Corp. recently hired Lee Zulch as a project manager for the general contractor. Zulch, who earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Stanford University, has more than 25 years of commercial construction...

Two Vice Presidents Join Hill International.
February 2, 2009... Staff Bellevue, WA-- Lou Graving has joined Hill International as vice president in charge of business development in the Northwest region. Graving has nearly 30 years of public and private construction experience. In Richland,...

New Products.
February 2, 2009... Staff Missoula, MT-- Komatsu America Corp. has introduced the D31EX-22 and D31PX-22 crawler dozers. Equipped with Komatsu's Hydrostatic Transmission, these machines are designed for work in general construction, site preparation, home...

Contract Administration Winners Announced.(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Staff Olympia-- The Washington Department of Transportation and the Associated General Contractors of Washington honored the winners of the 2008 Partnership for Excellence in Contract Administration competition at an awards ceremony in...

Bids for University Link Favor Sound Transit.
February 2, 2009... Staff Seattle-- The University Link light rail extension moved closer to construction recently when six bids on the first major construction contract came in below cost estimates. Condon Johnson & Associates Inc. is the apparent low...

Intense Construction Season Upcoming for Puget Sound.
February 2, 2009... Staff Olympia-- The Washington State Department of Transportation is starting its 2009 construction season in February, a month or more earlier than normal, because of the volume and complexity of work to be completed in the Central Puget...

Online Construction Project Lead Service Launched.(Reed Construction Data)(Brief article)
February 2, 2009... Staff Norcross, GA-- Reed Construction Data, parent company of Associated Construction Publications, has announced the launch of SmartLeads, its first construction project lead service that gives users unlimited access to summary-level...

CEC Executive Earns LEED Certification.
February 2, 2009... Staff Tacoma-- Tom Knutson, director of preconstruction services at Construction Enterprises & Contractors, recently earned LEED accreditation from Green Building Certification Institute, an adjunct of the U.S. Green Building Council. He...

Changes at the Top for GLY Construction.
February 2, 2009... Staff Bellevue, WA-- GLY Construction recently completed a series of leadership changes. Jim Karambeles , vice president since 2005, was promoted to president. He replaces Lee Kilcup , who now serves as chief executive officer and...

Website Founder Joins JE Dunn Construction.
February 2, 2009... Staff Kirkland, WA-- Kip Spencer has joined JE Dunn Construction as director of business development for the Puget Sound region. Spencer, co-founder of OfficeSpace.com with 18 years of commercial real estate experience, will focus on...

Westchester Lagoon Project.
February 2, 2009... Story by Gene Storm Contractor Faces Unusual Challenges in Anchorage Chester Creek flows through the heart of Anchorage from its headwaters high in the Chugach Mountains east of the city. Near its terminus it supplies a controlled...

Officials Agree on $4-Billion Seattle Tunnel.
February 16, 2009... Staff Seattle-- Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims, and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels have announced their recommendation to replace the central waterfront portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall. The...

ACEC Announces New Staff.(American Council of Engineering Companies of Washington appoints Michael Bull )(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Bellevue, WA-- The American Council of Engineering Companies of Washington has hired Michael Bull as communications coordinator. He will assist with all communications including the website, newsletters and event announcements as...

Northwest Landscapers Honored by Case.
February 16, 2009... Staff Racine, WI-- Case Construction Equipment named two Northwesterners among the finalists for the "Landscaper of the Year" award. The Landscaper of the Year program, sponsored by Case, recognizes the top 12 landscapers from across...

Kopczynski Joins PTI Board of Directors.
February 16, 2009... Staff Bellevue, WA-- The Post-Tensioning Institute, a nonprofit organization for the advancement of post-tensioned concrete design and construction, has announced the election of new board members and the slate of officers. Among...

Fire-Lite Expands Representation.(Fire Lite Alarms Inc. appoints Leon Parks )(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Northford, CT-- Fire-Lite Alarms has expanded its sales force with the hiring of Leon Parks to cover the Northwest and Mountain states. In his role as regional sales manager, Parks will provide Fire-Lite dealer and distributor...

ABC National Finalist from Washington.
February 16, 2009... Staff Washington, D.C.-- A Washington man is among the six finalists for Associated Builders and Contractors' 2009 Craft Professional of the Year award. One will be chosen Feb. 28 as ABC's Craft Professional of the Year at ABC's National...

Industry Watch.(Pape Group Inc. acquires three Bobcat dealerships)
February 16, 2009... Staff Eugene, OR -- The Pape Group has acquired assets of three Bobcat dealerships, which it will add to its Bobcat West locations. The acquisition includes dealerships in Portland and Hubbard, OR, and Reno, NV. The purchases, which closed...

People.
February 16, 2009... Staff Vancouver, WA -- Bob Kennett, 62, died Dec. 12, 2008. A well-known manufacturers' representative to those in the rental industry in the Pacific Northwest, he was president of Bob Kennett & Associates and worked out of the main office...

New Products.
February 16, 2009... Staff Eugene, OR -- Pape Machinery Inc. has added Camoplast as a new allied vendor. Camoplast manufactures specialized rubber track undercarriage components, sub-systems and assemblies for the world's leading off-road vehicles. ...

Oregon Contractor Settles Cases with State.
February 16, 2009... Staff Salem-- The state of Oregon and Ross Bros. & Co. Inc., of Brooks, OR, reached a settlement on two legal cases Jan. 9; one involving a construction claim by Ross against ODOT and the other a racketeering case against Ross Bros....

Bidding More Competitive for Juneau Projects.(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Juneau-- Construction contractors are submitting more competitive bids for projects below engineers' estimates in Alaska's capital, city officials report. Rorie Watt, Juneau's director of engineering, cited as an example a...

Survey Will Help Develop Bicycle/Pedestrian Mobility Plan.(Idaho Transportation Department's Division of Public Transportation)(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Boise-- The Idaho Transportation Department's Division of Public Transportation has embarked on an initiative to create Idaho's first statewide vision and mobility plan for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Division of Public...

Mechanical Contractors Get New Leader.
February 16, 2009... Staff Seattle-- Ed Kommers has assumed leadership duties at the Mechanical Contractors Association of Washington. Kommers has been with the association, which represents union plumbing, pipefitting and HVAC contractors, since October....

GHEMM Co-Founder Passes Away.(Harvey Marlin Jr.)(Obituary)(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Palm Desert, CA-- Harvey Marlin Jr. , one of the original partners of GHEMM Co., died in November at an assisted living home in Palm Desert. He was 90 years old. Marlin co-founded his construction firm with four Fairbanks friends...

Miller Promoted to Marketing Post.(Tracy Miller)(Brief article)
February 16, 2009... Staff Seattle-- WHPacific has a new corporate director of marketing. Tracy Miller , a marketing and business development specialist with more than 18 years of experience in the A/E industry, was formerly director of marketing for the...

Peterson Earns National Certification.
February 16, 2009... Staff Boise-- Eric Peterson , vice president of business development and head of preconstruction services at Contractors Northwest Inc., recently earned national certification as a sustainable building advisor.

Meuleman Joins Boise Law Firm.
February 16, 2009... Staff Boise-- Meuleman Mollerup, a law firm focused on construction, real estate and commercial litigation, has hired Joe Meuleman as an associate. Meuleman will concentrate in the areas of construction law and commercial litigation....

How Association Memberships Pay Off.
February 16, 2009... By Carl Molesworth Times are tight out there. Even if you're a contractor fortunate enough to have a lot of work backlogged, you have to keep a sharp eye on the incoming bills to hold down unnecessary expenses and hold up the bottom line....

Asphalt Outlook Improves.
February 16, 2009... Story by Carl Molesworth Insiders Expect Stable Prices and Supply in Northwest The economic downturn and a drop in the price of asphalt binder should combine to make the upcoming construction season somewhat different from 2008 for...

Camas Plays It Safe.
February 16, 2009... Staff Standby Power Generators Add Reliability, Easy Maintenance Like many expanding suburbs, Camas, WA, faced the problem of how to update an aging infrastructure -- in particular, its sewage collection system -- to meet the needs of...