Homebuilding Icon Halts Quarterly Dividends

Looking to build capital and liquidity, Centex Corporation keeps eye to the future

HKS Acquires London Firm

Dallas-based HKS Inc. finalized the acquisition of the remaining one-third ownership of London-based RyderHKS International from Ryder Ltd. - a Newcastle architectural firm. The firm will be integrated into HKS’s international operations and renamed HKS Architects Limited.

The office will serve clients throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa offering services including programming, master planning, space planning, interior design, architectural design, construction documents and construction administration as well as structural design, medical planning and environmental graphic design.

Fluor Corp. Opens Alaskan Office, Earns Safety Awards With PS2

Irving-based Fluor Corp. has a presence in Alaska having opened an office in Anchorage with an initial staff of 50 employees to perform engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services for area oil and gas, mining and government sectors.

The office will also serve global interests at other arctic and sub-arctic project sites.

Fluor’s highest profile Alaskan project was the engineering, procurement and construction of the pump stations, remote gate valve sites and marine terminal of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

The firm also announced that its P2S unit of its Global Services Group received 10 awards for “Meritorious Safety Performance” from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association for projects worked on in 2007.

P2S uses a zero-incident policy to encourage employees to practice safety at all times. In 2007, P2S had more than 2 million hours without incident. P2S works at multiple sites for oil and gas clients.

SpawGlass Ranked Top Employer in Houston

Houston-based SpawGlass is the No. 1 “Best Place to Work” list in the “employers with 101 to 500 category” featured in the Houston Business Journal. SpawGlass has been in the top 10 on the list each of the past five years.

An employee survey ranks each firm on events, employee ownership, tuition reimbursement, company-sponsored gym memberships and health-care programs.

Leonard Cherry Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Finalist

Leonard Cherry, owner of Houston-based Cherry, which provides demolition, aggregate supply, stabilized products, and road removal, was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 Award in the Houston & Gulf Coast Area.

The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to business and community. Cherry was selected as a finalist from nearly 400 nominations.

Four Texas Truck Drivers Place in Truck Driving Championships

The Texas Motor Transportation Association honored four Texas truck drivers for their success at the 2008 National Truck Driving Championships held in Houston. More than 370 professional drivers from across the United States took part in the 71st annual “Super Bowl of Safety.”

Drivers who placed at TMTA’s 2008 Texas Truck Driving Championships went on to participate in the nationwide competition, which tested drivers’ skills as well as their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. From 18-wheeler five-axle sleepers to tank trucks to twin trailers - competitors drove a course that recreated a variety of situations truck drivers face daily.

The four Texas drivers who placed at the national championships in specific classes were: Karl R. Bohrer of Wal-Mart Transportation in Katy in first place in the Sleeper Berth Class; Mario Gonzales, Sr. of H-E-B Grocery Co. in Katy in second place in the Straight Truck Class; David Bolden of H-E-B Grocery Co. in Houston in second place for the Tank Truck Class; and Manuel Trevino of FedEx Freight in San Benito in fifth place for the Twin Truck Class.

ARMA Announces Winners of 2007 Accident Prevention Contest

Several Texas firms were among the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association’s annual Accident Prevention Contest. The companies were grouped against plants of comparable size and capacity, and entrants were grouped into four categories.

The ARMA Award of Excellence was awarded to contestants in each category with the lowest ARMA Index averaged over the previous three years’ totals based on criteria developed by the Safety Contest Task Force.

The ARMA Certificate of Achievement went to GAF-ELK Corp. in Irving and Houston and TAMKO Roofing Products of Ennis and Naples.

The ARMA Perfect Index Award was awarded to TAMKO Roofing Products in Ennis; Owens Corning (Asphalt) of Houston and Ennis; and U.S. Intec Inc. of Port Arthur.

Centex Suspends Quarterly Dividend Because of Economic Conditions

In October, the board of directors of Dallas-based Centex Corp. suspended its regular quarterly cash dividend payable on the company's common stock. The firm says the move is “consistent with its strategy of conserving capital and building liquidity during this difficult business environment.”

The decision was made due to deteriorating economic conditions, according to a statement from Centex. Dividends of $0.04 per share declared over the last four quarters represented approximately $20 million. The company says it will continue to weigh alternatives for returning cash to shareholders as economic conditions improve.

Fluor Hanford Wins National Safety Council Award

The National Safety Council recognized Fluor Hanford, a prime contractor at the Department of Energy's nuclear cleanup site in Washington State, with its Robert W. Campbell Award.

The Campbell Award recognizes organizations that demonstrate how integration of environmental, health and safety management into business operations is a cornerstone of their corporate success. Fluor Hanford received the award for corporations with more than 1,000 employees.

Fluor Hanford is a business unit of Irving-based Fluor Corp.

SCS Engineers Acquires RJR Engineering Ltd.

Houston-based SCS Engineers acquired RJR Engineering Ltd. LLP (RJR) through an asset acquisition. Headquartered in Houston, RJR has been an environmental engineering, consulting and construction management firm serving public and private clients.

RJR’s staff has completed several hundred projects for solid-waste engineering, permitting and compliance and construction-related services.

The engineering practice of the new SCS Houston office will include the full range of SCS’s solid waste engineering and consulting – including landfill gas management, greenhouse gas, groundwater and related consulting services.

SHW Group Wins Rice Design Alliance Charrette Competition

Houston-based SHW Group, one of the largest educational architecture firms in the U.S., recently won the Rice Design Alliance 2008 Design Charrette. SHW’s Houston studio and nine other architecture and landscape firms were challenged to design activities and physical solutions to encourage the local community to utilize the 53-mile waterway in Houston. The competition focuses each year on a particular design challenge. This year’s charrette was held in early August by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and the Rice Design Alliance at the School of Architecture at Rice University.

SHW Group was awarded Best in Show and two Honorable Mentions were given to TBG Partners of Austin and a team from Asakura Robinson and Rey de la Reza Architects, both of Houston.

Key Construction Announces New Staff

Fort Worth-based Key Construction Texas LLC named Corbett R. Nichter as its vice president of business development and Robert Akins as senior estimator.
Nichter has been responsible for billions of dollars of construction in the DFW and greater Texas construction markets, leading many project pursuits in the Metroplex, including the $150 million Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. 

Akins has been responsible for preparing reliable estimates for major preconstruction efforts and competitive bids for hundreds of millions of dollars of construction in the Metroplex and around the country. He also has extensive knowledge in LEED projects.

Additionally, Key also added new staff to the Texas Business Unit including superintendents Ross Loughmiller and Bobby Brierton; as well as Shaun Feltner as assistant project manager.

Jen Suddreth Selected Houston BOMA President-Elect for 2009

Jen Suddreth, regional manager for Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, LLC, has been named president-elect of Houston BOMA for 2009. 

As president-elect, Suddreth will serve on the executive committee, a group that considers business questions that arise outside of regularly scheduled board meetings.  Suddreth also will play an active role in the preparation for the 2009 BOMA Southwest Conference that will be hosted by the Houston chapter.

As president-elect, she will be helping prepare event activities such as the education offerings, The Office Building of the Year regional competition awards banquet and the annual regional board meetings. 

Suddreth has been a member of the Houston BOMA board of directors for the past two years and currently serves as treasurer of the board for 2008.  As a director, she is involved with adopting resolutions and policy statements representing the position of Houston BOMA, amending the bylaws of the chapter, and establishing dues and associated fees. 

Suddreth also acts as a representative of the association’s membership. She was also appointed as a member of the Texas State BOMA board of directors for 2008 and will continue to serve in that role through 2009.

Stacey Young Named to the 2009 Top Ten Business Women of ABWA

Stacey Young, P.E., pavement engineer for the Lubbock District, was recently honored by the American Business Women's Association as one of the 2009 Top Ten Business Women of ABWA.

The ABWA Top Ten program honors outstanding members for achieving excellence in career, education and community involvement. Young was nominated by the Lubbock Area Lights Chapter, Texas District 2, of ABWA and has been involved with the organization for 29 years. She is the first candidate in the ABWA's 59-year history to represent Lubbock as a Top Ten recipient. Young was named the 2009 ABWA Lubbock Area Lights Chapter Woman of the Year in March. Young has been an engineer for TxDOT for the past nine years.

Commercial Flooring System Expands Staff, Experiences Record Year

Austin-based Commercial Flooring Systems is expanding its staff to accommodate a record year of more than 55 percent revenue growth.

To accommodate Commercial Flooring Systems’ expansion, the company has plans to add 20 additional professionals and technicians by year’s end. Most recently, the company filled key executive roles with the addition of a new vice president of operations, Edwina Sansom, and tile and stone divisional manager, Glenn Biles.

Commercial Flooring Systems current projects include: Dimensional Funds, Austonian, Lance Armstrong Foundation Headquarters and St. David’s Hospital.

Road Machinery Acquires Shanahan Equipment

Phoenix-based Road Machinery LLC acquired the assets of Shanahan Equipment, the Komatsu distributor for northern California. Road Machinery is the exclusive distributor for Komatsu equipment in Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas and southern California.

Terms of the acquisition were not announced. Road Machinery has relocated all of the former Shanahan operations to new facilities in Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield and Redding. Road is currently in the process of selecting locations in the San Francisco Bay area. Each branch will carry the full line of Komatsu construction, mining, utility and forestry equipment and will offer quick parts availability plus the full range of shop and field services

Suddreth also acts as a representative of the association’s membership. She was also appointed as a member of the Texas State BOMA board of directors for 2008 and will continue to serve in that role through 2009.