Follow the Leader

Sheth guides firm with employees in mind

“I want to be able to say that Mead and Hunt was a better place because I was here.” Rajan Sheth

Rajan Sheth never misses a birthday.

For five minutes every day, the president of Mead & Hunt Inc., Madison, stops working and writes out birthday cards. It's a year-round job considering that Mead & Hunt employs about 300 people in 10 offices in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, California, Oregon and Washington, D.C.

But for Sheth, it's time well spent.

"It's fun," he said. "It keeps me in touch because then I hear back from people. Everybody claims we're in the people business. We are, and we don't just say it."
Whether it's clients or employees, Sheth has a keen eye for keeping people happy. It shows in Mead & Hunt's 2003 inclusion in the CE News list of the top 10 civil-engineering firms to work for in the nation. It shows in the fact that Mead & Hunt is employee owned with 25 percent of the employees holding stock in the firm. And it shows in Sheth's understanding that birthday cards are nice, but employees need more.

"We need a formal process to provide opportunities to young people to grow and take leadership," he said. "We have a leadership program here, and that's my pride and joy. One of my goals was to make this one of the best places to work."

Sheth is a working example of the benefits of cultivating leadership.

He grew up in the state of Gujarat, India, and, in 1970, he graduated with a civil-engineering degree from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India. That's when he made the move to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated in 1972 with a master's in civil engineering.

His first design job was what would become the Concourse Hotel in Madison, and shortly after, he joined Barrientos Design & Consulting LLC, where he worked for four years before joining Mead & Hunt in 1977.

Milestones Vogel Bros. Building Co., Madison, celebrated 75 years in the construction industry on Dec. 11. The company's history actually dates back to 1875, when German immigrant George Vogel established a wagon-making and cooperage shop in Madison. Over the years, the company moved into the home-building industry and, in 1928, Vogel's sons, Henry and George Jr., incorporated the firm. ... Carlson Co. Inc., Madison, achieved 869 days of no-loss work time due to work injuries. The company work force of 85 people includes electricians, ornamental metal workers, cabinetmakers and skilled installers who travel throughout the country for work on various projects.

"If you asked me when I joined Mead and Hunt in 1977 if I thought I would be president, my answer would have been no," Sheth said. "But the great thing about Mead & Hunt is we allow people to rise to the challenge. My aptitude was business and how we can make this successful."

Sheth presented his plan for success in 1994, when Leo Bussan, the company's president at the time, stepped down. The company had faith in Sheth's leadership, and he didn't let it down.

"When he stepped down, any one of us could have been president," he said. "One reason I was selected was what I laid down. I said that we can grow and become a national player."

Mead & Hunt has become a national player. It acquired three companies on the West Coast in 2002 and five in other areas since Sheth became president. In 1997, it set a goal to jump from $10 million in billing to $30 million by 2010. The company hit that goal in 2003 and has now set $60 million as its goal for 2009.

But to Sheth, Mead & Hunt's success and his legacy are about more than money, and he takes five minutes every day to prove it.

"I want to be able to say that Mead and Hunt was a better place because I was here," he said.

- Chris Thompson

Cullen goes back to school

Project Name: South Milwaukee New High School Addition and Middle School Remodeling Location: South Milwaukee General Contractor: J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Milwaukee Division Architect: DLR Group, Milwaukee Owner: School District of South Milwaukee Project Cost: $39 million J.P. Cullen & Sons is targeting next summer for completion of its $39 million project in South Milwaukee. The contractor remodeled the high school into a middle school in 59 days last summer.

The Milwaukee division of J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc. is playing to a tough crowd.

When the contractor completes its $39 million project for the School District of South Milwaukee, there are going to be 1,800 students waiting to give a final test to the finished product.

For Cullen, however, the exams started in November 2002 when it kicked off its work constructing a new 310,000-square-foot high school addition and a 205,000-square-foot transformation of the School District's high school into a middle school. The remodeling work consisted of a straightforward list of jobs, but with only the summer break in 2003 to finish the remodel, Cullen didn't have time to think about how straightforward it was.

"We did the whole remodeling in 59 days," said Doug Wait, Cullen's project manager on the job. "Anytime we have a summer remodel, in our industry, we can't be late because the school bus is coming."

Cullen finished the remodel with about a week to spare before the school buses arrived shortly after Labor Day. And now, the company is shooting to complete the larger high school addition project by summer 2004.

That project will give the district's 1,000 high school students a new school complete with a four-station gym, classrooms, a commons and food service kitchen, a library and media center, an attached greenhouse, a 750-person auditorium and departments for music, technology and art.

Straightforward as it may sound, the project tested Cullen early. The footprint for the new high school had once been a ravine, and the material used to fill the gap couldn't support the new structure.

"We learned there wasn't enough bearing capacity for the building," Wait said. "So we excavated trenches under the running footings down to good soil and impacted structural backfill, and then we poured the footings on good backfill. For the interior footings, we dug straight down to good soil and filled with lean concrete."

With a solid foundation in place, Cullen has cruised through the project, employing 165 tradespeople on the site at the job's peak. The project should be winding down in February with about 65 workers on site focusing on casework, hard tile, carpentry and specialties.

- Chris Thompson

By Design It's all about speed for Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc. and Lubar & Co. The Milwaukee architect and its Milwaukee client have set a high-speed schedule for construction of the Port of Milwaukee Ferry Terminal, which will offer high-speed ferry services for the first time since 1970 for passengers and cars traveling between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich. The $3.1 million, 8,000-square-foot terminal and 1,000-square-foot maintenance building on Lincoln Memorial Drive are scheduled for completion in June. General and subcontractor bids were slated to hit the streets in January.

On the Horizon

Architect Douglas A. Gallus, Milwaukee, and Commonwealth Partners LLP, Wauwatosa, are seeking approvals to develop 144 condominiums and 55 duplexes on a 50-acre site near Airport Drive and Cleveland Avenue in Hartford. ... The Burlington Area School District, Stelling & Associates Architects Ltd., Burlington, and general contractor Sherrer Construction Co., Burlington, are working toward a $2.8 million, Feb. 17 referendum to add athletic facilities to the Burlington High School site. ... The Jewish Community Center, Milwaukee, is moving forward with plans to renovate its Whitefish Bay facility and add 42,000 square feet. ... The University of Wisconsin-River Falls and architect HSR Associates Inc., La Crosse, are set to construct a $7.2 million dairy science teaching facility in River Falls. ... Siepmann Realty Corp., Waukesha, is seeking to develop 45 acres of the Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary property into a 17-lot subdivision in Delafield. ... The state Department of Corrections and Venture Architects, Milwaukee, are ready to move on a $3.6 million health-services building at the Oakhill Correctional Institution in Oregon. ... Frye Gillan & Molinaro Architects Ltd., Chicago, and the Waukesha Public Library are gearing up for an addition and space reconfiguration project at the library. ... Developer Gorman & Co. Inc., Madison, is seeking approvals for a $13 million conversion of an old hospital into 100 loft-style apartments on North 22nd Street and West Kilbourn Avenue in Milwaukee. ... Architect Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., Chippewa Falls, and the village of Allouez are ready to move forward with the $4.8 million to $6.1 million construction of a new village hall and public works facility. ... Country Inn Hotel, Pewaukee, and Architectural Design Consultants, Lake Delton, are finalizing plans for a $30 million indoor water park at the hotel. ... The Chippewa Valley Family YMCA, Chippewa Falls, is raising funds for a $2.3 million expansion of its facility under the architectural guidance of SDS Architects Inc., Eau Claire. ... Endeavor Group, Milwaukee, and Inn Development & Management at Beloit Inn, Beloit, are developing a $30 million plan to construct a hotel and separate convention center along Riverwalk in downtown West Bend. ... Marcus Corp.-Theater Division, Milwaukee, and Schroeder & Holt Architects Ltd., Milwaukee, are planning a 36,000-square-foot, 12-screen theater on an 18-acre site on Forester Road in Saukville. ... West Bend Savings Bank, West Bend, is developing plans for a new $2.5 million, 23,000-square-foot bank in the River Corridor Redevelopment Area in West Bend.

Dotted Line

In Memoriam Brett Runde, Cuba City, died Nov. 29 after falling from an extendable work platform on a forklift when the machine tipped over. Runde, 28, was co-owner of Dream Builders LLC, Cuba City. ... John Randal McDonald, an architect who maintained studios in both Whitefish Bay and Boca Raton, Fla., died of an undisclosed cause Dec. 3. McDonald, whose age was not made public, was originally from Milwaukee, and he designed more than 20 homes in the Racine area. ... Robert M. Kueny, Kenosha, died Dec. 16 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Kueny, 72, studied under Frank Lloyd Wright and founded Robert M. Kueny Architects in 1959. Kueny also initiated a partnership in 2000 that created Kueny Architects LLC, Pleasant Prairie.

Michels Pipeline Construction Inc., New Berlin, landed a $4.9 million contract to construct the Hopkins Street near-surface collector sewer for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. ... Frank O. Zeise Construction Co. Inc., Green Bay, won a $2.1 million contract to remodel and expand the state Department of Transportation's District 3 Head-quarters in Green Bay. ... J.F Ahern Co., Fond du Lac, secured a $1.1 million contract from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District for roofing and HVAC replacement at the Jones Island Waste-water Treatment Plant and a $1.2 million contract for a wastewater treatment plant digester rehab for the city of Janesville. ... Earth Inc., Arpin, will construct the 2003 Cranberry Lake Resort Utility project after winning a $1.2 million contract. ... J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville, won a $12.1 million contract to build and renovate campus buildings for Black-hawk Technical College in Janesville and Monroe. ... Bane-Nelson Inc., Kenosha, will build a new fire station for the town of Randall after winning a $1.2 million contract. ... J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Milwaukee, won a $7.2 million combined bid to add classrooms to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School and to renovate Thirty-Fifth Street School for Milwaukee Public Schools. ... River View Construction Inc., Wausau, landed a $1.1 million contract for park work at Miller Park in Marshfield. ... P.A. McGuire Co., Highland, won a $5.8 million bid to construct a new Crawford County administration building in Prairie du Chien. ... Burkhart Construction Corp., Butler, will replace a restroom building at McKinley Marina on Lincoln Memorial Drive in Milwaukee after winning a $1.1 million contract. ... Pieper Electric Inc., Milwaukee, secured a $1.9 million contract to replace a fire-alarm system at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. ... J.C. Basten Construction Co. Inc., Green Bay, won a $1.2 million contract to build a new administration building and remodel existing office space at the state Department of Health and Family Services' Wisconsin Resource Center in Oshkosh. ... Kaelber Co., Kenosha, will install a fire-sprink-ler system at Wells Residence Hall at the UW-Whitewater after winning a $1.4 million contract. ... Kruczek Construction Inc., Green Bay, and Town & Country Electric Inc., Appleton, won bids of $1.3 million and $871,000, respectively, to modify the Suamico Sewer and Water Utility's wastewater-collection system. ... C.D. Smith Construction Co., Fond du Lac, won a $1.3 million contract to remodel the Washington County Jail in West Bend and a $3.2 million contract to construct flocculation and sedimentation facilities for the Sheboygan Water Utility. ... Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, landed an $8 million contract to build a 120-bed skilled nursing facility for the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Retirement Center in Union Grove. Gabe's Construction Co. Inc., Sheboygan, won a $1 million contract to install a fiber-optic network for the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District.

On the Move

The architectural firm La Muro Associates Inc. has moved to 6 Milwaukee Ave. East, Fort Atkinson, from its previous office across the street at 37 Milwaukee Ave. East. The company's phone number is 920-563-6318. ... The Milwaukee division of J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc. has moved to Eastgate Business Center II, 13040 W. Lisbon Ave., Brookfield. The new number is 262-781-4100.

Off the Clock

And they're off. More than 2,000 runners and walkers bolted from the starting line at the beginning of the 18th annual Jingle Bell Run Walk for Arthritis. Laura Cataldo of the AGC team saves enough energy for a quick wave as she heads toward the finish line of the Jingle Bell Run at Vilas Park in Madison. Photos by Chris Thompson

It was slap-your-hands-together-to-get-back-the-feeling and frozen-breath cold at 11 a.m. on Dec. 13.

It was 10 degrees at Vilas Park in Madison, and the breeze off nearby Lake Wingra only made it seem colder.

In other words, it was a great day for a run. At least that's what the 37 people from the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin, Stevens Construction Corp. and Monona Plumbing & Fire Protection must have been thinking.

The teams from AGC and the two Madison companies joined more than 2,000 runners and walkers for the 18th annual Jingle Bell Run Walk for Arthritis, a staple of every second Saturday of December that funnels all proceeds to the Arthritis Foundation.

The 2002 event netted $88,000, and Marjorie Helt, director of the foundation's southwest district, said she expected to top that figure in 2003.

"It says there is a lot of community support, community spirit and people willing to come out for a good cause," she said. "The conditions are never favorable, but people always come out."

The conditions forced some runners to alter their goals for the day. Steve Prahl, a member of the AGC team from Staab Construction, Marshfield, said he just wanted to "keep my fingers warm," and he considered his plans to run the 10K course "the only way to stay warm."

The cold attacked the runners before the race even started. Penny Drager, the team captain for Stevens, pointed out before the race that "my feet are not very happy right now." But fighting the weather must have been worth it for Drager, who walked the 5K course, because she said she's been doing the event on behalf of Stevens for the last seven years.

And when the runners crossed the finish line, the weather was an afterthought.

"I feel good despite the cold," said Laura Cataldo, captain of the AGC team. "I'm glad our team came out and ran."

- Chris Thompson

Your Honor

Best of the Web The U.S. Green Building Council's Web site at www.usgbc.org offers the perfect blend of flash and HTML design. The council is a coalition of members from all aspects of the construction industry promoting environmentally responsible building. The site's slick design separates it from many association Web sites while providing the user with many resources related to green building and sustainable design. - Rick Benedict

Rettler Corp., Stevens Point and Middleton, won the Outstanding Running Track Facility Award from the U.S. Tennis Court and Track Builders Association for Rettler's work on the Richland Center High School Athletic Complex site-development project. Rettler is a landscape architecture and civil-engineering firm. ...Westra Construction Inc., Waupun, won the National Platinum Safety Award from the National Associated Builders and Contractors for the fifth consecutive year. The award process recognizes the best safety programs and work sites in the country. ... The Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry presented its annual Building Milwaukee Award to Gary Grunau, the senior vice president and regional manager of GPD|Gilbane, Milwaukee. The award recognizes efforts by individuals and groups who concentrate on community improvements and assist in the growth of the home-remodeling industry. ... Lambeau Field won the Construction Owners Association of America's Project Leadership Award in the Private Owners Construction Project category. Hammes Company Sports Development Inc., Madison, nominated the project on behalf of the Green Bay Packers, the city of Green Bay and the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District. ... Consolidated Construction Co. Inc., Appleton, won the Merit Team Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin for Consolidated's use of 16 ABC members on the American National Bank project in Appleton. ... The Metropolitan Builders Association named state Sen. Cathy Stepp, who is the co-owner of First Stepp Builders, Racine, as its Builder of the Year for her unique contribution to civic life. The association also named Dave Molenda, owner of Weather-Tek Design Center, Brookfield, the Associate of the Year for his work for the association. James Craig Builders Inc., Wauwatosa, earned MBA's Associate's Choice Award for the company's consistency as a great business partner to the more than 800 associates who are members of MBA. ... The Mechanical Contractors Association of North Central Wisconsin gave $2,000 scholarship awards to Whitney Evers and Kayla Hermsen, both seniors at Little Chute High School.

The Wisconsin Fox Valley Sheet Metal Contractors Association gave $1,000 scholarship awards to Megan Kane, a senior at Denmark High School, Ashley Roth, a senior at Menasha High School, and Daniel Altieri, a University of Wisconsin-Platteville student. ... The Mechanical Contractors Association of Northwest Wisconsin gave $1,000 scholarship awards to Dana Tenpas, a UW-Madison student, and Lindsay Webster of Wisconsin Rapids.