(Clockwise from left) Findorff Site Superintendent Scott Marshall, Waukesha Mayor Carol Lombardi, Project Manager Eric Wynn and Metro Transit Director Bob Johnson take a tour of the Metro Transit Transfer Terminal.

Findorff keeps materials in transit

J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. is living in a material world.

The general contractor's Milwaukee office is juggling structural steel, masonry, precast concrete, precast spandrels, limestone veneer, decorative stained-color concrete, custom aluminum canopies, exterior metal cladding, composite metal panels and aluminum curtain walls in an effort to construct the Waukesha Metro Transit's new transfer terminal at 212 E. St. Paul Ave.

"One unique feature of the project is a large curtain wall/rain screen located at the terminal," said Eric Wynn, Findorff's project manager for the job. "It also has custom aluminum canopies surrounding the entire terminal. The bus drop-off area is all decorative stained-color concrete."

When it's done, the new bus terminal will boast three stories covering 164,000 square feet and a two-level parking deck with capacity for 459 parking stalls and an option for future vertical expansion, Wynn said.

"The variety of materials involved in this project is the biggest challenge, and the way they tie in definitely creates a unique structure," he said. "From them all interacting with each other, there are a lot of challenges with layout, dimensions and reactions, and how it all comes together."

But before Findorff could worry about striking the perfect balance of materials, it had to focus on building a solid foundation when the job started in August. Wynn said poor soil conditions forced Findorff to pound in 680 steel H-piles 20 feet into the ground to give the structure good stability.

"That took up the first three to four weeks of the project," he said. "After that, we spent basically four weeks working with cast-in-place concrete foundations. Then, after that, it was a combination of structural steel and masonry put in place."

Despite the challenges presented by a smorgasbord of materials, Wynn said the $12 million project is right on track for an August 2004 completion. By late February, he said, Findorff should be 50 percent to 75 percent done with the precast portion of the parking ramp and nearly 50 percent complete with the project's aluminum curtain-wall system.

"I'd say it's gone very smoothly to date," Wynn said. "We're right on schedule, and everything is coming together through many coordination meetings."

- Chris Thompson

---------

Peer review

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS

Anderson leads Ruekert/Mielke's drafting team

“I've enjoyed this job from the day I started.” Tim Anderson

There was a time when Tim Anderson could make a drafting pencil sing.

He had a talent on the boards. In 1992, he won a state manual drafting competition and took third nationally. He was in his last year at Waukesha County Technical College, but he was competing against drafters who owned their own companies.

Around that same time, Anderson took his pencil to the boards at Ruekert/Mielke's Waukesha offices. It was a great opportunity. He learned more about drafting projects for an engineering company, and he was able to earn college credits through WCTC's co-op internship program.

"I was gung-ho about coming in here and working and learning," Anderson said. "I've enjoyed this job from the day I started."

When his co-op ended, Anderson stayed with Ruekert/Mielke, manually drafting projects for the next three years. But in 1995, it all changed. The company asked Anderson to give up his pencil for a computer keyboard.

He agreed because it was a logical decision to make. He had a degree in architectural drafting/construction technology, and he was trained in Computer-Aided Drafting and Design. But it was still a hard decision.

"In CADD, it wouldn't stand out as much because everything looked the same," Anderson said. "It was intimidating, but I wanted to do it. I needed to take that jump. I

I lost that touch, but (CADD) was the future. Every day, technology changes here, and you've got to stay on top of it."

Anderson has made a habit of finding opportunity in change. His career actually started in a paper mill in Otsego, Mich., but when the company changed its mind about doing business, Anderson took advantage.

"I went to work one day, and the doors were shut," he said. "That was my opportunity to go back to school."

So when Ruekert/Mielke asked Anderson to make a change, he not only accepted the challenge, but he found himself elevated to civil/municipal CADD/ drafting supervisor just four years later.

And since he took over the position in 1999, he's expanded his department, returning to the WCTC's co-op program that he used to his advantage when he got started with the company. Since 1997, Anderson has hired seven co-ops, five of whom continued on with Ruekert/Mielke once they graduated.

Anderson's work with WCTC students recently earned him a place in the Co-Op Hall of Fame, and while he's honored by the recognition, he remains focused on what those students can do for his department.

"Maybe I saw the benefits that it gave me, and now I can give those opportunities," he said. "But I want to get somebody in here, a fresh mind, who I can train to the company's standards."

It's an opportunity that carries a lot of work. Anderson's staff supports 31 engineers from across the company's spectrum of specialties. Those engineers have an average of about 20 projects at any given time, and Anderson's team creates computer-generated "shells," or drafts, of proposed projects based on survey data collected from the field.

Those drafts lay the groundwork for bidding and set a baseline for the quality of work Ruekert/Mielke ultimately generates. It's an endless flow of work, but Anderson isn't complaining.

"It never stops," he said. "One of the good parts of my job is I don't have to look for work."

- Chris Thompson

Dotted Line

CG Schmidt Construction, Milwaukee, signed on to construct the 70,000-square-foot Deloitte & Touche LLP offices in Cathedral Place on Wells and Jackson streets in Milwaukee. ... Pier Wisconsin, Milwaukee, selected HGA Inc., Milwaukee, to complete the design of the Fresh Water Education Center in Milwaukee. ... The Selmer Co. Inc., Green Bay, won a $2.8 million contract from the city of Oshkosh to construct a standby power system and a SCADA upgrade at the city's wastewater treatment plant. ... Beyer Construction, New Berlin, will handle the latest construction project for the North Shore Country Club in Mequon after recently winning a contract for the job. ... Van Straten Construction, Green Bay, won a $1.4 million contract to construct the Godfrey Drive sanitary-sewer, water-main and storm-sewer extension in Waupaca. ... J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville, won a contract to build a $14 million addition to Cardinal Stritch University's Bonaventure Hall, and Cullen won a contract to build the $6.6 million, 51,000-square-foot Group Health Cooperative Fitchburg Clinic. ... Brown & Caldwell, Milwaukee, and Rust/Harza a Joint Venture, Milwaukee, each landed a $1.2 million contract for preliminary engineering services on the Port Washington relief sewer and the West Wisconsin Avenue relief sewer in Milwaukee. ... Iverson & Sons LLC, Stoughton, will construct a new landfill for the city of Janesville after winning a $1.9 million contract for the job. ... Super Excavators Inc., Menomonee Falls, won an $8.1 million contract from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to construct the south interceptor sewer in Oak Creek. ... Michels Pipeline Construction Inc., New Berlin, secured a $4.5 million contract to construct the First Street siphon improvement job in Milwaukee. ... Butters-Fetting Co. Inc., Milwaukee, won a $1.9 million contract for mechanical, plumbing and fire protection work on the C concourse expansion project at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Pieper Electric Inc., Milwaukee, won a $2.2 million contract to perform electrical work on the job. ... Ruekert/Mielke, Waukesha, signed on to development the city of Greenfield's Geographic Information System Web application, which will provide a database of infrastructure, property and zoning information. ... C.D. Smith Construction Co., Fond du Lac, won a $9.8 million contract to construct a new residence hall for the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie. KBK Services Inc., Ashland, won a $1.5 million contract for HVAC work on the project, and B&B Electric Inc., Eau Claire, won a $1.8 million contract for electrical work on the same job.

Off the Clock

Jumping for joy

Matt McClone takes his first step into the 400-foot Mary's Gash in Moab, Utah.

In 1998, at the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia, Matt McClone answered a question asked by generations of parents: If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?

McClone jumped.

Two years later, he jumped off a 3,000-foot cliff in Norway. In the years following that, he jumped into the 1,000-foot depths of Sotano de la Golandrians (Cave of the Swallows) in Mexico, and, in 2003, he became the fourth person in the world to jump from the 2,800-foot El Gigante cliffs in the Copper Canyon of Mexico.

To date, McClone, 25, has completed 200 Building Antenna Spans and Earth jumps. That's on top of the 1,100 times he's jumped out of airplanes.

"Sometimes I can't find a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon," said McClone, who is the marketing director for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin. "I like it because it's very responsible for my character, for the person I am. I'm not a traditionally athletic person. I fall.

McClone prepares for a jump at Mary's Gash in Utah.

"But I have a three-dimensional playground that's only limited by time. It takes balance and symmetry. I really had to learn stability and control."

McClone first fell from an airplane in 1996 when he decided to give skydiving a try.

"I was terrified, but I kept coming back irregularly for the first year to decide if it was something I could do," he said. "It took two to three years and 400 jumps to learn it gives me so much more than the physical aspect. It's a creative, poetic, artistic expression."

It's a form of expression that's taken him across the United States and all around the world for B.A.S.E. jumps. It's also kept him traveling from Madison to Shiocton, where he teaches skydiving at Wolf River Skydivers on weekends in the spring and summer.

"If I had turned left instead of right on the day I decided to skydive, I never would have seen all of these awe-inspiring places around the world," he said.

- Chris Thompson

On the Horizon

The Milwaukee County Department of Public Works is budgeting funds to cover an estimated $3.3 million roof replacement at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on North Ninth Street in Milwaukee. ... The town of Summit and engineer Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik & Associates Inc., Mequon, are planning for a $2.4 million park development on a 77-acre site along Genesee Lake Road in Summit. ... The University of Wisconsin System is considering a $2.2 million addition to the Hunt Arena/Knowles Physical Education-Recreation Center at UW-River Falls. ... Viterbo College and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse plan to build a $7.5 million joint recreational center on Viterbo's campus in La Crosse. ... Frye Gillan & Molinaro Architects Ltd., Chicago, is working with the Lake Geneva Public Library on a $6 million expansion plan that would add 16,000 square feet to the facility on West Main Street in Lake Geneva, and the firm is working with the Delafield Public Library on plans for a new 20,000-square-foot library on Main Street in Delafield. ... MSA Professional Services Inc., Beaver Dam, is developing plans for a $55 million regional distribution center and warehouse for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Beaver Dam. ... Architect Strand Associates Inc., Madison, and the Lake Mills Fire Department are working on plans to expand the department's facility on Water Street. ... Architect Flad & Associates Inc., Madison, and the Middleton Community Church are developing plans to build a 12,700-square-foot church on Old Sauk Road in Middleton. ... The Wisconsin State Fair Park Board is seeking an architect or engineer to develop a $1.4 million improvement project for the infield and grandstand at State Fair Park in Milwaukee.

Best of the Web Check out www.skyscrapers.com for the largest database of skyscraper-related information on the Internet. With a huge expansion coming in the near future, this site isn't to be missed. One extremely cool feature the site offers is the ability to click on a city to find an automatic rendering of that city's skyline. - Rick Benedict

Your Honor

Kahler Slater Architects Inc., Milwaukee, won honorable mention in the Acute Care Facilities category of the 2003 Healthcare Environment Awards Competition for its work on the Aurora Women's Pavilion at West Allis Memorial Hospital in West Allis. Kahler Slater also won a Project of the Year Award from Midwest Construction magazine for the firm's design of the Marquette University School of Dentistry in Milwaukee. ... Vinton Construction Co. Inc., Manitowoc, and OMNNI Associates Inc., Appleton, won a Municipal Street & Intersection Award from the American Concrete Pavement Association for their work on the College Avenue reconstruction and streetscape project in Appleton. ... The Madison Area Builders Association named Debbie Gille of Loren Imhoff Homebuilder Inc., Middleton, the MABA Builder of the Year, Kurt Stauffacher of FireSide Hearth & Home, Madison, the MABA Associate of the Year, Matt Harms of Ritter Insurance Agency, Sun Prairie, the MABA New Member of the Year, David Simon of Veridian Homes LLC, Madison, the MABA Green Built Supporter of the Year and Jim Hottmann of Hottmann Construction Co. Inc., Madison, the recipient of the President's Award. ... Northeast Asphalt Inc., Greenville, won the state Department of Transportation's Outstanding Asphalt Paving Job Award for work on the Highway 49 resurfacing in Green Lake and Waushara counties. Trierweiler Construction and Supply Co., Marshfield, won WisDOT's Excellence in Concrete Paving Award for work on the Highway 10 and Highway 45 expansion in Winnebago County. H. James & Sons Inc., Fennimore, won the Outstanding Grading Project Award for work on the Highway 151 expansion in Lafayette County. Edward Kraemer & Sons Inc., Plain, won the Outstanding Structure Under $1 million Award and the Outstanding Structure Over $1 million Award for two bridge projects in Vernon County. ... The Boldt Company, Appleton, recently won several awards from the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin. Oscar C. Boldt, chairman of The Boldt Group, won the Wisconsin Horizon Award for his positive impact on the state's construction industry. The company won a New Construction Award for the Marquette University School of Dentistry in Milwaukee and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton. The company also won the Design/Build Award and the Environmental Excellence Award for construction of its Wisconsin River Valley Office in Stevens Point. ... Riley Construction Co., Kenosha, won the Industrial Build-to-Suit of the Year Award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties for the com-pany's work on the Volkswagen Midwest Parts Distribution Center in Pleasant Prairie. ... David Vogel, chairman of Vogel Bros. Building Co., Madison, won a Community Service Award from AGC of Wisconsin for his contributions to the community beyond the normal course of business. ... Wisconsin Window Sales Inc., Waukesha, won the Distributor of the Year Award from the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for the company's commitment to the community, remodeling industry and NARI.