Covering the Industry’s News
P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290
Texas Style
PRSRT. STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT #1451
Change Service Requested
San Antonio H Austin Dallas/Fort Worth H Houston
Dallas/Fort Worth
CONSTRUCTION
™
The Industry’s Newspaper www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 17 H Number 1 H JANUARY 2019
T
A good night’s rest
Tiger goes and gets ‘em
L-R: Michael Zatopek, Liz Zatopek and Vickie Jones of Light Gauge Solutions
Mary and Arturo Magdaleno, owners of Tiger Painting and Remodeling
he next time you’re staying in a hotel, ask yourself: “Is this thing going to collapse on me while I’m sleeping?” If Liz Zatopek and her team at Light Gauge Solutions made it, you can sleep well. It won’t fall down. Light Gauge Solutions produces steel framing for load-bearing walls and trusses, mostly for commercial structures. It has done a lot of hotels. Liz’s background, interestingly, was not in construction, but software engineering and testing. “I didn’t have any,” she laughs, when discussing her background. When she had her two kids, she took time off to be the mom. Once her son, Michael Zatopek, graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology, fabricated products in Juarez, Mexico provided
S
an opportunity to get into this business. “I’ve always been interested in architecture, engineering and construction,” Liz said. When this opportunity came up in Juarez, she and Michael decided to form Light Gauge Solutions in 2005. She was now in the light gauge framing business. When she started the company, Liz rented out a warehouse, bought their first roll former and a forklift. “The learning curve was steep,” she said. Liz had to learn how to build and bid projects and the industry lingo and culture. Fortunately, she had plenty of assistance from mentors who guided her and double-checked her work. Vickie Jones came on board in 2008 and provides invaluable business savvy continued on Page 16
W
hen Mary Magdaleno and her husband Arturo Magdaleno were thinking of a name for their company, they wanted to reference something unique but they also wished to highlight something they both appreciated as a couple. “As my husband and I were thinking of a business name, we realized we both love tigers,” Mary explains. “They are very graceful creatures and they have beautiful colors as well. So we decided to name it Tiger Painting and Remodeling.” Pretty colors and moving through the construction industry with grace is something with which the couple is familiar. It began with Arturo, who passed his expertise on to his family after working for contractors over the years.
“Arturo was working for painting contractors and he taught me and our son Arthur how to paint,” Mary says of their beginnings in the industry. “We started in a new subdivision painting the interior and exterior of residential construction in 1994. In 1997, we started honing our skills in the remodeling business. We have moved from just painting to complete remodeling for light commercial and residential projects. We come in and gut the structure out and redo it all.” Arthur is now 21 and helps his parents in the business, along with five employees that include plumbing and electrical guru Diony Flores and supervisor Johanna Cervantes. The couple still rolls continued on Page 16
Futures begin at an early age
ince 1959, Bartlett Cocke General Contractors (BCGC) has been on the cutting edge of construction. Founded by Bartlett Cocke, Jr., they have grown from a single-person owner/ operator construction company to become one of the largest, most respected and trusted employee-owned general contractors in Texas. With five regional offices throughout the state, BCGC focuses on producing higher purpose facilities that deliver the greatest possible value to the communities they serve. With nearly six decades of satisfied clients that can attest to their successful track record of safety, timely completion, cost savings and quality, their commitment to building lasting relationships with their clients remains a top priority. While BCGC has a large following of private clients, the majority of their work is in the public sector. Because BCGC has
worked with more than 60 independent school districts across the state, Mansfield Independent School District had no hesitation in selecting Bartlett Cocke General Contractors to build the new Dr. Sarah Jandrucko Academy for Early Learners. The 54,000sf new facility took 12 months to complete at a cost of $17 million. Structural steel, precast concrete, masonry, insulated concrete formwork (ICF), storefront glazing and drywall were the primary construction materials used for the Early Literacy Center for children 3 to 4 years of age. Project Manager Katie Hill and Superintendent Justin Ashcraft faced several challenges during the construction process. The 2018 weather in North Texas posed a conundrum for every new construction project across the Metroplex. The unprecedented rains shortened the timeframe for almost every project that Mansfield ISD’s Dr. Sarah Jandrucko Academy for Early Learners
continued on Page 16