Great things are happening at Southern Industrial Constructors and Southern Crane.  We were blessed with record revenues last year and have a steady backlog of work for 2011 and beyond.  Our safety record continues to earn recognition from the N.C. Department of Labor, and nearly every industry association we work with.

Our presence in Raleigh, Wilmington, Columbia and Charlotte allows us to serve the Carolinas and across the Southeast. This enables us to attract the most highly skilled workers, as well as efficiently manage schedules and reduce costs for our customers.

We are excited to have Mark Thomas on board as our new corporate safety and risk manager. Mark is actively involved with our branch safety managers and our insurance relationships.

Mike Torsiello is still in his first year as our chief financial officer and has been instrumental in implementing project controls and reporting systems at all of our locations.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition of our newsletter as we continue to share what makes our organization a leader in industrial construction.

John G. Wilson, President

Mark Thomas graduated with a degree in chemistry and soon realized he wanted something more fast-paced than a lab job.

It didn’t take long to get his wish. Thomas joined Southern Industrial as Corporate Safety Director last November after seven years at Balfour Beatty Construction. Upon his arrival, he was immediately impressed.

“Some situations our guys deal with every day are challenging,” Thomas said. “To see how they solve those challenges and move large equipment through congested areas and into place safely has been nothing short of amazing.”

Thomas grew up in Red Springs, N.C., and spent his summers running a cotton-scouting business. After graduating from UNC-Pembroke, he obtained his master’s in occupational safety from East Carolina University.

“I chose construction because of the opportunity to improve safety on jobsites and the fact that it’s very dynamic by nature,” he said.

At Balfour Beatty, Thomas served as the regional safety manager for the Carolinas. He joined Southern Industrial at the recommendation of previous safety manager, Daniel Erwin. Thomas said he’s pleased to join such a great team.

“Without a doubt, my favorite aspect so far has been the people,” said Thomas. “My first chance to meet staff was at the annual project manager training. I walked into the conference room and four or five project managers immediately introduced themselves. From that moment on, I felt like I was a part of the team.”

Thomas said Southern Industrial has an excellent safety culture in place. One he hopes to impact with new ideas for communication among supervisors and employees that will push the company’s stellar safety record to even higher levels.

“My philosophy is if you’re going to get the best out of your safety program you have to get all workers on the project involved. They make things happen,” he said. “Our supervisors really care about the guys, and we’ll keep reiterating that message so it’s part of everyday life on the job.”

The da Vinci of Rigging

Just because Ted Price, Sr. went into retirement last September doesn’t mean he’s officially leaving Southern Industrial Constructors. You see, he’s been working in machines and rigging since 1957.

Long before Price joined the Southern Industrial family, he was acquainted with Founder Earl Johnson, Jr. Big Earl knew then that Price was a lifer.

You may know him as “Mr. Price” or “Mr. Ted.” Either way, he’s known as an expert. Price was raised in Lancaster, S.C., where he worked in the mills during high school. His uncle was a friend of Cecil Wilhoit, owner of Wilhoit Steel Erector and Rigging, Inc., and a legend in the crane and rigging business.

Price was hired by Wilhoit in 1957 and went about learning to rebuild transmissions, differentials and diesel engines at the welding and fabrication shop.

“I went from one thing to another to learn all the trades of the industry,” Price said. “I was just fascinated by the work.”

He was also taking night classes at Midlands Technical College in Columbia at the time.

Fast-forward to the1970s, Wilhoit’s company owned and operated 116 cranes, covering the east coast from Florida to Maine and west from Texas to Utah. Price and Wilhoit designed and built “Big Red,” a mobile trailer crane whose 420-foot boom length was unheard of at that time. Big Red’s lifting capacity was unprecedented, and Wilhoit claimed it was the largest mobile crane in the world.

The Wilhoit-Price pairing was responsible for constructing some enormous structures back then, including the blast platform at Cape Canaveral, the largest steel structure ever built. At Cape Kennedy, they had the heavy-hearted task of dismantling Launch Pad 34, where the Apollo One astronauts died in a fire.

They also installed two of the world’s largest gantry cranes at the shipyard in Newport News to replace reactors on the U.S.S. Enterprise Aircraft Carrier. The lifting capacity of the larger crane is 600 tons with a 600-foot girder length at 400 feet high. Both cranes are still in use today and so big they can be seen for miles.

Closer to home, Price and Wilhoit erected many large buildings in Columbia, including the Carolina Coliseum and the west side of Williams-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina. Work in uptown Charlotte is still visible today with the 21-story Bankers Trust and the 54-story former Wachovia Corporate Center.

Big Earl affectionately describes Price’s impressive career as “cool, old-school construction.”

“We’re talking Golden Gate Bridge-type work for our region, and they did it from the seat of their pants,” he said. “Those were huge years in construction, changing the face of the world and its cities. And they were fearless in what they did.”

As one can imagine, Price has many good stories and finds it interesting to compare eras.

“You didn’t have much dedication to safety then,” Price said. “Most people didn’t wear hard hats, safety goggles, hard toe shoes, or body harnesses.

“Thank goodness now it’s always good planning and safety first,” he said.

In 1978, Wilhoit relocated to Florida to continue work at Cape Kennedy, so Price started The Crane Company Inc.

“His skills as a crane and rigging professional are unparalleled,” said Big Earl. “There aren’t many people in the world who know what he knows. He physically sketches out everything and goes to painstaking detail to figure out how to do the toughest jobs. He always comes up with something innovative, like Leonardo da Vinci.”

One example is the Thomas Cooper Library in Columbia. It needed new windows, and yet 16 huge, bronze screens that towered 19 feet wide and 25 feet high, stood in the way. Each weighed over 3,900 pounds.

Price designed a cantilever rigging device suspended from a 120-ton crane to connect to the fragile screens, swing them out, and set them down while the windows were repaired.

“Nobody else could have figured it out,” said Big Earl.

Price said that in many cases, you just had to design and build what was needed at any given site.

“There weren’t so many types of equipment available at that time,” he said. “We had to do difficult things and design special rigging apparatus to get the job done.”

Some of his other unique jobs included relocating the U.S. Repeating Arms (maker of Winchester guns) plant from Hangum, Mass. to Columbia, which required hauling 92 tractor-trailer loads of machinery.

His company also relocated a 768,000 pound hopper from Vulcan Materials’ quarry – all in one piece. The hopper was 24 feet wide, 36 feet high and 86 feet long. So big it had to be placed on piers and anchored down.

Though, Price was never one to shy away from tough situations on the job, or off.

In 2007, he rode his Harley-Davidson with The Iron Torch Riders from Fairbanks, Alaska, all the way to Key West, Fla. to raise funds for the Special Olympics. The 21-day trip included one 22-hour day, driving more than 488 miles over the Dalton Highway, which is known as the “Ice Road.”

“That ride on the Dalton was absolutely horrible, dangerous and life-threatening at times,” Price said. “Five of our 43 riders crashed there with injuries such as broken ribs and arms and had to fly home.”

Back in the Carolinas, Price remained friends with Big Earl over all these years.  Sometimes their two companies would even share equipment.

When they merged in 2003, Price said it enabled his team to operate at a new level.

“Southern Industrial is one of the best companies in the state to work for,” said Price. “From the leadership right on down, we’re first-class professional, safety first, and focused on pleasing the customer.”

The Columbia office he started now employs nearly 100 people.

“Mr. Price has unique skills from a lifetime of rigging and crane work. He knows his men, the equipment and the work, and he loves the business,” said Big Earl.

Last September, Price celebrated his 75th birthday by “retiring.” But he still works a couple days each week, gracefully passing on his rigging expertise and wisdom.

“Everything matters,” he said. “My father told me at a young age, ‘Do your work well or you will repeat it in a storm.’ That’s held true all these many years.”

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. Southern Industrial began working with fellow Kings Mountain resident Chemetall Foote Corporation in late October to demolish a three-story, 40,000 square-foot building. A team of 25 worked to strip it down to the metal studs and is now building it back up, expanding it to 60,000 square feet.

“It’s a big job. We don’t normally do general construction, but we know the work and this is the perfect opportunity to show our industrial construction skills and potentially help install electrical and heavy machinery,” said David Currier, general manager.

The demolition phase was completed near the end of last year, which included stripping the roof and siding and cutting into the steel support beams. There were also concrete mezzanine levels on each floor which were removed by crane.

Chemetall, a subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, Inc., is a global producer of organometallic compounds based on lithium, sodium, magnesium, and other elements. These chemicals are used by companies in the photography, electronics, building and pharmaceutical industries.

Demolition work carries with it a serious set of risk factors, according to Currier. He points to Southern Industrial’s morning “Tool Box” safety meeting where staff addresses those specific risks.

“Working safely is our number one concern. When we have several crews performing demolition work on different levels, sometimes above each other, we have to coordinate work and make sure to eliminate risks,” he said.

“In the Tool Box meeting we talk about the hazards of the day, where crews are going to be working, and what to look out for,” said Currier. “It’s important for all jobs, but especially on this one because every day is unique.”

This vigilance has paid off with zero incidents or accidents at this site.

Also worth noting, five new crew members joined the team for the Chemetall project and have stayed on permanently. Currier also mentioned Southern Industrial added 10 crew members out of Greenville, S.C., to help with a project for GE Aviation.

This three-year contract began last fall in which Southern Industrial supports machinery and equipment maintenance there. The Greenville plant produces high-pressure turbine blades used in commercial aircraft engines.

“These projects are great opportunities to work with two premier companies,” Currier said. “They both involve really interesting work for our staffers.”

WILMINGTON, N.C. Southern Industrial has enabled various organizations to become greener recently through a large project at EPCOR, a power-producing company with two plants in the state. EPCOR sells power to the likes of Progress Energy and steam to the likes of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).

As many as 80 Southern Industrial crew members worked to upgrade EPCOR’s emissions equipment, helping them adhere to changing state and federal guidelines.

EPCOR’s plants in Southport and Roxboro had been operating using 80 percent coal, 15 percent tire-derived fuel and 5 percent wood chips. The new emissions rules meant reducing the amount of coal to 30 percent.

The huge changeover took more than a year, starting in summer 2009 and finishing last November.

Southern Industrial Project Manager Rick Worley said EPCOR needed the job done in phases. While that presented some challenges, approaching the process differently enabled them to save the company money on projects at both plants.

“The original plan called for a new dump truck system,” Worley said. “That meant digging a 40-foot pit for the unloading station.In the end, we helped them redesign the electrical system so they could install that unloading system above ground.”

“For us, it was a different approach. But in the end, the customer ended up with a stronger system,” he said.

Southern Industrial celebrates the life of John M. Cornick who passed away May 14. John retired as our chief financial officer while he courageously battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 52, and is survived by his wife Gina Brooks Cornick; daughters Mary Catherine and Macon Louise; sister, Ginny Bauman; and brother, Dr. Jim Cornick.

“While we are heartbroken by the passing of our cherished friend, we remember fondly all that John brought to our lives,” said John G. Wilson, president of Southern Industrial.

John Cornick was born in 1959 in Marion, Va., and loved playing sports while attending Episcopal High School in Alexandria. He went on to graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill. Upon graduation, he moved to Raleigh and met his wife, Gina. John was a devoted husband and father.

His outstanding career as a CPA culminated with his role at Southern Industrial. According to those closest to him, John’s hardest day was when illness forced him to retire.

“He was a wonderful family man and friend to so many,” said Earl Johnson, III.

John enjoyed attending sporting events, playing golf and relaxing vacations at the coast. He was an active member of Edenton Street United Methodist Church.

He battled ALS with great vigor, volunteering to participate in the first U.S. clinical trial for spinal stem cell transplants at Emory Healthcare Spine Center in Atlanta.

He is celebrated as a beloved member of the Southern Industrial and Southern Crane family. Heartfelt prayers remain with his wife, Gina, and daughters, Mary Catherine and Macon Louise.

This landmark hotel was constructed in downtown Raleigh in the 1970s as a Holiday Inn. Architecturally speaking, it is one of only 20 identical hotels across the country built by Holiday Inn.  In this photo, Southern Crane (Carolina Crane at the time) uses its famous “home-made crane” to remove a roof crane that was used to erect this landmark structure. Home-made cranes were common in the industry, back then. If they didn’t make what you needed, you built it yourself!

One of Southern Industrial’s earliest jobs for Carolina Power & Light (now Progress Energy) was receiving and installing GE Turbine Generators at the Cape Fear plant in Moncure, N.C., in the 1970s. This was the first time a “Ringer Crane” was used to make a lift in the state. The Ringer raised the lifting capacity of our 4100 Manitowoc Crawler Crane to 350 tons.

Typical of the 1970s, this was an odd job in Charlotte where a customer wanted to set a train caboose for them to set up shop selling “Groovy Pants” for $5.00. Five bucks was a big sum in the 1970s, believe it or not.

This Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 slid off the runway at RDU airport and got stuck in the mud. Not only that, it happened 10 hours before the Vice President of the U.S. was due to land at RDU. You might think, “No big deal, just land Air force Two on another RDU runway.”  Not so fast. In the 1970s, RDU only had one runway! So, they called Southern Industrial to save the day, and we pulled this plane out of the mud to clear the runway for the Vice President.

In February, Southern Industrial’s beloved founder received a prestigious award from the Triangle Business Journal. Earl Johnson, Jr. was recognized as a 2011 Legacy Leader because of his longstanding commitment to the community and state.

The recognition didn’t stop there for Big Earl as both he and his wife, Margery Scott “Margie” Johnson, were honored by the City of Raleigh when they were inducted into the City’s Hall of Fame. The Johnsons were among 11 individuals and two organizations recognized for generously contributing time, money and effort toward making Raleigh great.

Safety is first and foremost in the minds of all Southern Industrial and Southern Crane employees.  Our team walks the safety talk at every site we occupy. Kudos go out to the entire organization as we near two years and more than two million manhours with no lost time due to worker accidents or injuries.

“Our corporate safety commitment is engrained in the mindset of every employee,” said John Wilson, Southern Industrial’s President.  “This milestone is a salute to the dedication of our staff and the men and women in the field.  Everyone demonstrates a commitment to exacting standards at our work sites.”

With safety such a fundamental value of the organization, the two million manhour threshold is a unique milestone in an industry like ours. According to Wilson, the company intends to continue this success, aiming for another full year without a lost time.

As Fall 2010 approaches, I am very excited to share my thoughts on the direction of our company and the launch of a new communications initiative. Last year was a rock-solid year for Southern Industrial—among the best in our history.

We are on track for another strong year this year.  Considering the economic picture nationally and in the Carolinas, we can all feel extremely proud of this achievement.

The future is particularly bright for our organization, both nationally and in the Southeast.  Each of the markets in which we operate continues to project overall growth.

Southern Industrial and Southern Crane are  well-positioned to utilize our strengths: a strong, satisfied customer base of thousands, a knowledgeable team of professionals, the equipment to perform at the highest levels, and a clear commitment to delivering our client work in a safe, efficient manner. We build on our company’s rich history by delivering such a high level of service in support of our customer relationships.

I am excited to launch our newsletter initiative this month as it enables us to capture the essence of Southern Industrial and Southern Crane, and to keep our teams and customers up-to-speed on developments across company worksites.

Each issue will feature compelling reports on recent projects, interesting customer relationships, and a look into the company’s history over the past five decades.  We anticipate that you will enjoy these stories and find them valuable. Be sure to take a moment to drop me a note with your thoughts, or topics of interest.

Thank you, again, for your tremendous commitment to the success of Southern Industrial and Southern Crane. I am proud of our efforts this year and our company-wide commitment to “Working Together Safely.”

John G. Wilson, President

 

We recently caught up with Ken Milem and Paul Gibson to gather their thoughts on the two-year anniversary of Southern Industrial’s merger with Gibson Industrial Services. Many may not be fully aware of the legacy between the two firms.

On the anniversary of this merger, what better opportunity to reflect on growth at Southern Industrial’s Charlotte office, located in nearby Kings Mountain, N.C.

When he founded Southern Industrial in 1962, Chairman Earl Johnson, Jr., made it his business to acquaint himself with industry players across North Carolina.  Meanwhile, just three years earlier, Paul Gibson was getting started in the business in Charlotte.  It only makes sense they would join forces a quarter century later.

“I’ve known Mr. J since sometime in the 1970s,” said Gibson, who, at the time, was working with McLeod Trucking & Rigging in Charlotte.  “We didn’t talk very often, but we did occasionally.”

It was just happenstance when they first met, he explained.  “In the industry, everybody knows what everybody else is doing.”

Fast-forward a decade to September 1983 when he established Gibson Industrial Services, recruiting Ken Milem to join as partner one year later. It wasn’t long before they became established among the state’s most experienced precision millwright and rigging companies.

“Back then it pretty much just took off. We were a pretty tight group and made a lot of friends, which meant repeat business through word-of-mouth,” said Gibson.

Another period of expansion for Gibson began in the early 1990s as his company acquired equipment and staff from a shuttered textile business in Charlotte.  Working closely with the state’s textile manufacturers went well for the ensuing decade.

According to Gibson, the shift in manufacturing to production overseas meant that his organization had to change as the decade drew to a close.  “Cotton mills and textiles were predominant,” he said. “We did a good job of shifting our focus.”

“We’re a close-knit family,” said his partner, Ken Milem.  “When we started, we would have day jobs moving one machine.  Or, we would relocate a small manufacturing facility with 10 or so truckloads of equipment.”

Gibson flourished as it focused on working with original equipment manufacturers for installations, rigging and alignment projects at their customers’ sites. The company’s millwright and rigging expertise, combined with a close working relationship with Southern Industrial throughout the years, made for an opportunity too good to pass up.

“I don’t remember exactly how it came about.  But, Mr. J mentioned it two or three times back in 2007 or so,” said Gibson. “He called one day. And when it came up again, Ken and I talked about it and did it.”

According to both Gibson and Milem, the resulting merger has been a great experience.

“I’m glad we did it,” said Gibson.  “We’ve been able to keep employees and take care of long-standing customers to the point we’ve actually grown in this region over the past few years.”

Milem added that as Southern Industrial, they can now take on much larger projects that weren’t possible before. “It’s been a positive to know we serve our clients as a well-organized company,” he said.

Both Milem and Gibson mention the benefits of having a comprehensive staff with a responsive sales team, vast knowledge and expertise, and the heavy equipment to get jobs done at an unparalleled level.

“In this economy, it helps to be big and nimble,” said Gibson.

“We can take on a big project.  Where before we didn’t have the capacity,” said Milem. “Now, we know we’ll perform to the best of our abilities.”

The merger opened up new markets, according to Gibson. “We’re able to cover a larger, more comprehensive segment of the work that usually takes place during a massive rigging project,” said Gibson.

Both remarked that it took time for two unique cultures to gel. One downside, according to Gibson, “We now have jobs all over, covering such a big area that you might work with people on one job and not see them for awhile.”

Far-off job sites now include South Korea, Germany as well as other locations in Europe.

“We’ve had staffers on site in England and Holland for months at a time providing turnkey installation,” said Milem. “Mostly working with process machinery that has to be installed and held to strict tolerances, such as in manufacturing, food processing, as well as printing and packaging.”

He believes the team continues to see positive growth for the company as the economy improves.

“We work with Tier One suppliers for the automotive industry,” said Milem. “It’s exciting work since we’re responsible for installing huge machines that fabricate engine and body parts.”

The Charlotte staff is also winding down a project installing a large newspaper press for the Shreveport Times. This new press is faster with more capacity and was moved from Europe to Louisiana to help the Gannett Co. newspaper improve overall productivity.

“Our ability as a world-class organization to handle these types of large-scale installations opens a lot of doors. We’re able to provide rigging, millwright and installation services to original equipment manufacturers across many different industries,” said Milem.

With Paul Gibson now retired, how does this success match the aspirations of the original founder of the Charlotte office?

“Southern Industrial is really excited to be serving and expanding Gibson and Southern Industrial’s combined customer bases,” said David Currier, General Manager of Southern Industrial’s Charlotte Branch.

The Wilmington staff recently completed two huge projects for International Paper, helping the company upgrade infrastructure at its facilities in Reigelwood, N.C., and Georgetown, S.C.

Southern Industrial maintained more than 100 employees on site at each location, working around-the-clock in shifts, 7 days a week. Each project required complete piping and electrical maintenance and upgrades. The tight timeframe was necessary to accomplish the changeout as efficiently as possible to return the paper mills to operation.

The three-week project in Georgetown was completed in March.  The effort in Reigelwood, near Wilmington, also lasted three weeks and was completed in May. This is a tremendous achievement for Southern Industrial staffers in Wilmington.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, S.C., was dedicated in 1814. The church serves as the cathedral parish for the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. At nearly 200 years old, time was catching up to its ceiling rafters. So much so that repairs were necessary to restore its appearance to original condition.

Ted Price and Southern Industrial were called upon to handle the repairs, which required a meticulous approach.  The team managed to erect steel beams throughout the church sanctuary and around the pews to support the ceiling, arch supports, and roof, which were in desperate need of repair.

Restoring the rafters to original condition required precise attention to detail by navigating the steel beams inside the church without causing damage to the historic structure and timeless sanctuary. In fact, all scaffolding was custom-made and installed to enable church services to be held every Sunday in the sanctuary directly beneath the reconstruction project. Trinity Cathedral is now fully restored to its original structural integrity and timeless beauty.

In other Columbia news, Southern Industrial recently relocated 60 truckloads of plant equipment for ZF, a global manufacturer of driveline and chassis technology.  The team has supported ZF in its move from Lancaster, S.C., to Gainesville, Georgia, where it will manufacture wind turbine gear boxes.  This newest facility for ZF opens for operation in 2012 as the company begins manufacturing products for the global wind power and energy industry.

Thousands of visitors enjoy the North Carolina Museum of Art without ever contemplating how the many huge, cherished sculptures find their physical resting place. It took a very special crane company to support one of the world’s most recognizable sculptures. Recently, Southern Crane was tasked with lifting into place “The Thinker” and many other precious sculptures of the featured presentation of Auguste Rodin works at the newly expanded North Carolina Museum of Art.

“We feel this is a great honor to be entrusted with moving into place so many cherished, world-famous works of art,” said Earl Johnson, III, president of Southern Crane.

Visitors to the Art Museum have an entirely new experience within its 164-acre park, which offers a unique blend of art, architecture, and nature.  The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation’s gift of 28 sculptures by Auguste Rodin makes the Museum, located in Raleigh, the largest repository of Rodin sculptures in the Southeastern United States, with 30 works in total.

Southern Industrial and Southern Crane handled the crane and rigging required to install the prized works of art, both inside the new building and outdoors in the specially designed Cantor Garden. “The Thinker” is the most famous and is on two-year loan from Stanford University.

Last year, the company experienced the thrill of lifting into place the massive stage supporting the world’s biggest band.  LiveNation hired Southern Crane to help assemble the stage for U2’s 360 Degree Tour when the band performed in Raleigh.

According to Earl Johnson, III, “The stage took us four days to construct and 48 hours to dismantle and load out.”

The octagon steel structure Bono referred to as his “spaceship” was 90 feet tall, with the center pylon stretching up 180 feet.  The 360-degree video screen weighed 54 tons, with more than one million pixels, and the same square-footage as two tennis courts.

The cranes used inside the stadium consisted of three Grove TMS900E 90-ton units and one Grove TMS9000E 110-ton crane.

“What a thrill for our crane operator teams,” said Johnson. “Remember that all the thousands of pieces have to fit together perfectly, and the job was completed flawlessly.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Need to lift the impossible?  Ask Southern Crane for “The Bear.” The team recently added a 190-ton Liebherr LTM1160-5.1 hydraulic all-terrain crane to its stable of 15 cranes.

According to Earl Johnson III, adding this unique crane fills a void in the Southeast because “it has features that most cranes in its class cannot touch.”

This 190-ton behemoth has the strongest lift capacity in its class and can easily accomplish high-elevation reach and long-radius work. It travels on five axles with a two-axle boom dolly, featuring up to 317 feet of total boom.

The crane is so large and nimble, Johnson said our guys have
nicknamed it “The Bear” to help customers remember it.