Ground broken for Metairie technology, fine arts center

A groundbreaking and blessing ceremony was held in February for Archbishop Chapelle High School's new Women's Center for Technology and Fine Arts in Metairie. General contractor is F. H. Myers Construction Corp. of Harahan.

After a welcome by Beth Johnson, president of Chapelle High School, the construction team and site were blessed by Rev. William F. Maestri, superintendent, Office of Catholic Schools.

Upon completion, the $3 million project will provide Chapelle High School a soundproof music rehearsal room, art studio, classrooms and an area for students to display their work. The anticipated completion date is in the first quarter of 2006.

"During the past 18 years our firm has enjoyed a long relationship with the Archdiocese of New Orleans and we are very honored to participate in this exciting project," said Fred Myers, president of F. H. Myers.

Turner Industries acquires Jonesboro maintenance company

Turner Industries Group LLC recently announced the acquisition of Industrial Piping and Mechanical Inc. of Jonesboro.

Industrial Piping and Mechanical has had had a continuous maintenance presence in the Smurfit Stone paper mill in Jonesboro and does work in the Weyerhaeuser mills in Campti and Simsboro, as well as the Tifton Aluminum plant in Delhi.

Turner's new location will be used as the operational hub to increase its marketability to facilities in the north Louisiana area.

Ronnie Hemphill, a former owner of Industrial Piping and Mechanical, will stay on with Turner and report to Ronnie Breaux, vice president of the Baton Rouge Maintenance and Turnaround Division. Hemphill will serve as the area representative.

Turner Industries Group has a nearly 12,000-member work force and is consistently ranked in the top 100 contractors in the maintenance, petrochemical and industrial sector by Engineering News-Record.

H&E Equipment Services celebrates grand opening of Houston crane facility

H&E Equipment Services' Crane Division celebrated the grand opening of its new full-service crane facility in Houston. On hand to take part in the event were more than 250 customers, vendors, employees and neighboring businesses.

The event kicked off with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony after which attendees enjoyed a self-guided tour of the facility, exhibits, equipment demonstrations and a VIP southwestern buffet. Guests also experienced the new Manitowoc Crane CARE mobile simulator. Based on the Manitowoc 2250 crane, the simulator allows participants to see just what it's like to get behind the controls of a Manitowoc crane and build their own bridge.

Steve Flood, H&E Houston Crane Branch manager, said, "Crane customers now have a new state-of-the-art facility in Houston that can take care of all their crane needs. We are now better able to continue to provide outstanding rental, sales, parts, service and training for crane customers in the future. The new facility gives us the space, tools and resources we need to keep our competitive edge and demonstrate our commitment to the crane business."

The new store replaces two older facilities, combining both the H&E Houston Manitowoc and Grove dealerships under one roof.

Houston's H&E Equipment Services - Crane Division is the authorized dealer for Manitowoc, Manitex, Grove and Marine Travelift, with capability to service nearly all brands of cranes in the market today.

I-10 project in Jefferson Davis Parish wins NAPA award

The National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA) recently announced the winners of its 2004 Quality in Construction Awards for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement.

Diamond B. Construction Co. LLC of Alexandria and the Louisiana Department of Transportation were recognized for the rubblizing and overlay of I-10 west of the Jefferson Davis Parish Line.

The presentations were made at a special ceremony at the association's 50th Annual Convention "Pavement Paradise" on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The four-lane rural interstate was built quickly, with the contractor finishing the project five days ahead of the 169-day schedule. The 7-mi. road was extremely smooth and met new ride quality specifications.

The Quality in Construction Awards recognize Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavements of excellence.

"NAPA selects the award recipients using a known set of standards that have been shown to give good results," said Charles F. Potts, chairman of the NAPA Board of Directors. "This award demonstrates the high quality of work that the HMA industry is achieving."

Louisiana Associated General Contractors re-installs officers

Lake Charles contractor Courtney A. Fenet Jr. has been re-installed as president of the Louisiana Associated General Contractors Inc., based in Baton Rouge.

Fenet, president of R.E. Heidt Construction Co. of Westlake, is a longtime member of the Louisiana AGC and part of the 700-plus construction businesses comprising the organization. He has been with R.E. Heidt Construction Company for the past 33 years and has served as president for 16 years.

He is a 1968 Louisiana State University graduate with a bachelor's degree in history. After graduation he served in the United States Navy, then began earning his MBA at McNeese University.

Fenet is very active in Louisiana AGC and has served as the Lake Charles AGC district chairman, the Highway Division chairman, as well as serving on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

He has also served on several other construction related boards and committees including the Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Association, the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Board of Governors, National Asphalt Pavement Association, Association of Business and Industry and is now currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce Southwest Louisiana.

He has been married to Sally Garber Fenet for 34 years and has raised four daughters.

Other officers of Louisiana AGC serving in 2005 are Senior Vice President Robert S. Boh, Boh Brothers Construction Co. of New Orleans; Vice President Randy Gilchrist, Gilchrist Construction Co., Alexandria; Treasurer Vic Weston, Tri-State Road Boring Inc. of Baton Rouge; and Immediate Past President Robert P. Billeaud, J.B. Mouton Inc. of Lafayette.

Other board members installed include Chad Juneau, Gilchrist Construction; Steve Moore, Moore Construction of Baton Rouge; Harvey Bessette, Bessette Development of Lake Charles; Freddie Fruge, Fruge Lumber of Lafayette; Clint Graham, Lincoln Builders of Monroe; Bill Doyle, Brice Building of New Orleans; and Charles Harper, James Construction Group, Northwest Louisiana.

GBRIMA becomes GBRIA, refocuses on working with community

The members of the Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Managers Association Inc. (GBRIMA) have approved changing the organization's name to the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA).

GBRIA Executive Director Connie Fabré said the renaming was primarily designed to assist the organization in communicating a broader set of goals and objectives.

"The organization has traditionally focused on construction best practices, safety orientation and craft skills training and now will also act as a unified voice and conduit to the community for local industry," Fabré said. "The members feel that the future growth of the greater Baton Rouge area depends on the ability of our membership to grow and flourish here, and the new name will help us focus on developing a closer partnership with the community."

GBRIMA was founded in 1970 as a committee of the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce but incorporated as a stand-alone organization in 1981. The organization has about 50 member facilities representing the chemicals, paper and petroleum refining industries located in East and West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville, St. James, St. John and St. Landry parishes.

"We're excited about our new name and look forward to GBRIA and the community working together to promote continued success for our region," Fabre noted.

In addition, the board of directors has changed leadership with the retirement of Past Chair Guy Tremblay, plant manager at the ExxonMobil Polyolefins facility in Baton Rouge. The new board chair is Marcus Lewis, plant manager, Rhodia Inc. of Baton Rouge.

Other new officer appointments include a Vice Chair Mike Matlock, Louisiana Operations Site Maintenance Lead, The Dow Chemical Company of Plaquemine; and Secretary/Treasurer Russell Johnson, Zone Operations Manager, Mississippi River Pipeline System, Air Liquide of Geismar.

Other new board members are Earl Wooten, plant manager, Occidental Chemical of Convent; Mike Cohen, vice president and general manager, BASF of Geismar; and Richard Mohring, plant manager, ExxonMobil Polyolefins of Baton Rouge.

Transportation construction market strong in February, latest ARTBA report finds

The transportation construction market continued to show exceptional strength in February, with the value of work performed on projects up nearly 17% over February 2004, according to the top economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

"The $5.4 billion of construction work performed on transportation projects was an all-time record for any February, normally one of the weaker months of the year for transportation construction," said William Buechner, ARTBA's vice president for economics and research.

The data are contained in the association's "Value of Transportation Construction Put in Place" report. Year-to-date through February, more than $10.6 billion in construction work has been performed on transportation projects - 14% more than during the first two months of 2004.

The strongest growth occurred in the two largest transportation markets, highways and airports, up 18% and 26% respectively so far this year, Buechner said.

Established in 1902, ARTBA represents the U.S. transportation construction industry before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, the news media and general public.