The Rambler visa via S. Johnson

Work at the former Kenosha Inn is finally back up and running after our workers discovered non-abated asbestos. The “hot” material has been properly abated allowing demolition to advance.

The façade removal at the Renaissance Shell continues to move along successfully – this is another project hampered by unknown asbestos discovered during the project. It is essential that demolition firms ensure that their work force is properly trained in asbestos awareness so as not to danger workers, the immediate public, and environment. While these situations are frustrating to owners, the best practices of any reliable company should have an established proactive “safety always” mentality.

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is preparing to mobilize for a City of Monona project; a commercial property and residential structure will be demolished. The two structures have been properly abated of all environmental hazards and we are awaiting utility disconnects and final demolition permits to be issued.

The seasonal nature of our work is apparent for this time of year. Bid opportunities are starting to gain momentum. An encouraging note is the uptick in private work. We are sitting on over 2 million square feet of private bid prospects with optimistic words from the owners only to recognize the tiring mantra repeated over the last three years – “ check back in another 30 days. . .management is trying to determine the best course of action. . .any day now we should have the go ahead….” Ad nauseum.

Certainly, the key decision makers are tasking away at a strategy to maximize the allocation of every penny. Even when a project warrants the ability to be performed pro bono, clients’ synaptic nerves begin toying with the notion that they are sitting on a literal gold mine. The revelry reaches a hypnotic pulse when you actually have the ability to buy the job.

Lost in translation is the owners’ ability to recognize the special circumstances surrounding such rare opportunities in the current market. The fluctuation of key commodity pricing is a compelling area few understand – how well can one forecast where diesel prices will go? Steel, copper, and other precious metal pricing is often contingent on what we can promise to our buyer within an allotted time to maximize return. What we get for structured steel is not necessarily what another contractor would garner due to our long standing relationships. Timing is everything – an offer to perform demolition for free, given a variety of factors, can easily turn into a million dollar bill when a prospective client becomes gluttonous in the merriment of fictitious fortunes.

My good friend Mark Anthony over at Demolition News continues to record and report the nauseous bid spreads that continue to defile our industry in the US. Over the years, I have warned municipalities and private entities about “promises” that certain demolition contractors will make in order to win a job – for clarification, these were in general terms regarding specific projects, I never “called out” a company by name. With satisfaction, I relay news on a project we were in line to bid in Wilkes-Barre, PA on behalf of a developer. Following months of providing extensive due diligence information on our company and the assurance that our bid would be welcomed along with a short list of three other approved companies, I was told that a local firm negotiated to do the job for free.

I warned my contact about the “rip and run” mentality in these situations; rip and run is where a company guts a building of all the scrap metal and then leaves the site in ruin. Mark Anthony reported on this specific item last month titled, “Developer fined after contractor vanishes… Contractor leaves developer in lurch after stripping site of steel and copper”. A link to Mark’s entry with the story can be found here: http://www.demolitionnews.com/page/7/

I was unaware that there were many closeted fans of Immanuel Kant who take his theory of perception on a literal a priori proposition.