Bio-Chem Univeristy of Wisconsin, Madison

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is finishing up work at the Bio-Chem building at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Today, CESI sawcut and removed a precast concrete slab 11 stories above ground. The edifice housed the mechanical room for the building.

The critical phase was performed under strict safety standards and completed without incident.

The picture below was taken from the job site this morning.

Lattof Chevrolet Demolition Arlington Heights, Illinois

The following is a link to an article by Deborah Donovan run in the “Daily Herald” on 8/21/09 concerning the demolition of the former Lattof Chevrolet in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Pictures by Mark Black accompany the story.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=315216

Why Competence Matters Part II

Let me preface my remarks so as not to be misunderstood: the referenced event below is tragic and our company is saddened by the loss of brother in the demolition industry. These remarks place no blame or opinion of fault with regard to the situation as much as highlighting awareness to the imminent dangers associated with demolition work.

A tragic case in Chicago reiterates a posting earlier this month with regard to worker safety and the overall competence of a demolition company.

On Tuesday, August 11, a 35-year-old demolition worker was killed when the front-end loader he was driving fell seven stories at a site on the Near South Side. The man was in a Bobcat that fell seven stories; the victim was pinned in and fire crews had to extricate him from the machine. The employee was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 10:08 a.m.

The companies at the project site were seasoned contrators and well versed in worker safety while demonstrating high competence with similar projects. If a highly regarded company can experience such misfortune that results in the loss of life, it only hardens my argument that expertise far outweighs low bid proposals in choosing a demolition company.

Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the family, friends, and coworkers of the victim.

Demolition Photo Update

True Teamwork















The following is a pictorial representation of several projects underway throughout Wisconsin.

Why Competence Matters

The demolition industry is often viewed as a “simple” business enterprise where men and machinery haphazardly wreck buildings and move on. In reality, demolition work is far more cerebral; a competent demolition company must employ people who demonstrate strong credentials in architecture, physics, environmental sciences, and mathematics.

Given the current economic difficulties, business entities are seeking value in any deal which requires tapping into cash reserves. When a demolition company is chosen for a project based on low bid proposal rather than factoring in overall aptitude and experience, the results can be catastrophic.

The news out of Cankiri, Turkey points to one recent case. If you have not viewed the AP released video, please cut/paste the link below to YouTube. Neither deaths nor injuries resulted from this demolition mishap.

This project was allegedly slated for a controlled implosion. One empirical observation based on the video points to the gapping/gutted lower portion of the building. It appears as though the company removed key load bearing elements, many that would have been essential for placing explosives. Implosions rely on proper placement and sequencing of blasts. Additionally, the video lacks evidence of multiple detonations which would lead me to conclude that this building was literally standing on one support element. The workers on site who performed the initial gut were most likely in imminent danger throughout the process.

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is a proven leader in the demolition industry; our governing motto is “The safety of our works and those around us will drive the decision making process.”

Green Bay, Wisconsin Wal-Mart

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. will begin work next week in Green Bay, Wisconsin as part of project that involves an intensive gut and remodel of a Wal-Mart. We will be providing some exterior site demolition work to improve the store approach aesthetics. Simultaneously, a crew of skilled laborers will facilitate a complete interior teardown.

While Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is regarded for our seamless approach to full building demolition, we retain a capable group of highly trained workers who perform selective demolition. Workers who perform such tasks must have a keen eye which is attentive to detail; the effort is to effectively remove material based on the scope of work while preserving items which are to remain in tact. Proper planning, project management, and scope sequence are pivotal factors for positive outcomes

Demolition Work In Arcadia, WI Covered By Winona, MN Newspaper

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. received some news coverage in Winona, Minnesota concerning our work in Arcadia, Wisconsin. The article was published in the “Winona Dailey News” with the article by Dustin Kass dustin.kass@lee.net.
Photograph by Melissa Carlo, also of the “Winona Dailey News”.

Demolition of two Arcadia landmarks to improve traffic, pedestrian safety

ARCADIA, Wis. — A crowd of curious onlookers spread across the Cleveland Street sidewalk Thursday. Many aimed cameras or camera phones at the Massuere building across the street, where an excavator ripped out another section of bricks from the back wall, sending them crashing into the growing pile of rubble below. They wanted to see history fall.

“I’ve looked at it all my life,” said 92-year-old Mark Fernholz, gesturing at the demolition process from his power chair before falling silent for a few moments.

“I want to see the roof come down, and then I’m going home,” he said, smiling.

Demolition crews focused their efforts on two of Arcadia’s oldest buildings — the Massuere building and an adjacent building that was the longtime home of Maloney’s Baloney. The demolition will clear the way for a project next summer to realign the intersection of Hwy. 95 and County Road J, a much-needed change that will improve downtown safety, said Mayor John Kimmel. Many in the crowd echoed the potential benefits, but they said Arcadia will have a different look and feel without two of its landmarks.

The two-story Massuere building was likely built in 1875 as a store for The W.P Massuere Co., historians said. The large structure allowed the company to stock and sell everything from farm machinery, livestock and hardware to food and clothing items.

“The store bought everything the farmer raised and sold everything the farmer needed to buy,” according to a newspaper article from the time. The store was such a hub that many employees were required to speak English, Polish and German to better help their customers.

“It was like the Walmart of Arcadia,” Randy Kube, president of the Arcadia Historical Society, said in April.

The store probably closed in the 1930s, local historians said, but the building continued to house a variety of businesses and tenants — most recently, an insurance company, a gym for Gold’n Plump employees and apartments.

The building next door also has a rich history. Martin Maloney bought a local meat market in 1912 and renamed it Maloney’s Meat Market. The name was changed to Maloney’s Baloney after World War II, and the meat-processing business occupied the building until December, when it closed its doors in anticipation of the demolition.

The business’ departure is the only downside of the more than $1.1 million project, since it had been a “staple of our community,” Kimmel said. But he said he had no regrets about demolishing two buildings to improve traffic and pedestrian safety and make downtown Arcadia more inviting. “That’s a good trade-off in my mind.”