Two Washington construction industry-related companies were honored Nov. 1 as 2002 Washington Family Business Award winners. The annual ceremony - now in its ninth year - was coordinated and sponsored by the Family Enterprise Institute at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.

Wayne's Roofing Inc. of Sumner, Wash., was the winner in the medium business category, and W.A. Botting Co. of Woodinville, Wash., was the heritage business category winner. Wayne's Roofing, Inc was founded in 1968 by Wayne Wetherbee and specializes in built-up roofing, single ply roofing, waterproofing, roof maintenance and tenant improvements. Mechanical contractor W. A. Botting Co. recently celebrated 90 years of business. The company's reigns of leadership have been handed down, generation to generation, from the original owners, brothers Ernest and Bill Botting, to Ernest's son William A. Botting, and most recently to his son Pete.

The event named four other family businesses as winners, ranging from a furniture business to a restaurant.

The criteria for choosing the award winners included innovative business strategies and practices, succession planning, family/business contributions to the community, expressing family values in business, business performance and the number of generations.

A total of 175 firms were nominated statewide to compete for the 2002 Washington Family Business Awards. The list was trimmed to 21 finalists before the final six were selected.

The Construction Industry Training Council (Bellevue, Wash.) recently earned statewide approval from the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council for its Heavy Equipment Operator program.

The program allows the advancement of heavy equipment apprenticeship training for open-shop contractors throughout the state.

CITC will work with contractors to register apprentices immediately, said Sandra J. Olson, executive director of CITC. Once apprentices register for training, they have the green light to work on prevailing wage jobs and to begin fulfilling the stated goals of the government to increase training by requiring various levels of apprenticeship work on jobs - a critical factor, especially for open-shop contractors.

CITC sought approval for the Heavy Equipment Operator program for 27 months. The lengthy process began in July 2000, when the WSATC unanimously approved CITC's apprenticeship committee proposal. Three months later, during a customary review of CITC's apprenticeship standards by the Department of Labor and Industries, three union organizations submitted objections to the proposed standards. As required by law, the WSATC referred the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings and a judge was eventually assigned in July 2001.

In August 2001, CITC requested a postponement of the preliminary hearing until the WSATC approved rule changes that would benefit the Heavy Equipment Operator program approval, and requested that the OAH hold a status conference in mid-November. CITC made another request for a status conference in December, and the hearing eventually was held on Jan. 30, 2002. After a final hearing on April 23 and 24, 2002, the OAH judge submitted her order to approve and the WSATC voted to approve the program in October 2002.

Express Converts Office To Montessori School

Bothell - Express Construction Co. (Seattle) recently converted an office building into a 12,000-sq.-ft. children's educational facility for North Creek Montessori School here.

In order to install a sophisticated life safety system, Express made substantial upgrades to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. In addition, the interior of the facility was completely renovated to maximize the available space for several classrooms and offices as well as retail frontage.

Working with Kelli Jo Norris, project manager for Pinnacle Management, Express completed the project on a strict timeline to open the school for students this fall.

Schlecht Provides D/B Services for Pipe Plant

Chehalis - Construction of a new manufacturing and distribution facility for Cresline Plastic Pipe Co. recently wrapped up here. Schlecht Construction, with offices in Longview and Vancouver, Wash., is the general contractor.

Schlecht is providing a full range of design-build services on the project. The new 67,000-sq.-ft. facility features a pre-engineered steel building structure with masonry stem walls. An open-air manufacturing section of the site required high-end electrical and mechanical systems. Schlecht provided extensive sitework in preparation for the plant's construction.

Schlecht broke ground in February 2002 and work was completed by the end of the year.

Callison Architecture Expanding Services to NY

Seattle - Seattle-based Callison Architecture Inc. recently expanded its client service operation to New York City, responding to the firm's growing number of active projects with leading retailers based in New York.

Current project activity in the region includes design of a new Cole Haan store to be located at Columbus Circle, ongoing client support for Cingular Wireless' New York expansion program and several projects in planning with Nike for New York locations.

The New York operations will be led by Thomas Bowen, a senior account manager in Callison's retail group. The office will primarily serve as a client management function for the firm's New York and Europe-based clients, with the bulk of design work performed out of the Seattle office. Bowen will be responsible for local coordination of the firm's East Coast projects and business development initiatives.