Aug 10, 2021

Skanska

Prendergast

Skanska promoted Patrick Prendergast to operations vice president of its Civil division in Washington state. Prendergast has 19 years of experience in heavy-civil construction, including nearly 11 years with Skanska. He has been a project executive at Skanska for the past eight years, most recently as project director leading the company's work on the Lynnwood Link Extension light rail project. Skanska says Prendergast has vast expertise in highway, transit, industrial and civil municipal infrastructure project delivery, and a strong background in engineering design and survey.

Wayne's Roofing

Richmond

In Sumner, Wayne's Roofing promoted Chuck Richmond to assistant operations manager. Richmond started at Wayne's in 1987 as an apprentice, advancing to journeyman, foreman, superintendent and senior superintendent. As assistant operations manager, he is overseeing all roofing and yard operations.

Wenaha Group

Krebs

Tacoma-based Wenaha Group hired Taylor Krebs as a project manager in its Portland office. Krebs started her career at Seattle Public Schools, where she spent several years in project management, working across 63 of the district's properties. She then transitioned to an architecture firm, where she continued her work in K-12 and commercial architecture and completed her professional internship. She holds bachelor's degrees in architecture and art history from the University of San Diego. Wenaha Group is a Native-owned construction management consultant with five offices in Washington, Oregon and Arizona.

ABC Western Washington

Two firms recently joined the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington: Drake Electric of Fall City and T&T Traffic Control of Seattle. Drake works on tenant improvement, commercial, service and underground projects. It is led by Shawn Drake. T&T provides flaggers and traffic laborers, as well as traffic control setup/takedown of signs, cones and arrow boards. It is led by Tracey Freeman.

Transblue

Seattle-based Transblue plans to open 30-35 new franchise locations by year-end. Transblue is a national construction, sales and project management concept for franchisees. It has 16 locations open and two more in development. Last year, it launched 13 franchise locations throughout California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia and Washington state. The company was founded in 2004 and began franchising in 2019. It specializes in residential, commercial and multifamily exterior design. Clients include Wells Fargo, Starbucks and Walmart.

AGC of America

The Associated General Contractors of America launched an initiative to address climate change by pushing for construction of less carbon-intensive projects while also making the process of building projects more efficient. The association says construction activity accounts for less than 2% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., yet the built environment accounts for about one-third of those emissions. As a result, while the new initiative includes steps construction firms can take to operate more efficiently, most of the effort focuses on pushing public and private project owners to build more efficient projects and having the construction industry support that. Included are strategies to modernize federal buildings to make them more efficient, invest in infrastructure, and expedite permitting for projects that improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases.

Aug 03, 2021

Rafn Co.

Cottell

Hager

Salas

Gregory

Bellevue-based general contractor Rafn Co. promoted Chip Gregory to COO, Art Salas and Brien Hager to assistant superintendents, and Jered Cottell to assistant project manager. Gregory has been with Rafn for 20 years and has been running its Special Projects Division since 2004. He holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from the University of Washington. Salas has 21 years with Rafn and is a graduate of CITC's carpentry apprenticeship program. He also graduated from the UW's construction management certificate program. Hager has been a carpenter and foreman for 17 years at Rafn. Cottell has been with the company for eight years and holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from Washington State University.

USACE

Van Epps

Col. Geoff Van Epps has taken command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division. Van Epps comes from the Office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C., where he was director of the Pentagon office of the Chief of Engineers. Van Epps was commissioned as an engineer officer from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1995, where he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He later earned master's degrees in engineering management from the University of Missouri at Rolla; in economics, finance and management from Universitat Pompeu Fabra; and in international relations from Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals. He replaces Brig. Gen. Peter Helmlinger, who is retiring after a 33-year career with USACE. The Northwestern Division is the largest division in USACE. It administers five districts based in Portland; Seattle; Walla Walla; Kansas City, Missouri; and Omaha, Nebraska.

Kwame Building Group

The Port of Seattle selected Kwame Building Group as one of 12 businesses to participate in its inaugural PortGen Accelerator program. PortGen Accelerator connects minority- and women-owned small businesses with the training and tools to make them more competitive in bidding. Based in St. Louis, Kwame operates a Seattle office to manage construction projects in the Northwest. Local clients include Washington State Convention Center and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Theiss Law Group

Theiss Law Group PC, a Seattle law firm serving construction and manufacturing clients, has changed its name to Truss Faber PC in a rebranding effort. This new brand stems from the etymological connection of the words “truss” and “faber” to the construction and manufacturing industries. The firm has four practice areas, including construction, manufacturing, architecture and design, and government contracts. It also launched a new website at http://www.trussfaber.com.