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Past Presidents Speak Out: Where We’ve Been, and Where We’re Headed

As part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the TCA this year, TCA contacted past presidents of the Association to garner their thoughts about the growth of Tilt-Up over the years. Read on to learn what some of the industry leaders think about where the Tilt-Up industry has been and where it is headed.

 

GLEN STEPHENS, President of Stephens Architectural Associates and President of TCA in 2003.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

Fortunately for all involved — especially consumers — Tilt-Up concrete construction’s acceptance and “request status” had expanded into building types once considered the exclusive territory of more “up-scale construction systems.” With the continual and consistent improvements in the quality of site-casting, it was inevitable that these building types would be captured by the Tilt-Up construction system. Today, more and more construction savvy architects are cognizant of the new and unique design possibilities only available with a Tilt-Up solution. In addition, they are providing the client with better schedules, flexibility, durability, security and superior value.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

Getting the Architectural Charette in place in the off-year between TCA Symposiums. For me, this was THE step necessary to truly have an annual Convention. Getting the Architectural Manual started was also very important.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

I would have to say how rapidly the “Big Concrete Box,” originally sprouted in the warehousing market, became arguably the most important and significant trendsetter in the construction industry.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

Tilt-Up construction is a pre-casting process that is virtually without limits. As more architects embrace and see themselves harness the vast capabilities of this unique building system and wisely partner with structural engineers, the faucet for new ideas will always be flowing and “on.”

 

BOB FOLEY, President of CON/STEEL Tilt-Up Systems and President of TCA in 1988.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

The great majority of Tilt-Up projects were “big box” warehouse and distribution facilities with a scattering of retail and multi-story office structures. Most work was done in the western United States, Canada and southwestern United States, especially Texas. There were emerging markets scattered around the country, notably in Atlanta, central Florida and Dayton.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

Marketing the fledgling TCA to the industry, attracting membership and generating revenue to do the first two were my main challenges.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

The successful adaptation of the technology to smaller buildings, i.e. structures under 20,000 square feet. Another pleasant surprise has been the architectural sophistication accomplished with Tilt-Up today.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

I think the market will continue to expand, possibly even faster than the last twenty years. Resistance to Tilt-Up in the design community has diminished significantly in the last five years (thanks in large measure to the efforts of TCA). And, the growing acceptance of design-build, particularly in the public construction markets, will continue to expand Tilt-Up’s opportunity. Also, as the ever improving technology is applied to Tilt-Up both in the field and in the designers’ offices, Tilt-Up will find new markets not being considered today.

Please feel free to also share any stories or thoughts you have about the industry – today and yesterday.

It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since Don Musser proposed the idea of a Tilt-Up association. Peter Courtois was there at the exploratory meeting in Atlanta held at World of Concrete and he eventually became the first president. He was a tremendous asset in leading the early promotion. Dave Kelly and Bob Truitt were influential in getting their respective companies to support the endeavor. In fact, I think Bob Truitt was elected “secretary-for-life,” but he never missed a meeting and always prepared the minutes… a thankless job. Murray Parker may have been there. While Don Messer was never president of TCA, he deserves a great deal of credit for initiating the association and for serving as executive director for the first five or six years until he retired from PCA.

 

MICHAEL SUGRUE, President of TCA in 1999.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

Tilt-Up was widely recognized as an efficient method of construction for big box warehouses within the real estate/construction community and as the predominant low-rise construction method on the West Coast and Sun Belt. It was gaining momentum in the suburbs of cities in the Midwest and Northeast as an alternative to precast for warehouses and two- to three-story offices.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

The growth of the Association mirrored the growth of the industry and the big concern was making sure that the charter of the association was in concert with the needs of a changing constituency. Because of the work of the board and the staff (Ed and Jim), I believe that has been accomplished over the years.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

I don’t think it’s done yet. It’s amazing that the skeptics of yesterday are now the proponents of today.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

With the technologies in concrete design mixes, composites, crane technology, etc., it would not surprise me to see taller panels become more commonplace (60’+) or even panels without conventional reinforcing.

 

DAVE PRIZIO, President of Prizio Construction and President of TCA in 1996.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

At that time the market acceptance of Tilt-Up was very good in some areas and less so in others. We saw good acceptance in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida at that time. It was also fairly well accepted in Oregon, Washington and Nevada. In addition, pockets of acceptance were to be found where a strong Tilt-Up contractor had local influence. Outside of the United States we were seeing good local acceptance in areas where strong contractors were present in Canada, with emerging acceptance in Australia and a few projects elsewhere.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

During my presidency, we dealt with a number of ongoing issues such as creating standards, increasing market acceptance, and increasing membership. The specific challenges that I recall were two. We needed to establish a solid presence on the web, which we did. This really allowed us to better communicate with our members and to spread the word about Tilt-Up around the country and the world more effectively. The second major initiative was to start on the Tilt- Up supervisor certification process. This was not completed during my tenure, but it was started. It has since developed into an important program.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

Coming from California, an area where we have been using Tilt-Up for 50 years, it was not the least bit amazing to me to see it grow across the country. I found it rather amazing that it took so long and was so much work to make it happen. We have long known the benefits and competitive cost of Tilt-Up. I am just glad that the word is now spreading throughout the world.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

I see the maturing of the technology continuing in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary manner. With TCA and ACI working on standards and certification, I expect the understanding and refinement of the process to proceed as it has been. I think the acceptance of Tilt- Up as a building method worthy of consideration in most low-rise commercial and industrial projects will become fairly widespread in the U.S. and Canada. I think China holds a great deal of promise as a new market for Tilt-Up, and I expect to see a lot of Tilt-Up buildings built there over the next two decades. The formidable language barrier will present great challenges to TCA if they should wish to support this growth, but there is undoubtedly a great opportunity there.

 

BOB THEISEN, President of TCA in 1989

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

In the year of my presidency, Tilt- Up was limited on a national basis. California and Texas had been embracing Tilt-Up for 30 plus years. CON/STEEL and allies in Ohio and the Theisens at Suncrete Corp. in Florida had championed the method for a dozen or so years by that time. This was the fourth year of TCA and favorable responses from seminars being presented in locations around the country were being reported. A series of seminars in major growth areas of Florida was sponsored by the Florida Concrete and Products Association in conjunction with TCA, PCA and ACI in our second year. Featured as “ Our team of nationally recognized experts” were Don Musser of PCA, Peter Courtois of Dayton Superior, Dave Kelly of The Burke Company and Bob Theisen of Suncrete Corporation, all representing TCA as well. Promotion of Tilt-Up was the charter and success might be measured by the fact that – coincidental or not – the three largest Tilt-Up contractors in Florida presently – Tilt-Con, Woodland, and Seretta – were all founded that same year. Entry into the workplace by sub-contractor/fabricators provided to potential users an increasingly knowledgeable and competitive source for the construction piece. The market in Florida now grew exponentially and success there splashed a little into many other states in the East/Southeast.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

The biggest challenge to me was to improve the recognition factor of a fledgling Industry Association just 3 years old and implement a program for proselytes to Tilt-up. By the time my presidency ended at the year-end meeting in Houston at the 1990 WOC, TCA had received a major boost to all aspects of our program with the sought-after acknowledgment as a Participating Sponsor of the World of Concrete. This was the rocket-launcher to recognition throughout the Industry and it served as an invaluable tool for spreading the gospel of Tilt-up.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

What has amazed me most about the growth of Tilt-Up is that it has been so slow in reaching its present state. From the day I started my first Tilt-Up – Los Angeles County, CA in early 1958 – there were countless opportunities in Tilt-Up. There was work on Tilt-Up jobs daily until moving to Florida in 1970 for the Disneyworld Project. With that completed, we were ready to re-enter the concrete construction market this time in Central Florida. Based upon the prevalence of Tilt- Up in California, my expectations were very high and I was shocked that Florida – and for that matter most of the rest of the country – had virtually no Tilt-Up whatsoever. So we went forth as evangelists for Tilt-Up but it was 1974 before we would do our first Florida Tilt-Up job. It would be 1978 – 20 years since the first in California – before we had established enough of a market base to be able to commit solely to Tilt-Up again and nearly another 10 years before we were joined in the market by the Big Three.

I had fallen in love at first sight with Tilt-Up, never after did I want to build any other way and have never really understood why everyone would not feel the same. So, I am amazed that the growth that I expected within 10 years would be 30 for Florida and is 40 and still counting in too much of the rest of the country.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

Where Tilt-Up will be in 20 years is a tough question for me as I’m weighted with the projection errors of the past. There are still too many prospects that find reasons to not use Tilt-up and there is still the dissemination of much disinformation by the uninformed and by proponents of other methods competing for the building dollar that needs to be debunked.

As the market has expanded there has been a proliferation of products directed specifically to the Tilt–Up practitioner that did not exist a few years ago. This kind of attention from suppliers to the industry and the requisite R & D necessary will lead to ever more innovation in building, design, shortened schedules and cost reduction that will confirm Tilt-Up as the standard to which others are held. Innovation to where the merits of Tilt-Up are so compelling as to make it the “slam dunk” first choice in the Building Market.

I see advances and adoption of mix designs and reinforcing that will turn casting and erection of panels into an overnight process. I see creative casting methods and equipment use that enable a practical entry into the urban infill market.

Please feel free to also share any stories or thoughts you have about the industry – today and yesterday.

One night in early 1958, my employer phoned me at home and told me to be at the office at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. That morning, he handed me a roll of plans, told me the backhoes and rebar would be on the job at 10:00, the Inspector at 1:00 and concrete at 1:30. At this point, I had not yet unrolled the plans so I asked him what it was I was going to build, he said “A Tilt-Up – you’ll love it!”

 

SHAWN HICKEY, Vice President of SiteCast Construction Corp. and President of TCA in 2000.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

Nationally, growing, however large pockets/cities, with little to no knowledge of concept. Education was a major focus for the TCA.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

The biggest challenge was implementing the TCA Certification program.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

Self promotion! Owners, architects and engineers are coming to the TCA for information, rather than the TCA preaching to them.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

Tilt-Up will be the dominant building concept. Owners, financial institutions, public funded structures are demanding longevity and security. Our product has demonstrated through natural disasters, its ability to stand above the rest!

 

DAVID KELLY, Vice President and Chief Engineer at meadow Burke and President of TCA in 1990.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

When I was president of the TCA, Tilt-Up was readily accepted in West Coast, Texas and Florida markets and not very well known in others. Our major goal was trying to get it recognized and accepted in other markets. One of our biggest challenges was being recognized as the voice for Tilt-Up. The Masonry Institute spoke for masonry, the PCI for precast concrete, the MBMA for metal buildings, but no one for Tilt-Up. After every earthquake, Engineering News Record would get a quote from Ron Hamburger at EQE or SEAOC about how unsafe Tilt-Up was, but never from us about how well Tilt-Up stood up.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

Tilt-Up was recognized as warehouses with minor frills and Silicon Valley was adding architectural interest to small office buildings, but it was really thought of as industrial appearance and not architectural. The really big boxes of 500,000 square feet and above established Tilt-Up as the economical way to build and finally contractors and developers in their effort to diversify and expand their market got architects to dress up the appearance. My recollection is that the architectural upgrades began with dressing up offices in front of warehouses or industrial plants and then progressed to stand alone office buildings.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

I am most surprised by the increase in height and weight of the individual panels. Building a two-million- square-foot warehouse is more involved with erecting a 40 acre roof than surrounding it with Tilt-Up panels. The newer four- and five- story office buildings and parking garages require much more of the effort in the wall system and its erection. At one time, the planning of the sequence of erecting and bracing the walls was minor, but on these complex buildings, it is key to being able to construct the building. The lifting and bracing designer concerns may dictate the height, width or weight of the walls and even the direction of lifting and bracing.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

We are commonly involved with 75-foot and taller panels today and other methods of construction are concerned with the growth of Tilt-up. There have been attempts by metal building, masonry and precast to slow Tilt-Up growth. There is currently one by some structural engineers to limit the height as they see Tilt-Up taking some of the four- and five-story work that was traditionally theirs for steel frame. I think Tilt-Up growth will slow down in the next couple of years and then begin to grow rapidly again as the inventory of empty buildings is used up and the economy again starts to surge. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the square footage of Tilt-Up double in 20 years, but not in 5 years as it did earlier.

 

AL ENGELMAN, Founder of Engelman Construction and President of TCA in 2005.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

Market acceptance has been mostly regional. The upper mid-section of the U.S. into New England has been slow to develop. The design community is slow to change as we lack concentrated promotion and marketing in these areas.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

The biggest challenges I faced were updating the strategic plan and the by-laws, improving the committee structure and shortening the board meetings.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

What I find most amazing about the growth of Tilt-Up are the innovations of construction techniques, sharing of Tilt-Up construction knowledge and assistance of members to solve problems.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

Tilt-Up will gain greater acceptance in the northern tier from the Northwest to the Northeast, increase market share in the concrete construction industry and gain better understanding by the design community.

 

CLAY FISCHER, President of Woodland Construction Company and President of TCA in 2004.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

Market acceptance was very positive during my term as president. We saw the market becoming more readily accepted in new markets such as retail and education. The versatility of the method began to really be demonstrated during this time and innovative Tilt-Up professionals pushed the method into uncharted territory successfully.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced as TCA president representing the Association at that time?

We faced some administrative challenges. Understanding the importance of streamlining the Board of Directors meeting to utilize our time as effectively as possible, we implemented a more comprehensive committee structure. We cleaned up the Association By-Laws to accurately reflect the current state of the Association. Also, we began planning the first annual Convention during this time.

3) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

The growth of Tilt-Up in recent years has been outstanding. It has even become the preferred method in some areas of the country. In fact, a school official recently told me that their district is willingly to pay more for Tilt-Up structure because of the durability it provides. This is a remarkable achievement, because just a few years ago there were not many Tilt-Up schools and now school districts are demanding it.

4) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

I honestly cannot even imagine where Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years. It is amazing what people are already doing with the method and it will only continue to become more amazing as the years pass. The future will show that there is almost anything can be done with Tilt-Up.

 

RANDY SIMMONS, Chairman of R.R. Simmons Construction Corp. in Tamp, Fla. and President of TCA in 1994.

1) When you were president of TCA, what was the market acceptance of the Tilt-Up method?

With very few exceptions, Tilt Up was still a “warm weather” product. The market acceptance was strong in the Sun Belt but was starting to find its way into other cities. Ironically, there were emerging areas like Nova Scotia, Nebraska and St. Louis. This appeared to be directly tied to a few very dedicated members who saw the value and worked hard to promote Tilt-Up.

2) What has amazed you most about the growth of Tilt-Up?

The growth of office and non- traditional uses has been an exciting trend. California had been the bell cow of innovation for years, and it is nice to see that most of our other key markets now freely consider Tilt-Up as a system of choice rather than an adaptation of an industrial system. I continue to be amazed each year at the innovation and creativity shown by our industry.

3) Where do you think Tilt-Up will be in another 20 years?

I expect much more housing and retail, as well as more hybrid applications where we blend both site cast and factory-cast into applications. I would not be surprised to see roof structures become a part of the Tilt-Up family. I think Tilt Up will be the industry standard in most significant markets and that metal buildings and masonry will be systems of last resort.

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TILT-UP TODAY, a publication of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, is THE source for Tilt-Up industry news, market intelligence, business strategies, technical solutions, product information, and other resources for professionals in the Tilt-Up industry. A subscription to TILT-UP TODAY is included in a TCA membership. Subscriptions for potential TCA members are also available. If you would like to receive a complimentary subscription to the publication, please contact the TCA.