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Wow, where did the winter go? It seems as though
the shops here at Brooklyn just got a good start and
already I hear rumblings of the Milling crew and
Trenching crew wanting to get started. These guys in the
shops work so hard year in and year out to get the
equipment ready and on line for the construction season.
At the Brooklyn shop we have two new truck
mechanics that started the week of February 28th.
Roy Silhanek from Toledo, Iowa came to Manatts from
Union Ford, Union, Iowa. Roy also serves in the Army
National Guard. He has a wife Sara and a baby daughter
Rachael. Ben Bloome is from Belle Plaine, Iowa and came
to Manatts from the Army National Guard. Please welcome
Roy and Ben to the Manatt family when you see them.
James Weiermann will be taking over the Shop
Manager position at Brooklyn effective April 1, 2005.
James has been with Manatts for 7 years working in the
truck shop. James lives in Victor, Iowa with his wife
Janisa and 5 children; Tiffany, Derick, Madison, Makenna
and Dylan. The best to James on his new quest.
The Heavy Equipment Shop is very busy with getting
the heavy equipment ready to go for the season. Brent
Upah manages the equipment shop and has Rodney Arvidson,
and Tim Wall as his sidekicks. Kenny Alexander, and
Michael Van Tomme came in to help after getting shut
down from stripping at Tama. Don Meeks came back the 2nd
week of February and started working on getting the
trenching equipment ready to go, as March looks like an
out of the gate time for Trenching to get going. John
Lee Jr. came back the 1st
week of February. His first job was working on the Iowa
Special for the PCC crews and at this time he is still
working on it.
The Tire Shop, as usual, has been very busy getting
the rubber ready to meet the road for the 2005
construction season. Gary Merical has done a great job
along with his boys Marty Johnson, Rick Hurst, and Chad
Schimdt. We thank them for their great efforts.
The Weld Shop was under the gun this winter with
Carmen Maxwell going in to have both knees replaced at
the same time (I’m thinking, “Is this guy nuts”! “Both
at the same time”!). Dick Prusha stepped up to the plate
and took over and got along with Jerry just great.
(Thanks Dick & Jerry).
The Wash Bay, manned by Randy Young, has been a
one-man show, with the exception of some occasional
assistance from Ryan Miller. We try to wash most of the
equipment before it goes thru the shop so it’s easier to
work on. Thanks Randy and Ryan.
Who Knew #2 Favorite Hobby:
Photography/Drawing/Painting; Favorite Food: Chocolate;
Spouse/Family: Yes and working on it; Pets: No!!!;
Favorite Quote/Saying: Don’t judge people by their
relatives!; Favorite Vacation Spot: Champery,
Switzerland; Pet Peeve: Making plans & then not showing
up or calling to cancel last minute; Spends free time:
Relaxing on the couch watching TV; Job: Dyslexic;
Describes self: Big smile; People see me as outgoing but
really I’m an extrovert (sshhh, don’t tell anyone)
The one thing that drives me crazy is slow
drivers; When I was a kid, I was very shy; If I were a
vegetable: Lettuce-cause it’s not fattening; If I were a
color: Green; If I could be in any movie that I wanted,
I would play Lucy in Fifty First Dates (anything to be
with Adam Sandler!); Favorite Holiday: 4th
of July; As a “Survivor” Tribe Member I would: Fail
miserably!; As a Fear Factor Contestant ,I would throw
up before I ate anything.
The Alignment Shop is run by Ron Puls who is kept
very busy this time of year getting the rolling
equipment on the alignment rack. If you look around the
Brooklyn yard, you can start to appreciate just how many
tires are on the ground that tire shop and alignment
shop have to look after. With a good tire and alignment
program there are big dollars to be saved. Manatts does
well in this department.
Dave Lemley, who is a Manatts 30 year veteran,
manages the Body Shop. Steve Ranfeld has been working in
the body shop doing the bodywork and painting. Curtis
Murphy, who came to us from Whicita, does the sand
blasting and prepping for paint. These boys have been
busy this winter with more work on the schedule.
Where do all these mechanics, tire, body, and
alignment people get the parts to make all these repairs
on a timely bases? The Brooklyn Parts Department! The
Brooklyn Parts Department is managed by B.K. Waller and
his staff; Will Hochstetler, Todd Kriegel & Boat Slaven.
The parts room can get very busy getting parts for all
the guys working at the shops and they do a pretty darn
good job keeping things moving. There are also some big
inventory changes and controls coming along with shop
and field work orders to tie every thing together for
better cost control and accountability.
The yearly budget meeting for the 2005 construction
season was held in October with most of the division
managers present to try to get equipment ordered earlier
for the construction season.
These are just some of the bigger equipment items
purchased:
Ready Mix Concrete -1 new Western Star mixer truck with
McNeilus Revolution drums
Trucking -6 new Sterling Tractors and 3 new Etnyre
Livebottom Belt Trailers
Newton Portable Asphalt-980G Wheel Loader, Service Truck
Ames Asphalt-140H Motorgrader, D5M Dozer, CS433 Smooth
Roller, Air Compressor, and 2 Super Dump Trucks
Trenching & Sealcoat-Broom
As always, there will be several new pickups
purchased along with other miscellaneous equipment for
the crews and ther items that are on hold at this time
until the work comes along. May everyone have a safe and
great summer construction season. |
