Fall 1982

Soulé Steel News

**"WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER"**

Volume VI — Fall 1982 Issue — Number 12

Soulé Puts 17,000 Tons of Iron Back Underground

It takes a person in good shape over 30 minutes to walk two miles. To dig a trench that far — 50 feet wide by 40 feet deep — even with modern equipment, takes well over a year. When you line that trench with steel and concrete to form a massive canal for the treatment and disposal of a city's sewage, you have a major task to accomplish. For the Westside Transport Project, that task is now nearing completion.

Running along the Great Highway from Sloat to Lincoln in San Francisco, the Westside Transport Project is, both in terms of sales dollars and tonnage steel, the largest single job Soulé Steel Company has ever undertaken. Based on extensive estimating work by Harold Knox of Newark and assisted by Herb Covey of Carson, Jim Soulé and Bill Duncan of the Newark office, Soulé submitted their estimate on October 1, 1981.

Fortunately for Soulé Steel, the successful bidder chosen by the City and County of San Francisco, Department of Public Works, was Olsen-Ohbayashi-Zaketa. Olsen-Ohbayashi-Zaketa is one of the finest engineering contractors in Northern California. Soulé Steel Company was very fortunate to be able to work with them on this project. From over ten general contractors and various subcontractors, Olsen-Ohbayashi-Zaketa was selected for a job totalling nearly $50 million. Of this figure, Soulé's price for supplying, fabricating and placing over 17,000 tons of rebar was in the millions of dollars.

When it's all underground, 17,000 tons of steel is hard to imagine. Consider that the last major rebar project completed by Soulé Steel, the Embarcadero Four high rise in San Francisco, required 2,000 tons of rebar. In terms of steel, the Westside Transport Project is over eight times as large.

To complete such an undertaking, a lot of people must work many hours doing a lot of jobs. Everyone must apply their skills at just the right time and place requiring a lot of very close teamwork.

*(Continued next page)*

With all other orders still being filled on time, the Soulé Carson mill is maintaining a steady flow of hundreds of tons of rebar and included other steel required by the project each week. Knowing that the fabrication requirements would be too much for the Newark facility to handle on their own, the Army Street shop in San Francisco was geared up to lend a vital hand. Then, the finished product was trucked to the site and carefully tied into place by Field Ironworkers who assisted the general contractor's personnel in keeping the job on schedule.

The list of Soulé employees who have made significant contributions to the Westside story is long and constantly changing. But they have all been essential to the completion of this vital project.

For example, Leonard Diyco of Carson did the preliminary engineering drawings and passed the detailing on to Lou Pagan at Army Street. Because Lou was busy with other projects, the detailing was assigned to René Granados, who has been the Job Coordinator for nearly a year now. And though Joe Handy started as the only Order Writer, the volume of work became so great that Judy Kantor was hired to give computer assistance and Charlie Mayers was brought in to help write the orders.

For such an important contract, Soulé enticed a long-time former employee out of retirement to lend his tremendous experience and expertise to insure that the steel would be fabricated correctly and on schedule. "Pinky" J. Masters agreed to take the job of Foreman at the Army Street shop. Hiring and training the crew he needed (see photo), Pinky is one of the major reasons the many thousands of tons of rebar have been processed so expertly and quickly throughout the term of the contract. We were all extremely distressed when Pinky suffered a heart attack in August. He is now on a leave of absence and we all wish Pinky a quick and speedy recovery.

Soulé entrusted the transportation of the fabricated steel to La Mark Co. of Daly City. A minority owned company, La Mark has done an excellent job. Because of their efficiency and reliability, Soulé has worked with La Mark on other jobs as well.

Because this trench runs between the Great Highway and residential areas, there is little lay-down space for steel or other materials inside the fence. This means that the steel must be timed to arrive when needed, and must be loaded so that it can be taken off in the order it will be used. The timing is further complicated by the details of constructing the project in 50-foot sections. This required not only great coordination of effort, but actually made it necessary to develop new placing techniques as well. For example, the trench is being dug in sandy beach instead of solid ground, therefore sheet metal restraining walls must be pounded into the sides of the trench before digging, to keep the sandy walls from caving in. Due to the limited space, the sand is poured into a mobile conveyor belt assembly that carries it across the highway where it is dumped on the beach. This ingenious solution by Olsen-Ohbayashi-Zaketa not only proved much faster than trucking the sand across the highway, but was less expensive. The sand is then kept covered and damp so that it won't blow around before it is needed to cover the finished section.

With the retaining walls braced into place, carpenters build plywood forms for the concrete and the bottom is lined with gravel. Then Soulé Field Ironworkers lined the section with the prepared steel. The hundreds of pieces of rebar in each section were bent and placed precisely so that they met the engineering tolerances before the concrete was poured.

Throughout the course of this long, difficult job, Soulé has had many people working in the trench depending on the time of year and volume of work. Frank LaFerrera, Field Foreman, has been with the project from the start, as has his assistant, Rico Molinari. These two men have done construction work together for Soulé for approximately 30 years.

Some of the other long-term employees of Soulé on this job are Dan Hawkins, Gil Capote, Wilson El-Amin, and members of the Rasmussen family, some of whom have since retired. But Rod, Dick and John Rasmussen are still on the site, as are Kevin Handy, Bill Carter, Matt Buckly, Danny Molinari, Tom Lucky, Greg Kalecki, Steve Pagan, and Tom Younger. Many of these men were trainees who had to be given on the job training. For the most part, Rico feels that the trainees have worked very hard and have been a credit to the company.

There are three basic components to the project. At both Lincoln and Vicente there are large structures where the sewage is collected and diluted. Connecting these are both single- and double-box channels where the incoming sewage flows. Along this entire distance of single and double channels, various sizes of rebar were placed along the length and every six inches of width to form the floor, walls, weir walls and ceiling. An average 50-foot section of double channel has over 100 tons of rebar.

The teamwork needed to maintain a smooth operation is tremendous. The professionalism of both Soulé and Olsen-Ohbayashi-Zaketa was very apparent in the close harmony that has existed during this and other projects, and the absence of any major problems in meeting the schedule. In fact, only one major incident has occurred so far, when a retaining wall section failed to hold a pour of concrete. However, this delayed progress for less than a week, and the project is still on schedule. At present, only a few sections of channel remain to be completed, and the Vicente structure is now being built. The project will be substantially completed by the

*Photo: René Granados, Job Coordinator.*

*Photo: Rebar being unloaded at the site.*

*Photo: Reinforcing wall struts being lowered into place.*

*Photo: The Army Street, San Francisco, fabrication shop crew, who call themselves Pinky and his sewer rats, are: Front row (l to r): Carl Johnson, Lester Banks, Arturo Berroteran, Pinky Masters, and Mosu Mihai. Middle row (l to r): Bruce McClosky, Salvador Campos, Sergio Alvarez, James Thornton, and James Francis. Back Row: Jonathan Willis. (Not pictured are John Balgas and Steve Granados.)*

*Photo: Some of the Soulé ironworkers pictured at the site are (l to r): Dallas Allen, Charles Casteel, Danny Molinari, Joe Muniz, Ken Gregory, and Kevin Handy.*

end of this year. One of the techniques Soulé recommended helped to speed up construction. Early in the construction schedule, Jim Soulé suggested that a new method of splicing rebars be used — the Dayton splicing technique. Although the Dayton method has been proven in other states, this is the first time it has been used in this area. After extensive testing by the state, the city and the general contractor, this new technology has been approved for use in the Vicente structure. In addition to saving the project time and money, the introduction of this latest splicing technique is just one example of the innovative way Soulé Steel constantly seeks to employ the most advanced equipment and technologies possible to achieve maximum results.

This section of the Westside Transport job, which will soon be completed, is the largest portion of the total sewer job. Additional prior portions had been built and Soulé has been involved as a subcontractor on some of them. Budget permitting, the City of San Francisco hopes to one day completely encircle the city with a sewage system that is capable of expediently transporting, treating and disposing of the ever-increasing flow of sewage. Part of this plan calls for the construction of sedimentation and treatment plants just south of the Vicente structure.

Should these additional proposed facilities be built, Soulé hopes that its long and successful record of involvement in the program, in addition to our constant search for cost-effective, advanced equipment and techniques, will enable us to continue contributing to meeting the City's needs. We are extremely proud of the tremendous accomplishments of all of our field, shop, and office personnel in helping Soulé do an excellent job on schedule and on budget!

*Photo: Various shaped rebars are tied down in accordance with precise specifications.*

*Photo: Dan Hawkins, Crane Operator, who keeps the steel moving at the Westside project.*

Congratulations on 35 Years

**Jack Tekell** *Clerk-Production Control* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

Congratulations on 30 Years

**Virgil Fardig** *Squaring Shear Operator* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

**Arnold Mueller** *Inspector* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

20-Year Service Awards

**John Webster (left)** *Senior Estimator* *Steel Buildings* *Carson* *(John is being congratulated by his supervisor, Gary Barrett)*

**Wilburn Brewster** *Foreman* *Rolling Steel Mill* *Carson*

15-Year Service Awards

**Lurene Ross** *Credit Analyst* *Credit Department* *Carson*

10-Year Service Awards

**Earl Selleck** *Supervisor-Laboratory* *Steel Mill* *Carson*

*(Photograph not available)*

**John Easterling** *Foreman-Maintenance* *Steel Mill* *Carson*

**Manuel Zarate** *Ladle Operator* *Steel Mill* *Carson*

**Mike Collins** *Crane Operator* *Steel Mill* *Carson*

**Bill Furst (right)** *Supervisor-Materials* *Steel Mill Operations* *Carson* *(Bill is being congratulated by Mike Austin, General Manager)*

5-Year Service Award

**John Shepherd** *Second Helper* *Steel Mill* *Carson*

Welcome Back

**Herb Covey** *Senior Estimator* *Reinforcing* *Carson* *(over 20 years previous service)*

**Shih Li Hou** *Detailer* *Steel Buildings* *Carson* *(two years previous service)*

Welcome Aboard

**Agnes Gimenez** *Accounts Payable Clerk* *Accounting* *Carson*

**Carolyn Hernando** *Systems Analyst/Programmer* *Information Systems* *Carson*

**Karen Holloway** *Security Guard* *Personnel* *Carson*

**Behnam Shahrvini** *Design Engineer* *Steel Buildings* *Carson*

**Todd Royce** *Shop Fabricator* *Salt Lake City*

**Gregg Wheeler** *Shop Fabricator* *Salt Lake City*

A Veteran of 32 Years Retires

Keith Gates was honored at a retirement luncheon in Sacramento on June 15 after 32 years with Soulé. In attendance were Bob Gebauer, Dick Lewis and all his Sacramento co-workers. Pictured with him is his wife, Pauline, and Dick Lewis, District Manager.

Best wishes from all for a wonderful retirement.

José Alday Retires to New Mexico

Joe Alday will be missed by everybody — whenever help was needed Joe was always there to provide it.

Joe started with Soulé in May, 1965, in the shop. At the time of his retirement, he was working in the maintenance department as a mechanic.

We all wish Joe good luck in the future.

Valerie Coe Retires to the High Desert

After eight years, Valerie has said goodbye to Soulé Steel Buildings Division to enjoy a new life in the high desert with her husband, Floyd.

Valerie started her career with Soulé on September 2, 1975. She spent four years in the purchasing department, after which she moved to shipping to become a traffic dispatcher. Her new career includes collecting antiques and running a small local laundromat.

Best wishes to Valerie in her new life.

Congratulations to Pete Tampas on His Promotion

Pete Tampas is seen celebrating both his birthday and promotion on June 16 in the Sacramento office. Pete, who joined Soulé on July 1, 1980, as a Detailer Trainee, has been promoted to Detailing Supervisor.

We all wish him success in his new position.

In Remembrance of . . .

*Photo: JOE FABBRI, who died on Saturday, August 7, 1982 at the age of 87. Joe was Soulé's first plant employee.*

*Photo: EARL NEEB, who died on Sunday, July 4, 1982. Earl was a former mill manager with Soulé.*

Soulé Board of Directors Meeting

All the directors of Soulé Steel Company gathered together at the Southern California Operations Center, Carson, on August 31st for a board meeting. The morning meeting was followed by a tour of the steel mill and operations center, ending with a catered luncheon. Both the meeting and tours were considered a great success by all those who attended.

*Photo: Back row (l to r): Dick Donnelly, Dale Cluse, Jim Knox, Pete Soulé, George Leitner and Alan Hayden. Middle row (l to r): Mike Austin, John Bradsher, Sandy Soulé, Edward Gibbs, Walter Hoadley, Charles Gallagher, Lowell Carstensen, Ralph Garcia and Jim Soulé. Seated (l to r): Hedy Breakfield, Bob Gebauer, Lee Soulé, Stan Soulé, and Howard Soulé.*

Daryl Farnsworth Joins Building Division as District Manager

Daryl Farnsworth has been appointed District Manager for the Soulé Buildings Division, Southwest sales region. He will be responsible for marketing products and programs in the states of Arizona, New Mexico and the southern portions of Colorado and Utah.

Prior to joining Soulé, Daryl has had extensive experience in the construction industry, including eight years with Boise Cascade Corporation as Regional Manager over a large dealer network.

10-Year Service Luncheon

A luncheon was recently held at the World Trade Club in San Francisco in honor of Lowell Carstensen, Executive Vice President, Marketing Operations, Walnut Creek. Lowell (left) is pictured being presented his 10-year service pin by Stan Soulé.

Bob Gebauer Joins CRSI Board

Mr. Bob Gebauer, a Director of Soulé Steel, was recently nominated to the board of directors of the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute. He will fill the spot vacated by Mr. Bob Klinger.

Soulé Buildings Names New Director-Marketing and Sales for Egypt and Africa

Bahaa Makkawi joins the international sales staff as Director-Marketing and Sales, Egypt and Africa.

Bahaa, who is a graduate of the Cairo College of Economics, has an extensive background in the Egyptian construction industry. He was most recently with Modern Building Systems as General Manager. Prior to that, he was Regional Manager for Egypt and North Africa with Kirby Building Systems.

Soulé Involves Employees in Mill Modernization

When Soulé finishes the installation of a complete Nikko high technology furnace system later this year, the steel mill's employees will not only have been trained in how to operate the equipment, but will have participated in the mill's modernization program. It will have been a real team effort.

About the same time that Soulé began planning a five-year program to upgrade the mill operations, the need to initiate a program that would involve the employees more closely in their work was recognized. Through the combined efforts of Mike Austin, General Manager, Steel Mill Operations, and John Bradsher, Soulé Vice President-Personnel and Assistant Secretary, the Soulé Employee Participation Program (SEPP) evolved.

The SEPP began in mid-1980 when an outside consultant was hired to initiate a training program that first involved all the supervisors in the mill. Once the supervisory staff accepted the concept of participation, the training was extended to include those working under them.

A management steering committee was set up to review proposals from the mill workers. James Gibbons, Manager-Employment and Training, acted as the facilitator between the team members and the committee. Gradually, the consultant's involvement was reduced. By October, 1981, SEPP was operating on its own and working well, particularly in communicating projected mill changes that would occur in 1982.

The union has been involved from the very beginning in the installation of the new high technology furnace. This has helped facilitate a smooth transition when shifts in job responsibilities and classifications have been necessary.

While it may be a substantial period of time before the long-term benefits of the program can be assessed, better morale and lower absenteeism in the mill have already been noted. Soulé is proving that an employee participation program can really work, not only in improving quality but also in increasing communication among the work force.

Salt Lake City Fabrication Shop Rennovation

The Reinforcing Division in Salt Lake has bid successfully on a portion of the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) being built in Lynndyl, Utah. The portion of the project to be handled by Soulé consists of the raft footings for units #1 and #2 generators.

A rennovation program has been begun in order to facilitate production of the quantity of rebar needed for this project. The fabrication shop has added 100 x 290 feet of land to the south of the building to be used for storage of materials and tractor/trailers. Another shear line will be added to increase output volume, and a night crew will begin when the IPP project is in full swing. The shop has already begun the fabrication of rebar and the field crew began placing the rebar on August 17, 1982.

The Salt Lake team is enthusiastic about the opportunities this job offers and feel confident that it will be successful.

FALL 1982 ISSUE

**SOULÉ NEWS**

Published Quarterly by the SOULÉ STEEL COMPANY 1910 Olympic Boulevard, Suite 151 Walnut Creek, California 94596

HOWARD SOULÉ Editor in Chief

DARLEEN HUCKINS — Editor – South JOHN ROGACHENKO — Roving Reporter PAT ROUNTREE — Carson DEE ENGELBERG — LA Reporter FURMAN DAVIS — Phoenix LORRIE BURTON — Salt Lake City BARBARA BURNHAM — Carson CAROL RAMIREZ — Fresno JANET NEUBERT — Newark LYNN LABER — Sacramento CHARLES MAYERS — San Francisco LINDA LAMOTHE — Carson Reporter SHERRY ARROYO — Helper MARIE HAYWARD — Denver