We were pleased to be selected to be the contractor for the Viking Paper expansion project in Plymouth. There was a blurb on the expansion in Inside Indiana Business here, but somehow they failed to mention us! Shame on them!
It is proving to be an interesting project. The building is being designed to have train cars enter the building for unloading at a recessed loading dock. This is involving some interesting logistics including some esoteric clearance requirements provided by the railroad engineers. (The ones that design railroad tracks, not the ones that blow the whistles when the trains cross the highway…) Viking works with large rolls of paper stock, so being able to offload their materials inside the building and out of the weather is valuable to them.
Jerry Chavez and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) have been instrumental in helping us move this forward, both with the City of Plymouth and with the Railroad.
We haven’t reported on progress at Charley Creek Inn recently. Things are moving along. Plumbing rough-in is complete. Strescore decking has been installed over the existing basement. And as can be seen in the picture to the right, the structural steel skeleton is nearly complete. Installation of the roof will begin this week followed by the installation of the second floor joist and deck. It is at this point that the building begins to take shape, though it won’t be until the masonry starts that the final “look” becomes apparent.
We were fortunate enough to be allowed to help install a “Circle of Peace” sculpture by Gary Lee Price last week. That’s one of the things that keeps our job interesting… We never know what we’ll be asked to do! Similar to installing “The Lorax“, our relocation of the Veteran’s Memorial Monument at Fletcher Cemetery and various installations for the Charley Creek Foundation, we’ve been called on to do these things because our clients recognize that we will treat these pieces with the respect and care they deserve.
The sculpture weighs approximately 750 lb and came in two pieces. It traveled from the foundry in Utah in the back of a pick up truck. At the wheel was Isaiah Price, the sculpturer’s son. He said the looks and reactions you get from fellow drivers can be quite amusing at times. Fortunately we were able to use a forklift to get the two pieces off of the truck, but from there it was an Egyptian Style move (Strong Backs, Weak Minds), up a set of stairs and about the length of a bowling alley across the lawn to their new home.
Because this was a landscape setting on a green roof location, the sculpture was set in concrete pavers to spread the weight. A template was sent to us ahead of time so we could place and leveled on the concrete pavers. The sculpture was dry set on the pavers to make sure of the location, then the bases were marked and drilled so that they could be anchored in place. (Dowel pins were screwed into the feet – see right) All in all the sculpture had to be set, removed and reset three times before all was said and done. The whole process took about an hour. Thanks to Scott Bennett and Abree Gonce for staying overtime to accomplish this as the delivery didn’t arrive until about 5:20 in the evening.
We had discussed several locations with the client and ended up with a location in a planting bed where the sculpture will be somewhat hidden from one direction and “revealed” as guests proceed down the walking path or look out across the walk from the home. This often creates a more dramatic vision or as I was taught in school, the difference between a Vista and a View… In any case, once the landscaping is realigned around the piece, it will look like it has always been there. Very cool!
An article in The Pilot News (See right) a few months back was cause for reflection on one of Easterday Construction Co., Inc.’s long time clients. ITAMCO (known to us here as Indiana Tool) celebrated their 60th anniversary in August of last year. Founded by brothers Donald and Noble Neidig, the company has been a big part of the Plymouth community.
I found the article interesting since, even when I work with a company such as ITAMCO often, I get surprised sometimes by the things I don’t know about them. I was aware of their work with the schools through my board position with the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), but I was unaware how their business had evolved into areas of software development.
As with many relationships, Easterday Construction’s connection to ITAMCO began with some minor projects. The Neidigs were members of the Grace Baptist Church and through some repair projects there, a relationship was formed between my father and the Neidig family – and Don Neidig in particular. From that beginning, dozens of other projects were completed, mostly on just a hand-shake. That was the kind of relationship that was formed. We completed several plant additions to the Plymouth facility including the office renovation and addition, which for a long time was featured on the front of our company brochure. We were also the go-to for many of the family’s home projects as well.
As I previously related here on Don’s passing, Don trusted Dad implicitly. When Dad retired, Don called me. He told me, “I always called your Dad and all I had to say was ‘Berger, get it done’. I hope I can trust you the same way.” What could I say? I said, “Yes, Sir!” And Don called me for all the things he needed and I was happy to help him. One of the last things I did for him was some remodeling work at his home. I enjoyed seeing him during those times. I will miss those conversations.
When Noble Neidig passed last year, it was a generational change for their company. We had also worked on Nobe and Barb Neidig’s home and new them well. We still have a relationship with the family and still do work for ITAMCO. While economic changes have resulted in fewer projects of the scope we completed in the past (plus their purchase of the Argos facility giving them ample room for current expansion needs) we still work with ITAMCO and the Neidigs on various small projects and remain friends. We look forward to a continued friendship and working relationship in the future.
In another of his “Throw-back Thursdays”, Jeff Kenney mentioned the Culver Branch of the First National Bank of Monterey in an “If These Walls Could Talk” article. This is yet another project in Easterday Construction Co., Inc.’s historic links to Culver. Easterday Construction built this branch in 1992. It was modeled after the branch in Winamac (To which we later remodeled and added to as well). It’s always fun to see the legacy Easterday Construction has left through the buildings we constructed and sometimes the institutions those buildings represent.
Our long relationship with clients like this lead us to be the go to source when problems crop up. Those of you who use the drive through probably have noticed that someone backed into one of the columns. We’re currently working on obtaining a replacement. Unfortunately matching the column that was installed there 18 years ago won’t be as easy as just pulling something right off the shelf!
One of the cool details we did for the bank when we worked on the Monterey Annex a few years back was to recreate their new logo as a 3-D metal sculpture on the front of the building. We’re still quite proud of that and the way it sets off the building.