National News, Division Updates & Reminders
Para leer este boletín en Español, abra el mensaje en su navegador y seleccione “Español” en el menú de idioma. En su teléfono, desplácese hasta la parte inferior para buscar el menú de idioma y seleccione “Español.”
Kent Companies Receives the Excellence in Ethics Award from the American Subcontractors Association
The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) recognized Kent Companies as one of twelve recipients of a Certificate of Excellence in Ethics. The awards ceremony took place on March 2, 2018 during the national SUBExcel conference in Tempe, Arizona. Kent Companies Vice President Chris Fennema received the award on behalf of our team.
CEO Jeff VanderLaan shared, “The Excellence in Ethics Award is about our people. Integrity, craftsmanship and innovation run deep throughout our entire team. This award recognizes the people of Kent Companies who perform their work to the highest ethical standard every day.” Kent Companies Texas Multi-Family Division President Keith Collinsworth added, “Our team continues to grow at a remarkable pace across the country. As we grow, we remain focused on doing the right thing for our people, our customers and our community.”
Division 110 Takes the Lead in Workforce Development
In late February, Division 110 Project Manager Andre Scott and Senior Foreman Mike Garland hosted a group of construction trades students from Allegan County Technical Center at Exchange Place in Kalamazoo. Vice President Chris Fennema helped coordinate the job site visit. The students observed an active pour on Level 4 West, and they gained an incredible opportunity to connect classroom concepts with a major concrete construction project. Kudos to Andre and Mike for helping these students learn as much as possible from the job site visit.
Division 110 – 150/140 Ottawa
Submitted by Project Manager Nick Rosema
The 150/140 team is making remarkable progress on this project. It’s big, it’s complicated, and it requires a lot of coordination and problem solving. We poured Level 5 at 150 this week, and we’re projecting to finish pouring out our decks ahead of schedule. If we stick to the Four Hallmarks, we can accomplish our goals. The cores at 140 Ottawa are complete – and on schedule. We have a lot of young leaders stepping up on this project, and we’ll work together to get to the finish line.
Division 3210 – Underlayments & Central Ohio Team Updates
Submitted by Josh McKenzie, Vice President
The Division 3210 team has been hard at work at The Village at Cranberry Woods for Elford. Our hallmark of Customer Service is setting our team apart from the competition. We set up two pumps and two crews to complete a phase on an extremely tight timeline to help out Elford. We are installing 290,000 total square feet of 1.25″ Maxxon Gyp-Crete 2000/3.2k over 107,000 square feet of Acousti-Mat I.
Please join me in welcoming Walker McMullen to the Central Ohio Team. Walker is our shop mechanic, and he will assume responsibility for general upkeep and maintenance of our equipment.
Kudos to Mark Kellerman and his team: Tre Fite, Eric Mitchell, Jack Jackson, Josh Winkhart, Justin Clark and James Hankins. They poured a job called Trolley Park Apartments for Legacy Custom Homes. Owner Mark Toot called me and shared, “The crew was very professional, and easy-going. They were very easy to get along with. They “busted their butts” to get my job done on time.” Legacy Custom Homes had never experienced this level of quality and professionalism from a gyp-crete company before. We won him over with the Four Hallmarks, and I’m confident that he will continue to refer business to us because of the exceptional work by this team.
Division 810 – East Michigan Underlayments Updates
Submitted by: Dean Stacer, Division Manager
Among our many historic restoration projects (like Wellington Place and The Farwell Building), we now have 1927 Rosa Parks to add to our portfolio. This project is renovating an old wood frame building from a manufacturing facility into an office complex. We are installing Commercial Topping (a premium gypsum underlayment) and Acousti-Mat 3 for sound control.
Kudos to foreman Lamont Hardge. Lamont joined our team as a laborer. He grew into a pump operator role, and today he is a foreman. Lamont is a trueasset and a valuable member of our team. He’s a great example of how hard work and dedication set a course for a challenging and fulfilling career at Kent Companies. Lamont, we appreciate your dedication every day.
Scholarship Applications are Due March 31st!
In the last three years, Kent Companies has awarded over $20,000 in scholarships to the college-aged children and dependents of full-time Kent Companies employees. The scholarship competition is employee-driven, and our judges participate in a blind scoring process to review applications and award scholarship funds. There is still time to apply!
Eligibility:
- Applicant must be the legal dependent child of a full time Kent Companies employee and be under the age of 26.
- Applicant must be enrolled full time in a college, university or technical/trade school.
- Applicant must have a 3.0 grade point average. High school or College grade transcripts must be submitted with all applications.
- Applicants who have applied previously must complete the entire application process in order to be considered.
Find more information and download an application by clicking here.
If you have questions, please email Mindy Curtiss or call 616-534-4909.
Safety Tip: SDS Sheets are Online
Your SDS sheets are always close at hand because they’re stored on the Kent Companies website! Visit the Employee Links section, and select the SDS sheets icon. If you have questions, please contact your safety team for additional help.
Access your SDS sheets here:
- Employee Links: http://kentcompanies.com/careers/employee-links/
- Password: redtothecore
Remember, the Employee Links page is your first stop for a lot of helpful employee resources. From your employee handbook, to the scholarship program, employee forms, benefits updates and more.
Kent Companies Says Thank You
On Friday, March 2nd we distributed cookies to the Kent Companies team to celebrate National Employee Appreciation Day. We appreciate all that you do to deliver on the Four Hallmarks every day. We hope this small gesture brought a little bit of fun into your day.
