The importance of great relationships is a fundamental, recurring theme for Jim Carroll of Carroll and Strong Builders, Inc. This Watsonville-based company builds high-end, exceptional custom homes in the Monterey Bay Region.  Jim and his partner, Randy Strong, focus their energies on outstanding communication with architects, home owners, suppliers and subcontractors as they create beautifully detailed homes for discriminating clients.
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An important part of the design phase of any construction project is materials selection.  Concrete, steel or wood are typical options for the building frame; for paving applications, the choice is generally either concrete or asphalt. Material choice depends on several factors, including initial cost, life cycle cost and performance for the specific application. Due to the growing interest in sustainable development, engineers and architects are now motivated more than ever to choose sustainable materials.
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For Ryan Fontes, concrete dispatcher for Graniterock in Monterey County, every day on the job brings new and interesting challenges. “There are so many variables with concrete,” explains Ryan. “As we say around here, every delivery has a story. It can be something unexpected that happens in traffic on the way to the job, or something on the job site. Contractors, inspectors, concrete pumpers, finishers – with everyone involved it can be pretty intense at times. But at the end of the day, it’s great to know you’ve achieved your goals.  We’re here to succeed, and everyone is upbeat when we have a good, busy day.” 
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Graniterock’s legal team recently reviewed a case that offers an important reminder to all construction contractors – California law imposes a duty to report jobsite hazards to the project owner or general contractor, even if you did not create the hazard. That reminder comes from the 2009 California Court of Appeal case of Miguel Suarez v. Pacific Northstar Mechanical, Inc. (PNM), which found a construction contractor that knew of a jobsite hazard, but kept quiet about it, could be held liable for injuries sustained by any worker at the jobsite who was later injured by the hazard.
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 I began my professional career without the knowledge, skills and experience I would need to solve every problem on my own.  This meant that I needed to learn the social skill of ALWAYS asking for help. I had to change the way I looked at problem situations from the way I was raised to a new understanding: "ASKING FOR HELP IS A SIGN OF STRENGTH."
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When Albert Cavazos started up TARC Construction, his goal was to have a family business to share with his young sons. Ten years later, Albert and his wife Tamara have met that goal and then some.  They are rightfully proud of a thriving business that now employs thirty people, including a growing segment of their family. “Sons Francisco and Dante work in the sales division, my brother- in-law is fleet manager and keeps our equipment running and my daughter-in- law is starting work Monday,” says Albert, who loves the fun of finding high energy people, bringing them into the business and training them to do things the right way – the TARC way.
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Construction projects are required to follow procedures to protect the environment. The Clean Water Act also mandates States and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be jointly responsible for identifying and regulating both point and nonpoint sources of pollution. For those projects not in compliance, fines of as much as $32,500 per day, per violation, can be enforced.
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Mary Machado spends every day at work visiting with longtime friends, but it’s all a part of her job on the Building Materials Team at Graniterock’s Watsonville Branch. “We all know each other - I grew up here and know a lot of contractors”, explains Mary. “The kids I went to school with are in business now and I know them all. When they come in, it’s ‘Hi Mary, how’s the family’ – and that’s why I like it here so much.” Mary loves knowing her customers on a first name basis and says when a new customer shows up at the Branch, it’s often because a friend told them, “Go on over and just ask for Mary”.
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Graniterock CFO Steve Snodgrass contributes another  article excerpted from the 1956 Engineering News-Record which shows how “the more things change the more they remain the same.” 
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Having just celebrated fifteen years with Graniterock, fourteen in my prior role as Vice President and General Counsel and the past year in my new role as CEO, I started thinking about my first day of work with the Company.  I arrived very early that day and found Bruce Woolpert already busy at his desk (I would eventually learn that trying to arrive earlier or leave later than Bruce was an exercise in futility).  
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