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Masonry Industry set for Peak Season Performance

Following a solid year in 2006, commercial construction activity in the St.Louis-area is predicted to be heavy once again this year. With estimates ranging somewhere between $10- and $13-billion dollars for 2007, the masonry industry has been gearing up to handle the year’s peak summer season.

 
“Our membership now is as high as it has been since the early ‘70s,” said Don Brown,business manager for Bricklayers’ Union Local No.1 of Missouri, AFC-CIO,which has been building St. Louis’ masonry heritage since the Civil War. With a workforce of some 1700 bricklayers in Eastern Missouri, Local #1 can handle the slate of scheduled projects on the Missouri side of the river. While the manpower numbers are solid, if necessary the union can dip into manpower reserves from surrounding regions.

“We can always make a call to the locals that border us– Local 15 in Kansas City, Local 23 in Southeast Missouri and Local 8 in Southern Illinois,” Brown said. “Journeymen from these areas constantly come over here looking for work. We probably have around 50 to 100 working on (Eastern Missouri) projects right now.”

Local #1 can also utilize the job placement program of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers as an additional backup layer of manpower. Through this program, Local #1 can put out a call throughout the U.S. and Canada for bricklayers who belong to the international union.

Over at the Bricklayers Apprentice School,which trains all the bricklayers of Local #1, Instructor/Coordinator Mark Kruetzmanis bullish on the outlook for the masonry industry. “It’s going to be a fantastic year and everybody should do well,” he said at the school’s Earth City facility, which is operated jointly by Bricklayers’ Local #1 and the St. Louis Mason Contractors Association.During his three-year tenure at the helm of the Apprentice School-a model for other schools across the country, Kruetzman has seen the school average better than 130 apprentices in the program. “We have roughly 30 guys coming into the
program and 30 guys graduating every year,” he said.

While Kruetzman has heard rumors of manpower shortages in the skilled construction trades, he doesn’t believe they apply to the Eastern Missouri masonry industry. “There may be some spot skilled trade shortages in other areas of the country,” he said, “but these could easily reflect the lack of technical training in other metropolitan areas. A lot of areas are just getting around to starting apprentice programs.”

According to Kruetzman, not only is there a solid supply of area bricklayers, but advances in equipment have also increased their productivity. For example, newer motorized scaffolding goes up faster than conventional units, increasing productivity and safety while speeding the completion of a project. “You can see large sections of wall going up in one day because of some of these improvements,” Kruetzman said.

The Laborer Locals, who provide the area’s mason tenders, report their labor pipeline is full. “I can guarantee you thereare enough qualified laborers to do the mason tending,” said Patrick Pryor,director of the Labor Management Committee for the Eastern Missouri Laborer’sDistrict Council Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET).

Laborers’ Locals 42, 53 and 110 can currently field approximately 8800 workers in EasternMissouri. Pryor attributes the large number of construction workers to the advance planning of LECET training officials. “We’ve been hearing for several years that there was going to be a shortage of skilled craftspeople, so we’ve been gearing up our training and graduating more apprentices every year with that in mind,” Pryor said. “Because we stepped up our program, I wouldn’t anticipate a shortage of laborers to fill the manpower needs for the foreseeable future.”

Equally bullish on the summer outlook are the suppliers of masonry materials. Two years ago, Kirchner Block & Brick added a new $17-million, 53,000-sq. ft. production facility in Earth City, effectively doubling the company’s production capability.The investment is paying offfor the company as well as those who design and build with concrete masonry. “Lead-times for architectural split and ground-faced (Lusterstone) units are at an all-time low,” said Paul Wienke,Kirchner vice- president and general manager. “In several instances during this last year, we have been able to produce special order material that required a near- immediate turnaround within days of receiving the order.”

Don Marquess,president of Missouri Brick & Supply Co.,reports an equally positive story about the outlook on the brick side of the masonry equation. “Most of our brick manufacturers have product within four to six weeks. The brick are plentiful and many are currently in stock,” he said. John Motley,general manager for Richards Brick Co.,the area’s only remaining brick manufacturer, agrees with Marquess’ assessment. “Brick production capacity in the United States is higher than ever before with new plants coming on line. In general, brick availability is excellent,” he said. “As always, commercial jobs, special
production and particular kinds of brick require a reasonable lead time.”

“The continuing success of the masonry industry is going to take a team effort,” said Brian Grant,president of the local Mason Contractors Assoc.and Grant Masonry Contracting. “For our part, the MCA continues to educate and train the union mason contractors to the highest professional standards so that they can continue to maintain their competitive edge against other construction methods.”

St. Louis is known for its stock of outstanding masonry structures, from historic buildings such as Union Station and the Wainwright Building to more contemporary treasures like Clayton Plaza, the Eagleton Building and Washington University’s Whitaker and Earth and Planetary Sciences buildings, just to name just a few. Over the years, the masonryindustry has proved it can handle the signature projects as well as the flow of everyday projects. With an abundance of manpower and materials, the training, the experience and the equipment, the industry is ready for whatever owners and architects can create. As Don Brown says of his men at Bricklayers’ Local #1, “However large the challenge, we’re ready for it!”