Tech school demolition showcases Champion’s priorities
from Wisconsin Builder, July 2007

Tech school demolition showcases Champion’s priorities

Demolition is just part of the job for Champion Environmental Services Inc.

The Madison company offers a wide range of services catering to the specific needs of individual projects, but there is one constant on every Champion demolition site: successful reuse, reselling or recycling of all types of building materials.

“We’re proud of our ability to use the equipment that we have to recycle almost everything on a project,” said Rick Tooker, Champion’s executive vice president.

And that can translate into cost benefits for those involved in the project.

“We’re able to be more competitive and reduce the cost of demolition to the owner,” Tooker said. “It costs us a little more to do it that way, but it allows us a bigger profit margin.”

The company’s recent project at Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School in Milwaukee shows that concept in action. The project achieved a 99.07 percent (by weight) recycling rate, one of the company’s highest and a figure Tooker said he is proud of.

The project was a challenging but rewarding one. Bradley Tech was already built on the former site of the Milwaukee Boys’ Technical High School’s sports stadium. Champion was hired to complete the flip-flop, taking down the 440,000 square-foot old school, built in five phases from 1911 to 1964. With the building gone, a new Bradley Tech sports stadium will be erected on this site.

Champion begins every major demolition job by assessing the building and materials within.

“We look at all the building components and consider the end use of those components,” said Tooker. “We try to determine a value of each one of those.”

Items such as brick, steel, wood, concrete and even electrical equipment and machinery have potential value in reuse, resale or recycling.

“The difference between us and some other guy is they’re tearing down the building and putting items in a Dumpster,” Tooker added. “We methodically deconstruct our projects, often chipping away from the top down.”

On the Bradley Tech project, for example, Tooker said his firm put mini excavators on the roof to begin disassembly. About 99 percent of the building was structural concrete, such as columns, walls and beams, while the original part of the structure had solid wood flooring and wood trim.

As Champion works on the inside of a building, all materials are separated into individual piles. Materials are taken out of the building and, when possible, processed on site. Some items are recycled, such as Boys’ Tech’s concrete, which was used for backfill. Other items, such as bricks from the historic school’s façade, were sold to builders, decorators and brickyards.

This deliberative approach helps preserve or recycle vintage and salvageable materials and reduces the amount of waste taken to a landfill.

Contrary to popular belief, this holistic deconstruction method does not inhibit Champion from adhering to rigorous schedules. Bradley Tech took an additional month because hidden asbestos was discovered once the demolition process had begun, shutting down the demolition activities until the asbestos was removed.

Another important part of the project — one that was not required in Champion’s contract — was saving the school’s cornerstone and historic statuary. Kyle Shultz, Champion’s labor supervisor, said it took some extra time and money to remove such antiquities, but the company realized the value these items would have in preserving the school’s past for future generations.

By going the extra mile — in finding new life for old materials — Champion exceeds clients’ expectations, creating a winning situation for everyone involved. And, Tooker added, “It gives us the ability to be highly competitive.”

Champion Environmental Services has always strived to be an industry leader. Founded in 1992 by Dominic Gorniak, Champion began as an environmental remediation firm.

Dominic realized the need for demolition services often goes hand-in-hand with the need for hazardous-material abatement. Therefore, Champion became a turnkey environmental remediation and demolition firm, operating in 17 states, with most of its business focused around the Great Lakes region.

For more information, call 608-833-1244 or visit www.champenv.com.

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