Volume 18, No. 3 A Quarterly Publication of Independence Excavating, Inc. Summer, 2005

Ted Howard and Dan Lewis, Project Managers

In 2002, Charter Steel purchased the old American Steel and Wireproperty on East 49th Street in Cuyahoga Heights and is now in theprocess of constructing a new Melt Shop facility at the site. Theshop will melt scrap steel and process it into new billet steel for usein the rolling mill. Charter provides and sells steel to manufacturesof bearings, springs, valves, and a variety of industries.

Charter Steel has hired Lockwood Greene Engineering to designand construct the new melt shop facility and they are overseeing allphases of the construction of the project. Lockwood Greene is anengineering, design, and construction management firm that acts as

the owner’s representative and provides support, management, andsafety oversight of the various contractors working on the site.

In December of 2004, Independence Excavating was awarded thecontract to demolish the existing foundations from the former steelfacility on the northeast corner of the property. Over 25,000 cubicyards of concrete foundations were demolished and removed fromthe site; some were over 15 feet thick. In addition to the demolition,Independence undercut the building pad and imported material toprovide a stable platform for the auger cast pile installation thatwould be the support for the building and equipment foundationnew facility. Continues on page 3, see “Charter Steel”.

CHARTER STEEL BUILDS NEW MELT SHOP

2

P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

Vic DiGeronimo Sr.

POPE JOHN PAUL II = QUALITY, INTEGRITY

Most of the articles I write mention quality, integrity,honesty, and hard work ethics. I thought I woulddedicate this message in honor of Pope John PaulII, as he portrayed all of the philosophies westrive for, and for his concern for all people.

Pope John Paul exemplified kindness,compassion, and humbleness to everyone hecame in contact with– every nation, religionand race in the world. When I mentioned toSam Miller, of Forest City Enterprises, howsupportive he was to the Jewish people, Samsaid he was deeply honored to have visited withPope John Paul on six different occasions andwhat a remarkable person he was.

Pope John Paul lived his life as he advisedothers. When it comes to forgiveness, as we are alltaught, he forgave the man who attempted to assassinatehim. He had so many qualities about him and never oncevaried from his views and beliefs, while maintaining a co-operativeattitude with all those with whom he came in contact.

I read a biography on him a few years back, and it was veryinteresting. While he was attending school he worked in a rock

quarry in Poland. A very strong, energetic person, he was oneof their best employees. However, because of his high level

of intelligence they often let him study during workinghours, knowing that he would some day be a great

leader.Pope John Paul had a succession plan in

place, just as most successful companies. Wewish all the best of health and peace to PopeBenedict the XVI as he carries forward the duties ofthe most powerful leader in the world.

Just imagine what a great world it wouldbe; if all nations and all people followed theexample of honesty, integrity, and compassion for

others as Pope John Paul II. What a wonderfulworld it would be. There were two statements that he

often made, which I totally agree with and try to live by;they are part of the reason for our success.... “Do what is

right” and “Don’t be afraid”.Pope Benedict has already started the process for proclaiming

Pope Paul a Saint, a well-deserved honor.

Arrivederci!!

IN MEMORIAM:

The DiGeronimo Family would like to extend our deepestsympathy to the family of Jim Alex who went with our Lord inMay. We worked with Jim and the Alex Family many years agowhen we were both starting our companies and operatingequipment, driving trucks, and laboring.

Jim is the utmost example of honesty, quality and integrity, andwe know the good Lord will have a special place for him.

Rest in peace, Partner.

Charter Steel Builds New Melt Shop...continued from front page.

In February of 2005, Independence was awarded the contract to installthe concrete foundations for the new building. More than 2,700 cubicyards of concrete has been placed on the new piles and grade walls toprovide the foundation for the new building. Construction included over2,000 feet of grade wall and 75 pile caps on the piers. Akron Erectorswas contracted to furnish and install rebarfor the foundations. This project wascompleted ahead of the expected schedule.

In April of 2005, Independence wasawarded the contract to install the concretefoundations for the equipment inside thebuilding. This work is currently beingperformed on site. The equipment founda-tions include more than 5,000 cubic yardsof heavily reinforced concrete to supportthe massive equipment that will be placedon them. Several of the foundations werevery deep with one extending down over 30 foot in close proximity toother existing building foundations. KLE Construction Company wascontracted to furnish and install rebar for the equipment foundations.McKinney Drilling was contracted to install the soldier piles for the deepexcavation. Independence is performing the installation of thesedifficult foundations by incorporating our various excavating, sheeting,engineering, and concrete skills to complete them safely and efficiently. Independence was also awarded the contract to install site utilities that

would support the new Melt Shop facility. The project is comprised ofover 25,000 feet of utilities including sanitary sewer, storm sewer,waterline, electric duct bank, and various mechanical support pipingsuch as contact water, emergency water, blow-down lines, etc.Schweizer Dipple was contracted to perform the installation of the

mechanical utilities and Lake Erie Electricwas contracted to install the various ductbanks and grounding on site. We will beworking in various areas at the same timewith the utilities and some of the trencheswill contain multiple utilities and be up to18 feet wide and 12 feet deep.The steel erector has started to raise

the steel for the new building and theequipment that is to be installed inside thefacility and will arrive soon. This makes theproject fast-paced and time critical to avoid

conflicts with other trades as they begin to arrive on-site. Independencecurrently has more than 35 employees on site and our subcontractorshave another 45 on site at this time. Our work on this project hasexpanded from the initial demolition to the foundations and utilities; wecould not be more pleased to perform construction for Charter Steel andLockwood Greene on this project. Completion is scheduled for springof 2006.

3

4

Tony DiGeronimo, President

It’s hard to believe Precision has already reached the half-waypoint of 2005 already. We have another strong year in the making.

Our major jobs include Cleveland State Fenn Tower for TurnerConstruction, Steelyard Commons for B & B Wrecking and GreatLakes Construction, demolition of Westgate Shopping Center forThe Richard E. Jacobs Group , and many other demanding projects.

ProCut has many jobs happening as well. One of the mostinteresting projects is the Martin Luther King Bridge in Toledo forNational Engineering. The project consists of drilling 50 six-inchdiameter holes as deep as 50 feet through the concrete backwallsof the existing drawbridge foundations to enable the new bridgeconstruction.

We are also looking forward to establishing a strong businessrelationship with a new client on our first job for the Akron SchoolDistrict. It is our first project with one of the consulting pioneers inthe asbestos industry, Dave Gandee. His firm is headquartered inColumbus and recently opened a new office in Akron.

Another new project we were chosen to perform is thedismantling of 15 stoves from the former Duquesne Steel Companyin Pennsylvania. They are located on the property being renovated

by Regional Industrial Development Corporation of the SouthwestPennsylvania Growth Fund. Tom Zuchowski and John Savageproposed an acceptable abatement method that allowed thecontrolled removal of asbestos from these abandoned andstructurally dilapidated obstacles. This is another example ofPrecision personnel combining their experience in both asbestosand demolition to meet the challenges of a difficult project.

Lastly, I would like to thank all our employees for their efforts tomake the move to our new facility a success. Everyone kept up withtheir day-to-day activities along with enduring the interruptions andnecessary inconveniences of the move. The facility looks to be agreat answer to the need to have all Precision resources at onelocation. We believe this should help us to serve our clientsefficiently for a long time to come.

Thanks to all our friends who were able to attend our open house.It was great for all our people to meet the faces of the voices we hearso often on the phone. For those unable to attend, please call us tovisit. We will always make time to be with our friends.

Enjoy a safe summer!

P r e c i s i o n E n v i r o n m e n t a l / P r o C U T P r o j e c t

Precision removesbleachers over swimmingpool in Cleveland StateUniversity’s Fenn Tower.

Mike Orlando, Project Manager

Independence Excavating, Inc. has recentlycompleted another major step in the constructionof the new Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, bydemolishing the parking garage which flanked theeast side of the Clinic’s main entrance since 1975.The six-story precast concrete structure provided

nearly 1,500 parking spaces for Clinic personneland patients and also housed a pharmacy, securitycommand center, and operations staff office space. The demolition was accomplished whilemaintaining access to the main entrance of thehospital and afforded safe egress for clinicpersonnel and patients.

Utilizing the services of structural engineer DonLeinweber, a precise demolition plan wasdeveloped and presented to the constructionmanager, The Whiting-Turner ContractingCompany, for review. During the early stages of

demolition, Leinweber Engineering providedon-site observation and modifications to

the demolition plan as needed to accommodateactual field conditions. A combination of the Cat385 and Cat 245 High Reach machines providedthe safest means of demolishing the precast andcast-in-place elements of the structure.

With the exception of some drywall andmiscellaneous construction debris in the finishedareas of the building, all of the concrete, pre-stressing cables, reinforcing steel, guardrails, andmasonry were processed on-site and dispatchedfor further processing and recycling. The entirestructure was on the ground in less than 4 weeks,and substantially cleaned up in about 6 weeks.This allowed for an early start of the mass

excavation and site utilityinstallation for the Heart Centerthat will occupy the footprint ofthe former garage and thebalance of the main entrance.

All of the IndependenceExcavating on-site personnel areto be commended for completingthis project safely and efficiently.

Cleveland Clinic Foundation Garage Demolition

C o m p l e t e d P r o j e c t

5

Beachcliff Market Square Location: Rocky River, OhioOwner: Madison Marquette RealtyConstruction Manager: Duke ConstructionStart Date: May, 2005Completion Date: September, 2005Scope: Excavation of 12,000 cubic yards,installation of site utilities including 84-foot stormdetention system, cast-in-place retaining wall, andbackfill of foundation for future building.

Charter Steel Machine Foundations Location: Cuyahoga Heights, OhioOwner: Charter SteelConstruction Manager: Lockwood GreeneStart Date: May, 2005Completion Date: September, 2005Scope: 5,000 cubic yards of heavily reinforced cast-in-place concrete, and shoring of a 30 foot deep cut.

Charter Steel SiteworkLocation: Cuyahoga Heights, OhioOwner: Charter SteelConstruction Manager: Lockwood GreeneStart Date: May, 2005

Completion Date: August, 2005Scope: Installation of storm sewer, sanitary sewer,electric duct bank, mechanical utilities withcombined piping of 20,000 linear feet, site grading,aggregate roads, and miscellaneous demo.

Lakeview Bluffs Location: Fairport Harbor, OhioOwner: Hemisphere Corporation Construction Manager: Hull and AssociatesStart Date: May, 2005Completion Date: October, 2005Scope: Mass grading and placement of clean fill,on-site demo of utilities, concrete road demo, andplacement of topsoil cap.

ODOT – I-480 & Tiedeman Road Location: Brooklyn and Cleveland, OhioOwner: Ohio Department of Transportation Start date: July, 2005Completion date: October, 2005Scope: Removal of sediment and vegetation fromthe basin channel.

Tinkers Creek Commerce Park Location: Egbert Road, Bedford, Ohio Owner: Hemisphere CorporationConstruction Manager: Hull and AssociatesStart Date: June, 2005Completion Date: December, 2005Scope: Site clearing, removal of impacted soils,removal of utilities, grading of site, installation ofstorm sewer, sanitary sewer and waterline, newconcrete road, and installation of a new pumpingstation.

Thomas Steel Strip Location: Warren, OhioOwner: Thomas SteelStart Date: June, 2005Completion Date: August, 2005Scope: Closure and impound of lagoons,import of 5,000 cubic yards of granular fill, 10,000 ton of 57 open hearth slag, and 5,000 cubic yards of topsoil.

N e w P r o j e c t s

6

C u r r e n t C r u s h i n g P r o j e c t s

ALLIED CORP. / SHELLY CO.Cleveland, Ohio50,000 tons of asphalt crushing into 1/2” minus RAP material

DIGERONIMO AGGREGATES, LLCIndependence, Ohio300,000 tons of 2” minus shale crushing

FORT MYERS FACILITYFt. Myers, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

INDEPENDENCE FACILITYFt. Myers, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

INDEPENDENCE FACILITYIndependence, Ohio100,000 tons of ODOT #304 base material

JACKSONVILLE FACILITYJacksonville, Florida250,000 tons of 2” minus base material

LAKELAND FACILITYLakeland, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

OLEN CORP.Wooster, Ohio300,000 tons of sand and gravel crushed into ODOT#304 base material

ORLANDO FACILITYOrlando, Florida200,000 tons of stone and base material

PUNTA GORDA FACILTYPunta Gorda, Florida20,000 tons of 2” minus base material

STEIN/I.S.G. SLAG CRUSHINGISG Mill, Cleveland, Ohio600,000 tons of slag crushed into #57, #8 and #10stone

TAMPA FACILITYTampa, Florida25,000 tons of 2” minus base material

VALLEY VIEW FACILITYValley View, Ohio150,000 tons of #1’s and #2’s and #304 base material

WALSH CONSTRUCTIONMifflin County, Pennsylvania975,000 tons of sandstone crushing into various sizebase materials

C o m p l e t e d P r o j e c t

Rick Lantz, Project Manager

Independence Excavating is nearing the completionof a project in Martinsburg, West Virginia at the AirNational Guard 167th Airlift Wing. This projectinvolved site and utility improvements to the runwaysin anticipation of a switch from the 350,000 pound C-130 Hercules planes to the 800,000 pound C-5 Galaxyplanes next year. These amazing C-5 planes can carryall U.S. military equipment, including tanks, boats andplanes and can transport troops around the world without refueling.

To date, we have completed the earthwork and utilities consisting of massexcavation of 175,000 CY of soil and blasted rock. The drilling and blastingof 140,000 CY of this material, presented unique challenges due the rockformation’s specific subsurface orientation that is on a 45-degree plane withclay seams throughout the rock. This results in an inconsistent rollercoastertype subsurface.

We have installed approximately 35,000 linear feet of water, fire, sanitary,and storm sewer pipe. Some of the sanitary and storm lines presented similarchallenges due to the depth of installation within the blasted subsurface rock.

We have installed approximately 10,000 linear feet ofelectrical duct bank encased in concrete. In addition, wehave self-performed the complete installation of 9,500linear feet of 6” gas line. We utilized our new fusionmachine which uses intense heat and pressure to fusethe HDPE pipe together. This machine has the capabilityof fusing 3” to 8” HDPE pipe.

We are in the process of installing and grading theaggregate for the pavement, curbs, and sidewalks alongwith re-spreading topsoil. The only item left to be

completed is the demolition of the Air Control Tower which willbeaccomplished by September.

The success of this project was made possible through the workingrelationship with Colonel Bill Burkhart of The West Virginia Air National Guardand Clark Construction’s project team consisting of Jesse Rice, Chris Vito, andWalter Hasenzahl. We would like to recognize our dedicated employees whospent many months out of town to complete this project includingSuperintendent John Percun, Forman John Beckman; as well as TrevorTesmar, and Tim Zimmerman, and GPS Coordinator Todd Moyer, and ProjectManager Jay Santa.

We hope to continue our relationship with WVANG and ClarkConstruction on future projects.

Independence travels to West Virginia to make way for C-5’s

7

© Declaration of Independence2005 Independence Excavating Inc.

Editor: Stacey Bernas

Photos credits: Greg Moro, Independence Recycling of FloridaTodd Moyer, Independence ExcavatingMike Orlando, Independence ExcavatingDan Lewis, Independence ExcavatingJoe Hoy, Precision Environmental

Comments and suggestions can be submitted by letter to:

Independence Excavating Inc.5720 Schaaf RoadIndependence, Ohio 44131www.indexc.comAn equal opportunity employer

Greg Moro, Florida Operations Manager

Currently, we have six aggregate recycling yards located in thecities of Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland, Jacksonville, Fort Myers and PuntaGorda, Florida. At the Punta Gorda location we not only recycleaggregate, we also sell clean fill dirt from our pit located on site. At allyards combined, 712,000 tons of recycled aggregate was produced in2004.

With all the growth in Florida, our mobile crushing crews arealways on the go. We just finished crushing the old WestinghouseShip Building Plant located on prime waterfront property to makeroom for Tampa Bay’s newest high rise development. Getting readyfor the 2009 Super Bowl, we are crushing the old Tampa Bay Malllocated next to the Bucs stadium to make room for new hotels.

We currently have three mobile crushers traveling throughout Floridaservicing our own yard locations and crushing for our customers.

What’s Going On In Florida?

SAVE THE DATE!...Sunday, August 21, 2005The DiGeronimo Companies employee picnic will be held at Wiegand's Lake Park again this year from Noon to 6 p.m..Reservation forms will be sent in paychecks shortly.

We hope you can make it!

‘05 ANNIVERSARIESJULY2 ROBERT & GLORIA BOLLINGER3 SHAWN & CAROLINE ROBERTSON8 BARON & RUTH WILLIAMS8 RICHARD & JANET MILLER8 GARRETT & LACHELLE WILLIAMS9 MIKE & DEBORAH RIDER10 GENNARO & LINDA NIRO19 MICHAEL & SANDY GIMINO20 JOHN & PAULA HARPER21 VIC & LURLIE DIGERONIMO24 RICH & HOLLY SCHIEFERSTEIN27 VIC & DIANA DIGERONIMO29 DOUGLAS & SHIRLENE BRYANT

AUGUST1 RICHARD & LISA PAVELECKY5 TODD & AMY HOOVER5 ED & AGGIE BUTLER7 JERRY & ANN ROSEN7 SERGIO & JULIE MAURETTI12 ROBERT & CAROL KLINK15 TREVOR & JEN TESMER20 JOSEPH & THERESA MARTIN20 MICHAEL & CHRISTINE RIDER24 LARRY & TERRI HROVAT25 ANDREA & AL GALMARINI

SEPTEMBER 5 ANDREW & TAMMY ROGERS8 JOSEPH & BETTY RHINEHART8 JOHN & TINA PERCUN14 JASON & JENNIFER SMEZNIK15 JEFFREY & DEBBIE JONES18 DAN & TINA LEWIS19 DENNIS & SANDY LASALVIA19 SCOTT & CINDY COULTER19 THEODORE & JILL CHUHA21 SCOTT & CAROLINE RICKNER25 DONNIE & FRANCIE DIGERONIMO26 STAN & LINDA SKOCZEN27 SCOTT & ROBIN RODGERS28 TIMOTHY & JANICE GABEL30 HOYE & SHIRLEY CARR

OCTOBER5 JOHN & MARGARET MULOIN7 STEVEN & CATHERINE GOSSELIN8 THOMAS & GINA BYRNE10 WAYNE & AMY MELLINGER10 SCOTT & ELLIE SHERMAN13 BILL & PEGGY ORR14 JOSEPH & CHRISTINE TRETINIK15 STEVEN & CAROL SLANSKY25 JOHN & RENEE FILLA25 MALLORY & ELIZABETH JACKSON27 DONALD & BEVERLY BARROWS29 MICHAEL & RENEE ZAZ30 KEVIN & SHEILA CONRAD30 TIMOTHY & KAREN ZIMMERMAN

JULY1 ROBERT LAZAR1 ANTHONY MCDANIEL2 TERRENCE STEWART3 JOHN BECKMAN3 RONALD COSTANTINO4 CHRIS SCHUERGER5 JOSEPH MARTIN5 GREGORY RIETH6 SONYA MCNEELY8 GREGORY FOTH11 JIMMY IACAMPO11 MARK SHAUGHNESSY12 THOMAS NIXON13 ROBERT BROWN14 DEANA DIGERONIMO16 ROBERT BOLLINGER16 ANDREA GALMARINI17 JOSEPH SAVAGE18 MIKE MOLONEY19 EDWARD VIZDOS19 DEREK MASTERS21 FRANCIS RODEBAUGH21 MARK JOHNSTON21 VICTOR EPELBAUM23 SANDI CIELEC24 LEROY KNIGHT JR.26 EDWARD GILBERT26 SCOTT SHERMAN26 RICH WILK26 JEFFREY JONES27 RICK LANTZ27 LISA PESTA 27 JOSEPH MAKSIN28 BOBBY DIGERONIMO29 MICHAEL BURNS30 KENNETH MANN

AUGUST1 TREVOR TESMER1 JOE DIGERONIMO2 JOE LEOPOLD2 JEFF WISNIEWSKI2 ROGER KUHN3 ERNEST GRIMES3 GEORGE EXLINE4 ROBERT JOHNSON JR.5 DAVE BRONZA5 SAMUEL FILLA5 BILLY WHETZEL JR7 THOMAS CRAMER8 MATTHEW SLANSKY8 MARK KUPRESANIN9 MICHAEL GOSSELIN9 JAMES WANCATA10 MICHAEL GIMINO14 DANIEL CAMELI14 MATT GILLILAN16 DANIEL BURDELL17 MARK SLAVIK19 MICHAEL SMITH20 DON SAMPLE22 JOHN VILD22 LAWRENCE SMITH25 DENNIS BIHUN25 GENNARO NIRO26 MATTHEW GILBERT26 PETER GERACE27 ANTHONY SMITH27 ALLEN HENRY28 RICHARD BOONE28 MICHAEL HICKS28 GARY GIBSON28 STEVE SELF29 JAMES BANKS31 DAVE BEVAN

SEPTEMBER2 JASON VLACH3 JASON SMEZNIK4 ADAM HALL5 BRANDON BRAZIS5 JEROME KACZMAREK5 STANLEY ROBINSON5 NICOLE AVENI7 BRIAN WALLACE12 PAUL GIULITTO12 TRACY WILEY14 JEN GUINTO14 ALAN BLOSE16 DAVE STATEN17 TIMOTHY BUTCHER17 AUGUST NANNI19 FREDRICK GARY19 ROBERT DOWNING20 WOODROW SORRENTINO20 RICKY PIETROBONI22 WILLIAM APRILE

‘05 BIRTHDAYS22 ERNEST SANDERS23 WAYNE MELLINGER24 GRANT WILES25 PATRICIA KASUNIC25 RICH SCHIEFERSTEIN25 SCOTT RODGERS25 MARIA MORELLI26 PETER SMEGA27 WILLIAM SNEIDER27 JOHN VANCE27 RICH DIGERONIMO29 BRIAN OSBORNE

OCTOBER1 RICHARD WOLF2 DALE LANG2 CHARLES HALL2 THOMAS DUHON4 RICHARD MILLER9 RANDY SCHNEITER9 STEVE WILK13 NICK DIGERONIMO13 ADAM COOKRO14 KEVIN CONRAD14 GREG DIGERONIMO14 JEROME WARD14 TOM STEBLINSKI15 CRAIG WEBB15 MALLORY JACKSON17 AUDREY DVORAK17 KEVIN DIGERONIMO19 DON MAHNKE20 PAUL BUCKNER21 THOMAS BYRNE21 JASON THROWER21 MIKE WALSH21 SCOTT RICKNER24 WILLIAM SHONDELMYER26 ROMANINO DIVINCENZO27 CEDRIC BOWEN28 JOHN HARRISON28 ED WILK28 FLOYD RYBICKI28 JOHN FILLA28 MICHAEL HARRELL29 SCOTT PADGETT31 THOMAS SUDETIC