Cleveland Wrecking is working on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge west approach project, which requires the firm to demolish segments of the bridge.

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Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, Cleveland Wrecking has earned a reputation for success by adopting the latest technology and operating with a talented team of professionals.

The company has weathered many ups and downs through the decades, but these challenges only proved to strengthen the organization from the top down, it says.

In 1997, Cleveland Wrecking was purchased by D&M Group, which was acquired by URS Corp. two years later. As a result of the 1997 acquisition, CWC was reorganized, keeping some of its key project personnel, URS Corp. Vice President Janet Martocchio says.

“We also brought on some very key players within the demolition industry to bolster what Cleveland already had,” Martocchio says. “The beauty of Cleveland is that you have a lot of past history, and a lot of know-how. Over the years, the company developed many engineering standards that most companies use as standards today.”

In addition, many employees had developed specialized pieces of equipment that are unique to the company. “It’s really amazing, the kind of talent that’s here at Cleveland,” Martocchio says.

Portfolio of Services
Today, the firm offers a variety of services, specializing in demolition, complete facility closures, concrete breaking, and high-rise buildings in congested urban settings.

“Interior gut-out projects, seismic retrofit, structural strengthening and modernization projects on existing structures are also a major portion of our business,” the company explains.

In addition, Cleveland Wrecking also performs industrial and petrochemical work, asbestos and hazardous waste removal, and salvage, recycling and investment recovery.

Many of these services can be provided on a turnkey basis. “Combining all of our skills and disciplines into a single source, efficient solutions to complex projects is a hallmark of Cleveland Wrecking’s operations,” the company explains. “In addition, this is a major benefit in limiting liability, as one source is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the project.”

Bigger and Better
Cleveland’s Northwest Regional Manager Bill Torres has been with the firm for more than 10 years, and says its new growth prospects are exciting. “URS has acquired many companies, which has opened new markets for Cleveland Wrecking,” Torres says. “Every year, our profits are getting bigger and bigger, which is exciting.”

According to Martocchio, the key to success is finding talented, skilled workers. However, this is not always easy in the specialized demolition field. “There is a very finite group you can pull from,” she says. “Our best method has been to mentor people through the business from cradle to grave. Then, we work hard to keep those people. Our attrition rate is very small compared to most companies. I’m not saying we won’t lose people, but our workers think of this as less of a job and more of a career.”

The company strives to get the most out of its work force by placing teams on projects where they will excel. For example, its Northern California office excels in concrete and commercial high-rise work, Martocchio says.

“So, it would be silly to place these workers on a refinery job that has very little to do with the work they perform on a daily basis,” she explains. “We focus on matching the right people with the right type of work, and keep pushing them through the ranks.”

Safety Focus
Cleveland Wrecking developed a behavior-based safety program, which “provides a higher level of safety excellence by promoting proactive responses, building ownership and developing opportunities which relate to employee safety,” the company explains.

As a result of this program, employees put safety above all else. “At Cleveland Wrecking, we provide positive feedback for safe behavior, as well as intervene when observing at-risk behavior. We work as a team in all aspects of our projects — safety being the highest priority.”

Oakland Bay Bridge Project
Cleveland Wrecking is working on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge west approach project, which requires the firm to demolish segments of the bridge, along with contractor Tutor Saliba.  “We’re in the final phase of the project right now,” Torres says. “We just completed another accelerated weekend demo three weeks ago.”

The project’s accelerated schedule was a challenge, but Tutor Saliba, CWC and CalTrans ensured the job remained on track by thinking outside the box, Torres adds. “They really maximized all personnel and equipment,” he says. “We had about six or eight accelerated weekends, but this all saved time and kept everything on track. We actually finished early. There’s never been a job like this in San Francisco, with this degree of difficulty. We had to keep all the traffic moving at all times – more than 280,000 vehicles [daily] – which was a challenge in itself.”