Project Labor Agreement (PLA) / Workforce Development System (HireLAX)

WHAT IS THE HireLAX PROGRAM?

The HireLAX Program provides local residents access to enroll in a comprehensive, construction apprenticeship preparation program offered by select public agencies or community partners. Upon completion, program graduates are competitively positioned for placement consideration on a LAWA construction project through its contractors and local craft unions. Veterans and women are strongly encouraged to participate in the program.

Conco Attends Contractor Speaking Panel for the HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program

HireLAX Contractor Open House – November 1st

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The International Code Council will soon vote on proposed code changes that among other things, would allow tall wood buildings to be built up to 18 stories, despite a lack of rigorous scientific or in-the field fire and structural testing.

Why should these TALL WOOD proposals for mass timber construction be stopped?

UNTESTED: Wood-industry funded tests performed in the U.S. and Canada were completely inadequate, failing to examine real-world structural risk factors, potential firefighting safety impacts from weather, and material-related risk factors to public health and safety.

UNPROVEN: While non-combustible concrete and steel have been used for centuries to build tall buildings and structures, mass timber products, like cross-laminated timber, are unknown and unproven construction materials. View the Scientific Rebuttal below or download the PDF here.

UNSOUND: Common sense knows, and history shows, that TALL WOOD buildings are high-risk and dangerous to public health and safety when it comes to natural and manmade disasters like hurricanes and wildfires.

For more information visit:

www.buildwithstrength.com/nowoodhighrises

Scientific_Rebuttal_Oppose Tall Wood Buildings

Conco Pumping is pleased to announce the addition of Gary Brandt to the Southern California team. Effective last February and after 41 years with Conco Pumping in Northern California, Gary has moved south to assist with sales and marketing in the Los Angeles area. Originally from the Orange County area, Gary is returning home and to where his family resides. Gary’s knowledge, experience and work ethic, the attributes that made him successful in Northern California have been immediately put to use in Southern California. Gary will focus on our pump work at LAX, will assist on all Conco projects, continue our relationships with our major customers in the Los Angeles basin and of course search for new opportunities. Doug Marquis, who asked Gary to relocate said “We couldn’t be happier now having Gary work with us on a daily basis. Gary brings a wealth of technical knowledge, a proven track record of results and we just like having him around!” Welcome to the team Gary.

More about the services that Conco offers in Southern Califonia:

Commercial Concrete Contractors

The Conco Companies have been providing the best value on concrete services and products in the greater L.A. area since 1959. We are honored to be a part of many noteworthy projects such as the Nokia Theatre and were recently awarded work on the historical Los Angeles Hall of Justice. As prominent commercial concrete contractors, our experience includes parking structures, educational and healthcare buildings, high-rises as well as highway and public sector work. Read more…

Shotcrete

As one of the largest and most respected commercial concrete contractors, we provide a whole range of high-quality concrete services including shotcrete construction to the Los Angeles’ market. Pneumatically placed, shotcrete virtually eliminates the formwork required in traditional cast-in-place concrete, which not only speeds up the process but expands its versatility in both new construction and repairs. It is now used in a vast number of applications including an increasing number of architectural applications; the construction and repair of bridges and dams; ground support such as stabilization, soil nailing, and tunneling; and much more. Read more…

Concrete Pumping

The Conco Companies offer a wide range of concrete services and operate one of the largest pumping companies in the United States. To serve the Los Angeles area, we have a pumping facility located in nearby Gardena and another based out of San Bernardino County. The primary goal of our pumping division is to be a placement specialist, and our equipment provides a wide variety of placing options for not only concrete but also aggregates. Read more…

Concrete Seismic Retrofit

If your building needs a concrete seismic retrofit, Los Angeles’ go-to contractor is The Conco Companies. We provide cost-effective solutions that meet or exceed Ordinance 183893, which requires seismic retrofitting for non-ductile concrete buildings. Using our extensive expertise, we improve the safety and integrity of your concrete structure as well as strive to preserve the historic or unique design elements of the building. Conco’s extensive portfolio includes several renowned area projects including the 1920s-era L.A. Hall of Justice, the historic Rose Bowl Stadium, and the iconic LA City Hall. Read more…

Structural Concrete Contractors

To ensure your project gets the best start, it pays to hire one of the top structural concrete contractors in Los Angeles. We have been in business since 1959 and are proud to have had a hand in constructing some of the most notable structures in the area including the awarding-winning LA Federal Court House. Conco also provided a full range of concrete services, including concrete pumping and reinforcement, for the tallest building west of the Mississippi, the Wilshire Grand Center. Our reputation is built on providing world-class concrete services with the ability and resources to handle the most challenging projects. Read more…

The Wilshire Grand Center was recently awarded the Gold Award by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the “Best Mixed Use Project”.

More information about Conco’s role in the Wilshire Grand Center can be found on the following blog posts.

Lifting Los Angeles to New Heights

On Monday, February 29, 2016, the Conco Companies topped off the core of the Wilshire Grand Center building in downtown Los Angeles. With over 150,000 cubic yards of concrete poured, and an intensely dedicated crew peaking to over 160 men and women on site, the Conco team has finally reached the milestone to lead the way for the interior finishes. Read more…

Breaking the Guinness World Record for the Largest Continuous Mat Pour

Starting at 4:47 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, 2014, Conco broke the Guinness World Record for the largest continuous mat pour in 18 ½ hours (1 ½ hours under the projected time). To verify the event, there was an official Guinness World Records adjudicator on-site. The mat pour was for the new Wilshire Grand Center that is being constructed in downtown Los Angeles and is slated to become the tallest building in the U.S. west of the Mississippi. Read more…

Conco’s Thermal Control Plan of the Wilshire Grand Mat Foundation Pour Proves Successful

Among the many unique features of the Wilshire Grand mat foundation pour was the thermal control plan. Occasionally we need to make provisions for the heat that is generated in mat foundations. In mass concrete structures, there are two thermal properties that must be considered: the maximum temperature and the temperature difference between the center of the structure and surface. Read more…

Conco’s Equipment Met the Tough Challenges of the Wilshire Grand Pour With Flying Colors

To successfully complete the world’s largest continuous mat pour, one of the biggest challenges Conco faced was to find ways to unload 120 – 150 truckloads of concrete per hour. With the need to unload so many trucks in such a short period of time, Conco’s plan called for thirteen points of placement in the mat foundation. However, only two sides of the project were accessible from the street. Read more…

Record Setting Event Accomplished Without Injury

While Conco is justifiably proud of breaking the World record for the largest continuous mat pour, we are even more proud of doing it safely. Our commitment to safety began with the vision from Conco’s Southern California General Manager, Rick Parker. Five months prior to the pour, he invited John Messing, Conco’s Safety Director, to participate in the planning meetings for the Grand Pour. Rick has learned from his years of experience that projects go more smoothly when the safety department is involved early-on to ensure that safety is built into the overall work plan. Read more…

Conco Awarded the Wilshire Grand Center Project

Conco has been given the opportunity to participate in another landmark project by providing concrete services for the new Wilshire Grand Center being built in downtown L.A. The new tower will become the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi. This is one of several of our large-scale projects in Los Angeles. Others include the recently completed 125 year old Hall of Justice retrofit, the new Federal Courthouse, a new 45 story cast in place building at 10000 Santa Monica, The iconic ARTIC transportation Center in Anaheim and several smaller projects. Read more…

The Conco Companies is very sad to announce the passing of co-founder Matt Gonsalves.

Mathew William Gonsalves passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Thursday, February 15, 2018, in Walnut Creek, California. Matt was born in Oakland, California to Matheus and Mary Gonsalves on September 7, 1930. Matt graduated from Castlemont High School in Oakland, California in 1948, where he served as the Student Body President during his senior year. He married his high school sweetheart, Marlene, on June 10, 1950. They were married for 65 years. Matt was a proud member of The United States Airforce from 1952 to 1953. Matt and Marlene moved to Concord, California in 1954 where they raised their three children Steve, Karen, and Janice.

In 1959, Matt founded Conco Cement Company with his two brothers, Will and Mel, along with his two high school friends, Gerald and Ray Santucci. That company is known today as The Conco Companies. Conco has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Matt have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Matt’s spirit will forever be the foundation of Conco.

Matt made many contributions to the construction industry. To improve the quality of slab foundations, Matt pioneered the use of 10″ to 12″ MAT slabs that are less prone to crack or bend with expanding soils or other earth movement. These thicker slab foundations are used today by contractors throughout Northern California. He invented the Waffle-Mat System in which concrete is poured over plastic molds to create a waffle-type mat especially effective on expansive soils. He was very excited about Confoam™.

In 2000 Matt was inducted into the California Home Building Hall of Fame.

We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much. Matt lived a life of open hearted generosity, of love & care for all who met him – be it for an hour, a day, or a lifetime – teaching us how to live well through his example.

Matt enjoyed his Wednesday Golf/Card day, as well as golf on Saturday and Sunday, and his monthly poker nights. As his health declined, he would meet his high school friends every Saturday for lunch instead of golf. He always looked forward to his annual Memorial Day weekend trip to Lake Tahoe as well as his annual President’s Day weekend trip to Cabo San Lucas. He was an Oakland Raider season ticket holder for years and still cheered them on win or lose.

We will miss him dearly. We are deeply grateful for the role that he played in building this great company and his service to the community.

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