Newsletter:  December 2006 a To Our Customers & Friends, As many of you already know, the time has come for Jim Kempers to take on a new adventure called retirement. Here at LeDuc and Dexter are excited for Jim and for the opportunity we have available for the next Residential Department Manager.  In our search for a qualified replacement we are asking for your help in sharing this opportunity with those you know. The candidate may be someone that comes from a different trade background or the plumbing industry. If you know someone that you feel has potential and the qualifications for such a position please tell him or her about our company and the job opportunity we have available. They can contact Dede Singleton in our HR Department @ (707) 575-1500 or by e-mail Dede@ldplumb.com if they have questions regarding this position. As always we thank you for your continued support and look forward to working with you in the future. Sincerely,       Tom LeDuc, President Art Dexter, Vice President     "It's a world class facility" – Rich Hoaglund, Commercial Superintendent for LeDuc & Dexter, speaking about the new Freeman Lexus auto dealership. "We have to stay competitive with the current market where housing prices are going down and materials continue to go up" - Jason Leavitt, LeDuc & Dexter Residential Estimator. "Now we can really make our customers feel at home" - Tom LeDuc, President & CEO of LeDuc & Dexter, talking about the new residential consultation room for customers.

Freeman Lexus Dealership & Pacific Industrial Park Completed

Commercial

The new Freeman Lexus auto dealership on Corby Avenue. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. has completed their work at the brand new Freeman Lexus auto dealership on Corby Avenue and Pacific Industrial Park on Wiljan Court. Freeman Lexus, which is within walking distance of LeDuc & Dexter's office on Dowd Drive, was built by Wright Contracting. Pacific Industrial Park, located just a block away, was built by Stagecoach Development.

Reception area at Freeman Lexus. (click image to enlarge)

The Freeman Lexus project was designed by Lexus to mirror other dealerships built across the nation and internationally. "It's a world class facility," says Rich Hoaglund, Commercial Superintendent for LeDuc & Dexter, "they have a tile floor in their shop area."

Hoaglund worked closely with Don Roberts, Superintendent for Wright Contracting. "Don is very professional; he tells it like it is with no surprises, he's a pleasure to work with," says Hoaglund.

Auto repair shop has tile floor and state of the art equipment. (click image to enlarge)

Overhead gas and water lines in the shop were installed by LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter installed the sanitary waste and vent system, roof drainage, hot and cold water and gas piping for the project. Cary & Associates Builders, Inc. constructed the metal building.

Down the street Pacific Industrial Park is ready to be leased or sold to tenants. The project consists of two structures with two units available in each building. The two-story shell consists of retail space on the bottom floor and office or caretaker space on the top floor. LeDuc & Dexter installed the sanitary waste system, roof drainage and cold water piping. Future tenant improvements are forthcoming upon occupancy.

Pacific Industrial Park on Wiljan Court near LeDuc & Dexter's office. (click image to enlarge)

Jason Leavitt – Residential Estimator

Residential

For the past three and a half years Jason Leavitt has been employed with LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. He is now an estimator in the residential department. "I actually started estimating in June 2004 under Jim Kempers, he trained me," says Leavitt. Jim Kempers has now retired and since May of this year Leavitt has been estimating on his own. Leavitt started in the warehouse where he worked on prefabrication of residential shower tubs and sinks, cutting pipes and soldering to prepare units for installation on the job. He also worked in customer service, scheduling jobs and supplying parts. Up until this summer he often delivered materials to jobs in the field.

Jason Leavitt LeDuc & Dexter Residential Estimator

Leavitt enjoys estimating while also seeing the big challenges in the housing market. "We have to stay competitive with the current market where housing prices are going down and materials continue to go up," says Leavitt.

Jason Leavitt at work in his office at Leduc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

Leavitt works closely with Stephanie Pallas and Kalani Spears who supply him with the pricing for materials. He also works closely with Kevin Delong , Residential Superintendent, in regards to labor and labor costs. A key to keeping costs down is making sure the right plumbers are on the right jobs to take advantage of their strengths and expertise. One of the things Leavitt likes best about his job is looking at plans for one-of-a-kind custom homes. He finds them very interesting, but also adds that, "they're harder to bid on." Leavitt, who spent nine years at a computer manufacturing company where he was a product manager, also assists with in-house I.T. work at LeDuc & Dexter. To sum up his experience with LeDuc & Dexter Leavitt simply states, "I love working here."

New Experience for Residential Customers at LeDuc & Dexter

The Company

The new customer consultation room in the residential department at LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

Residential customers will find their new experience at LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. to be comfortable, high tech and more efficient. The residential department at LeDuc & Dexter has been remodeled to provide a more inviting environment for customers who come in to choose their fixtures, sinks, tubs and other plumbing products for their new homes or remodeling projects.

"The idea came from a visit I made to an interior design firm that provided a slide show in the waiting room for its customers," says Tom LeDuc, President and CEO of LeDuc & Dexter. "I said to myself, 'Wow, this is great, why couldn't we do this? Maybe we could even go one step further." So now a home-styled consultation room has been created where customers can sit and relax while they view a wall-mounted plasma screen with an internet connection to access the websites of companies that provide a wide range of plumbing products.

LeDuc & Dexter's Kalani Spears, Residential Administrator (left), and Stacy Lunceford, Accounting, browsing the Internet and viewing the plasma screen. (click image to enlarge)

The room has a large overhead framed light that provides soft, luminous lighting. The French doors and furniture make the room feel more like a den than an office. "Now we can really make our customers feel at home," says LeDuc. The new customer experience really has some practical advantages aside from comfort. Instead of looking at separate catalogs everyone can now view the same larger images at the same time on the wall-mounted plasma screen. Kohler has a website that allows shoppers to save images and specs of products in folders for later review. These choices can be emailed from LeDuc & Dexter's consultation room to the customer's home for later review and final decision making.