Newsletter:  May 2004 a As for Pedro Sigala, LeDuc & Dexter foreman at Siena, Fleming says, "He's a great plumber – he's the man – he gets it done." "Mark Silva was the best kind of owner/builder representative to work with, he was cooperative, helpful and supportive throughout the project." – Bill Zeeb "I was really impressed with the process that Diamond Certified used to rate us," says CEO and President, Tom LeDuc.

Lasting Relationships Are Good For Business	RESIDENTIAL

Tom LeDuc, President of LeDuc & Dexter Inc., has known and worked with Keith Christopherson, President, and Brenda Christopherson, Vice President, of Christopherson Homes, Inc. for over 20 years. LeDuc & Dexter residential manager Jim Kempers has worked with Bob Sweeney, Vice President of Construction at Christopherson Homes for 4 years. Greg Fleming, Project Manager and Superintendent at Christopherson Homes' Siena at Tuscany community has worked with LeDuc & Dexter residential foreman, Pedro Sigala for 10 years. These business relationships have created lasting friendships built on a foundation of success between the two companies.

4 new models have recently opened in Siena at Tuscany. (click image to enlarge)

Wet Bar in living area features Kohler sink and faucet. (click image to enlarge)	Bathroom features more Kohler fixtures with brushed nickel finish for sink and spa tub. (click image to enlarge)	Kitchen island has a marble counter top with Kohler sink and faucet. (click image to enlarge)

The principals of these two companies have long respected each other and have worked together since they were start-up operations, "When Arty (Art Dexter) and I first started, some of our first jobs were spec homes with Keith and Brenda Christopherson," says Tom LeDuc, who actually met Keith Christopherson when they were both hot rod enthusiasts in Santa Rosa 30 years ago.
 

LeDuc & Dexter piping in future Siena home with a typically spectacular Fountaingrove view.  (click image to enlarge)

One of the most recent success stories of Christopherson Homes and LeDuc & Dexter is Siena at Tuscany, a Fountaingrove luxury community that will total over 100 new homes when it is completed. 60 of the homes have been built with a portion already occupied. 4 new models were recently featured in a grand opening for the remaining phase of 40 homes to be built.

Greg Fleming, Christopherson Homes Project Manager, has been on the Siena project for over 3 years and has this to say about working with LeDuc & Dexter, "They're a top notch company. When I give them 3 days to do trim work they get it done in one day. When I give them 4 days to do the rough plumbing it's done in 2 days. It really helps me gain time on my schedule." As for Pedro Sigala, LeDuc & Dexter foreman at Siena, Fleming says, "He's a great plumber – he's the man – he gets it done."

Greg Fleming, Project Manager for Christopherson Homes does much of his supervising with a cell phone.  (click image to enlarge)

Fleming also enjoys working with Jim Kempers, LeDuc & Dexter residential manager, "He's a great man to work with, we get a lot of specialty requests for these million dollar homes – sinks for wine cellars, gas lines for barbeques – and Jim and his department are excellent at clarifying options and ordering materials."

LBC Is Now Cooler	COMMERCIAL

The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts has long been a venue for world-renowned entertainers. In the next few months Bill Cosby, Clint Black, Boz Scaggs and Smokey Robinson will perform at the LBC. To go along with the hot tickets for these shows the LBC has added a touch of cool, "We've upgraded our air conditioning system, says Mark Silva, Director of Operations at the LBC. "Our existing system was state-of-the-art 30 years ago, it had the capacity for 260 tons of cooling. We replaced it with 2 units capable of 125 tons each or 250 tons total."

Patrons stand in line as tickets for Clint Black go on sale at LBC. (click image to enlarge)

Chilled water piping starts from the mechanical room, goes over and down to pipe enclosure, which will be cover with steel plating and asphalt. (click image to enlarge)

"We had areas in the main theater that needed help, like the balcony," says Silva. Ruth Finley Person Theater holds 1600 people for headline shows. Other areas, such as the lobby that can hold 350 people for events, along with conference rooms, breakout rooms and the Museum of Contemporary Art will also benefit from the air conditioning upgrade. LeDuc & Dexter won the bid for the design/build piping project and LeDuc & Dexter commercial manager Bill Zeeb worked closely with Silva until the job was recently completed. "Mark Silva was the best kind of owner/builder representative to work with, he was cooperative, helpful and supportive throughout the project," says Zeeb.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in this air conditioning upgrade was the circuitous route the chilled water piping took to supply the cooling units. "This was a tricky job," says Zeeb, "we had to come out of the mechanical room, across the roof and down, then up over the roof of the main building and tie into the existing chilled water piping." One section of the pipe route involved trenching to construct a concrete piping enclosure for the insulated pipe, which was covered with traffic rated steel plating and asphalt. Rob Main of The Engineering Partnership and a frequent member of the LeDuc & Dexter design/build team provided the mechanical drawings. Bill Zeeb, who oversaw the project including negotiations, billing and installation, drew praise from Silva, "Bill Zeeb was great, he was easy to work with and extremely knowledgeable."

Last leg of piping comes out of piping enclosure, goes up, over and down to existing pipe. (click image to enlarge)

We Are Diamond Certified	THE COMPANY

THE RATING SYSTEM

LeDuc & Dexter Inc. and its plumbing service division company, Super Service Plumbing, have both recently become Diamond Certified companies. Diamond Certified rates companies for consumer usage by using a rating system comprised of customer satisfaction surveys, reviewing complaint bureau status, confirming existence of liability and workers' compensation insurance coverage, verifying required licensing and evaluating the adequacy of financial condition and absence of significant suits, liens and judgments. "I was really impressed with the process that Diamond Certified used to rate us," says CEO and President, Tom LeDuc. "They check everything. They did extensive interviews with our customers to find out what they liked about us and how we could improve. Just that survey alone is invaluable."

LEDUC & DEXTER INC.

LeDuc & Dexter Inc. received a customer satisfaction composite score of 93.4 out of a possible 100.  When customers were asked, "If you need the services of a plumbing contractor in the future, would you use LeDuc & Dexter Inc. again?" – the answer was yes with a score of 98.2%. This is extremely important to LeDuc & Dexter Inc. because their business, like many others in the industry, focuses on customer relationships to retain and build business for the future.

LeDuc & Dexter received a survey report with answers to the customer question about "what you like best about LeDuc & Dexter Inc." Here is a small sample of comments:

"They're consistent and they've had good scheduling."

"They get the job done and get out."

"Every time I've called they were most agreeable to answering any of my questions, everyone had a lot of time for me, they have continued the dialogue with me."

"They are prompt, their project manager carries a cell phone, accessible, good coordination between manager and the workers, workers are cordial, they present themselves well at the site."