Newsletter:  October 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     "They do everything I was looking for, plumbing, fire sprinklers and radiant floor heating." – Ken Lafranchi on why he chose LeDuc & Dexter. Merryvale's Starmont Winery - For LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department this is one of the larger wineries they have been involved with recently. On August 20 Jim Kempers officially retired from LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. as Residential Manager.

Custom Home – Designed & Built By The Owner

Residential

Ken Lafranchi's home, which he designed and built. (click image to enlarge)

Not many people get to design and build their own custom home. Ken Lafranchi of Lafranchi Architecture & Development says he is "just about at the finish line" of his custom home in Sonoma County, which he designed and built with the help of subcontractors like LeDuc & Dexter.

The kitchen side of the great room. (click image to enlarge)

"I suppose you could call this house a Mediterranean ranch home, but it's not really any particular style," says Lafranchi. "We've gotten a lot of our ideas from traveling and looking at different architecture and using the things we like to make it a little different."

This 4,000 square foot custom home has stucco exterior walls and a tile roof, which are somewhat common to the area, but the angled entryway with a two story windowed tower give the home a regal look that remains simple in form. The fireplace in the great room has the same angled structure as the entryway.

The fireplace side of the great room has the same design lines of the exterior of the home's entryway. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter was chosen by Lafranchi because, "They do everything I was looking for, plumbing, fire sprinklers and radiant floor heating." The entire home has radiant floor heating installed into the floor slab. "Yvonne (Burch) has been outstanding to work with, she's very pleasant and really knows her stuff," says Lafranchi. Burch, of LeDuc & Dexter's radiant heating department installed the boiler and overhead main lines for the radiant floor heating.

The master bath tub has tile and marble surfaces like the rest of the bathroom. (click image to enlarge)

The sinks have been set in the master bathroom. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter is also working on a new commercial project with Nonella Construction, which was designed by Lafranchi Architecture & Development in Cloverdale.

Only custom homes have drain pipes like this. (click image to enlarge)

The master shower has overhead and side shower heads. (click image to enlarge)

Merryvale's Starmont Winery – A Crushing Success

Wineries

Starmont Winery in the Carneros region of Napa. (click image to enlarge)

The deadline for new winery construction is almost always September 1st or when the yearly harvest of grapes in ready to crush. Starmont Winery started crushing grapes Sept. 6th for this year's vintage of 2006.

Andrews & Thornley, Inc. , the general contractor on the project, has succeeded once again in meeting the crush deadline they are very familiar with having built many premium wineries.

The crush pad was a number of hose stations to keep things clean. (click image to enlarge)

Part of the tank room that can hold 268,000 gallons of wine this year and 425,000 next year. (click image to enlarge)

For LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department this is one of the larger wineries they have been involved with recently. They installed over 60 hose stations throughout the winery along with thousands of feet of process piping for hot and cold water, gas and compressed air lines. LeDuc & Dexter also installed a boiler system along with a water pressure reducing station for the winery's water filtration system in the mechanical room.

The 265,000 square foot winery has a capacity of 150,000 cases per year, and can press 48 tons of white grapes and 60 tons of red grapes in an 8-hour work shift. The lab is also large in size and LeDuc & Dexter installed the de-ionized water system, gas and air lines for the highly sophisticated wine analysis area.

Overhead pipe rack that holds white plastic glycol lines, electrical conduit and copper water lines, which were installed by LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

Starmont has solar panels capable of supplying 80% of the electrical power needed to operate the facility and a night air cooling system that takes advantage of the area's nighttime temperatures with fans and louvers that are timed to operate by pulling outside cool air into the winery at night.

Hot water storage tank, (left) and water pressure reducing station for the winery's water filtration (two tanks on right) were installed by LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

The winery lab. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter installed the winery's boiler. (click image to enlarge)

One of over 60 hose stations with hot and cold water, CO2 gas and compressed air, which were all installed by LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

Jim Kempers Retires

The Company

On August 20 Jim Kempers officially retired from LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. as Residential Manager. He spent 16 years with the company and was instrumental in helping the company grow and develop. Starting in 1990 as the warehouse manager with LeDuc & Dexter Jim was soon assisting Tom LeDuc and Art Dexter launch Super Service , their plumbing service and repair company. "Jim ran Super Service before moving to the residential department," says Tom LeDuc. In 1993 Jim began estimating residential projects and also oversaw purchasing materials for the whole company. "Jim really knew plumbing materials and how to deal with suppliers," says LeDuc.

Jim Kempers, Residential Manager, who had been with LeDuc & Dexter since 1990, retired on August 20th.

Jim Kempers started his plumbing career in San Francisco with Heick Supply in 1967 where he says he "learned all facets of the plumbing industry" during a ten year stay. Kempers also worked for Empire Swift Plumbing of Santa Rosa for four years, Cullins & Marlow Plumbing Supply of San Rafael for two years and Cal Steam in Santa Rosa for eight years where he set up their warehouse along with procedures for effective and efficient customer service before coming to LeDuc & Dexter. For Jim Kempers, "the customer was always number one" and as residential manager for LeDuc & Dexter he made sure that they were always taken care of with expediency. "He was excellent with sales and customer relations," says LeDuc. Over the past ten years Kempers helped build LeDuc & Dexter's residential department to the point where they worked with most of the top builders in the North Bay. "Jim was a real team player with unlimited enthusiasm," says LeDuc, "He'll be missed."