Microvellum Corporation


Keeping flexible for high-visibility projects


Specialty subcontractor stays busy with high-volume projects in a growing market.

Article Written By: Karl D. Forth, Editor-in-Chief, FDM magazine

Facility Construction Services is project driven, and in the fast growing Metroplex there are a lot of projects.
FCS is a subcontractor to commercial general contractors in Dallas-Fort Worth, specializing in custom architectural woodwork fabrication and installation for commercial projects, public buildings, courthouses, churches and universities. FCS also contracts to perform drywall partitions and acoustical ceilings.
Paul Holden, vice president, business development, says the company does well in high-end onetime custom work such as panel jobs, reception desks and high-end trim jobs. "Because FCS is an Architectural Woodwork Institute QCP certified premium shop, we try to work on the AWI premium grade woodwork projects," he says.
Business has been good, in part due to the strong local market and real estate development. Holden sees development continuing in business friendly North Texas. In addition, the housing bubble didn't inflate as much here as in some other cities.
The company's customers are general contractors, including Manhattan Construction, Andres Construction, Balfour Beatty Construction and Beck Group, but FCS employees do the installation. Jess Lewis, woodwork operations manager, says that Texas Capital Bank and Crow Holdings office buildings were two recent major projects. In the tower residences at Ritz Carlton condo tower, FCS did most of the high-end custom work in 91 condos, including casework, panels, pediments and oven hoods.
FCS started in 1947 as a commercial floor tile and acoustical ceiling subcontractor. William "Bill" Holden, now retired, joined the company in 1953 and directed it during the area's rapid growth. Bill's three sons now own and manage the company. In addition to Paul, Neal Holden is company president and Tom Holden is chief financial officer.

Flexibility in the shop

Holden says that work cells are based on custom fabrication of that particular project and equipment - and job titles - may change to fit the current project. For example, the Akron edgebander and Selco saw were purchased to handle specific large jobs. FCS uses Alliance Millsoft automated estimating and scheduling software, and plans to implement J-MOS floor management software. Microvellum is used for shop drawings and cut tickets. FCS does all cutting, assembling, edge banding and finishing on-site, but outsources the veneer panel layup.
A Selco EB108 Active panel saw has been in use for more than a year.
"It provides speed of cutting and accuracy," Holden says. "It is a 14-foot-long saw, so it can handle just about any size of sheet and it is heavy duty.
A Komo VR512 router is used for curves or odd shapes. A two-step program allows it to cut and machine for hinges.
FCS does a lot of hardwood and veneer edge banding. The large Polymac Akron 855 edgebander is a heavy-duty machine that does four-corner rounding. A premill station on the edgebander has worked well for hardwood banding.
The large jobs done for Texas Capital Bank and Crow Holdings caused FCS to purchase the Akron 855 edgebander.
"Those two projects told us that we'd need a high-end edgebander for these panel jobs, which also included custom mouldings, crown, base and wood paneling," Lewis says.
An Altendorf sliding table saw, Whirlwind crosscut saw with Tiger Stop positioning and Powermatic shaper are also used. FCS plans to buy a new three-head wide belt sander in the near future to replace an older machine. They are also installing a new dust collection system and electrical and compressed air to handle the larger pieces of equipment.
"You really need good dust collection and compressed air for the sander otherwise the machine won't do what it's suppose to," Lewis says.
FCS's location in East Dallas includes the wood shop and storage building with the drywall operation next door. The two buildings occupy about 70,000 square feet, with a shop size of about 50,000 square feet. In the woodwork group, 30 to 50 people are employed in the shop, depending on the project, 30 to 50 in the field and 20 people in the office.
One of FCS's biggest projects currently will be visible Sundays this fall. FCS is building private clubs and retail space for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington. It doesn't get any higher profile than that.

Finishing Strength

Jess Lewis believes that the FCS finishing department is one of the company's most important strengths.
"Our finish department is our selling point. That's what we're noted for," he says. "We have the finest finishing department in North Texas. Our finish is just as good or better than many of the major architectural woodwork or cabinet manufacturers."
FCS uses conversion varnishes, Valspar or Sherwin Williams finishes, Kremlin finishing equipment and an Allen Bradley Panel View 550 Prime heat halogen system. They are doing more distressing. Once one customer sees a distressed finish, they want it too, Lewis explains. FCS is also finishing black bases with whit coverings so the black shows through. The door is painted white, scuffed and painted white again. Then it is scuffed with 150 grit and the paint is removed from the edges. Then it is glazed with brown, left to dry and wiped clean. The door is then sealed, scuffed and top coated.
FCS also prefinishes edge banding by wrapping it around a drum and finishing it. FCS constructed a revolving drum, which spins while wrapping the edge banding around it, finishes the edge banding as they normally would, lets it dry and then removes and rerolls the edge banding. They then apply the finished edge banding to cut materials.
"Experience is the main thing. By hand sanding, we end up with a very good finish," Lewis says.

Special door requires special fabrication

FCS recently made 6,000 special doors, starting with a mockup for one unit.
"It had to have an inside reveal, instead of an outside reveal," says Jess Lewis. "This is an unusual design. Most of them overlap. We had to make a separate piece. We rabbeted out a shelf on the inside of the stile and rail, then assembled the door as you normally would. After assembly, we would sand the door, then apply trim to the shelf. The trim would be lower than the stile and rail, thus creating the reveal."
FCS added a 16-foot Unique door clamp so they could have four assembly stations with 10 pistons. It was used with Powermatic TS29 sliding table shapers and 3M PUR glue guns. "Normally, we order doors from a door company," Lewis says. "We try to let people specialize in what they do and we focus on what we do. But if you can't buy them you have to make them."

As seen in FDM Magazine