Slice a Ship? No Problem!
No challenge is too big for Marek Sawing and Drilling, LLC
A large food processing plant that produces salsa, guacamole and queso was faced with a seemingly impossible task: Remove and replace eight giant sterilizing machines—and do it in less than nine weeks.
How could that happen? One company stepped forward to propose a solution: Marek Sawing and Drilling, LLC.
Working around the clock for 23 straight days, Marek demolished the concrete slab and foundation for the existing machines, and excavated and constructed new footings for the new equipment and all associated trench drains.
The company finished five days ahead of schedule, allowing the plant to get back online faster than expected. A few weeks later, a grand re-opening celebrated the success, and the plant was at full capacity once again.
“It was remarkable to see the way the team came together,” says Jason Kopke, Marek’s Principal and CEO. “We had several different demo teams and several concrete teams working together around the clock.”
Company Expertise
The upstart company, founded in 2006 and based in Spring, Texas, continues to prove itself project after project, and it’s catching the attention of the construction industry across the area. The firm provides expertise in diesel and electric slab sawing, core drilling, wall sawing, wire sawing, concrete breaking and hauling, robotic demolition, concrete placement, ground penetrating radar (to detect utilities) and general site work. Marek’s .77 Experience Modifier Ratio is well below the industry standard, reflecting the company’s commitment to safety and quality.
Marek’s work is diverse, ranging from helping to renovate center field at Minute Maid Park to the expansion of Highway 290. Its diverse portfolio includes constructing trenches for dentist offices, wall sawing openings for doors and windows, cutting slab openings for staircases and elevator shafts in downtown Houston high-rises, and constructing and renovating loading docks.
In all, Marek has served roughly 3,000 customers, and many return for project after project. Co-owners Nick Marek and Kopke get to know each of their clients well, which lays the foundation for the work ahead. Trust is built. Both parties understand what is needed in a project. A commitment to success is reinforced.
“At the end of the day, everything is about relationships,” says Kopke.“ Nick and I are 35 years old. We’re going to be around in this industry for a long time. We’re not going anywhere. When you have our word, it means something.”
“The majority of our customers are repeat customers,” continues Kopke. “Once we get them, they stay with us.”
Meeting Customers’ Needs
Marek is one of the few Houston companies that can complete turnkey demolition, sawing, trenching removal, and concrete placement projects in-house, simplifying the process for prospective clients. Having one company that can do all those facets of construction eliminates coordination between disconnected companies that are trying to make projects work according to their respective schedules.
“We don’t have to rely on suppliers to provide concrete,” Kopke says. “We provide a single point of contact to make it easy for clients.”
With a full fleet of trucks on the road each day and in-house concrete mixing, Marek also is able to react quickly to customers’ needs while still guaranteeing high-quality materials and work.
“Our current workload is a mix between quoted plan and spec work, and on-demand service. The size of our staff enables us to react faster than everyone else in town,” Kopke says. “We have 23 concrete demo service trucks on the road all the time. We can adjust resources to respond to the demands of our customers.”
Marek enjoys the challenge of new projects, Kopke says. They encourage the company to think creatively to meet the needs of the customer.
Recently, Marek was faced with yet another unique project. A company had purchased a large ship for salvage and brought it to Corpus Christi; but when the ship arrived, the company realized the boat was too large for the harbor. The company either had to figure out how to get the ship into Corpus Christi or face the long and expensive task of hauling it to Houston’s harbor, which could handle a vessel of such size.
In stepped Marek. Working with a team of divers, Marek staff members cut the ship into several pieces with a specialized diamond wire saw, allowing for smaller pieces to be pulled out of the Corpus Christi harbor.
“That project was an adventure,” Kopke says with a smile. “Marek saw a challenge and rose to meet it head on, as it does with every project it works on. It was really unique.”
“We have the knowledge and expertise and the capacity to tackle all of your specialized sawing needs,” Kopke says, “We have every kind of saw imaginable."