Pece of Mind in Orlando, Florida
Let’s face it—everyone loves to watch a building implode. How many times have TV newscasts shown us sports arenas, office buildings or manufacturing plants reduced to rubble in seconds? Perhaps the appeal is in the visual explosion, or the noise, or just seeing a once-imposing structure reduced to its bare bones; whatever it is, many find the act compelling.
I spoke with Steve Pece, the President of Orlando-based Pece of Mind Environmental—a full-service demolition and environmental remediation company. I asked him if this type of reaction is normal. “You have no idea how normal it is,” he responded. “A ton of spectators show up to our bigger demolitions. I love demolitions, too.”
Pece of Mind Environmental provides an extensive breadth of demolition services, including interior, building and ultra-high demolition; concrete cutting; asbestos abatement; contaminated soil removal; and recycled aggregate sales. The team can demolish a large building (current record: 15 stories), remove any contaminated soil and recycle the material from demolition debris. In fact, Pece of Mind Environmental recycles about 95 percent of demolished material through its recycling facility.
This is a company whose purpose is to bring down structures. However, it also remediates environmental contamination (primarily asbestos, oil and gas, and heavy metals) and recycles steel, concrete and other building materials.
Explosive Beginnings
Pece, always the entrepreneur, started his first business at the tender age of 14. “In high school, I started a landscaping company that did quite well,” he says. “But when I turned 20, I decided to commit to the thing I love best—construction.” He goes on to say that his love of construction started as a small child. “I love every facet of how a building goes together—from framing to running pipe to doing the electrical work. I got hooked as a kid, and I have not given it up since.”
In 1998, Pece opened Pece of Mind Environmental (formerly Pece of Mind Demolition) with the express purpose of becoming Florida’s leader in the niche demolition market. “At first, we did small projects, including residential work,” says Pece. “But we soon grew a reputation for doing things right and we were awarded larger jobs. Once we broke into the commercial market, we took off.”
Pece is incredibly proud of his company, and his people.
He mentions that his staff has worked over two million hours with no OSHA citations or fines and that his seven-person leadership team has over 200 years of combined industry experience.
He is also proud of his client management philosophy. “I do not think of it as ‘How do we make this project work?’ I think, ‘How do we create a lifelong relationship with this client?’ ” He cites that a large amount of the firm’s work—almost 40 percent—comes from repeat business. Still, it does seem ironic that a man with a relentless passion for building and a high-powered leadership team now destroys buildings. “I agree that it is ironic, but to me, it makes perfect sense,” he says. “When you demolish a building, you have to know everything about it—where every screw, electrical wire, stairwell and T-joint is.
So even if I am tearing something down, I still get to see how it works.”
The Facts About Demolition
During my conversation with Pece, I realized how little I know about demolition. “Many people think it is a simple process where you go in, place dynamite, blow it up and leave,” explains Pece. “But it is far more than that in reality. There are many balls to juggle.”
According to Pece, most clients do not understand that it takes at least two months of planning before professionals can think about touching the structure. “And that is just for straightforward jobs. If you are trying to remove half a building, a roof, or complex structures like the NASA Space Shuttle hangars at Kennedy Space Center, it can take much more time.”
He adds that clients also overlook the importance of the human component. In his mind, for a project to be successful, you must build the project team thoughtfully, methodically and as early in the process as possible. “That is my favorite part—building the right team,” he says. “A team you can trust. There are so many risks on any one project site—from choosing the right subcontractor to understanding exactly what is in the soil—that if you have the wrong team, it could not only be costly, but deadly.”
“We take safety very seriously and demand our field staff do so as well,” Pece says. “What we do is not a joke. Just think about an average dig and haul project.” A dig and haul happens when contaminated soils—most generally being oil and gas, but sometimes solvents—are excavated and moved to a regulated landfill. The excavated area is backfilled with new, clean soil. It is a straightforward process, yet there are dangers. “Between the cross-contamination of native soil or the contamination of excavation equipment, to the contamination of the individuals working the site, there’s a lot that can go wrong,” Pece notes.
The right team, he maintains, will know the risks and how to mitigate them. They understand the expected timeline. They will know how much it should cost. “In all of our years of work we have never come across challenges we couldn’t overcome, and I think our teambuilding process is why we have been so fortunate,” he adds.
As we talked, Pece began to open my mind to demolitions. It’s not really about tearing down a structure, but instead, about rebuilding and creating something better. “That is one of the reasons why we have a recycling plant,” adds Pece. “The products we take down aren’t trash. It’s material that can be reused to build a school or pave a road. We make sure it is not wasted.”
Something is going on at Pece of Mind Environmental. It is hard to articulate—on one side, the team consists of experts in demolition. However, they are also experts at environmental remediation. Moreover, their client list—including Balfour Beatty, Hensel Phelps and PCL Construction—is impressive. They have worked on some of Orlando’s most significant projects, including the demolition of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the asbestos abatement and demolition of the former Orlando police headquarters.
And whatever they are doing, they seem to be doing it well. Pece is optimistic as well. “I love what I do. I love the industry, the people and the projects. As long as there is work, we’ll be happy.”