When Albert Cavazos started up TARC Construction, his goal was to have a family business to share with his young sons. Ten years later, Albert and his wife Tamara have met that goal and then some.  They are rightfully proud of a thriving business that now employs thirty people, including a growing segment of their family. “Sons Francisco and Dante work in the sales division, my brother- in-law is fleet manager and keeps our equipment running and my daughter-in- law is starting work Monday,” says Albert, who loves the fun of finding high energy people, bringing them into the business and training them to do things the right way – the TARC way.
Read More

Construction projects are required to follow procedures to protect the environment. The Clean Water Act also mandates States and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be jointly responsible for identifying and regulating both point and nonpoint sources of pollution. For those projects not in compliance, fines of as much as $32,500 per day, per violation, can be enforced.
Read More

Mary Machado spends every day at work visiting with longtime friends, but it’s all a part of her job on the Building Materials Team at Graniterock’s Watsonville Branch. “We all know each other - I grew up here and know a lot of contractors”, explains Mary. “The kids I went to school with are in business now and I know them all. When they come in, it’s ‘Hi Mary, how’s the family’ – and that’s why I like it here so much.” Mary loves knowing her customers on a first name basis and says when a new customer shows up at the Branch, it’s often because a friend told them, “Go on over and just ask for Mary”.
Read More

Graniterock CFO Steve Snodgrass contributes another  article excerpted from the 1956 Engineering News-Record which shows how “the more things change the more they remain the same.” 
Read More

Having just celebrated fifteen years with Graniterock, fourteen in my prior role as Vice President and General Counsel and the past year in my new role as CEO, I started thinking about my first day of work with the Company.  I arrived very early that day and found Bruce Woolpert already busy at his desk (I would eventually learn that trying to arrive earlier or leave later than Bruce was an exercise in futility).  
Read More

Eric Raff and Dave Beck founded XL Construction twenty-one years ago as a technical building firm focused on Silicon Valley.  They had “cut their teeth” on the technical side of Silicon Valley while working for a contractor who handled jobs for companies like Lockheed Martin, Intel and Applied Materials.  XL Construction took off from there and is now known as the Northern California contractor to call when the highest quality technical construction is required.
Read More

Santa Cruz County Historical Railroad Society Celebrates Twenty Years at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
Read More

By James W. Schmitt, Principal and President of Schmitt Technical Services: http://schmitttechnicalservices.com
Read More

Now, as in the mid 1950’s, the United States is emerging from a difficult economy. Graniterock CFO Steve Snodgrass contributes the following article excerpted from the 1956 Engineering News-Record which shows how “the more things change the more they remain the same.”  As the recession wanes and business activity increases, the author warns of more contractor financial failures and explains that the end of a recession can prompt increased competition and risky decision-making by unwary contractors. Bankruptcies often rise at the beginning of a building boom. The cautionary message remains as true today as it was then, and reaffirms the old saw that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Read More

Things are buzzing at Graniterock. It’s just before the start of a new school year, and our Corporate Office in Watsonville is  filled with the hum of young voices, the sound of smart, motivated kids who are getting a jump start on their education by spending the last week of summer vacation immersed in algebra. Over one hundred middle school students from six different schools are attending the Algebra Academy, a week-long intensive study program taught by faculty and teaching assistants from California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). During their week of study the kids will take a field trip to the CSUMB campus and will also hear Graniterock Team Members explain how mathematics has shaped their professional careers. At the end of the Academy week parents are invited to join students to celebrate their work with a festive graduation ceremony.
Read More