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Cleveland Wrecking Company- A Longstanding Tradition Revealed By Matt Shumaker
The demolition industry would not be what it is today without the formation of the Cleveland Wrecking Company. An uncanny entrepreneurial spirit fueled a pattern of success in the early 20th century for the company. Cleveland Wrecking has the distinction of being one of the longest standing Demolition organizations in America and the world, with traceable roots extending back to the first decade of the 1900’s. Time can bring rewards as a result of hard work, as well as success and failure. Cleveland Wrecking has enjoyed and suffered through them all. Cleveland Wrecking Company found its origin in the hands of five brothers with the name of Rose. The year was 1910 and the Rose family’s five sons, living in Milwaukee, needed something to do. They were diversified not only in age, but also in educational and professional backgrounds. They decided that they would go into the demolition business, but like most siblings, rivalries existed and the name of the company proved to be a point of major contention. Fortunately, the brothers agreed to call it Cleveland Wrecking, after their birthplaces in Ohio. The company has never had an office in Cleveland, but mail still arrives to this day, addressed to a site that does not exist. As is the custom many times, the oldest brother took his place as the president of the company. To some, the five distinct personalities may have posed a problem, but in the eyes of the Rose brothers it only spelled success. The five brothers headed in five different directions during the time that World War I was wrapping up and formed main branches, located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. The brothers each manned their own branches in a separate city with a different set of criteria in each location. For example, the Los Angeles branch was formed to aid in earthquake damage and demolition control, while San Francisco was in need of help with bridge demolition, etc. As a result, each brother and branch learned the demolition needs of the geographical and commercial areas where they were located. This allowed the company as a whole, to diversify the versatility of the branches and create new and innovative methods of demolition according to local demographics. Sub-branches popped up in New York City, Charleston-West Virginia, Houston-Texas and Louisville, Kentucky.
This diversification resulted positively for the company because of the unpredictable and cyclical economic times. The branches with the most business and income kept the core company alive. Branches soon sprouted throughout Canada and Mexico, all of which allowed Sidney Rose, the last of the five brothers, to stead the headquarters stronghold in Cincinnati, Ohio for the next 70 years. In that time, the company remained in the same family, but was passed to another generation. A man named William Fenning married the daughter of Charles Rose and became the company CEO. Fenning, a graduate of the University of Southern California and a veteran of WWII as a Captain in the Air Corp, remained at the controls of Cleveland Wrecking for 50 years. "I was a bombardier in the Air Corp and blew up buildings for a living before I came to work for Cleveland," Said Fenning with a chuckle. Fenning and three cousins continued the company tradition. This new generation bought out the remaining shares of the company held by the last Rose widow and Fenning later purchased the cousins holdings to become the sole owner. In that time, Cleveland Wrecking enjoyed highly successful years as well as challenging ones. Peaks reached $75 million dollars annually, back when single job price tags did not exceed $200,000 each. Cleveland Wrecking made an average of $45-50 million per year, but in 1997, after the company had befallen financially difficult years, Dames & Moore mercifully saved it from fiscal ruin. Two years later Dames & Moore was bought out by the URS Corporation, an engineering conglomerate. "This is a difficult profession, you have to be an expert on demolition, the salvage values, insurance factors, you have to know what the hell you are doing," said Fenning. He is proud to have been a part of a legacy that continues today. "I have lived a good life. I’m 80 years old, I play tennis three times a week and each day that I get out of bed is a good one."
Cleveland Wrecking started out as a salvage and scrap company, but in the late 60’s and early 70’s, they moved into more of the industrial arena. They became adept at performing selective demolition and as a result, evolved into being able to expertly handle precision demolition. "Cleveland was always considered to be a huge salvage company," according to Janet Carpenter, Vice President of Contracting Resources International, which is the holding company for Aman Environmental, Cleveland Wrecking Company and Banshee Construction, all owned by URS Corporation. "Until the late 90’s, Cleveland held several salvage yards, but they have since closed most of them. The depth of work has become more specialized, so Cleveland Wrecking does not cater to local salvage clientele any longer. They simply do not do the smaller jobs." Before Cleveland Wrecking experienced difficult times and changed hands, many people believed that the company had ceased to exist because the name had quieted down. Fenning stated that the company is almost back to where they were 25 years ago because of the individuals in place at Cleveland Wrecking today. "They are extremely qualified and Jim Sheridan, the President, is well traveled and a wrecking veteran." Fenning stated his appreciation for the URS Corporation as well, "Cleveland Wrecking is in capable hands." URS Corporation is publicly held and is ranked as the number one engineering company in the world with 16,000 employees and 300 offices.
Cleveland Wrecking currently employs a total of 70 permanent hires with responsibilities including estimating, project management, project supervision, safety management and administration. Within those realms, specialists bring their skills to projects such as industrial refinery chemical work, commercial work, abatement and regulated building material removal including concrete and asset recovery. In addition to the full-time employees, 100-150 laborers for project driven jobs are on hand as well. The company uses the assistance of several specialized pieces of equipment. The favorite among many of the staff is the long reach excavator or "the long stick". It increases reach by nearly 40-feet for use in the demolition of buildings that may be unstable and could put employees in harms way. They own a fleet of Linkbelt machinery ranging from 16k to 180k excavators equipped with hydraulic shears, grapples and breakers, Bobcats and an assortment of loaders, and backhoes. Cleveland Wrecking is currently headquartered out of Covina, with main branch offices located in Oakland, Houston Texas, Cincinnati Ohio, Buffalo New York and Tampa Florida. Several satellite branches are in place throughout North America and all over the world. "The spirit of Cleveland Wrecking is very entrepreneurial, they were not afraid to step out and take on large jobs then and we aren’t now," said Carpenter. Experience is one of the company’s greatest strengths. "There is not one company that can claim the amount of experience that we can," Said Carpenter. "The employees are also extremely loyal and have been with the company for years." Another strength is the corporate commitment to quality, according to Carpenter. "The one thing that is impressive about Cleveland is that we can provide a valued engineered product. Cleveland tries to create a good reputation with clients so that we will be asked back." A permeating sense of pride and integrity saturates the walls of the main office. It is not boastful, but merely satisfaction in workmanship. Jim Sheridan will work with the employees and they look to him as a leader. The management team earns and receives respect. "We have always been known as the ‘coast to coast’ wreckers. I think that Cleveland has always tried to be a part of the changing face of America. We are always concerned about quality and safety and are ready to clear the way for progress," stated Carpenter.
Cleveland Wrecking has no doubt enjoyed a rich past
in the demolition industry. They are credited with conceptualizing and
using the first wrecking ball. They were the first company to use Bobcats
heavily for wrecking purposes. They were one of the first heavy equipment
companies to customize the look of their machinery and strive to keep
worksites uniformly clean and professional in appearance by putting blue
fences around the perimeter. They also have a right to be proud of the
structures they have wrecked. Many of them were the largest structures
in world, such as the Hong Kong Airport, major hospitals, stadiums and
office buildings. They were contracted seven years ago to knock down a
16th century wall, over 20 feet thick, surrounding the town of Kowoloon,
China. This was done in order to expand the production of noodles. They
also took down the 1st nuclear reactor in the United States in Shippingsport,
Pennsylvania as well as setting their sights on Hollywood to remove the
WaterWorld set, without the help of Kevin Costner. All in all, the company
as a whole implemented numerous innovative technologies and was featured
in such magazines as Time, Forbes and The Saturday Evening Post.
Ultimately, Cleveland Wrecking feels that they stand out among their competition because of their turnkey capabilities based upon the level of experiences and the resources through their parent company. "We are able to handle anything," Said Carpenter. "I am proud to be associated with Cleveland." RETURN TO CALCONTRACTORS DEMOLITION & RECYCLING PROFILE DIRECTORY PAGE |
