Said Differently - A Barton Malow Podcast

Four years ago, the auto industry was all in on electric. Then demand cooled, and plants built for one job had to find another. On this episode of Said Differently, Vice President of Automotive + Battery Mario Garza explains why he sees a changing market, with major automotive programs moving forward across the country, how teams are converting battery lines to energy storage and retrofitting inside operating plants, and why self-perform capability keeps them ready for what’s next.

With a renovation on an active NFL stadium around a season that can't pause, a fixed 2028 deadline, and a site too large for anyone to walk in a day, seeing the whole job is one of the hardest parts of building it. On this episode of Said Differently, Senior VDC Manager Doug Greenwell explains how an autonomous drone program at Jacksonville's Stadium of the Future project, home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, puts reliable, same-path site footage in front of the project team twice a day, so they spend less time chasing information and more time acting on it.

A stalled concrete pour. A schedule that couldn't wait. And a team that decided to solve the problem by hand - literally. This is the story of how five-gallon buckets and a 75-person relay at the Henry Ford Health Destination: Grand project in Detroit kept work on track and the project on schedule.

A strained grid has created a power gap that renewables alone can't close. Vice President Brian Miller and Project Director JD McNulty join the podcast to explain how thermal energy fits into a complete energy strategy and why building these facilities requires a new level of operational readiness.

In the latest episode of Said Differently, we discuss the partnership and impact between Barton Malow and Habitat for Humanity. We’re joined by Barton Malow Senior Foundation Manager Dawn Lyman, Habitat for Humanity Deputy Director of Philanthropy for Oakland County Dena Vatalaro-Pryde, and Habitat for Humanity Recipient Autumn Butler. Our guests discuss the impact both organizations have had on communities, Autumn’s story, and how to get involved.

Consisting of 6,470 cubic yards across 256,100 SF over 32.5 consecutive hours, the “MegaSlab” placement at General Motor’s Arlington, Texas, plant in 2019 as part of the M5 Productivity Improvement Program still stands as the largest continuous steel fiber pour ever done.In the latest episode of Said Differently, we’re joined by Barton Malow team members Ethan Uhl, Brian Willard, and Tom Binkowski, all of whom played a major role in the planning and execution of the MegaSlab. Our guest panel dishes on the inside story behind the placement, why it almost didn’t happen, and the eventual triumph that came from successfully completing it. 

In this episode of Said Differently, we revisit the Pontiac Silverdome project that changed both sports construction and Barton Malow. From use of the Construction Management delivery method that helped the team quickly adapt to challenges to the first-of-its-kind 12-acre inflatable fabric roof, the Silverdome was lauded as an engineering marvel of its time.Chief Community Officer Ben Maibach III, a Vice President at the time of the Silverdome’s construction, joins the podcast to discuss the project. Also included is archival audio from then-Barton Malow President Rollie Wilkening and then-Chairman of the Board Ben Maibach Jr.

There are a variety of challenges involved with building projects on undeveloped land – but uncovering historical artifacts or cultural finds might not be among the challenges that first come to mind. In this episode of Said Differently, we head out to the in-progress Scotford Solar Project in Alberta, Canada, with Project Manager Mike Jeske, where various cultural artifacts were discovered during the excavation stage of the project.Later in the episode, we revisit the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Davis Hall project with Project Manager Jim Droski. The project location in Gloucester Pointe, Virginia, situated on the York River right across Yorktown, delivered some interesting artifacts from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars during land clearing and excavation.

Progress and back to zero. It’s not that construction has been completely absent of innovation, it’s just the start and finish nature of projects makes it difficult to carry over certain methods and technologies from one project to the next.It’s been one of the major inhibitors in the construction industry, and as Director of Business Transformation Daniel Stone notes in the latest episode of Said Differently, “Transformation, Innovation, and Brick-Laying Robots,” there’s always a better way to do some of these more antiquated processes.

The auto industry is well on its way to an electric future. Yet in order to get there, automakers need battery cells to power electric drivetrains – and they need a lot of them. Since earning its first lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plant job in late 2019, Barton Malow has emerged as the world leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) battery cell construction. In the latest episode of Said Differently, we’re joined by Senior Project Directors Alan Blanchette and Chris Hofe to discuss the size and scale of these projects, the difference between building a battery cell plant versus a typical automotive job, and the pride team members have knowing they’re part of a paradigm shift in transportation.