ABILENE, TX – NOVEMBER 3, 2015 – Lauren Engineers & Constructors, Inc. (Lauren) today announced several promotions within the company’s Executive Management Team. Randy Lipps, Chief Operational Officer (COO), has been promoted to President and will also retain the role of COO. Tom Modisett, formerly Vice President and Controller, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Secretary/Treasurer. Cody Bryant, formerly Vice President of Construction Services, has been promoted to Senior Vice President. Cleve Whitener will remain Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

 
“Randy, Tom and Cody have made significant contributions to Lauren, each displaying strong leadership and expertise, as well as demonstrating a commitment to improving systems and processes for our clients and potential clients,” commented Cleve Whitener, Chairman and CEO at Lauren.

 
Mr. Lipps joined Lauren in June 2015 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Lipps started his professional career in construction management and later served as President of two engineering/construction management firms. Prior to joining Lauren, he held the role of Executive Vice President in the Industrial EPC Division of a $6.5 billion international firm. His 31 year professional career has been dedicated to project work in the chemical processing, petroleum refining, power generation and manufacturing arenas. During the last 20 years, Mr. Lipps has held executive level leadership roles. Mr. Lipps holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Old Dominion University. He maintains Professional Engineering licenses in 10 states, in addition to the PMI Project Management Professional certification.

 
Mr. Modisett joined Lauren in 2006. He is responsible for Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology and Risk Management for The Lauren Corporation, a holding company for all Lauren assets. Mr. Modisett has over 40 years of experience in finance and accounting management in both public and privately-held company environments. Prior to his current role with Lauren, Mr. Modisett also served in various capacities with Lauren, including Vice President and Controller, Vice President – Controller International and Vice President – Business Unit Manager Canada. Before joining Lauren, Mr. Modisett worked for several Abilene-based companies. He served as General Manager for Clearwire, a publicly-traded wireless communications provider. Mr. Modisett was also Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Titan Towers, LP, a privately-held communications infrastructure provider and Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Pittencrieff Communications, Inc., a publicly-traded wireless communications concern. Mr. Modisett is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a BBA in Accounting from The University of Texas-Arlington.

 
Mr. Bryant joined Lauren in 2006. He is responsible for the overall administrative and technical direction of site operations for multiple projects and oversees total construction effort to ensure each project is constructed in accordance with design, budget and schedule. In addition, Mr. Bryant plans, coordinates and directs the construction resources of all superintendents on assigned projects, including authorization/approval for hiring, transfers, training and wages. He also leads craft productivity improvement sessions and ensures site logistics are effectively implemented. Mr. Bryant has over 25 years industrial construction experience. Mr. Bryant has previously served as Vice President of Construction Services, Manager of Construction and Senior Site Manager for Lauren. Before joining Lauren, Mr. Bryant worked for several construction companies. He served as Project Manager for SW&B Construction Corporation which is a shutdown/turnaround construction contractor. Mr. Bryant was also Technical Services Manager for Brown & Root Inc., an industrial EPC contractor.

 
About Lauren:
Lauren provides engineering, procurement, construction and fabrication services throughout a variety of heavy-industrial markets, including power generation, chemical/process, petrochemicals and oil and gas.

 
For more information about Lauren, please visit us online at www.laurenec.com.

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Randy Barbee, Vice President of Fabrication, expressed enthusiasm about the new facility, stating “This new fabrication facility, added to our well-established Abilene, Texas, facility, enables Lauren to expand our services to include commodity pipe and vessel fabrication to our current, project-focused capabilities. This facility allows us to build on our years of fabrication experience and client successes in the Fabrication industry”.

The new facility features 120,000 square feet of production area under one roof, 20 over-head cranes, indoor, climate-controlled paint booth; and has easy transportation access to road, rail and the McClellan-Kerr River Navigation System.

About Lauren:
Lauren provides engineering, procurement and construction services throughout a variety of heavy-industrial markets, including Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Chemical/Process. For more information about Lauren, please visit us online at www.laurenec.com.

Eastman noted the following project areas of outstanding performance by Lauren:

• Safety performance
• Efficient and enhanced communication
• Daily work planning within an area of the operating plant
• Working within an integrated team
• Creative workarounds
• Schedule, quality, and cost performance

“Receiving this important award from Eastman is a great honor for our project team and organization as a whole,” said Jerry Hobbs, Senior Vice President of Projects at Lauren. Mr. Hobbs further stated, “I am very proud of the work Lauren accomplished on this fast-paced challenging project by applying a very collaborative mindset to work with the many stakeholders.”

About Lauren:
Lauren provides engineering, procurement and construction services throughout a variety of heavy-industrial markets, including Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Chemical/Process. For more information about Lauren, please visit us online at www.laurenec.com.