Cleve Whitener, P.E., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lauren Engineers & Constructors, Inc. was a visionary leader, a devoted husband, father, and friend.  The company’s Executive Management Team and employees, as well as the many people he worked with and mentored over the years, mourn his loss.  We extend our prayers and sympathies to his loving family, particularly his wife and daughter, who meant the world to him.

Chase Bellah of Brownwood, Texas worked as a pilot for Lauren Engineers & Constructors, Inc.  Chase leaves behind a wife and son.  Chase was a very gregarious man, well liked, a true professional and a pleasure to be around.  We extend our prayers and sympathies to his wife and family.

We cling to the truth that “[t]he Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”— Psalm 34:18.

Randy Lipps, P.E., PMP, President and Chief Operating Officer, issued the following statement on behalf of Lauren’s Executive Management Team: “With the passing of Cleve Whitener and Chase Bellah, Lauren has suffered a tragic loss. Lauren will continue its commitment to building lasting bonds with our community, clients, suppliers, and employees relying upon Cleve’s legacy and dedication to honesty and integrity.”

ABC’s Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) awards recognize member companies based on 20 key elements of contractor safety programs, such as management commitment, pre-planning for safety on jobsites, safety training, and resources committed to safety.

Lauren takes pride in both the company’s rigorous safety program and its employees’ devotion to safety in the workplace.  Cody Bryant, Sr. Vice President, said “Our continued success, and the industry recognition of our safety performance is a testament to the commitment of every person at Lauren.  Now more than ever we have to work harder to remove complacency. A champion must still train and practice to maintain their position. As champions of Safety, we must do the same!”

Since 1997, Lauren has provided engineering, construction, and plant modification services to NFS, which manufactures nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

With only about eight Governor’s Awards typically given each year, this is a significant accomplishment for Lauren, as construction contractors are not typical recipients of the award.

On March 11th, a team of 11 Lauren employees and friends will set out for a small village called Los Brasiles, near Managua, Nicaragua!  The team is partnering with Imagine Ministry which serves over 100 kids.  Imagine Ministry started in 2008 and includes two schools, feeding centers, rescue homes and a kids camp.

Lauren has been partnering with Imagine Ministry for a while, and in 2015 helped build playground equipment for school and after school programs.  This year, in addition to helping with the kids after school program, the Lauren Team will also participate in some light gardening and construction to help upkeep the facilities.

“Our family has supported missions financially for several years but it has always been something someone else does, and we just hear the stories.  Now we get to be right in the middle of God’s will and that is very exciting,” said Marco from the Human Resource department. Marco and his son Noah will make their first mission trip together to Los Brasiles.

This will be the 4th mission team that Lauren has sent to Nicaragua, with several employees who have been on more than one mission trip with Lauren.  For Stan, Process Engineer in Calgary, this is his second mission trip to Nicarugua.  He said, “the decision to go once again was easy as I consider it a great privilege to participate in such a good work with these disadvantaged kids.”   Stan will take his 10 year old grandson with him, “I am hoping that this will be a positive life-changing experience for him.”  Employees from all Lauren locations and backgrounds go and serve together on the mission field.

 
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.

“Lauren Canada is enthusiastic about this opportunity as this is the first steps at growing our relationship with Suncor” said VP of Projects, Pat Rhoads.

The modules are scheduled to be completed and delivered by March 2015.

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.

Since 1997, Lauren has provided engineering, construction, and plant modification services to NFS, which manufactures nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

With only about eight Governor’s Awards typically given each year, this is a significant accomplishment for Lauren, as construction contractors are not typical recipients of the award.  This is the second time in three years that Lauren has earned this award in recognition of exceptionally safe performance at the site.  Over the past six years at NFS, Lauren has accumulated over 435,000 man-hours without a single recordable safety incident or lost workday.

“Our workers really take pride in our safety standards at Lauren, not because of the recognition we receive, but because it means everyone goes home safely to their families each day.  We are honored to receive the Governor’s Award and look forward to working many more safe hours with NFS,” said Jeff Campbell, Lauren Project Manager.

“Safety is the top priority for everyone at NFS — employees as well as our business partners,” said Joe Henry, president of Nuclear Fuel Services.  “We congratulate Lauren on this honor in recognition of their outstanding safety performance at our facility.”

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

Additional Resources:
Safety Award Criteria – http://www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/tosha/safetyaward.shtml
Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc, a Babcock & Wilcox Company – http://www.nuclearfuelservices.com/

Mr. Terris has twenty years of international Project Management experience, having held positions in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Italy. He is an experienced Project Director/Manager with a process engineering background in midstream, refining, and petrochemicals. He has used best/value practices to develop a strong track record of leadership on key projects and initiatives, optimizing processes and effectively applying resources to improve margins and create increased top line value. Mr. Terris has directed projects ranging from small in scope to “mega” projects for owner and engineering/ construction companies.

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