I want to start the new year by thanking all the donors who helped TRP return thousands of tons of reusable building materials to the marketplace in 2011, keeping them out of overburdened landfills. I also want to thank the numerous TRP employees who made it a successful year. Many businesses (especially nonprofits) were not so fortunate.
The year unfolded somewhat differently than the one we envisioned and budgeted. That was probably true for most organizations in our business. What made the difference were the wild swings in deconstruction activity. The year started well, both for our crews and for TRP-certified contractors. However, by June, while our contractors continued to prosper, TRP's own crews had become idle. (I wanted to blame it on the Greeks, but was unable to connect the dots across thousands of miles and a lot of water.)
Then, in late summer and early fall, the tables turned. TRP had to hire additional workers, while our contractors experienced a temporary slowdown. Work for contractors took off again in December, while TRP crews gathered around a couple of salvaged fireplaces and waited for Santa. Fickle thing, this business.
Oakland Retail Manager Brandy Sosa, with the able assistance of Juan Gomez, Rudy Avila and Tereso Villatoro, exceeded his 2011 sales forecast by 16 percent, despite being one person short during the final quarter of the year. Pacoima Retail Manager Shannon Barnes, with the help of Luis Serno, not only beat her sales forecast, but increased sales by 29 percent over the previous year. (Look for more surprises from Shannon in 2012.)
TRP added two promising retail-warehouse partners in 2011. Reusable Green Works, founded by Vinny and Pete (Jr.) Mastrioni, is in West Haven, Connecticut. The Reuse Warehouse, owned and operated by Rick Morgan, is in Durham, North Carolina. Be sure and stop by if you are in either area.
TRP Deconstruction Manager Ezequiel Borquez landed 11 percent more deconstruction jobs in 2011 than he projected. The jobs were secured, in part, by Northern California Regional Manager John Morrow and successfully executed by Ezequiel's talented crews, including crew chiefs Juan Cervantes, Armando Vergara and Antonio Puentes.
TRP certified deconstruction contractors had a mixed year, with Cheryl Sharp and Arthur Renaud (Southern California) and Ken Ortiz ( Illinois) meeting their forecasts, Jason Harper (Colorado) and John Wallace (Kansas City) exceeding theirs, and the others falling a bit behind.
Connecticut Regional Manager Mike Yurish had an interesting December, with 15 small projects – enough to keep the ablest manager scurrying.
 Four new regions were opened in 2011, and additional certified contractors were added in Durham, Washington DC, Charleston WV and Cleveland. Rick Morgan in Durham has one contractor on board and is presently bidding projects. Karen Bengel in Washington orchestrated meetings with AIA architects, resulting in several possible projects. The Charleston office, headed by Sarah Halstead, has one contractor on board and projects in various stages, and Joe Rettman has one contractor ready to go in Cleveland.
The ReUse Institute (TRI) is developing a new training curriculum, to be announced in the second quarter of 2012. Its existing training program, An Introduction to Deconstruction, has been updated, with OSHA 10 and OSHA forklift training modules added. That program received two official endorsements in 2011, from Texas State Technical College and the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps YouthBuild affiliate.
Finally, I want to applaud the largely unknown genius who watches over all of this activity: TRP Controller Alex Vasquez, who, in the two years he's been with us, has cut liabilities in half and improved our cash position fourfold.
As percentages of total revenue, here's how TRP's various activities stacked up in2011: Retail sales, 49.7%; deconstruction, 29.1%; project coordination, 10.5%; training and consulting, 10.7%.
Two Views of Total Revenue Sources
|
