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BUSINESS NEWS BALFOUR BEATTY CONSTRUCTION SELECTED TO BUILD FAREGROUND AT ONE ELEVEN CONGRESS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN The transformation of downtown Austin continues with the reinven- tion of public space at One Eleven Congress – an integral part of the Capitol City skyline since 1987. Balfour Beatty Construction was chosen by owner Parkway Properties Inc., to deliver the project alongside landscape archi- tecture firm dwg. and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture . Fareground at One Eleven Congress is the reimagination of the plaza and lobby space at One Congress Plaza, the iconic blue-lighted stair-step building at the corner of 2nd Street and Congress Avenue. Part park and part marketplace, Fareground will transform the street-level sunken plaza and interior lobby of One Congress Plaza into a modern, inviting and active downtown hub for professionals, residents and visitors. The lively inside-out- side, eat-drink, work-play, early-to-rise, late- to-close hub is within walking distance from the heart of downtown. Following extensive preconstruction planning by Balfour Beatty, the Fareground at One Eleven Congress project is underway with completion expected in spring 2017. During the pre-planning efforts, Balfour Beatty used laser scanning, part of a suite of advanced reality capture technology, to scan the plaza and its five existing heritage oak trees being incorporated into the redesign. Laser scan- ning the entire plaza allowed the construction

western Canada, to its joint venture partner MFRI, Inc. for approximately $9 million. Ae- gion expects the transaction to close during the first quarter of 2016. Second, Aegion will downsize Energy Services’ upstream opera- tions in central California due to reduced cus- tomer demand while continuing to support the remaining customers in the region with its high-quality services and industry leading safety programs. Aegion will also implement a restructuring plan approved by Aegion’s board of directors to reduce consolidated annual expenses by ap- proximately $15 million, most of which will be realized in 2016. The restructuring will reposi- tion Energy Services’ upstream operations in California, right-size the Corrosion Protection platform to compete more effectively and re- duce corporate and other operating expenses. Management intends to complete the cost re- ductions and record a majority of an estimated $7 to $9 million in pre-tax charges, most of which are cash charges, during the first quarter of 2016. The pre-tax charges primarily consist of employee severance, extension of benefits, employment assistance programs, early lease termination and other non-cash costs asso- ciated with the restructuring. In the coming weeks, Aegion expects to complete a detailed review of approximately $150 million in intan- gible assets, including goodwill, for certain of Aegion’s energy-related businesses impacted by the adverse change in market conditions, a portion of which could be impaired.

team to identify the precise location of the tree canopies to avoid clashing with the new shade structures being installed at the plaza level. “Our extensive portfolio of interior construction in Austin’s central business district, especially our experience with complicated, commercial lobby renovations, made this project a great fit for our team’s expertise,” said Kirk D. Benken, vice president of operations for Balfour Beatty Construction in Austin. “We are thrilled to be a part of another one-of-a-kind project in Aus- tin.” Balfour Beatty previously served as general contractor for the 56-story Austonian condo- miniums and has been selected as the general contractor for the The Independent, which will be the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River. AEGION TO REDUCE ITS EXPOSURE IN THE NORTH AMERICAN UPSTREAM MARKET Following a re- cent assessment of its energy-related busi- nesses, Aegion concluded the persistent low price of oil is expected to create market challenges for the foreseeable future and that the high-cost upstream oil markets it serves in California and Canada will be particularly difficult as customers further reduce expendi- tures in 2016. In light of this, Aegion will reduce its exposure in the North American upstream market by approximately $100 million in annu- al revenues through two specific actions. First, Aegion has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 51 percent interest in Bayou Perma- Pipe Canada Ltd, a pipe coatings company in

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written collection of 10-plus comments all presenting similar views on the same subject. Likewise, when small comments get made at different times to different people, they are much more easily discarded. Metrics. Open responses are invaluable, but having numerical rankings across certain areas allows firms to easily see areas where they need to improve, and also chart improvement over time. It’s not all bad! You can have a great organization with a lot of happy employees, but unless specifically prompted, people will not often volunteer suggestions for improvement or expansion. Just one person’s idea for a new program or technology that could improve his or her efficiency or a person’s expressed desire to work on a specific kind of project may be all it takes to give a firm awesome new opportunities (and revenues). Positive feedback from employees can be used to help recruit key hires and will even help you win more work! CHRISTINA ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s director of research and marketing. Contact her at christinaz@ zweiggroup.com “You can have a great organization with a lot of happy employees, but unless specifically prompted, people will not often volunteer suggestions for improvement or expansion.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER February 1, 2016, ISSUE 1137

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