Sandoval Pipeline Engineering, Inc.
Specialization Spells Success For Family Owned Firm

By John Zavesky

(Above, Left to Right) Phil Garcia - Project Manager, Sandoval Pipeline, Ken Ramstad - Sales Manager, Scott Equipment, Andy Rojas - Customer Service Representative, Western Rentals, Junior Sandoval - President, Sandoval Pipeline, Gregg Scott - Vice President, Scott Equipment, Brendan Ramos - Rental Manager, Western Rentals and Chuck Paramo - Heavy Equipment Sales, Scott Equipment

Junior Sandoval has worked in the construction industry since he was a kid. “I started working when I was eight, going out on jobs with my dad,” Junior explained. Father and son continued to work together up until 1985. At that time Junior purchased a couple of backhoes and started J.S. Backhoe Service. Business was good and J.S. Backhoe quickly expanded into the contracting field. When the building recession hit some years later Junior sold his company and went to work for another contractor. In 1998 tragedy struck the Sandoval family when Junior’s father, Ramiro had a stroke. It soon became clear that Ramiro would not be able to return work. In order to keep Ramiro’s company going, Junior and his two sisters, Esther and Rosita decided to take over the business. “My sisters had been working for my father handling bookkeeping and office management when he had his stroke,” said Junior. “At the time there was nobody to take over the field operations end of the work. That’s where I came in.” Esther, Rosita and Junior formed a family partnership that comprised the new ownership of Sandoval Pipeline Engineering.

At first the company operated out of Esther’s home. “We had about five field employees, one pick-up truck and one backhoe at the time,” said Junior. Within one year the company moved to commercial office quarters in Ontario. In 2002 Sandoval Pipeline moved to their current office and yard in Rancho Cucamonga. “We now own our office and yard,” Junior said. The company now has 48 employees on their payroll and a strong inventory of equipment that includes six excavators, four wheel loaders, seven backhoes, four water trucks and a fleet of eighteen trucks. Sandoval Pipeline’s latest acquisition is two Kobelco excavators, a SK480LC and a SK330LC Eagle Edition, which the company took delivery of shortly after the Fourth of July. The SK330LC Eagle Edition is the only one of its kind currently in operation in southern California. “We looked at various lines and decided that the Kobelco was the best machine for our needs,” said Junior. “The machine’s operation is smooth and strong. It has plenty of power and speed.” Sandoval Pipeline purchased the Kobelco excavators from Scott Equipment in Fontana. “We’ve had a long standing relationship with Scott Equipment,” said Junior.

“Most of our equipment has been purchased from them. Gregg Scott has worked with us for many years to make sure we get the right pieces that fit our needs.

”For a mid-size company like Sandoval Pipeline Engineering that means dependable equipment with a minimum down time in the field. Since Junior and his sisters took over managing the company, Sandoval Pipeline has gone from doing approximately $2.5 million dollars worth of business to $13 million. “We built our reputation one job at a time,” said Junior. “When we first started out many contractors only gave us small projects. We established ourselves as a reliable site utility contractor that could handle these projects. From there we began to get larger projects to work on.” Sandoval Pipeline now only handles mid to large size commercial projects.

(Above) Sandoval Pipeline’s latest acquisition is two Kobelco excavators, a SK480LC and a SK330LC Eagle Edition, which the company took delivery of shortly after the Fourth of July. The SK330LC Eagle Edition is the only one of its kind currently in operation in southern California.

One of the first major projects that literally put Sandoval Pipeline on the map was a contract through Mercer Construction for the installation of all the site utilities at the Los Altos Shopping Center in Long Beach. From that point on Junior and his sisters never looked back. Junior wanted the company to grow and he knew this would only be accomplished if they focused on larger commercial projects. Shortly after completing work on the Los Altos Shopping Center, Sandoval Pipeline handled a similar project at Empire Towers where the company installed sewer, water and storm drains for the four-story office complex in Ontario. Other projects the company completed included site utility installation work at Holy Cross Church in Culver City, Borders Books in Costa Mesa and Lucky’s Supermarket in Apple Valley.

Sandoval Pipeline is currently working on a number of various major projects. One of the projects the company is currently involved with is the Wal-Mart Super Center in Moreno Valley. Sandoval Pipeline is completing the final stages of installing the center’s entire utility infrastructure. This project includes the installation of a massive storm trap retention basin. The use of water retention basins is becoming more and more common in Southern California construction. By utilizing the retention basin instead of the typical storm drainage system that would have been installed in the past, the water is conserved and able to be returned to the water table instead of just running off into the ocean. The system Sandoval Pipeline installed at the Super Center included four water recycling structures. The four recycling structures contain 130 tanks that can hold a capacity of 1,000 gallons each. The concrete structures were brought out to the jobsite and assembled there, sort of like putting together a gigantic puzzle.

Sandoval Pipeline and Engineering is also completing a similar utility installation project at the French Valley Shopping Center in Temecula. One of the primary differences on this project compared with the work done at the Wal-Mart Super Center is that the storm trap system on this job is made of PVC pipe instead of concrete. “The jobs cost out almost identically,” said Junior. “The project at French Valley Shopping Center did require a greater area to complete the construction.” The company is also busy completing a utility infrastructure installation at The Gateway at Mountain Village in Ontario.

(Left) Ken Ramstad - Sales Manager, Scott Equipment & Gregg Scott - Vice President, Scott Equipment. (Right) Sandoval Pipeline fills a sewer line at the Moreno Valley Supercenter.

Sandoval Pipeline recently signed the contract to take on a $4.6 million dollar project at the former Marine base in Tustin. This will be the company’s biggest project to date. Sandoval Pipeline will be handling the entire infrastructure for the site of an eighty acre shopping center that will include Lowe’s Hardware, Target and Costco as tenants. Sandoval Pipeline broke ground on October 15th and is slated to complete their work on the project by March of next year. The shopping center itself is due to open in October 2006. This is the first in development projects at the 900 acre former military base. Eventually the area will have a number of housing projects as well as additional shopping centers.

With projects that run over a number of months one of the greatest challenges that Junior faces is trying to keep up with the marketplace and rising costs. “When you bid a job and then three or four months down the line fuel costs rise, it is difficult to recoup those higher costs,” Junior explained. “You can’t go to the general contractor and renegotiate your contract. You have to be able to deal with factors such as these. A perfect example of this type of thing is the rise in PVC pipe due to the hurricane in Louisiana. The companies we get our supplies from raised the cost of PVC. Now we must figure out how to make a job profitable for us that we bid on before these price increases.”

Keeping up with rising costs may be an on going challenge for Junior Sandoval and his sister Esther. Rosita retired from the company this past June to raise her four children. Junior considers himself fortunate and loves what he does. “I wanted to build the company to be able to get larger projects,” said Junior. “When you work on a large project it takes longer and you have greater management of the project.” Sandoval Pipeline and Engineering grew one job at a time and by building a strong reputation. Seventy-five percent of the company’s business is repeat clients. “Knowing that the company has been able to grow gives me a great deal of satisfaction.”