Japanese construction company leads former NE student home

Wile most folks were quietly reflecting on Easter Sunday celebrations, Paul Wallis of Ripley was getting ready to go to work … and he couldn’t have been happier.

What was so important that Wallis was on the job that night?

As an assistant superintendent with Shimizu North America, LLC, Wallis was involved in a major concrete pour on the construction site of tier one at the Toyota Body Plant being built in Baldwyn. Beginning at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday (March 23), 1,050 yards of concrete were poured on the site.

Wallis handles quality control for Shimizu. He documents a project’s progress with photographs and also does dirt-grade testing and deals with testing laboratories and sub-contractors. According to Wallis, the over 200-year-old parent company didn’t get to be one of the top three construction companies in Japan by coincidence. It’s the “culture of quality” that led the rise to the top.

“We spend more time on quality control and organization on the front end of a project to ensure we have a superior product,” Wallis explained. “The misconception is that there is a certain ‘Japanese way” of doing things. There’s really not. We’re just going to do it the right way. A fast turnaround is important but not at the expense of quality.”

A 1997 graduate of Ripley Christian School, Wallis like most of his friends enrolled at NortheastMississippiCommunity College.

He was a pre-engineering major and after a year of college, he tried his hand in the residential construction field, but was looking for something more. Back at Northeast in 1999, he found it in the school’s newly created construction engineering technology (CET) program

“CET was what I was looking for,” remembered Wallis, the first graduate of the program in 2001. “It was the shoe that fit.”

After graduating from Northeast, Wallis worked for B&A Construction in Gainesville, Ga., as a field engineer for approximately two years before returning to Mississippi and enrolling at MississippiStateUniversity in construction management. He graduated in 2006. 

Back in the workforce, Wallis signed on with Gray Construction in Lexington, Ky., and worked on a Hyundai HYSCO plant extension in Greenville, Ala., before heading to New Mexico to work on a Pepsi plant. While in New Mexico, a routine Internet search led Wallis to the Shimizu web site and ultimately back home.

“My time at Northeast in the CET program opened the door to a wider variety of careers in the construction industry,” Wallis said. “What I learned in CET is the most valuable part of my education.”

According to CET instructor Ray Gaillard, Wallis was a student looking to “build bridges.”

“Many of us had summer jobs while in high school,” Gaillard said, “working in and around construction doing very simple tasks. The life experience caused us to consider how larger and more complicated projects are built, such as bridges. This pursuit led us to more education after graduating high school. Paul’s experience in residential construction started a career path that has led to a variety of construction projects in many areas of the country.”

Wallis was as quick to credit Gaillard with a vital role in his success in the construction industry as Gaillard was to cite Wallis as a prime example of how Northeast can inspire a career.

“(Gaillard’s) passion for (the CET program) is what inspired me to see what was out there,” Wallis said.

Wallis’ advice to the current CET students at Northeast is quite simple, but he is the proof behind the words.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there,” Wallis said. “Just go live life. The gateway is education. I came to Northeast searching and it led me to something.”

“Pursuing a career is a difficult choice to make,” Gaillard continued. “Many students make career choices based only on an annual income, however, each industry has cultural considerations and a career has to be interesting or it will be tedious. Northeast has a wide variety of instructors who know industry cultures and can explain the challenges therein. With a better understanding of career options, students make better choices.”  

“I enjoyed my experience at Northeast and had a lot of fun,” Wallis smiled. “The teachers were very influential and led me through the most moldable, critical part of my education. They didn’t just open doors for me. They showed me that the doors were out there.”

Currently four graduates from Northeast are working for Shimizu North America LLC in Baldwyn.

Wallis resides with his wife Lauren in Ripley.