Invirex Demolition Inc. (IDI) was founded in January 1973 by Lanza L. Schwall, a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a civil engineering degree. At that time, I joined IDI and became corporate secretary/treasurer as well as office manager. Invirex got a few small projects in the New York City area.
Our first big project was for the City of New York on the modernization of the original Yankee Stadium in October 1973. The job was to remove all stadium seats, columns, lighting and frieze, as well as to demolish walkways and equipment. We had a sales office on-site and collected many items such as seats, posters, bricks, grass and anything that the fans of the Yankees could get their hands on. I was fortunate to get two of the Yankees seats! At this time, our office was located in Long Island City, New York. In 1980 we moved our offices to Huntington Station, New York.
As requests for more bids came in, more personnel were hired, such as estimators, engineers, and office and field workers. In June 1980, Betty L. Schwall, wife of Lanza L. Schwall, and also a University of Kentucky graduate was made president of IDI. Their son, Jay A. Schwall, a civil engineering graduate of Polytechnic Institute of New York, started working for this family-owned business in 1980 as an estimator, project manager and superintendent.
Work became plentiful in the years that followed and was completed all over the country and in Canada. Some of our larger projects were the demolition, dismantling and asbestos removal in electrical power plants, paper plants and gas plants, and many other types of demolition and alterations of buildings in the New York City area.
Some of the special projects we conducted were for Consolidated Edison, Archer Daniels Midland, Dayton Power and Light, Long Island Lighting Co., Citgo Petroleum, BP Oil, Chevron, Shell, South Carolina Oil & Gas, ALCOA, Exxon, Pennsylvania Power & Light, DuPont, International Paper Co., Dow Chemical and ASARCO, among many others.
We also performed the only turnkey demolition project ever awarded by Con Edison at its Hell Gate Generating Station in the Bronx, New York, with over 30,000 tons of scrap. Along with this demolition came the removal of stacks by implosion (performed by a subcontractor), which was the only time the City of New York allowed a contractor to "blow up" anything in city limits.
The dismantling of the original Yankee Stadium in 1973 was the first big project for Invirex Demolition Inc., which has since grown to become Louisiana Chemical Dismantling Co.
One other project I got to see was the removal of ventilators from roofs of buildings at an ALCOA plant in Massena, New York. These ventilators were removed and lifted by a helicopter. All the people involved in this removal and a few of our office staff, myself included, got the opportunity to enjoy the ride in the helicopter.
In 1987, Lanza L. Schwall purchased the property at 24 27th Street in Kenner, Louisiana, which is the current address of our headquarters. The property consists of a large warehouse and two-story office building. In 1999, The National Association of Demolition Contractors presented Lanza L. "Jay" Schwall with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1987, Lanza L. Schwall entered into an agreement with Louisiana Chemical Equipment Co. to purchase its demolition and dismantling operations. At the same time, Louisiana Chemical Dismantling Co. Inc. was formed, with Jay A. Schwall as head of operations and president of the family- owned business.
For more information, visit www.lcdc-invirex.com or call (504) 464-0770.
