Zinser feels obligation to handle Eastern Iowa flood work

Tearing down the wreckage left by the Flood of 2008 in Cedar Rapids is a job that David Zinser craves.

“The flood thing to me has become kind of a personal issue,” said the president of D.W. Zinser Co. in Walford. “It is my community. I wanted to be part of history in doing it.”

With about 35 employees, D.W. Zinser Co. is the largest demolition outfit in Iowa, and it has done well by the massive June 2008 flood that has been called the worst natural disaster in Iowa history.

D.W. Zinser Co. dominated the bid-lettings for demolition work in Cedar Rapids. On Tuesday, it was picked over nine other bidders by the Cedar Rapids City Council for the largest and trickiest contract yet - a $7.7 million deal to demolish the sprawling Sinclair industrial complex in southeast Cedar Rapids.

The project is fraught with environmental hazards and dangers, including the likely presence of chemicals and a towering smokestack that could collapse on workers if they get too close.

“The environmental challenge is by far the greatest we've come across,” said Zinser.

David Zinser, 48, has roots in the demolition business. His father, George Zinser, handled the demolition that cleared a path for Interstate 380 when it was built through downtown Cedar Rapids more than 40 years ago.

David Zinser moved away to work for larger demolition outfits. In 1997, he moved back from Minneapolis with his wife, Chris, to start their own business, because they didn't want their children to grow up in the big city.

After getting the first two contracts to tear down flood structures that could contain asbestos in Cedar Rapids, D.W. Zinser won the first big contract to demolish 400 homes in northwest Cedar Rapids.

What many don't realize is that D.W. Zinser is also handling contracts to tear down flood-damaged homes in Iowa City, Coralville, Waterloo and Louisa County.

To David Zinser, it's boiled down to a choice, between bidding aggressively to try to employ local residents to do the work or letting out-of-towners get the jobs and money.

“Other peoples' misfortunes, I capitalize on some, but I really want to keep my people employed and busy for as long as I can,” Zinser said.

Winning the work has required the company to keep its costs in line and will make for less-than-ideal profits on the jobs, Zinser said. The company's employees have stepped up to the challenge by working harder and smarter, he added. D.W. Zinser has added 10 to 12 employees because of the demands of the flood demolition contracts.

Recently, David Zinser's father and mother moved back from retirement in Florida, and his father helps procure equipment for the flood-recovery work. Wife Chris oversees the office in Walford. Son-in-law Kyle Fisher works as an estimator for the company, and son Brandon is supervising demolition of the old Big Lots building at Westdale Mall.

One part of demolition work that has never sat well with Zinser is the realization that he is helping to destroy architectural history. The couple's house in Amana was built partly with materials salvaged from old structures.

“I see a lot of structures that could probably be saved or moved, but I'm there to do a job,” Zinser said. “We need progress.”