The National Building Museum (nbm.org) and Turner Construction Company present the 11th Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction to Lean Construction Institute (leanconstruction.org). The Turner Construction Company established the Turner Prize and an endowment to support it in order to honor Henry C. Turner, who founded the company in 1902. The prize recognizes advances or high achievement in the process of construction—an invention, an innovative methodology, and/or exemplary leadership. I.M. Pei and Gehry Partners are among the past winners. Good company to be in.
If you attend the ABCO EXPO in Flushing, NY on Nov. 6, stop by the Friedrich booth. Company sources tell CB they’ll be displaying the FriedrichLink wireless system for window and room air conditioning units. They’re talking some significant energy savings here. Watch CB for a short story about Friedrich’s message to attendees. If you’re going to the show, safe travels.
Congratulations to Cynthia Esparza Crockett, president and co-owner of Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. (CFSI), Bowie, MD. She has been selected to receive the 2013 Top Minority Business Enterprise Award. The Top 100 MBE Award is given to enterprising women and minority entrepreneurs that fuel the region’s economy through their innovation, sacrifices, and dedication. CFSI is a leading provider of building operations and maintenance, mechanical contracting and HVAC services to government and commercial clients. Mark Crockett is vice president.
Thank you, Mark Lowry. Refrigeration Service Engineer Society (RSES) reports its Executive Vice President, Mark Lowry is retiring from the organization when his current contract expires at the end of June 2014. Lowry has held the chief staff position with the organization since 2006, after serving in various senior management positions since originally hired in 1993. RSES tells CB a search for a successor to Lowry will begin soon.
Unified Group to Meet. The Unified Group will be hosting its 15th Annual Meeting and Owners’ Forum on November 13-17 in the Grand Cayman Islands. The Unified Group is an alliance of independent mechanical contractors dedicated to excellence, education, and customer service. And their new website’s looking good!
University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors, Inc. (UMEC) in Tempe, Arizona has been recognized for the ninth time since 2000 with a national 1st Place Safety Excellence Award for exemplary safety practices and performance from the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association (SMACNA). The award was presented for best safety and health record within the 500,000+ man-hours worked category, the highest level attainable.
Bradford White Enters Hydronics Market. Today, Bradford White announced its new Brute Series, a line of gas-fired boilers and volume water heaters. The product line includes both residential and commercial boilers, from 50 to 2,400 MBH, and up to 98% AFUE.
Carrier commercial division has introduced the latest release of the i-Vu web-based BACnet building automation system, which now offers full support for both Carrier Comfort Network(CCN) and Carrier i-Vu Open (BACnet) systems.This new version of i-Vu allows customers to keep their existing CCN investment, while expanding their control system with Carrier’s i-Vu Open (BACnet) controls, now or in the future. Mark Jones, business manager, Carrier Controls, tells CB commercial contractors can use the i-Vu to manage all of their Carrier control systems, whether it CCN, BACnet, or a combination of both protocols.
Columbus-Ohio based commercial contractor Speer Mechanical has relocated to a 68,000 sq.ft. facility in Central Ohio. “We had been inactively looking for space for five or six years, says President Dennis Shuman. We learned about this property in the summer of last year.” The new location had served as the production facility for a Central Ohio newspaper publisher. “Everything is now under one roof, and that’s a big help,” Shuman adds. Speer Mechanical’s expertise includes the fabrication of ductboard, sheet metal and piping. Watch for an article about Speer Mechanical in an upcoming edition of CB.
HVACR manufacturers are good about sending us news, but not so much you contractors. We like to hear from you too, so contractors, send me your news when you 'got a minute.'
Terry McIver -- [email protected]