Industry News

Jacksonville, Fla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accomplished another milestone in Everglades restoration with award of a $44 million contract for Phase One of the Site 1 Impoundment Project to Lodge Construction, Inc. of Fort Myers, Fla., Aug. 24.

The Site 1 Impoundment, also called the Fran Reich Preserve, will increase much needed water storage capacity and water management flexibility adjacent to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
“This project is all about getting the water right,” said Jacksonville District Commander, Col. Al Pantano. “This is the third major federal contract awarded in the past year, moving forward the Corps’ commitment to restore America’s Everglades. Ecosystem restoration is our primary goal here, but this project will also augment drinking water supplies, and it will put Floridians to work,” he added.
The $44,125,000 project, funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is located along the Hillsboro Canal approximately 20 miles west of Boca Raton in Palm Beach County. The project site is a 1,800-acre triangle of land located south and east of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
The Site 1 Impoundment will capture and store excess water currently discharged to the Hillsboro Canal.  The stored water will be available for use when water availability is low in the dry season. It will also reduce wasteful discharges to the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as water supply demands on Lake Okeechobee and the Loxahatchee Refuge.  The impounded water will decrease the loss of water from the Loxahatchee Refuge caused by naturally occurring seepage. Other potential benefits include flood mitigation, water quality improvements and reduced saltwater intrusion.

University Marelich Mechanical, Inc. a subsidiary of EMCOR Group, has been awarded a contract for installation of mechanical systems for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) control tower at the Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Springs, California.

University Marelich Mechanical, Inc. will be responsible for furnishing and installing a complete HVAC system, including sheet metal and piping, for a new 10,000 square foot,156 foot high air traffic control tower.  University Marelich Mechanical will also install a 1,000-gallon emergency generator fuel system for the tower.

The FAA is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation with authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S.  The Palm Springs International Airport is served by over a dozen airlines that connect to hundreds of cities worldwide, and with approximately 100 flights daily across the country.

“We’re very pleased to be working for the FAA on this important project for the Palm Springs International Airport,” said Scott Baker, President and CEO of University Marelich Mechanical. “Expanding or improving our country’s transportation infrastructure—such as this control tower project—is vital and is an area of our and EMCOR’s expertise and experience.

Sunnyvale, Calif. — Trimble announced it has acquired the assets of privately-held Accubid Systems based in Concord, Ontario, Canada. Accubid is a leading provider of estimating, project management and service management software and services for electrical and mechanical contractors. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Accubid’s family of software products allow electrical and mechanical contractors to analyze their estimates in great detail including CAD-based estimating and takeoff and then export the data into project management, accounting, and procurement applications. The acquisition of Accubid broadens Trimble’s industry leading “BIM to field” solutions for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractors to automate project estimating and management, modeling, detailing, layout and construction.

“BIM collaboration processes are transforming the way building construction projects are planned, managed and executed,” said Pat Bohle, general manager of Trimble’s Building Construction Division. “Combining Accubid’s deep understanding of the electrical and mechanical trades and their detail rich application data with Trimble’s field solutions will provide contractors additional tools to become more productive, efficient, and prepared to meet the demands of the industry in the future.”

“In today’s world, construction projects have become more complex and sophisticated, yet at the same time contractors are expected to build them faster than ever before,” said Giovanni Marcelli, founder and CEO of Accubid. “By combining the strengths of Accubid’s project management and estimating expertise with Trimble’s powerful MEP field solutions, we can better enable clients to address these challenges head-on.”

The Accubid business will be reported as part of the Engineering and Construction segment.

AKF Group is pleased to announce that Steven Friedman, PE, HFDP, LEED AP, has joined the engineering firm’s New York office as Senior Project Manager. He will be responsible for the design, production and construction administration of hospital and related healthcare facilities.

Steve brings over 22 years of engineering and construction experience in the highly specialized healthcare facilities industry. Focusing first and foremost on implementing proper healthcare design standards to ensure patient safety and comfort, he has designed systems for numerous world-class institutions throughout the northeast. Mr. Friedman was the first New York State engineer certified as a Healthcare Facility Design Professional, recognized by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) for his mastery of the technical knowledge covering design and operation of healthcare facilities.

Mr. Friedman received a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1988 from SUNY College of Technology in Farmingdale, NY. He is licensed in New Hampshire and is a Certified Healthcare Facility Design Professional and a LEED 2.2 Accredited Professional.

Steve is a member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) and ASHRAE. He has served on the Board of Governors for the Long Island Chapter of ASHRAE since 2000, finishing his active duty as President in 2008-2009. Opting to further his leadership role, he was appointed to ASHRAE’s Regional level as Refrigeration Chair and Society level Refrigeration Committee where he will be involved in new refrigeration technologies, and will be a contributing member for edification of the ASHRAE Refrigeration Handbook for 2014, aimed at setting standards and promoting ozone-friendly refrigerants for responsible project sustainability and refrigeration equipment efficiency.

Lane Wallace, pilot, writer and adventurer, will kick off the meeting with an opening keynote speech. Her theme: Taking Charge: Strength Through Adversity.

Ms. Wallace resigned from a corporate marketing job 20 years ago to pursue more joy, meaning and learning in her life. Her work as a pilot has taken her around the world and she has had her fair share of interesting journeys. She will share her thoughts on what it takes to pursue an adventurous path in life.

Visit www.pmihome.org to register.

Ontario, Calif. (July 1, 2010) — The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) today re-launched its significantly upgraded interactive job board, the Career Center, with new feature benefiting both job seekers and potential employers.

“IAPMO recognizes many employers in this economy are more focused on retaining employees than adding new ones, but when openings do become available they want to attract the absolute best candidates,” said Kathleen Mihelich, director of Program Development and Career Center administrator for IAPMO. “IAPMO’s newly-enhanced Career Center smoothly facilitates the introduction of perfectly-qualified applicants with the employers who seek them.”

IAPMO’s Career Center is the premier electronic recruitment resource for plumbing and mechanical code administrators, bringing exceptional candidates together with municipalities and agencies in need of their talents.

Both IAPMO members and non-members can use the Career Center to reach qualified candidates or seek a job. Among the brand new features enhancing an already successful employment site are:

FOR EMPLOYEE SEEKERS

• Automatic notification when a posted résumé matches a particular job criteria
• Links to facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites to extend reach to thousands more candidates
• “Featured” employers receive additional exposure to candidates visiting the Career Center
• Streamlined application process
• Increased pool of job seekers due to site enhancements on their behalf

FOR JOB SEEKERS

• Audio Advantage: Job seekers can create a brief audio clip to introduce themselves and highlight their relevant skills and accomplishments.
• Hoover’s Job Seeker Reports: Provides job seekers with pertinent information on more than 24 million companies spanning 400 industries in order to better prepare for interviews and craft cover letters/résumés.
• Career Self Management Program: Career fitness tools to help candidates develop a self-empowering philosophy to enhance their marketability and performance. Includes a personal locker, planning and status system, professional networking tool and résumé builder.

Registered employers can post jobs instantly and search the résumés of all registered candidates, who can likewise post their résumés and search for jobs by discipline, geography or keyword. To celebrate the improved Career Center, employers posting a job listing now through August 31 will receive a 25 percent discount by using the promo code: Summer2010.

Take a tour of the site by directing your Web browser to The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO)http://careers.iapmo.org/. For more information  and/or questions, please contact Kathleen Mihelich at (708) 995-3003 or kathleen.mihelich@iapmo.org.

Westport, Conn. — Reflecting its growing presence at the industry’s leading HVACR event, ‘Plumbing’ has been added as a new category to the 2011 AHR Expo Innovation Awards.

Widely acclaimed as one of the most prestigious honors in the HVACR industry, the Innovation Awards recognize the most innovative and useful products among the thousands on display at the AHR Expo www.ahrexpo.com. About 150 entries submitted by exhibitors each year are judged on the basis of design, unique performance, market impact, and value to the HVACR industry. Now in its ninth year, the Awards are also meant to promote and encourage new product development in ten major categories:

·      Building Automation
·      Cooling
·      Green Building
·      Heating
·      Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
·      Refrigeration
·      Software
·      Tools  Instruments
·      Ventilation
·      Plumbing
“Plumbing products, technologies and solutions have had a growing presence at AHR Expo for several years,” said Clay Stevens, President of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the AHR Expo. “Adding plumbing as a new category to the AHR Expo Innovation Awards allows us to include all the major segments represented at the Show.”