OfCurrent Importance
Transcription
OfCurrent Importance
Volume 2, Issue 2 Of A quarterly publication from Current Importance Midland battery plant to spark job growth, energy independence. Renewable energy is an important topic these days. New hybrid and electric vehicles are introduced on a consistent basis, and industries from manufacturing to defense are working to utilize similar technologies to realize the benefits of energy efficiency. Dow Kokam, a joint venture between Dow and a leading Korean equipment maker, has already positioned itself to lead in providing the lithium ion battery cells and packs required to power those electric vehicles and other new technologies. In 2010, the company began development of Midland Battery Park, a manufacturing facility that will, by early 2012, be able to produce enough batteries to power more than 30,000 fully electric vehicles per year. The environmental benefits of electricallypowered vehicles are obvious, but the economic impact of this project alone is a very positive one for Michigan. More than 320 full-time jobs will be created with the opening of the facility, and many construction jobs will be generated during its construction. Feyen Zylstra is proud to have been chosen to provide electrical construction and energy management systems for the project. Feyen Zylstra's diverse experience in industrial applications was important in our selection. With the structure being provided by Dow and the equipment from Kokam, the "electrical backbone" of the design must remain flexible to accommodate different voltages and power needs as the project evolves. Feyen Zylstra's past experience allows us to adapt smoothly to such changes and remain on course and on deadline. In addition, our unique experience and capabilities in providing and powering "clean room" environments was a big advantage. The "Power of Knowledge" strikes again! Teamwork is an important aspect of this project, with many entities involved. Clayco, a national contractor from St. Louis, is overseeing construction. Every field person on the project has completed Clayco's safety training. Total crew size will reach 25 at project peaks. The client is impressed and comfortable with Feyen Zylstra's capabilities on its project, and pleased with the results so far. Dow Kokam is helping to bring efficient energy to Michigan and beyond. And we are excited to be able to put our energy and experience to work to help them accomplish it. Feyen Zylstra logs the miles for PLC USA Last year, our experience on a project for PLC USA at a Northern Michigan sawmill was responsible for the company selecting Feyen Zylstra to handle another sawmill project in Clarksville, Tennessee, and a waste separation line at a recycling facility operated by the company in Lakeland, Florida. Thanks to the loyalty of our client and our continued good work on those projects it's time to hit the road again! In March, Feyen Zylstra started work on still another project for PLC USA. This time, we headed for Fort Meyers, Florida to work on a new separating line at the Lee County recycling facility. Our involvement in previous refuse recycling and sawmill projects has added to our already significant experience, and enabled us to "export" the "Power of Knowledge" to several other states. We are pleased to be able to help with recycling facilities that can make communities "greener" and to make productivity improvements in sawmill operations that help boost the local economies. PLC USA is obviously very pleased with Feyen Zylstra's performance. That's why, even as the Fort Meyers project is getting underway, the client has asked us to participate in yet another – a sawmill addition in Philadelphia, Mississippi. An Electrical Services Firm Kids rule! New Helen DeVos Children's Hospital completed. All kids, all the time. That's both the beauty and the mission of the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. Kids' medical needs are very different than those of adults, and now West Michigan has a brand new, ultra hightech facility dedicated exclusively to meeting those needs with the most advanced equipment and most qualified personnel. This is a project that Feyen Zylstra was honored to work on, not only for the client but for the community. The Low Voltage Systems group at Feyen Zylstra installed over a million feet of cabling over a twoyear period, making it the largest low-voltage project Feyen Zylstra has ever handled – and certainly among the most rewarding. A hospital is a very complex environment, with a vast array of systems that must interact flawlessly to care for patients and help things run smoothly. All of these systems require power and cabling. Just think about all the wired systems you encounter during a single hospital visit. When you walk into a patient room, you notice all of the equipment in the room that is wired and plugged in, including the phone and television set. And think about the important connections that link the patient rooms to the nurse's station to monitor important vitals of each patient. As you walk through the facility, note the watchful eyes of cameras throughout to ensure the security and safety for all within. And consider the ability of the doctors to carry around laptops and connect wirelessly to all of the important hospital systems and patient records. These are just a few things that Feyen Zylstra worked on; take a look at the full list of systems installed! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Phones Computers (LAN /Network) Elevators Mechanical Systems TV's Audio / Video Nurse Call Patient Observation Patient Monitoring Telemetry Cameras Security Access Control Paging / Speakers Wireless Access Points Public Wireless Network (Cell phones) In addition, fiber optic cabling was installed to connect 32 unique communications closets within the hospital, as well as providing critical links between the hospital and adjacent facilities Towers 25 and 35 on Medical Hill. The number of systems that required installation, coupled with the normal challenges of working in a multi-story building made the project a perfect fit for Feyen Zylstra's "Power of Knowledge" approach. The company's previous experience in healthcare played a key role. Feyen Zylstra has proven itself in past projects for Spectrum's Lemmon-Holton Cancer Center, Meijer Heart Center, and other initiatives on both the Blodgett and Butterworth campuses. Once the construction was completed, the people that helped build the hospital were invited on a tour of the facility to see the finished product of their diligent efforts. Feyen Zylstra's employees commented that during the walk through, they clearly got a feeling of gratitude from each of the nurses and doctors they encountered. Smiles spoke of thanks for helping build such a wonderful facility. The sense of community, of many people working together for a greater good was felt by all. Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is a beautiful facility, and is a wonderful addition to the city skyline. But every person who steps into the building recognizes that its real beauty lies in what it means for the health and safety of the children of West Michigan, now and for generations to come. Kids rule, indeed. And in this special place, the community wouldn't have it any other way. The Leading Edge Perspectives from the leadership team at Feyen Zylstra Getting on with it I imagine at some point in the last few months you have caught yourself thinking about when the economy will turn, dreaming about when your business will pick up again, and anticipating Nate Koetje the day when things will return to the way they once were. For those of you with whom this resonates, I have some disheartening news. This is the Recovery! Hard to believe, but it is a fact we are now 18 months into the recovery. Though the depth of this recession was painful what has made it particularly so has been the recovery. This has been the worst recovery following any recession in our history. This is it. Things have changed. The past is not coming back. Time doesn't travel in reverse. Economists predict generally we will see things in their current condition for some time. We have recovered. What does this recovery mean for you and your career? What does it signal for you and your business? Does your old business model work in this environment? Are you planning to apply strategies that have worked in the past to the present situation? Are you hoping the old environment returns so your strategies will again be successful? Are you waiting for opportunities? Are you wondering what the future holds? work of braving a new path. If your goal is to merely survive you may manage to do that, but you will not thrive. This is the recovery! If you are hoping that you can somehow produce the results you have in the past by applying the same strategies and techniques to a new environment, stop. It can't be done. The environment has changed, and so must each of us. Hope and optimism for the future are phenomenal character traits to possess. Hoping for the past to return is detrimental to you and your organization. Do you often wonder about trying something new - perhaps a new strategy, a new technique, or a new approach? Many of us think about such things but fail to implement them. As individuals and teams there is only so much we can accomplish in this recovery by merely thinking about it. There is no clear path, no one to tell us what to do, no guide book. Success will belong to those who possess the courage to step out and try something, the wisdom to learn from their experience and the fortitude to try it again. Stop hoping for the past to return. Stop wondering. Stop waiting. Start doing. Today is the day to try something new. Today is the day to stop battling your memories of what worked in the past, to break your own paradigms, to step out, to take some risk, to try something, to learn from your experience, and to try it again. You owe it to yourself. The thought of change can be paralyzing but the alternative is much worse. Overcome your paralysis and you will discover that change can be engaging, energizing, and exciting. I invite you to join us in getting on with it. Try a new approach. Implement something. Experiment with new strategies. Learn from your experience. Create your future. Are you trying to survive this recession until your industry recovers? Stop. In order to not be left behind you must stop waiting for things to change, stop waiting for conditions to improve and get on with the News, Notes and More... Final "Medical Hill" building nearing completion. Tower 35, the final building in Spectrum Health's downtown expansion project, is scheduled for fall completion. Feyen Zylstra has been asked to provide electrical services for the structure; it is the fourth project building for which we have done so. Tower 35, which will house Spectrum Labs and Pediatrics, requires a higher level of safety training and orientations of healthcare construction plus the tightened storage and logistics complications of a downtown project. But Feyen Zylstra's experience and track record in dealing with these issues smoothly led to our selection for the project. Military precision required for Camp Grayling project. Feyen Zylstra's Electrical Construction and Low Voltage Systems groups have just completed a substantial project at the Michigan National Guard's Camp Grayling training facility. The project included officers' quarters, a headquarters/training building, dining facility, and five barracks buildings, all spread over 40 acres. Temporary power to all buildings had to be provided from a single source. Materials management and project organization was critical to coordinate our efforts with contractors doing building construction. Feyen Zylstra crews did rough-in work in some buildings while others performed finish work in nearby structures. The new and improved Camp Grayling now offers increased capability to prepare our military personnel for today's changing needs. We were proud to help. Successful as planned. Healthy lifestyles require planning. So do successful hospital expansions! Our Electrical Construction group is working with Northern Michigan Hospital on the addition of the John and Marnie Demmer Wellness Pavilion and Dialysis Center. Along with providing critical kidney dialysis services, the center will also include a pool, spa and sauna and complete physical rehabilitation facilities. The project, scheduled for completion in early May, featured a short schedule and very limited site storage availability. Feyen Zylstra, the client, and other parties involved met early in the process to anticipate potential needs and identify solutions when necessary. As a result, the customer and our partners on the project are very pleased. New battery plant to deliver for FedEx. In early March, Feyen Zylstra's Low Voltage and System Engineering groups completed work on a new Johnson Controls-Saft plant that will help the environment and the state of Michigan, creating good high technology jobs. The facility will make lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars as well as trucks. FedEx has already signed on as a customer. Feyen Zylstra's experience in clean room and dry room applications was vital; special protocols must Community Spotlight Charitable efforts get a strong Foundation. Feyen Zylstra has earned an excellent reputation with the work we do on building projects; it is our mission and our passion. But from a larger perspective, there is nothing more important than the responsibility we feel to help build communities and the people who live in them. In summer 2010, the company took a big step to formalize that commitment by establishing the Feyen Zylstra Community Foundation, an officially-sanctioned 501(c)(3) organization. This foundation will oversee and serve as the focal point for all of Feyen Zylstra's charitable activities including financial and in-kind donations. And everyone in the company is excited that such efforts will gain even more momentum by giving them an official "place to live," and that this legacy of giving will continue long into the future. Feyen Zylstra has been giving back to the community for 30 years. From the beginning, our founders Marlin Feyen and Bob Zylstra believed (and continue to believe) that it is not a "public relations" gesture, but simply a matter of doing the right thing: helping to make the communities in which we do business better places to live. Education has always been a primary focus. Feyen Zylstra employees have been tutoring in the Schools of Hope program for the Grand Rapids Public Schools. Those people include Marlin and Bob themselves; our company officers don't merely set the policy, they set the example. We also participate in the Mona Lease-a program, in which companies "lease" pieces of student art for display in their offices, which helps to support the art program in the schools. Communities and people who face particularly challenging circumstances have also received considerable support. Feyen Zylstra greatly admires and supports the work of the Baxter Community Center as it helps to meet a wide variety of human needs for the people and families in the surrounding neighborhood. This need has only grown more critical in these stressful economic times. On a broader scale, the company works with The Right Place, an organization committed to fostering economic development in West Michigan. Protecting the environment and improving public spaces have also long been a priority to Feyen Zylstra. Employees have donated their time and efforts to clean up sections of the Grand River through downtown Grand Rapids. And on Arbor Day and Earth Day, our people joined the Grand Rapids Friends of the Parks and other partners to plant nearly 100 trees to help reforest the local park system. Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Aquinas College, the Spectrum Health Foundation and many other organizations have received assistance from Feyen Zylstra in the form of financial or in-kind donations. And that list seems destined to grow even longer with the establishment of the Feyen Zylstra Community Foundation. Many quality companies make a point of supporting charitable efforts. With the establishment of the Feyen Zylstra Community Foundation, Feyen Zylstra is planting its flag firmly in the ground – and on the side of people and organizations that need help in Michigan and in all the communities we serve. Mona Lease-a Art; Watercolor Tree & Birds "We owe a lot to the people of West Michigan and all the communities we serve. And we feel a strong responsibility to share our success to help make those communities better, whenever and however we can," said Bob Zylstra, Chairman of Feyen Zylstra. To qualify for 501(c)(3) status, an organization's efforts can target a variety of worthy causes, including reducing poverty, improving public spaces or the environment, supporting and enhancing education, and more. One look at Feyen Zylstra's charitable history shows that few of those areas have not benefited from the company's efforts. be followed to ensure that no moisture or contaminants enter various parts of the system. Our expertise in management systems and process controls contributed to a flawless installation. Productivity drives change for West Michigan auto parts suppliers. Auto parts suppliers have been under pressure to improve production efficiencies for years. So when Johnson Controls updated its Upper and Lower Roll Form lines in Holland, Michigan, it called upon Feyen Zylstra to retrofit aging machinery with a new control panel and controls package to operate it. Benteler, another local parts supplier, also chose Feyen Zylstra's System Engineering group to install new controls and automate the equipment on the muffler weld line, leak, gauge and assembly. Long work days and weekend shifts were required for both projects. But thanks to Feyen Zylstra's extensive experience with building control panels and motion control systems in manufacturing, and the automotive Feyen Zylstra employees volunteer for tree planting in Riverside Park. industry in particular, timelines were met successfully and the customers' aggressive productivity goals were achieved. Both are very pleased. Greenville gets even "greener." The city of Greenville is committed to renewable energy, with several publicly-owned buildings already equipped with photovoltaic energy systems. A recent project, calling for the placement of such a system on the roof of the Greenville Community Center, was awarded to the partnership between Uni-Solar and Feyen Zylstra. Snowfall at the time made roof work challenging. And project complexity increased with the first Michigan installation of Uni-Solar's "Power-Tilt"- a unique racking system that enables a photovoltaic array to be installed on the roof without physical attachment to that roof. With the expertise of this partnership, the system went in smoothly and is expected to save Greenville approximately $5,000 annually in energy costs. Feyen Zylstra goes to Washington! Recently, Feyen Zylstra was asked by Rockford Construction to install low voltage cabling at the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. Focused on teaching about the American Constitution, the center - a part of Hillsdale College is housed in a small historic building near the Supreme Court, the Senate office building and other landmarks. The cramped environment offered virtually no parking or storage space for materials. But Feyen Zylstra was honored to be involved in helping to renovate the structure, and proud of the reputation that earned us the opportunity. "Using someone with their knowledge and whom you can trust to complete on time and on budget, made them an easy choice," explained Joe Kuhn, Project Executive from Rockford Construction Company. Now at an auto showroom near you – the latest models of lighting efficiency! You ought to see what's in today's new car showrooms! Not just the cars, but the modern, energy-efficient lighting fixtures that are helping area dealers show off those new vehicles and save money in the process. Many businesses in West Michigan and across the state are finding that, by replacing lighting fixtures, they can add warmth and brightness to their facilities while reducing energy costs! That's because today's "green" fixtures deliver maximum light with the lowest possible energy consumption. Feyen Zylstra has been involved in many lighting "retrofits" that have saved business owners enough to actually pay for the work in as little as 8 months (and go on saving after that). In addition, projects often qualify for credits and rebates from power companies such as Consumers Energy that can amount to many thousands of dollars. At Fox Motors, the facility was updated with over 500 new energy-efficient lighting fixtures. The project was completed without disruption to the business, which remained open and accessible throughout. The response has been remarkable, earning praise from customers and employees alike. Fox Hyundai Kia and Keller Ford. And the savings haven't been limited to car dealerships. Factories, printers, even an airport hangar have been among the many businesses that have realized similar benefits with Feyen Zylstra's help. On just nine of these projects, Feyen Zylstra has replaced more than 1,600 lighting fixtures, generating a combined energy savings of over $100,000 annually. The process begins with a simple site survey to identify opportunities for saving and generate a project proposal. And Consumers Energy offers energy credits through programs designed for both small and large business customers. The successful results at the Fox Honda and Ford dealerships led to additional projects at So sometime soon, head out to a Fox Motors or another local auto dealership. You'll find plenty to "ooh and ahhh" about. Oh, and the vehicles are fun to look at, too! Team approach works well for Greenville water system project. Today, the people of Greenville are enjoying better water quality and paying less for it! The recent modernization of the municipal well field and water system has allowed the city to chlorinate the water it distributes. And with the increased efficiency, the system now requires less electricity to operate, resulting in actual refunds from the power company. Many different groups of professionals contributed to the success of this project, and - we're proud to say - three of them were from Feyen Zylstra. Teaming up to make it happen were Feyen Zylstra's Construction, System 210 Front Ave. SW Grand Rapids, MI 49504 In This Issue KIDS rule at the HELEN DEVOS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL 1 MIDLAND BATTERY PLANT TO SPARK JOB GROWTH 1 FEYEN ZYLSTRA LOGS MILES FOR PLC USA 1 GETTING ON WITH IT BY NATE KOETJE 2 News, Notes, and More 2 FEYEN ZYLSTRA FOUNDATION 3 FOX FORD LIGHTING EFFICIENCY 4 GREENVILLE WELLFIELD PROJECT 4 210 Front Ave. SW Grand Rapids, MI 49504 616-224-7707 Fax 616-224-7799 2969 Keystone Rd. Traverse City, MI 49686 231-486-8800 Fax 231-486-8882 1-800-748-0180 • www.feyenzylstra.com Engineering, and Service work groups. The familiarity and cohesive spirit of these groups were essential in keeping this complex project on track. Improvements to the existing system included new control panels that were built by the System Engineering group and installed, along with new feeds and wiring, by the Construction group. The Electrical Service group provided solar energy panels for the project. Smooth interaction and flexible scheduling was essential. The facility had to remain fully operational while the entire electrical service was replaced. This required careful attention to the customer's schedule to ensure that water service was never compromised. Feyen Zylstra personnel found that working with other company groups was a unique experience. Scott Aikens, Project Manager for the Construction group put it this way: "It turned out to be one of the easier projects I've worked on, because having the different groups under one roof helped shorten the entire process and provide a more cohesive end result for Greenville," Aikens said. The client is very happy with the results of the project. The "Power of Knowledge" always makes a big difference. And in this case, that goes double… er, make that triple.