P1 News

It seems like just yesterday we wrote this article about the Millwright Division of P1 Construction in 2018.

And the Millwrights have come a long way, baby - with impressive project, personnel, and revenue growth.

P1 Project Developer Engineer Swapnil Shende grew up in the small city of Nagpur, India, where he loved playing sports from his early youth, going on to play cricket and baseball in high school.

Swapnil also loved watching robot and transformer movies, an interest which proved to be instrumental in forming his career path.
After high school, he moved to the city of Mumbai to attend the Technological Institute and study Electrical Engineering.

Green Energy Creates Big Opportunity for P1 Electrical Preventative Maintenance Team

When Associated Electric Cooperative Incorporated (AECI) needed to add capacity to their grid by making use of some idle generating equipment, the P1 Electrical Preventative Maintenance team was the one for the job. AECI had two 20 megawatt generating stations, each measuring 18’ long x 12’ wide by 12.5’ tall, and weighing 28,000 lbs. These units act as small powerhouses that supply a little extra boost when the demand on the grid is high.

AECI is in Springfield, MO, although the Generator Accessory Compartments (GACs) reside in AECI’s Unionville, MO power generating station.

The GACs provide power generation and high-voltage transmission to six transmission co-ops. They supply 51 local electric cooperatives in Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma serving about 935,000 homes, farms, schools and businesses.

AECI relies on a mix of generating resources and technologies to deliver electricity and balance that mission with hydropower when it’s available, then coal, natural gas and wind energy.

Due to the closure of coal-fired power plants, AECI needed to find ways to add additional capacity to the grid and decided to make use of some idle equipment.

On site they had two 20 megawatt generating stations, measuring 18’ long x 12’ wide x 12.5’ tall and weighing 28,000 lbs. These units act as small powerhouses that supply a little extra boost when the demand on the grid is high. They were brought online in the 1970s, decommissioned in the 1990s, and have been dormant ever since.

The project to refurbish these units went out to bid and AECI didn’t have anyone in mind for the work, but through a former co-worker of P1 Project Engineer Wade Buck, P1 got the recommendation, and subsequently joined late in the bidding process.

 According to Electrical Preventive Maintenance Manager Jeff Gardner, it was a herculean effort just to assemble the bid. 

“There were a lot of components that needed pricing in addition to a plan for execution and a project schedule.  We relied on a lot of internal resources to help with that,” Jeff said. 

Jeff also mentioned that one of the key factors for being awarded the project was having the support of experienced negotiators, including P1 Vice President Tony Whited, P1 Vice President Rusty Roderick, and P1 Service President Phil Nehring.

“It was great to see them in action and see how they got excited for an Electrical Preventative Maintenance (EPM) opportunity,” Jeff noted. “It was clear they have been through many negotiations like this before, so it was a unique learning opportunity for Wade and myself.”

And P1 dazzled the customer, earning us the bid.

Once the contract was secured, the first order of business was to get the units moved into the Lenexa warehouse. Due to the size and weight of the units, Belger Cartage Service was used to pick the units off of a trailer with a crane and roll them into the warehouse.

After the units arrived on site, a detailed inventory of the contents was taken and catalogued, and then the contents were removed.  The outer shell will be taken to a painting contractor. 

The current color is gray, but it will be restored to the original sea foam green, giving it a vintage 70s flare with state-of-the art components when complete.

Jeff says a significant part of this project is the refurbishment of two very large breakers.

“We wouldn’t be able to service this opportunity if we didn’t have the Breaker Shop and the staff with superb skills and expertise,” Jeff said.

He says the Breaker Repair Shop, developed last year and located in the Lenexa warehouse, was a fortuitous investment because it paved the way for a big opportunity like the AECI job.

“As this project gets underway, the team is excited about it, and you see everyone’s unique skill sets working together toward a common goal. This project really is the perfect demonstration of The Expertise of Many, The Power of One.”

PROJECT TEAM

Zach Wilburn: Project Lead/Field Oversight 
Allen Hulett: Technical Lead
Wade Buck: Project Manager
Jeff Gardner, Electrical Preventative Maintenance Manager: preparing the warehouse
Phil Nehring, P1 Service President: proposal development/negotiation strategy
Tony Whited, P1 Service Vice President: proposal development/negotiation strategy
Rusty Roderick, P1 Service Vice President: negotiation strategy
Laura Adkins, Project Coordinator 

P1 Operations Manager Robert Bruegman grew up in Bloomfield, NE, with a family of farmers. And even though farming continued to run in the family for some of his siblings, Robert always enjoyed the art of “tinkering” with things.

While still in Bloomfield, he worked as a full-time diesel mechanic and part-time apprentice electrician. After getting married, Robert and his wife moved to Lincoln, NE, for a change of pace. It was there he worked for dirt contractor running heavy equipment.

One of the big numbers at P1’s Annual Meeting was the phenomenal growth in the P1 Service Maintenance Base. While the base has grown steadily over the past decade, the past two and a half years have seen millions in growth.

But behind every upward trend is a story of strategy, learning, change, and growth.

As long as he can remember, Kyle Ball has loved football.  Even before he was allowed to play organized tackle football, he could often be found outside in his Prairie Village, KS, neighborhood, playing pick-up games with the neighbor kids. In elementary school, he listed playing college football as a life goal. During his senior year of high school, several universities came knocking, including the University of Kansas and Kansas State.

“I chose K-State because they had a great program and I was excited to play for coach Bill Snyder,”  Kyle said. “Playing football at K-State was a dream come true and I have memories that will last a lifetime.”

Pictured above, L to R: daughter, Kaitlyn; wife, Carolyn; Chris; and son, Collin      

“A garden doesn’t grow without constant tending.”

General Manager of Service Todd Andrews says P1 applies this same philosophy to customer relations.

Just as the P1 internship program hits full swing for the summer, former intern and current P1 Project Engineer (PE) Silvana Alcantara is celebrating her one-year anniversary as a full time P1 employee.

She came to the PE position armed with experience gained in the P1 internship program, and now both she and P1 are reaping the benefits.

Pictured, left: New chiller demo; Pictured, right: Project Pipefitter Foreman Will Wall and Project Manager Jason Larsen

With the rising costs of…well…everything, energy efficiency is critical for our P1 customers. One long-time customer called on P1 to make major changes to their cooling in time for peak summer demand.

Ok, let’s just address the elephant in the room.

What is Irish road bowling? If you read the March issue of the P1 Connection newsletter, you may have caught the term in the Associate Profile on Senior Project Manager Zack Kittle.

On May 7, 2022, 160 golfers and a crew of volunteers assembled at the Shamrock Hills Golf Course for the Annual Charity Golf Tournament FORE Safety.

As usual, this year’s tournament provided an opportunity for a whole lot of fun all while raising money for a good cause.

This year’s proceeds go to the family of Jay Brown, a fallen construction worker killed in an accident in December of 2021. Jay left behind his wife, Lynn, and twin sons, Justin and Wesley. 

Tournament Highlights

First Place: with 15 under par and a score of 56, Team Inventory Sales
Second Place: with 14 under par and a score of 57, Milwaukee Valve and P1's Taylor Jenkins
Third Place: with 13 under par and a score of 58, P1's Chelsie and Zack Kraft, and guests Lane and Jacob Kraft.

Hole 6 was a 50/50 hole
Total money collected was $850.00
Clinton Gechter received $425.00

Hole 11 was a 50/50 hole
Total money collected was $845.00
Keith Miller received $422.00

Potty Hole (that's right, you have to swing from the seat!)
Total collected was $655.00
Seneca Speith received $327.00

Putting Green
Total collected was $970.00
There was a putt-off at the end of the tournament, and Steve Hinshaw won $485.00.

Pictured, Top Row from Left: Joshua Farnan, Building Technologies Intern; Aaron Martin, Mechanical Intern; Lake Williams, Summer Fleet Assistant; Logan Alexander, Electrical Intern
Bottom Row from Left: Thomas O'Connor, Mechanical Intern; Matthew Harding, Mechanical Intern; Jacob Mendez, Mechanical Intern
Not Pictured: Carson Lutz, Construction Intern

Finding and retaining talented employees is an ongoing challenge for any organization, especially in this current precarious job market. The need to grow a talent base has become even more necessary, and the P1 internship program is helping address some of these needs for the immediate future and beyond.

P1’s pipe fabrication often includes the production of polypropylene pipe, an alternative - in some applications - to traditional pipe material. Aquatherm is economical, faster to install, and corrosion free.

P1 has forged a strong relationship with Aquatherm, a supplier of polypropylene pipe.

Pictured, above: Breaker Technician Zach Wilburn works on carefully disassembled parts from multiple circuit breakers.

According to Electrical Preventative Maintenance (EPM) Manager Jeff Gardner, having the ability to repair circuit breakers on site at P1 has been a top priority.

When it comes to customer service, serving our internal customers is just as important as serving the external ones, and there are critical support groups within P1 without whom our associates couldn’t serve their external customers.

One of those critical groups is our P1 Project Coordinators (PCs). A PC supports multiple project managers - and possibly other associates - within the organization. PCs may also carry titles other than “project coordinator” but perform many of the same functions.

Remember the artistic cows that used to pop up all over Kansas City? Well there’s a new installation in town - the “Parade of Hearts”.

You may have seen some of the fiberglass hearts on the news or around town. The Parade of Hearts is a public art installation that celebrates the Heart of America and benefits local neighborhoods, artists, small businesses, and others who are facing hardship due to the pandemic.

“I HAVE A NAME”. This simple yet profound philosophy is at the heart of Facility Maintenance Plumber Don Pardew’s ministry to local street and houseless communities in Kansas City.

“When someone asks if they can give you a hug, or they light up because you remembered their name, and maybe something personal, like their shoe size, that’s what makes it all worthwhile,” Don said.

You might say the “luck of the Irish” was with P1 Group when Senior Project Manager Zach Kittle came on board.

A 2005 graduate of the Construction Science program at K-State, Zach joined P1 for what he thought was just a temporary job while he looked for work with a general contractor.

It’s no surprise Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) Sheet Metal Specialist James Daugherty built a better way to enjoy cold beverages.

His skill for building things and curiosity about how things work not only led him down an entrepreneurial path, it also helped him find his career at P1.