LENEXA, KS. – The annual Kevin Lane scholarship has been awarded for the second time to University of Kansas student, Patrick Canny. The scholarship is in honor of the late Kevin Lane, who worked as an electrical foreman at P1 Group for more than 27 years.

As a sophomore this year, Patrick recently visited P1 Group’s headquarters. He has made some big changes in his life since he stopped by last year. After working a summer internship at an aerospace engineering firm, he wondered if a degree in mechanical engineering was the right choice for him. A friend working in New York at a medical lab then inspired him to consider pursing computer science. A few programming classes later, Patrick decided that exploring a career in data science would give him the freedom to fully reach his potential.

Most people are familiar with P1 Group’s distinctive position as a single-source provider, and the recently added Controls department brings yet another advantage to owners and customers.

The Controls department currently has staff operating out of the Kansas City (Lenexa) and Wichita offices, but supports all of the Kansas City metro, which includes St. Joseph and Lawrence/Topeka.

Personal Training Builds Career Muscles

While trial by fire can be a good way to learn, no one likes the anxiety that comes with a brand new job, project deadlines, and all new software and systems to learn.

That’s where P1 University comes in. P1 Group goes above and beyond to train new project managers so they get up-to-speed about the company and their job function as soon as possible.

Customer relationships will always be top priority for P1 Group.

Kelly Masters was interviewing for a position with P1 when she was asked if she would be interested in the newly created position of C.A.R.E. Coordinator. With a degree in Nursing and three children, Kelly has plenty of experience in caring, and since customers have always been her favorite part of her work, she thought it would be a great opportunity.

A multi-dimensional flag appears to ripple right off the wall at P1 Group’s Lenexa headquarters. The piece was created by our own Architectural Metal Division at the 32,800 sq. ft. Architectural Metal shop in Kansas City, MO.

The flag was unveiled at P1 Group's 100th Anniversary Celebration in September.

In celebration of our 100-year anniversary, we've been going through the family albums (so to speak).

P1 Group’s founding company, A.D. Jacobson, began in 1919 and survived a lot during times of war, peace and even disaster. We found some of their remarkable stories in a promotional brochure published in 1954.

By P1 associate average tenure, Warehouse Driver Jeremy Heim is a short timer - he's only been here about 1.5 years. But Jeremy has already found a good fit with P1 Group’s Wichita team and enjoys the work. His responsibilities include taking care of everything coming and going from the warehouse, including managing all aspects of tool requests/check-outs/repairs for construction or service.

September 14 brought fantastic weather for the 66 golfers who participated in the 17^th Annual Charity Golf tournament to benefit Working Families' Friend. This is the second year the event was held at beautiful Shoal Creek Golf Course and the event raised $9,065. With the matching donation from P1 Group, the grand total collected was $18,130, surpassing last year’s total by over $4,000.  

The golfers were treated to food and drink, course challenges, and a vast amount of awards and prizes generously donated by our vendors. 

From Cheese to Freeze: Troy Stewart Finds Rewarding Career in Ammonia Refrigeration

Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration Technician Troy Stewart is the father of three little girls, who most certainly keep him on his toes. And that’s probably a good skill to have when you work in ammonia service, one of the most highly regulated, and dangerous, segments of our industry.

The career path that led the Wisconsin native to P1 Group began with the iconic staple of America’s Dairyland: cheese.

In January of 2017, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) had a heat exchanger freeze and break, causing the ammonia system to be flooded with glycol. As part of the repair, P1 Group permanently installed a distillation unit to remove the water/glycol from the system. 

Pictured, clockwise from top left: Brandmeyer Great Hall Event/Lobby Space; Muriel Kauffman Theatre; Helzberg Hall; Casavant organ

Creating “customers for life” is P1 Group’s ultimate goal, and that means building trust and strong relationships during the time we spend with our customers.

P1 Group happens to share our 100th birthday with an integral component of our industry: the hard hat. One of the earliest pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), the hard hat paved the way for the safety innovations companies like P1 Group pursue every day.

Where did the hard hat come from? The very ­first hard hat was inspired by the helmets worn by WWI soldiers, which protected them from the hail of bullets.

One of those soldiers was Lt. Edward Wheatley Bullard. Impressed by the effectiveness of the helmets, he invented the ­first commercially available industrial hard hat, called the Hard Boiled Hat®, initially designed for miners who were subjected to falling rock or tools dropped by workers higher up.

The friend you didn't know you had: WFF President Joan Putthoff; Vice President Niki Montgomery; Director of Development Connie Mann

Ryan was emotional with gratitude when he called Working Families’ Friend (WFF) to say “thank you.” Ryan was a successful carpenter. He had always been able to provide for himself and his family. But when a tragic accident claimed his leg, life got complicated. Multiple medical bills and an expensive prosthetic leg were making things worse. When physical challenges cut his job hours and he was on the brink of losing his insurance, Ryan knew he couldn’t do this by himself.

Pictured, LEFT: Tom Axtell/MCAKC; Kollin Knox, P1 Group; Chuck Tarpley, Local 8  RIGHT: David Mallicoat, Garmin; John Ogden, P1 Group; Kelly Rauckman, Garmin; Jason Quattlebaum, P1 Group  CENTER: Images from the Garmin warehouse during construction

Every two years, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City recognizes Outstanding Mechanical Installations from the Metro. This year, P1 Group and Garmin earned the OMI award for their new warehouse facility – building 5 in the “plumbing over $2 million” category.

Before P1 Group Plumbing Service Manager Dave Rollo was lured into the illustrious world of plumbing, he wanted to fly jets. When he finished high school, he headed off to college to become a jet pilot, but after a year of college, his long distance relationship took a toll and he chose marriage over flying.

Cats and dogs alike at the brand new $7.5 million Lawrence Humane Society facility are enjoying nicer, larger spaces thanks to the building’s modern additions and renovations.

The new building not only houses space for the animals, there are multiple meet-and-greet spaces for their human friends to visit with them and hopefully take them to a forever home.

Teamwork and Pre-planning instrumental in meeting tight deadlines

The National Weather Service, Central Region Headquarters, is the NWS Training Center and also houses several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices. Training is one of the main functions of this facility, but they also provide weather forecasting, severe weather alerts, and climate monitoring. With so much at stake, having up-to-date mechanical systems is crucial.

When the HVAC systems in the building were on the brink of going out of warranty and would no longer be up to standards to house a government tenant, building owner Cushman and Wakfield had to do something fast to keep the building "government-tenant" compliant.

Out of all the associates at P1 Group, only one earns the Ace Award.

This award is for that individual who is: self-motivated and forward thinking; hard-working and focused; always striving to make our organization better; showing ongoing initiative and dedication; and exemplifying our company culture of 100 percent effort/0 excuses.

 At Your Service

Pictured above, left to right: Geoff Conatser / Lenexa; Repairing condenser water leak on cooling tower; Justin Koerner / Lawrence/Topeka;Taking Amp Readings on a 25 Ton AAON rooftop unit during preventative maintenance; Gary Jones / Lenexa; Looking for R134A refrigerant leak on a Leibert data room cooling unit; Kenny Hines / St. Joseph; Installing 3-ton split system

For many P1 customers, our service technicians are the face of P1. They are the people taking care of service calls and preventive maintenance, out on the front lines with our customers every day.

“I didn’t know P1 Group did that!”

Being a single-source Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) provider is P1 Group’s critical differentiator. It’s what sets us apart from competition and gives us the edge in providing enhanced capabilities and more benefits to our customers.

MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTION
Pipe, plumbing, sheet metal, controls