P1 News

P1 Group had the chance to serve as a classroom this summer for a Pittsburg State University construction science professor who wanted to learn more about current trends and techniques in the industry.

Associate Professor Shannon Nicklaus also had some advice for P1 on tactics for recruiting the best students from construction and engineering programs.

When P1 Group Proactive Solutions Consultant Ann L. went on a cold call with Churchill Container, she learned they were getting ready to relocate their operations to a new facility.

Even though Churchill’s mechanical work was covered by another contractor, Ann told them about P1 Group’s additional capabilities and the client expressed interest in having our Millwright and Electrical experts look over their new plant.

Do you have a project with equipment needs beyond P1 Group’s typical trade skills? Are there heavy, complex pieces of machinery being moved or set? Are major conveyor systems involved? Do you need to construct a pre-fabricated office or erect a storage mezzanine? Is equipment or a structure being demolished?

The Millwrights can handle it.

“I don’t have time for this.” That was P1 Group Proactive Solutions Consultant Hilary Edward’s first thought when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma on February 16, 2017.

“I told my husband, don’t worry, I got this.” If anything, Hilary says, the whole thing seemed like an annoyance - an inconvenience she was set on getting rid of as quickly as possible.

Talented technicians are just one of the ways P1 Group excels at customer service. That’s why P1 put together a service technician training committee.

The committee was assembled over the summer with the goal of developing a technical training curriculum that will address the topics most vital to our associates.

Tanner H., a P1 Group plumber who finished his apprenticeship in June, placed a very close second at the 2018 UA National Apprentice Competition in Ann Arbor, Mich., August 11-15.

A member of Local 8 Plumbers and Gasfitters, Tanner went to nationals after placing first at state and then winning his regional competition in Minneapolis this summer. At nationals he competed against six other plumbers representing Denver, Pittsburgh (PA), Buffalo, Houston, Toronto and the Australia Plumbing Trades Employee Union.

If you have any involvement with your facility’s HVAC, chances are you’ve been hearing about the R22 phaseout. But be warned: simply Google searching your options could lead you down a path of misinformation.

P1 Group Service Manager Brian H. is here to set the record straight.

P1 recently donated the material for lab/construction countertops to the Kansas State Society of Automotive Engineers Formula Race team (K-State Formula SAE). The donation played a role in helping the team build their newest race car, “Ocelot” (pictured, above).

Formula SAE is the world’s largest and most prestigious design competition with 13 international competitions and over 500 active teams. Powercat Motorsports has represented K-State in competition every year since 1997.

Internship experiences vary from company to company, but one thing is for sure at P1 Group: our interns get real-world, on-site, project-specific experience.

When you work at P1 Group, there’s not much copy making and coffee getting. We recently caught up with some of our P1 interns who shared their experiences, adventures and takeaways from the program.

With the kids back to school, a grownup visit to Las Vegas may be just what you need. The Las Vegas office is finishing up the Fantasy Tower remodel at the Palms Hotel and Casino (slated for October 2018), and you might want to think about booking your stay.

The tower remodel consists of 282 redesigned and renovated hotel rooms, presidential and themed suites along with 60 new hotel rooms from unfinished space in the tower.

Hear that noise? The college recruitment machine is revving up at P1 Group.

As summer winds down and college students are heading back to campus, P1 puts considerable effort into recruiting construction management and engineering students to fill next summer’s internships and full-time positions.

Main image: One of the most significant changes in Lakin Elementary's kitchen will be unseen by most people - the new kitchen hood exhaust and makeup air unit, which will alleviate air leakage issues.

Each summer, P1 Group has at least one significant school project to complete on a compressed schedule. As August 1 got closer, P1 school job crews put in the extra work to finish, making sure buildings are ready for students and teachers to return.

P1 Group can now manufacture standard lengths of duct at a fraction of the time in the Lawrence, Kansas, fabrication shop.

The recently acquired equipment is called an Iowa Precision Coil Line. P1 Group “adopted” the previously owned machinery from a contractor in Boston.
The equipment was shipped in pieces on four semis and installed by P1 Millwrights.

TOPEKA, Kan. - P1 Group apprentices won three of the four top spots last month at the state competition of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Kansas/Local 441.

The winning fifth year apprentices were Jeremy Alexander, Plumber; Kyle Babcock, Pipefitter; and Chase Serrault, HVAC-R. All three are eligible to compete at the District 4 competition on June 6-9 at Local 455 in St. Paul, Minn. Jeremy Alexander is unable to attend, however, so the second place winner will go in his place.

Judges and competitors of the UA Missouri State Plumbing Contest, from left: Andy Johnson, Chris Dieckman, Leroy Bradley, Paul Nickell, Tanner Hansuld and Tony Smith.

Paul Nickell KANSAS CITY, Mo. -  Paul Nickell, a P1 apprentice, won the UA Missouri State Plumbing Contest on April 29 at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training Center of Missouri/Local 8.

Some of P1 Group's Bluebeam team are (back row, from left) Bo Wempe, Cody McCray and Patrick Loecker; (front row, from left) Vanessa Taylor, Matt Damon, Sarah Garcia, Laura Adkins and Cameron Cooper.

LENEXA, Kan. - P1 Group, Inc. was recently awarded a Bluebeam eXtreme Award (bXa) for Advanced Use of Bluebeam Revu.

Smitty Belcher, P1 Group CEO, has been named to the Ingram’s 2017 list of the 250 most powerful business leaders in the Kansas City area.

In its profile of Smitty, Ingram’s said: “Well-known across the country for safety and craftsmanship, P1 is under the leadership of a one-time certified welder for nuclear plants who knows what it means to care about a job well done. As CEO, Smitty Belcher maintains a focus on both quality work and quality of life for his workers. With turnover of less than 2 percent and 2016 revenue of $220 million, Smitty’s shop seems a good one for employees and customers alike.”

P1 Group has been named a 2017 Top 600 Specialty Contractor by the Engineering News-Record (ENR). P1 Group was ranked 110^th among all specialty contractors and also placed 38^th on the “Top 50 Firms in Mechanical” list.

The ENR list combines 16 categories of specialty contractors and ranks them by annual revenue. The contractors listed had combined revenue of $113 billion in 2016, up 12% from $110 billion in 2016. The mechanical and electrical trades accounted for 49 percent of the total revenue.

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kaleb Palmer, a fifth-year apprentice for P1 Group, was awarded apprentice of the year for Local 226 by JATC. Palmer participated in an apprentice contest, which consisted of a hands-on and written portion. Palmer has primarily worked on projects in central Kansas with P1 Group. His work was judged and he received the highest overall score. Palmer advanced to the 2018 IBEW 7^th District contest, which was held on March 24

P1 Group’s document management system has been featured in “The Bluebeam Guidebook: Game-Changing Tips and Stories for Architects, Engineers, and Contractors.”

Black & Veatch engineers Rachel Atteberry and Jason Hascall wrote the guidebook and included a five-page case study on P1 Group’s work with Bluebeam Studio Enterprise. P1 Group's Vanessa Taylor, IT Special Projects, and Sarah Garcia, Corporate Trainer, connected with Rachel and Jason though the Kansas City Bluebeam Users Group.