manufacturer

The Waldinger Corporation has used Viega systems with great success for many years, so when given the choice to use them for one of the most prominent construction projects for the city of Wichita, they were happy to oblige.

The Waldinger Corporation was subcontracted by the general contractors, Key Construction and Walbridge, the mechanical work at the new Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.

Formed in 1906, Waldinger has offices throughout the midwest including Wichita, KS. The Viega name and its products were nothing new to Waldinger. They knew that Viega’s press technology has the ability to save time and money by eliminating the need to solder every joint, and the Smart Connect^® feature offers a secure pipe connection every time by allowing installers to easily identify unpressed connections during pressure testing.

“I started using Viega ProPress when it first came to the United States,” Matt Hildreth, Construction Division Manager for The Waldinger Corporation said. “We were excited to learn we could use it on this project.”

Wichita’s new Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is the city’s latest addition to aviation and the first and last impression visitors will see upon arrival to the city. In June, Wichita said goodbye to its 61-year-old airport terminal and opened doors to a new 275,000 square foot home.

Known as the Air Capital of the World, Wichita’s airport is aviation themed inside and out. The building makes you feel as if you are entering an aircraft, with those details carrying over indoors. A swooping roof line outside, decorative stainless steel walls, public art and aviation history pieces inside, the airport is one-of-a-kind. A terrazzo floor designed with inspiration from the contrails of aircraft flying will guide the two million passengers through the airport each year.

The airport is equipped with the latest technology, food services, parking garage, baggage claim and loading gates. The Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport was made of quality products, including Viega systems, designed to make traveling in and out of Wichita quick, efficient and easy. It features 23,000 square feet of radiant floors, 8 ½ miles of gas and hydronic lines and 267 plumbing fixtures.

The Waldinger Corporation installed Viega’s ProPress^® copper in ½” to 4″ in the domestic potable water applications. They also used ViegaPEX^™ Barrier and Viega FostaPEX^® tubing for a Snow Melting system and a Viega ProRadiant^™ heating system in the behind the scenes area of baggage claim, in parts of the tarmac, the main entry and the loading dock. While most of their work and Viega’s systems are hidden, Waldinger knows the important stuff is behind the walls.

“The guys all like going ‘look at this mechanical room.’ All the boilers are perfect, all the piping is perfect that’s how we do our work,” Hildreth said. “It’s what’s hidden in the walls. It’s what’s in that mechanical room and behind that wall that makes this work.”

Press innovations allow mechanical contractors like Waldinger to not only save time, but also money. A highly engineered system, it’s the time savings and quality that contractors are using to sell their customers.

“Our opinion is that we are going to do it at least 20% better,” Hildreth said. “It’s what we use as a standard of bidding. We’ve smoked that estimate on occasion.”

Its functionality and reliability are part of the driving force, but the value added is with the customer service clients receive from the sales representatives. Viega will drop what they’re doing, pick up the phone or turn their car around and head to the job site to consult on a project. On a project the size of the airport, that kind of commitment was invaluable for The Waldinger Corporation.

“Lucky here for us, with you guys being here and having a sales person that was so active with us, if you have somebody here taking care of you and really working to help you, you’re going to be more apt to use their product,” Hildreth said. “Customer support was fantastic. You’re one of the few manufacturers that do that.”

Jack Johnston to remain as CEO

Winsupply Inc., a leading supplier of residential and commercial construction and industrial supplies and materials, announced Roland Gordon has been named president of the company. Gordon retains his title of chief financial officer until the Board of Directors names a successor. Jack Johnston, who was named chief executive officer in September 2015, turns over the daily management of operations at Winsupply and the Win Family of Companies to Gordon.

“I decided I would like to spend more of my time on the strategic direction of the company and ways in which we can strengthen the organization,” Johnston said. “Roland has a strong financial background and brings a broad array of experiences and success in leadership. He’s part of a great team of leaders within the Winsupply organization, each of whom brings their respective area of expertise to help lead us forward. I’ll also continue to work with the chairman, Rick Schwartz.”

“I’m very excited for this opportunity to lead our daily operations,” said Gordon. “Jack has been president for the past five years and really set the example for the kind of leadership that inspires others to work as a team and to support each other. Winsupply has great employees and we’re on a path for future growth and success. I’m very proud to play a key role.”

Gordon joined Winsupply in 1999 as a manager with Dapsco Inc. (now Winsupply Group Services) in Reno, Nevada. The Reno office provided complete business services for Win local companies in its geographical area. From Reno, Gordon took a position as the risk manager with Dapsco Inc. in Dayton, Ohio.

Following Winsupply’s acquisition of Noland Company in 2005, Gordon was appointed its chief financial officer and liaison to the subsidiary. He was appointed chief financial officer for Winsupply in August 2011.

Before joining Winsupply, Roland was employed by the New York Life Insurance Company in Reno and provided case consultant services.

Gordon received a bachelor of business administration degree with an accounting major from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, and a master’s degree in industrial distribution from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He also earned a master’s certificate in the emerging leader program at the University of Dayton. He holds a number of professional certifications and designations, including certified public accountant, certified management accountant, certified internal auditor and certified fraud examiner.

Bell & Gossett (B&G), a Xylem brand, celebrates 100 years of engineering industry-leading commercial HVAC and plumbing products. Key highlights include highly efficient pumps and energy-saving system solutions, as well as an additional educational offering through B&G’s Online Little Red Schoolhouse.

“For 100 years, Bell & Gossett has been a leader in efficiency, education and system expertise,” said Mark Handzel, Vice President, Product Regulatory Affairs, and Director, HVAC Commercial Buildings. “While the industry’s landscape has changed over the years, Bell & Gossett continues to focus on helping our customers achieve higher energy efficiency and decrease costs. As we look ahead to the next century, we will continue providing high-quality products, offering world-class training and serving as a thought leader on industry trends.”

In line with its focus on greater efficiency, the Xylem booth will feature B&G’s POWER OF e product portfolio, including the newly launched Series e-80 inline pump and the award-winning ecocirc® XL large wet rotor circulator pump. Xylem’s expansive product range and advanced technologies provides customers with high-performance and reliability.

The POWER OF e platform emphasizes the dedication B&G places on reducing building energy consumption. The Efficiency Island concept is a critical element of the POWER OF e, highlighting Xylem’s superior design for improved overall system energy savings over a broader range of operating conditions.

New virtual training course

The Little Red Schoolhouse, located in Morton Grove, Illinois, has been educating the industry for more than 60 years with its hands-on hydronic system training. The newest course, offered through B&G’s Online Little Red Schoolhouse, features four modules about waterside economization, adding depth to the industry-leading program and its 22 modules on centrifugal pumps and piping system basics.

The free, interactive, self-paced program enables engineers, wholesalers and contractors in the HVAC industry to access the training from a computer, tablet or any mobile device via a dedicated learning app. The online courses reach a global audience and qualify for continuing education credits. To learn more about the Online Little Red Schoolhouse, visit http://bellgossett.com/training-education.

“It’s critical for our industry to have a strong, practical knowledge of HVAC and plumbing systems and how all the various components work together to create the highest efficiencies. This is one reason we’ve invested so much in our one-of-a-kind, systems-based training approach. We are proud to continue that commitment by expanding the Online Little Red Schoolhouse offerings,” said Handzel. “The web-based training system meets the needs of our changing workforce demographic by providing flexibility and greater accessibility for those who are seeking continuing education opportunities.”

B&G product showcase

B&G’s POWER OF e of product portfolio for commercial building services applications has the largest Efficiency Islands compared to other similar pumps, enabling customers to maintain significantly higher levels of efficiency over a much wider range of operating conditions. Products highlighted at Xylem’s booth include:

• TechnoForce e-HV – Launching at AHR, the TechnoForce e-HV is a pre-engineered pressure booster package, offering highly efficient variable speed solutions for high-rise buildings, educational institutions, hospitals and industrial facilities when additional potable water pressure and flow is required.
• BPX 2’’ Double-Wall brazed plate heat exchanger– The new BPX 2” Double-Wall brazed plate heat exchanger delivers the highest level of leak protection, safety, thermal efficiency and durability in a compact, low-cost unit. The double wall provides complete peripheral braze for additional strength, four leak ports guarantee quick and easy leak detection, ensuring excellent performance for domestic water applications.
• e-1510 end suction centrifugal pump– Recognized as the 2014 Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year, the e-1510 was redesigned to offer the largest Efficiency Islands, enabling users to maintain higher levels of efficiency over a wider range of operating conditions, reducing energy consumption, improving system performance and lowering life cycle costs.
• e-80/e-80 ITSC– The newly launched series e-80 and e-80SC pumps are a comprehensive redesign of the B&G legacy Series 80 and 80SC pumps. Developed using state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques, these pumps provide best-in-class hydraulic performance and optimized performance improvements while delivering a broad efficiency range for fixed or variable speed operation in an inline configuration.
• ecocirc XL large wet rotor circulator– Recognized with a 2015 AHR Expo Innovation Award Honorable Mention and a 2015 Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year silver award, the energy-efficient circulator leverages exceptional hydraulic performance, advanced motor design and smart communications capabilities to improve operations across a broad range of commercial HVAC and plumbing applications.