Plumbing & Mechanical articles from July 2001

Plumbing & Mechanical archives from July 2001

Letters To The EDITOR.(radiant floor heating in )(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2001... An Uncommon Common Man I just finished reading the article, "Radiant For The Common Man" in the May 2001 issue. As pleased as I am that the "common man" got his wish of radiant floor heating in part of his home, I couldn't get past the way...

More Than 1,200 Attend 2001 REX Convention.(Radiant Panel Association's 2001 REX Convention)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A record crowd of more than 1,200 radiant heating industry members attended the Radiant Panel Association's 2001 REX Convention, May 9-12, Salt Lake City, Utah. As in past years, attendees were kept busy choosing from concurrent education...

PMI Hosts Second Information Technology Forum.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Thirty sales, marketing, information technology and senior management representatives from 17 plumbing manufacturers attended PMI's second IT forum May 14-15 in Rosemont, Ill. The forum focused on the vision and strategy of e-commerce...

Blue Dot Searches For New President, CEO.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... NorthWestern Corp. (NYSE: NOR) has appointed Daniel Newell, senior vice president, to the additional position of interim president of Sunrise, Fla.-based Blue Dot Services Inc., the company's nationwide air-conditioning, heating, plumbing and...

Affinity Group Formed For HVACR Contractors.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Wendell Bedell, past president of Excellence Alliance University, has formed BSI Group, a new affinity group dedicated to commercial HVACR contractors. Bedell founded the group with eight charter members, and has already introduced five...

IAPMO Achieves Additional ANSI Accreditation.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... IAPMO announced that the ANSI Executive Standards Council had approved its accreditation application. As an accredited standards developer under the Organizational Method, IAPMO is now poised to develop the Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform...

BFGoodrich Materials Division Changes Name.(new names Noveon Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... PMD Group Inc. -- formerly BFGoodrich Performance Materials segment -- announced its new name will be Noveon Inc. The company was formed as an independent entity on Feb. 28 when an investor group acquired the Performance Materials business from...

Bid Shopping Penalty Bill Introduced.(Construction Quality Assurance Act of 2001)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) introduced the Construction Quality Assurance Act of 2001 (H.R. 1859). The bill would apply to direct federal contracts of $1 million or more, and would require the contracting officer to either cancel the...

Giant Water Heater Makes Big Impression.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Bradford White Corp., Westburne Supply, and Watercraft Plumbing and Heating Co. Inc. have collaborated to turn a 25 ft. storage silo into one of the biggest, if not the world's largest, representation of a water heater. Located in Suamico,...

Encompass Reports Solid First Quarter.(Encompass Services Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... First quarter results for Encompass Services corp. were consistent with guidance previously issued by the company. Revenues increased 9 percent over the prior-year period. Earnings rose 5.5 percent to $66.3 million. Net income reached $8.8...

MSCA Offers 'New Age' Conference.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Mechanical Service Contractors of America will hold its 16th annual educational conference Oct. 3-6 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point, Calif. "Opportunities for the New Age of Service" will feature a wide variety of educational...

Holohan Slates Two More Benefit Seminars.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Steam heating expert Dan Holohan will donate proceeds of two back-to-back steam heat seminars to NAOHSM's Dave Nelson scholarship fund. He will present two separate admission seminars Aug. 27 and 28 at the Holiday Inn, King of Prussia, Pa....

Make The Most Of Your Business.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The first Service Contractor's Management Training Course was held May 31-June 2, in Cherry Hill, N.J. More than 45 service and repair professionals learned to make the most of the limited hours in the business day. Developed by the PHCC...

TD Industries Spotlighted In WSJ.(The Wall Street Journal)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The May 15 edition of The Wall Street Journal focused on how TD Industries is coping with the nation's economic slowdown. The Dallas-based mechanical contractor, which ranked No. 22 in PM's list of Pipe Trades Giants last year, has been lauded...

Elkay Awards Outstanding performances.(Elkay Manufacturing Co. award to Brian Yelton)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Elkay Mfg. Co. presented its Execution award to Brian Yelton of Broderick & Associates of Peoria, Ill. It is given annually to the sales rep who most successfully carries out the functions and terms of Elkay's programs and policies. The...

Awards For Goldman's Safety Record.(S.I. Goldman Co.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... S.I. Goldman Co. Inc./Comfort Systems USA was recently bestowed several honors for its years of building successful safety programs. The Longwood, Fla.-based contractor received four recognition awards acknowledging it s achievements in...

Internet News: PipeDirect Launches Virtual Office Trailer.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... PipeDirect launced its new Web site, www.pipedirect.com, for resource management in the construction industry. The company has spent two years developing its proprietary software, the Virtual Office Trailer[TM] (VOT), working with industry...

Elkay Water Cooler Service Manuals Now Online.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Elkay Mfg. Co. has made its Water Cooler Service Manuals available exclusively on its Web site, www.elkay.com, allowing service centers to have continuous access to the most current version of any of these manuals. To access these manuals, log...

Hobart Builds Welding Community With Web Site Forum.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Hobart Welders' interactive chat, located at www.hobartwelders.com, provides an outlet for people to ask questions, offer tips and discuss the finer points of welding. The site averages between 25 and 35 questions each day with a number of...

PHCC Alabama Launches Online Apprenticeship Program.(Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of Alabama )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of Alabama has launched an online apprenticeship program for plumbing and HVAC apprentices.Called"Targets for Learning," the online video-streamed program provides a standardized curriculum,...

PHCC Prepares For 2001 Convention.(Annual Convention of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors--National Association )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The theme for the 119th Annual Convention of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors--National Association is "Roundup in Reno." Set to take place Sept. 12-15 in Reno, Nev., this meeting will feature all facets of PHCC, making it a true...

Our Undervalued Profession.(Column)
July 1, 2001... Our industry has too many contractors working at minimum wage levels -- and yet too many consumers think we charge too much. Last December I wrote an article titled "A Dear John Letter," regarding a service technician who quit a PHC company...

As The Zone Valve Closes ...
July 1, 2001... A more elegant solution to controlling differential pressure as zone valves close is to reduce the speed of the circulator. A zone valve is arguably one of the most commonly used control components in residential and light commercial...

6,000 parts, One Truck.
July 1, 2001... And, that's only part of the show! It all started with a 1968 Oldsmobile Delta 88. That was 18 years ago. Today, that car has been replaced with several trucks each costing more than $55,000. The trunk of the Oldsmobile had a banana blanket...

Radiant Heating: Is There A Kink In The Growth?(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Executive Director, Radiant Panel Association There is no doubt that radiant heating is a bright spot in the hydronics industry. Each year sales continue to grow. In the last 10 years, since the tracking of radiant tubing sales began, there...

Dollar-Wise Radiant.(Column)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... For each of the last few years I've had the privilege of reviewing the many projects submitted for the RPA System Showcase awards. I always look forward to seeing how radiant heating professionals across the country combine the latest design...

Quality People, Quality Radiant.(Healy Plumbing and Heating, Syracuse NY)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Marty McMahon's company, Healy Plumbing and Heating, in Syracuse, N.Y., consists of seven plumbers and two office staff. They have been installing radiant for about six years. About one-third of their $800,000 business is radiant and that share...

Warm Every Mountain.(Advanced Radiant Design Inc. wins award)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Last year's winner of two System Showcase Awards is back. In only its second year submitting projects to the RPA contest, Advanced Radiant Design Inc. takes home this year's prize for Residential Under 3,000 sq. ft. The winning home sits...

The Retrofit Of All Retrofits.(solar heating)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... This radiant retrofit started with the contractor calling Aspen Solar to design the solar snowmelt/DHW/radiant floor heat system. "The house was an energy sieve, and was crying for a retrofit," says Mike Tierney of Aspen Solar in Aspen,...

This Old New House.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... With most of his business centered on design-build, Jim Patterson of Orchard Valley Technology, Haydenville, Mass., is used to creating special systems for special houses. The project that won the Innovation Award of this year's RPA System...

Low Profile.(snowmelt system)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As far as square footage goes, the Conference Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one high profile site. The center is located on a 10-acre city block and includes 1.4 million sq. ft. of interior space and can seat...

Designing A WORKING KITCHEN.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Are faucet manufacturers addressing "function" as well as "form"? Jan Weimer knows her way around a kitchen. She is a consultant to consumers, architects, designers and contractors in the field of kitchen design. In her book, "Kitchen...

What do you do when an A/R monkey on your back becomes more like an 800-pound gorilla?(accounts receivable)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Getting the accounts receivable monkey off your back is your first step toward achieving real profitability in your contracting business. Through many conversations with my fellow residential service contractors and up-close looks at...

The Truth About Arsenic.(drinking water)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Lower arsenic levels aren't quite the answer the mainstream media think it is. President George W. Bush has taken a lot of heat over his decision to reverse the arsenic rule issued the Clinton administration. Environmentalists accused him...

'Why Didn't He Say Something To Me?'.(employee communication)(Abstract)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Your employees are your most valuable asset, and you need to hear what they are thinking. Wouldn't it be nice if your employees would just tell you what's bothering them? Oh, you'll hear about their complaints, problems, frustrations and...

Actions Speak Louder Than Words.(recession management)
July 1, 2001... An economic slowdown means you'll need to do more than just talk about ideas if you are going ensure satisfactory results. We have enjoyed about eight to 10 prosperous years in our economy. As a result, business has been good for many...

Bewitched, Bothered Etc.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Blue collar bias prevails, so the pay stinks, and that's why wackos find work in the industry. The famous song title describes a state of mind stemming from three seemingly unrelated, but ultimately lihked, items I came across during an...