News & Insight

• Anticipation heightening for Columbus Zoo’s Heart of Africa exhibit

  The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium this week welcomed a few new, rather tall residents. Three-year-old giraffes Conner and Dasher arrived at the Zoo on Monday and are currently in quarantine, awaiting the completion of their new home, the Heart of Africa exhibit, which is being built by Messer. The $30.4 million, 43-acre exhibit is slated to open this summer and will feature about 100 animals, including giraffes, zebras, monkeys and African lions. Up close and personal experiences with the animals – hand feeding giraffes and zip-lining across the savannah, for example – make the exhibit unique and will set it apart the standard. As renowned zookeeper and the Columbus Zoo’s director emeritus Jack Hannah put it, the exhibit is “something that’s not been done before.” The arrival of Conner and Dasher marks the first time since 2005 that the Zoo has housed giraffes. The two were previously at the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan.

• Knoxville Canstruction aims to can holiday hunger

  A popular and unique building competition is returning to Knoxville, with the goal of fighting area hunger over the holiday season. Later this month, Messer Construction Co. will present Knoxville’s first Holiday Canstruction competition, which will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. Canstruction is a globally recognized charitable competition where teams of builders use full canned goods to assemble giant sculptures, before displaying them for public viewing. After the competition, the sculptures are broken down and donated to a local charity, which this year is the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. The art scuptures will be on display on the third floor of the Convention Center along the Henley & Cumberland Concourses, from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The sculptures will be judged on Nov. 25 and evaluated for several categories: jurors’ favorite, structural ingenuity, best use of labels and best meal. A “People’s Choice” award will be selected by attendees’ votes by liking photos of the sculptures on Knoxville Canstruction’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/knoxcan. Winners will be announced at the close of the exhibition. On Nov. 22, teams will kick off the competition by gathering for a 12-hour build of their structures. The build is also open to the public. To tap into the holiday spirit, the sculptures will all feature holiday themes, such as a Christmas fireplace mantle, sleigh, Santa Claus, nutcracker or snowman. Participating teams include Messer and the Lewis Group Architects; the University of Tennessee Department of Civil Engineering; Massey Group; Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, Inc.; and Johnson Architecture, Partners Development and Moxley Carmichael. Each Canstruction structure typically includes between 900 and 3,500 cans, with only one-quarter inch plywood or Plexiglas between the rows of cans and one-quarter inch cardboard tubing for support. The color of the structures is determined by the colors of the cans themselves. It is anticipated that Second Harvest will receive more than 8,000 canned food items from the sculptures to distribute through the holidays.

• New book profiles Messer-built Cincinnati

  A new book has hit stores profiling the design, build and historical significance of Downtown Cincinnati’s Terrace Plaza Hotel, which was built by Messer in the late 1940s. The book, Cincinnati's Terrace Plaza Hotel: An Icon of American Modernism, was written by University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate Shawn Patrick Tubb – also a Milford High School graduate – and published by Cincinnati Book Publishing. A book signing – limited to book purchasers only – will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9, from noon-2 p.m. at The Booksellers on Fountain Square (505 Vine St.), followed by an external tour of the Terrace Plaza Hotel. The building, which now sits vacant, stands as a symbol of the Modernist art and architecture movement in the U.S. following World War II. Messer joined teams of young designers and artists to produce what was then a new concept: a mixed-use complex. Today, mixed-use complexes are virtually everywhere, including recent Messer projects at UC and Xavier University.   Read More: (Cincinnati Enquirer): http://cin.ci/175uhPj

• Louisville Boys & Girls Club gets boost from grant donation

  A Louisville Boys & Girls Club has been enhancing its facility lately with a few much-needed improvements. The Newburg Club, part of the Boys & Girls Club of Kentuckiana (BGCK), was named the beneficiary of a $25,000 grant from the Messer Construction Co. Foundation, and it hasn’t wasted much time getting to work. The Club has used the funding for several capital improvements around the building, aiming to provide a safe and hospitable environment for its members. Among the improvements are new flooring throughout the facility (not including the gymnasium), internal and external security cameras, partitions in the restrooms, a new grease trap for the kitchen and new door hardware and locks. Jennifer Hegelson, BGCK’s president and CEO, added her appreciation for the grant. “BGCK greatly appreciates the Messer Construction Co. Foundation’s generous support,” she said. “This grant will make a substantial impact on our Newburg Club and the youth we serve there each and every day.” On hand in October for the check presentation was Messer vice president John Megibben, who, along with other Messer Employees in attendance, got to interact with the members and staff who are directly affected by the funding. “The first thing that was apparent upon walking into the Newburg Club was the tremendous job the staff there is doing,” Megibben said. “The kids were all having fun, they were productive, they were active, they were all smiling. The BGCK and Newburg Club staff clearly have a great deal of pride in each and every one of those kids. “We at Messer are very proud to have those types of people in our community, and we certainly are happy that we could assist them with the grant so that they can attend to some of their needs.” Also on hand was Messer project executive Will Fishback, who is actively involved with BGCK and was Messer’s sponsor for the grant. “We were all very impressed with the kids and staff there,” Fishback said. “It was great to help serve the kids dinner and play games with them, and it’s nice knowing that some of these improvements will enhance their experience and help keep them safe.” The Newburg Club serves 100-120 youth per day, all between the ages of six and 18. It is one of five BGCK locations throughout Louisville and Southern Indiana. Each club is open every day after school, during school breaks and during the summer. Club members are asked to pay a minimal membership fee of $15, but the fee is waived for any member unable to pay.

• Columbus-area school gets even cooler after grant

  Perhaps the only thing that can cool down the up-and-coming Columbus Collegiate Academy (CCA) – a highly structured, highly disciplined, tuition-free charter middle school in East Columbus – is the purchase it is making with a $25,000 grant from the Messer Construction Co. Foundation. A 12-ton air conditioning unit, along with ductwork, will be installed at the school, thermally controlling four sixth-grade classrooms and completing air conditioning for the entire east wing of the school. Andy Boy, founder and executive director of the CCA, said the grant will positively impact the students’ learning environment. “Overcoming obstacles is part of this process, and this grant from Messer will remove one of the many obstacles our staff and students face – extreme heat,” he said. “For five months of the year, the portion of the building that serves our most challenged grade-band was a difficult environment to learn and teach in.” Founded in 2008, the school has already become nationally recognized for its education model. In the 2010-11 school year, the CCA was one of four schools nationally to be named an EPIC Gold Gain School, a program by the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Incentive Fund used to identify, study and share what’s working in some of the country’s highest-gaining urban schools. The following school year, the CCA received an “Excellent” rating from the Ohio Department of Education – the only stand-alone middle school in Franklin County to do so. That year, seventh and eighth grade students scored above the state of Ohio average in all tested subjects of the Ohio Achievement Assessments standardized test. Robert Verst, vice president and GM of Messer, expressed his company’s admiration and support for the CCA. “We are pleased to present the Columbus Collegiate Academy with this grant and further their efforts to advance young students both in and out of the classroom,” he said. “Their philosophy and approach to education and development during the vital middle-school years has proven very effective, and Messer is excited to support those efforts.” Criteria for grants from Messer include the expected return on investment to the community, the positive change expected from the Foundation’s investment, and Messer employee engagement and individual support for the organization. The installation of the AC unit is tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2014, if not sooner.

• Streetcar project reports $12.5 million in construction contracts to Disadvantaged Businesses

  Messer, Prus, Delta Joint Venture (MPD), constructor of the Cincinnati Streetcar, today reported the JV has met the inclusion goal for the project, awarding 18% of construction contracts to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE's). The contracts total more than $12.5 million to nine companies with DBE certification. MPD is building the 3.6-mile streetcar loop with total construction spend estimated at $70 million. The streetcar project receives money from the federal government as well as local sources, and therefore, the project must use a DBE goal rather than a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) goal as seen in other locally-funded building projects. The DBE goal for the civil construction contract for the streetcar project is 18%. The goal was based on an analysis of the highly-specialized scopes of work in the construction contract and available registered DBE’s in the area. Disadvantaged businesses are involved in many areas of the construction, including: preparing streets for rail, building the Maintenance & Operations Facility, installing the street signalization and poles, and the station stops.  “MPD is committed to inclusion and we are pleased to have met the 18% DBE goal for construction contracts,” said Mark Luegering, senior vice president of Messer Construction Co. “We sought-out disadvantaged businesses during the bid period and award of contracts to play a significant role in construction and are pleased with the quality of our subcontractors.” DBE Firms awarded contracts include: ABEL, Bansal, Bowman, Cannon, Ezzie Trucking, Firstar, Jostin Construction, Rod Tech, and TriState. Construction work is on schedule to be completed fall 2016. Messer Construction Co. is the managing partner of MPD and is a construction manager and general contractor providing leadership for complex commercial building projects. Founded in 1932, Messer has built a premier reputation through outstanding construction experiences and value with a focus on health care, life sciences, higher education, and industrial markets. An employee-owned company, Messer ranks nationally as one of the premier health care and higher education builders and Top 100 largest contractors. Messer was honored with the 2009 International Torch Award for Marketplace Excellence by the Council of Better Business Bureaus for superior commitment to exceptional standards that benefit customers, employees, suppliers and surrounding communities. In fiscal 2012, Messer put in place more than $792 million in commercial construction.   About The Cincinnati Streetcar The Cincinnati Streetcar is a modern streetcar rail transit system intended to stimulate development, expand transportation options, and enhance livability by connecting key communities in and around the center city. The first phase of the system consists of a 3.6-mile loop extending from The Banks to Findlay Market through Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Future phases are planned to connect to the University of Cincinnati and Uptown neighborhoods and beyond.      Construction for the Cincinnati Streetcar is being carefully coordinated by the City of Cincinnati with utility companies, Metro, and other partners to minimize any disruption to residents, businesses and workers along the route. This transportation system is expected to bring more residents and more jobs to Cincinnati, creating a broader tax base to fund city services.

• Messer-built Smyrna Center provides Tennessee college resources, space

  Students at one of Tennessee’s fastest-growing colleges can stretch out this fall and enjoy a little more elbow room. That’s because construction concluded late this summer – just in time for the start of classes – on a new addition to Motlow College’s Smyrna Center, giving students more resources, classrooms and, of course, space. The new 35,000-square-foot building on campus includes technology-enhanced classrooms, faculty and staff offices, a student success center, study/lounge areas for students, a renovated library and bookstore and labs for nursing, chemistry and microbiology. Perhaps the most needed resources, though, are the building’s three computer labs. Gary Winton, assistant director of student services at the Smyrna Center, told Amanda Haggard of the Murfreesboro (TN) Daily News Journal last May that students’ need to use computers sometimes caused issues at the library. “Before we got the new building, sometimes we’d have a line going out the door of the library of people waiting to use computers,” Winton said. “It was often loud, and students didn’t feel it was conducive to studying.” And the problems stretched beyond the library, according to Keith Claxton, associate professor of mathematics at the Smyrna Center. “If you had seen the faculty sharing offices and the limits we had on class sizes,” he said, “you’d understand why this new amount of space is such a big deal.” Construction on the building started in August of 2012, and completed about a year later. Messer used Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the project – a digital representation of the facility that boosts efficiency and ensures that extensive building systems are installed correctly the first time. The long-term goal for the expanding school is to not force students to have to drive to its other sites. The school also has campuses in Moore County, Fayetteville and McMinnville. Motlow College began offering classes in 1998, using nearby Riverdale High School’s facilities. The school moved to the Tennessee Army National Guard building in 2000, before moving to its current location in 2006.   Read more: (Murfreesboro Post) http://bit.ly/1dyuKOP

• Messer grant recipient impacting at-risk Charlotte-area residents

  A leading North Carolina nonprofit provider of treatment, care and education for at-risk children and families opened a new facility in October, unveiling also a check from the Messer Construction Co. Foundation for $25,000 that has funded the development of a 5,000-square-foot playground, as well as furnishings for child therapy rooms. Thompson Child and Family Focus (TCFF) on Oct. 12 opened its $4.4 million Family Services Center in Grier Heights, a neighborhood in Charlotte that has struggled with violence. “The work of Thompson Child and Family Services has strengthened the very fabric of the Charlotte community,” said Steve Keckeis, vice president of Messer Construction Co. and Thompson board member. “They are among the most respected non-profits in the state, and their work is of the utmost importance to the future of this community. “We’re excited to contribute to their effort of establishing themselves in Grier Heights, where their leadership will be a tremendous asset.” The agency is relocating (and expanding) all the programs previously housed in its Seventh Street campus to its new 16,697-square-foot facility on Wendover Road. The new facility will provide education, care and intensive support for some of the region’s most at-risk populations. Last year, from its Seventh Street campus, Thompson provided care and support to 1,000 children and families. “Our relocation to Grier Heights is a strategic move,” said Mary Jo Powers, president/CEO of TCFF. “We intend to be a vital part of the community and provide critical services that help stabilize the lives of the people who call Grier Heights home, while continuing to serve struggling families from across Mecklenburg County.” Among the programs and services offered by Thompson are foster care, outpatient therapy, intensive in-home services, school-based intervention therapy, parent education, family partners and family mentors. In addition to the playground, the Family Services Center includes libraries, planning rooms, multipurpose rooms, a kitchen and spacious waiting areas. Thompson’s chief program officer of preventive services, Rosa Underwood, noted the importance of creating a proper environment at the new facility. “Court-ordered intervention and counseling happen at the center,” she said, “so providing a stress-free environment for therapy and recreation was important.” Read more: (Charlotte Observer) http://bit.ly/197LSJa

• UT College of Engineering gets boost with John D. Tickle Engineering Building

  A new, state-of-the-art engineering building on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was dedicated this weekend by alumnus and Strongwell Corp. founder John D. Tickle. The five-story, 110,000-square-foot John D. Tickle Engineering Building, built by Messer, opened to students this fall, and anchors a new gateway to campus while providing a new link between campus’ Neyland Drive and The Hill – a historic division on the east side of UT’s campus. Tickle and his wife, Ann, joined UT President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, Dean of Engineering Wayne T. Davis, and other officials this weekend to celebrate the dedication of the Tickle Building. A gift from the Tickles significantly aided the funding of the building. “This building is a beautiful addition to campus,” Tickle said at the dedication. “This is a constantly forward-moving campus, and it’s going to continue moving forward.” The $23.1 million project began in Dec. 2009, and has produced a new home for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The College of Engineering is UT-Knoxville’s fastest-growing college, and the Tickle Center now serves as a symbol of that growth. Since 2007, undergraduate enrollment at UT-Knoxville’s College of Engineering has increased by 40 percent, while doctoral enrollment has increased by more than 60 percent. Mirroring that growth is the ever-increasing prestige of the college, as both the undergraduate and graduate programs rank 37th overall among doctoral-granting public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Furthermore, the college’s nuclear engineering graduate program ranks sixth in the nation among all public and private universities. The building includes 24 laboratories, three conventional classrooms, one lecture hall, three student work spaces and 63 faculty and graduate student offices. Among its most notable features is a pedestrian bridge that connects the building to The Hill. The bridge includes fiberglass-reinforced large I-beams manufactured by Strongwell, Tickle’s company. Tickle, who graduated from UT in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, purchased the Bristol, Va.-based Strongwell in 1997, overseeing the evolvement of the company into a worldwide operation. Ann Tickle also graduated from UT with a degree from the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Though she is now heavily involved in philanthropic work, she is famous for hosting the popular children’s show “Romper Room” from 1969-76.   See more in the Knoxville News Sentinel: http://bit.ly/1cfTAFQ

• Messer thrives by building on campus

  Dayton Daily News reporter Tom Gnau recently sat down with Tom Belanich, senior business development manager at Messer, to discuss how taking a focused approach to higher education commercial construction is positioning Messer for success. Read more: (Dayton Daily News) http://bit.ly/17pQINR

• A healthier construction industry good news for everyone

  Messer VP Andy Lorenz shares his point of view on the current economic climate in construction and why it matters in a guest column that was published in the Knoxville News Sentinel and picked up in the Associated General Contractors of America's July 9th SmartBrief e-newsletter.