TEKTON Engineers serves as the structural engineer on projects for which two of its clients, Uponor North America (Uponor N.A.) and Daikin Applied Air, were recently presented 2019 Real Estate Awards by Minnesota Real Estate Journal (MREJ).
According to Jeff Johnson, Publisher of MREJ, “This year we had more than 200 high-quality award submissions. It was no easy feat for our panel of six judges to pick winners. Participants had to answer difficult questions such as, ‘In what ways does the project demonstrate innovation or boldness?’ and, ‘In what ways does the project positively impact the community?’ The judges were impressed with the Uponor Hutchinson Plant, and it was an honor to present them with this award.”
The Uponor N.A. project included the renovation of an existing 220,000-square-foot building in Hutchinson, Minnesota, for the manufacturing of PEX plumbing products. TEKTON Engineers served as the design lead and structural engineer assisting with the preliminary evaluation of this manufacturing facility and worked to convert the facility, through multiple phases, in less than a year. The planning and design included expanding the manufacturing space, increasing the infrastructure, and installing manufacturing equipment. The project was completed in the second quarter of 2018.
“I am very proud of the dedication and hard work that went into designing, building out, and certifying the Hutchinson facility to be fully operational six months ahead of schedule,” said Uponor N.A. President Bill Gray. “This was only possible with trusted partners like TEKTON Engineers, who listened, creatively solved problems, and delivered design solutions that helped ensure this project was successful. We’re proud to share this award with their dedicated team.”
TEKTON principal Jeremy Baer said, “The Uponor team are world-class. Their process of creating a vision, developing the project, organizing the team, and executing the project all but ensures that their projects are worthy of emulation and adulation by the industrial community. We at TEKTON Engineers are proud to be trusted partners of the Uponor design process and are pleased to see that Uponor is being recognized for its tremendous work.”
During the ceremony held on April 11, Daikin Applied Air was presented with its award for the on-going expansion of its 300,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Faribault, Minnesota. TEKTON Engineers serves as the structural engineer on the project that is converting Daikin’s existing warehouse to an advanced manufacturing facility while allowing the current operations to continue to manufacture HVAC technologies.
“Daikin Applied Air won Best Greater Minnesota Project of 2018, highly impressing judges and beating out some stellar competition. It is an honor to see great projects going up in Minnesota, not just in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, but everywhere,” said Johnson.
Mr. Baer added, “The conversion of this facility is no small feat. The team at Daikin is to be commended for their vision and persistence in developing this project. Not only is this a tremendous project for Daikin, but it is also vital for the continued development of the economy in southern Minnesota. TEKTON Engineers is proud to be a trusted partner of Daikin Applied for this important project.”
This year is a significant one for two world-class companies that TEKTON Engineers is proud to have as clients. Both Uponor, for its Hutchinson facility, and Daikin Applied, for its Faribault facility, have received well-deserved awards for their projects involving rehabilitating existing buildings and converting them into high-tech manufacturing facilities. Working within the constraints of an existing building means that processes must be custom designed to fit the building, rather than the other way around, requiring a close working relationship and open paths of communication between all parties. TEKTON Engineers is pleased to be a trusted partner for these prominent organizations.