Q4 Newsletter | Autumn 2018
We’re Back!
Metro 1255 | Denver
In This Issue
contents
So, who is Oaktree and GFI Energy Group?..................... 4 Reducing Nutrient Pollution on New England’s Historic Blackstone River....................................................................5 Large Capital Improvement Program Underway in the Theme Park Capital of the World...................................... 6 Live Flow to New Facilities Expansion Marks Major Milestone at Denver Project: Metro PAR 1225.................7 Driving Our Safety Culture: MWHC U.S. Director Expands Safety Leadership Team..................................................... 8 Consruction Work Back on for Slayden Project: CMP Contract Approved........................................................... 10 MWH Treatment Receives Silver Award for Supporting the Armed Forces Community.................
11
Helping to Bring Safe Water Supplies to Nepal: MWH Treatment Exec Shares Recent Experience.....
11
D1 Project Honored at ABC Excellence in Construction Awards...................................... Back Cover
2
A Few Words From Blair As I look back on this year, I see the tremendous resolve and dedication of our employees to always put our clients first. We are a company made stronger through all the change that has occurred, including the recent sale of MWH Constructors to Oaktree Capital Management, and joining the impressive portfolio of companies in the GFI Energy Group of Oaktree. As you will see in this newsletter, we have not changed who we are or how we take care of our clients and our employees and we do not plan to change our vision of being the leading project delivery company focused on water. We’ve recently welcomed new senior staff, including Chief Operating Officer Neil Tunmore, who brings his 30+ years in private industry to MWHC. Neil is assuming day-to-day leadership of MWHC operations, while I continue to focus on growing the business and working with clients to ensure their complete satisfaction. With an impressive backlog of water and wastewater projects underway and continuing to grow, we are well positioned for the future and look forward to the promising road ahead.
Blair M. Lavoie, PE President/CEO
Upper Blackstone
3
U.S. Operations & Beyond
So, who is Oaktree and GFI Energy Group? GFI Energy Group (“GFI”) is an investment strategy within Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) focused exclusively on partnering with leading companies providing products, services and solutions to the energy and utility sectors. Launched in 1995, GFI has financed over 90 transactions and deployed
over $2.5 billion in equity capital. GFI leverages its sector expertise and relationships to add significant value to the businesses with which it partners. In 2009, GFI was acquired by Oaktree which is a leading global alternative investment management firm with over $120 billion of assets under management. GFI has extensive experience investing in construction companies such as MWH. They have a robust network of current and former industry executives, professional consultants and internal resources. These resources are committed to supporting MWH and our employees to better serve our customers and achieve our strategic objectives. MWH joins an extensive list of existing construction platform investments made by GFI, which are described below. As part of the GFI family, we have immediate access to these companies to share best practices and explore opportunities for commercial collaboration. For more information on GFI, please visit www.gfienergy.com.
GFI’s Current Construction and Engineering Portfolio Includes: GFI formed Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives as a platform for energy and infrastructure service businesses. GFI acquired IEA in 2011 and took the company public on the Nasdaq in 2018. Kirlin is one of the nation’s leading privately held mechanical construction companies. Founded in 1960, Kirlin operates three core mechanical contracting divisions serving the Mid-Atlantic, Carolinas and Florida markets. Kirlin works on some of the largest and most complex public and private sector facilities, including university campuses, airports, stadiums and government/military facilities. GFI Energy Group invested in Kirlin in 2014. NAPEC is a leading provider of construction and maintenance services to the utility and heavy industrial markets across North America. Along with electric and natural gas utility construction, it also installs generation and other heavy equipment for industrial and petrochemical facilities. Additional services include renewable and civil construction and road matting services. GFI acquired the Company in 2018.
4
Parsons Electric was acquired in 2018 as part of the Sachs Electric platform. Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Parsons is one of the nation’s leading electrical contractors. Parsons also has the ability to offer extensive technology services (AV, security, network infrastructure, etc.). Remedial Construction Services, L.P. (RECON) is a leading specialized environmental remediation and geotechnical contractor. Founded in 1989 in Houston, Texas, the company has over 450 employees and a track record of more than 4,500 completed projects throughout North America in the energy, power, industrial and government sectors. RECON was acquired in 2012. Sachs Electric Co. is one of the nation’s leading full-service electrical contractors. Founded in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, Sachs has over 1,500 employees and is licensed to perform work in most states. Sachs has delivered complex electrical installations throughout North America in various end markets including power generation, utility, solar, data center, water, refining, manufacturing and healthcare. GFI Energy Group acquired Sachs in partnership with management in 2017.
Reducing Nutrient Pollution on New England’s HISTORIC BLACKSTONE RIVER Since 2004, the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (the District) has completed over $200M in upgrades to its treatment facilities. The District’s multi-million dollar capital program will improve the quality of the effluent the District discharges to the Blackstone River in Millbury, Massachusetts and will comply with new nutrient limits set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The District facilities are located next to the historic River and serves approximately 250,000 people in Worcester and several surrounding towns. The wastewater treatment facility has successfully reduced its phosphorus and nitrogen discharge into the River since the significant upgrades began.
DID YOU KNOW?
WHY
REGULATE NUTRIENTS?
Phosphorus and nitrogen are two of the major nutrients found in all rivers and are essential to the growth of phytoplankton, a source of food for aquatic life, but in excess can become harmful to rivers and reduce oxygen levels in the water.
The Blackstone River is the first place where water power was used to fuel the Industrial Revolution and was once called America’s hardest working river. As part of the various upgrades, the District has broken the project into phases to make the overall improvements more efficient. Currently, MWH Constructors (MWHC) serves as the Construction Manager At-Risk on the $21.M Upper Blackstone Wastewater Treatment Facility Nutrient Upgrade Phase A project. In September 2018, the project reached 50% completion and included the placement of the first Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) skid; completion of the 3rd (of 4) bioreactor upgrades; completion of the new Magnesium Hydroxide Facility masonry and mechanical completion of the sodium hydroxide system. Final completion of this project is scheduled for summer 2019. Additionally, MWHC is supporting the District with preconstruction services on a second potential phase of work. The services include estimating and constructability reviews at various stages of design. The proposed project is a phosphorous removal facility, with new supporting infrastructure and a new laboratory, slated to begin in 2021.
5
Large Capital Improvement Program Underway in the Theme Park Capital of the World With over 72 million visitors annually and roughly 1.4 million residents, Orange County in Orlando, Florida has embarked on a 7-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for its utilities service areas. Improvements are planned to not only accommodate growth, but to also expand, modernize and improve existing facilities and infrastructure for the Orange County Utilities Department (Utilities). As the General Contractor on three large projects as part of the CIP, MWH Constructors has made significant progress in construction.
South Water Reclamation Facility - Influent Pump Station Improvement Project $24.4M Contract Anticipated Completion Date: Summer 2020 Highlights: •
•
The Project will provide a means to move potable water from one service area to another to address future potable water consumptive and fire protection needs Expansion of reclaimed water distribution
Malcolm Road Water Supply Improvement Project $23.3M Contract Anticipated Completion Date: May 2020 Highlights: •
Construction of new water supply wells will serve new residents while minimizing the impacts to surface water bodies, protecting minimum flows and levels of lakes/springs in the area
•
As part of the Malcolm Road Water Supply Habitat Conservation Plan, around 42 gopher tortoises will be relocated from the project site to a safer location
fun FACTS There are 8 Orange Counties in the U.S. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
California Florida Indiana New York North Carolina 6. Texas 7. Vermont 8. Virginia
Southwest Water Reclamation Facility Phase V Project $63.5M Contract Anticipated Completion Date: April 2019 Highlights: •
6
Capacity will be increased from 46 mgd to 56 mgd with the addition of 20 million gallons for storage and a new Step Feed Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) process
Gopher Tortoises are one of the
most threatened species in Florida. The tortoises have an enormous impact on the local environment due to their ability to burrow which offers shelter and nesting grounds to over 300 species!
Live Flow to New Facilities Expansion
MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE at Denver Project: Metro PAR 1225 As the largest water reclamation provider in the Rocky Mountain West, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (the District) provides wastewater transmission and treatment service to 60 local governments including cities, water and sanitation districts as well as service to 1.8 million people in the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The District treats over 300 mgd of flow per day.
Every day the District collects and reclaims about 130 million gallons of wastewater. That’s enough to fill nearly 200
Olympic-size swimming pools.
On October 31, 2018, influent wastewater flow was directed to the newly expanded South Headworks Facility at the District’s R.W. Hite Facility. This marks a key milestone for the $55M project, where MWH Constructors has been contracted to renovate and expand the District’s South Headworks and Grease Processing Facilities at their main wastewater plant. Key challenges on this project are sequencing of new construction, while maintaining plant operations on a very congested and aging site. Currently, 40 MWHC craft and management are assigned to the project with final completion projected for December 2019. To date, 260,000 man-hours have been worked and 865 days without a Recordable or Lost Time Incident. 7
DRIVING OUR SAFETY MWHC U.S. Safety Director Expands Safety Leadership Team
U.S. Safety Director, Greg Parana would like to formally introduce the newest members of the Health and Safety Team. Greg has expanded the safety leadership team with six highly qualified safety managers. With these new additions to the team, Greg hopes this will continue to drive and improve the already outstanding safety culture we have here at MWHC. “The addition of qualified safety managers will help create a culture where open communication centered around safety is the norm, where employees feel comfortable to speak, and internal training resources are available, and to make sure there are resources in the trenches to help our projects succeed at preventing injuries,” stated Parana. Lakeisha is the new District 1 and 2 Health and Safety Manager. Lakeisha has been working in the Health and Safety field for construction companies for over 11 years. She realized she wanted to help people who were suffering from natural disasters. With the hurricanes that were going on in her area, she decided to obtain her master’s degree in occupational safety management. Her first job was as a Safety Engineer. With her extensive safety training, she found a way to help those in need by joining the Red Cross Disaster Relief Team. Lakeisha helps the Red LAKEISHA Gammage, Cross locally in her area and has recently completed her Hurricane CHST Training, so she could be deployed at any time to help areas that have been struck by disaster. Lakeisha would like to note that the Ballville Dam, Avon Lake and Upper Blackstone projects are doing a wonderful job upholding MWHC’s safety culture. Lendel is a new Safety Manager in District 2 leading safety on the $196M TRA project. Lendel has been in the construction industry for over 15 years and is currently attending Columbia to receive his degree in Occupational Health and Safety. He began his construction career as a laborer who was given the opportunity to join multiple apprenticeship programs to learn various trades where he specialized in carpentry and safety training. After completing these programs, Lendel went on to become a site foreman and eventually the assistant superintendent. LENDELL Del Cid, Lendel’s goal was to become a Project Manager; however, he was drawn CHST to Health and Safety so he completed a QA/QC training course and has been a Safety Manager ever since. Lendel would like to highlight that the TRA jobsite has gone over 450 days without a recordable incident and there has been 216,093 manhours completed in the last year.
HIGH FIVE A Huge Congratulations to Kennon Buzbee in D1 (Orange County, FL) for passing his Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) Certification!!
8
Y CULTURE: Tevin is the new Safety Manager in District 2 overseeing Lake Texoma, Stewart Creek and the JB3 jobsites. He has over 6 years of experience starting out in the Oil and Gas industry TEVIN Smith, before moving over to the construction field where he has spent the last 4 years. Tevin originally went to school to become a history teacher and coach. CHST His father was working in the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma when someone at his jobsite was killed due to an explosion. After seeing how this incident affected his father, Tevin quickly realized how important safety was and decided to pursue his career in safety. Tevin is extremely satisfied with the support he has received from the project teams in Texas and was happy to see that safety is something that everyone sees as a part of their daily jobs. Luke is the new District 3 Safety Manager with over 8 years of experience. Originally, Luke started working in residential and commercial construction but after completing his degree in Occupational Health and Safety, Luke began his career in the water and wastewater industry. Starting off as a Safety Specialist overseeing a $70M jobsite in Arkansas, Luke quickly moved LUKE Tallant, through the ranks as he was promoted to a Senior Safety Specialist at the DC CHST Water plant. Eventually Luke moved back to Atlanta to become a Regional Safety Manager overseeing various projects, including a $300M CMAR project. Luke is excited to visit the project sites within District 3 to ensure our project teams are being taught how to work safely on the jobsites.
ROEL
Roel is the new Safety Manager for the District 4, $400M RA WATR project. Roel has over 5 years of experience in safety and has spent a lot of time working Moreno in the field with various trades during his time spent in the wind industry. Roel uses his experience, education and safety training to ensure his jobsites maintain the highest quality safety environment. He is currently pursuing his degree in Occupational Health and Safety and plans on graduating in the Summer of 2019.
Uriel is the new Health and Safety Manager for District 4, Small URIEL (UDI) Flores Projects in Arizona. With 11 years of experience in safety, Udi has spent most of his career working in the construction industry. Prior to working in safety, his background was in architectural construction where he was often the goto for both craft and management employees to explain how to safely perform work because of his bilingual skills. Ultimately, that experience led to a career in construction safety where he could continue to educate others about safe work practices. Udi also has experience working as third-party oversight of contractors, onboarding and leading subcontractors. Udi is currently working towards his BS in Occupational Health and Safety. 9
Construction Work Back on for Slayden Project:
GMP CONTRACT APPROVED Operated by Clackamas County Sewer District #1 (CCSD #1), the majority of wastewater collected in the City of Milwaukie, Oregon flows to the Kellogg Treatment Plant. Owned by CCSD #1 and currently managed and operated by Water Environment Services, the Kellogg facility treats wastewater for a population of 77,000 in nearby communities. This past summer, Slayden received final Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) approval for the Kellogg Creek Pollution Control Plan Improvements Project. Serving as the construction manager/general contractor (CM/ GC) on this $18.5M contract, Slayden hit the ground running with construction on the Kellogg Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility. Originally constructed in 1974, the equipment has aged over the years and the pipelines have become corroded. This major construction project will reclaim lost hydraulic capacity and provide reliability for the treatment facility while addressing goals to reduce noise, odor and energy usage. The project is planned for completion in summer 2020.
PIPING SYSTEM LEGEND EXISTING RETURN ACTIVATED SCUM WASTE ACTIVATED
fun FACTS Milwaukie’s drinking water falls well below Federal and State Limits for lead?
MILWAUKIE MILWAUKIE MILWAUKIE MILWAUKIE MILWAUKIE MILWAUKIE
Milwauk-ie or Milwauk-ee? There is indeed a relation between the two cities: Milwaukie, Oregon was named by its founder, Lot Whitcomb who named it after the City of Milwaukee in Wisconsin. 10
MWH Treatment Receives Silver Award for SUPPORTING THE ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY MWH Treatment (Treatment) is honored with a Silver Award from the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). Every year, the ERS rewards UK companies who support the Armed Forces community. In 2015, Treatment signed the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant making a promise to support the Armed Forces community and treat fairly those who serve and have served along with their families. “A Silver award recognises the fantastic efforts of employers throughout the UK who have both elevated their commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant and provided actual benefit to the Armed Forces Community,” said Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans. Employer Recognition Scheme SILVER AWARD 2018
Adam Houchin, Plant Manager and Chairman of the Armed Forces Steering Group at MWH Treatment said, “I am proud to work for a company that acknowledges the contribution ex-
UK Operations
military personnel bring to the workplace, a company that helps veterans develop their skills and build successful civilian careers. I would like thank everyone at MWH Treatment for their enthusiasm and contributions over the years and those who have make this award possible.”
As of April 2018, there are approximately 194,140 personnel between the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
HELPING TO BRING SAFE WATER SUPPLIES TO NEPAL: MWH Treatment Exec Shares Recent Experience Mark Allan, Director of UK Operations for MWH Treatment, recently travelled to Nepal in South Asia with water industry organisations Anglian Water and WaterAid, representing MWH Treatment within the @one Alliance (a collaborative organisation of consultants and contractors working together to deliver more than half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme). Allan was one of 15 partner members to see the existing infastructure in Nepal and contribute to what WaterAid called a first— using the collective multi-stakeholder approach to help develop a strategy for upgrading and running a region’s water supply. This was done with the purpose of creating a step change in drinking water quality and a sustainable approach to managing local infrastructure that could be mirrored in the provinces surrounding Nepal. The region of focus for what Anglian Water is calling the “Beacon Project” will be Lahan, located in southeastern Nepal with a population of 80,000. Allan said, “One in 10 people in Nepal don’t have clean water close to home, and almost half the population live without a decent toilet. Inevitably this scenario, combined with poor hygiene, impacts seriously on daily life, causing diarrhoeal diseases that keep children out of school, prevent parents from earning a living, and hold entire communities back from reaching their potential.” During the visit, which Allan called both a “humbling and inspiring experience,” the group met with people from several communities, including those from the ‘Dalit’ community who are among the poorest sector and have no sanitation system to rely on. “Working alongside the Nepali government and other NGOs under the banner of ‘The Beacon Project,’ WaterAid and the Anglian Partnership have developed a strategy for both immediate and long-term support to the Lahan region,” said Allan on the continued support.
THE
WATER GAP NEPAL FACTS
3.5 Million
people in Nepal still do not have access to basic water
11.3 Million
people do not have access to an improved toilet in Nepal
25.4%
of water supply systems are well functioning
5%
of children under the age of 5 suffer from diarrhoeal diseases
11
D1 PROJECT HONORED AT ABC EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARDS 370 Interlocken Boulevard Broomfield Colorado 80021
MWH Treatment The Soapworks Colgate Lane Salford Manchester M5 3LZ
Slayden 500 Willamette Avenue Stayton Oregon 97383
mwhconstructors.com
On October 19, The Associated Builders and Contractors Rocky Mountain Chapter (ABCRMC) held their 17th annual Excellence in Construction Awards in Denver, Colorado. The awards ceremony celebrates the exceptional work of member companies then qualifies those recognized to compete in the ABC National Excellence in Construction Awards. MWH Constructors is honored to have been the recipient of the Award of Merit for the Fremont Water Pollution Control Center Improvements Project. Congratulations to everyone involved on this project and all their hard work!