Michels

Building infrastructure for the future of energy

Established in 1959 in Brownsville, WI to focus on opportunities in natural gas distribution construction, Michels has been developing solutions for and adapting to evolving market needs since its infancy.

Dale Michels, an Army-veteranturned-pipeline-welder, and his wife, Ruth, decided the best way to support themselves and their growing family was to establish a construction company in Dale’s hometown. Dale’s pipeline experience drove the decision to establish a company in that industry. His entrepreneurial spirit drove the fledgling company to keep a vigilant watch for new opportunities to use the company’s experience and assets to deliver construction solutions on a wider level. Thus, Michels expanded into telephone lines, sewer and water mains, fiberoptic cable, horizontal directional drilling … and more. At the same time, Michels developed

its world-class reputation as an innovative, safety-forward infrastructure contractor.

Operating today as the Michels Family of Companies, a collection of wholly owned subsidiaries established under the Michels brand flagship, all companies perform safe, unique and specialized construction services for energy and infrastructure industries. Whether operating independently or collaborating on a project, the Michels Family of Companies is united by the same Core Values, quality standards and world-class reputation upheld by the Michels family for nearly 65 years.

Michels continues to address evolving needs through the strategic utilization of timetested techniques and new innovations. Driven by a global team committed to playing an essential role in the future of renewable energy delivery, Michels also continues to pursue advancements in the safe, environmentally sound construction of solutions for traditional energy delivery.

Phillip Michels, President of Micon Group, Robert C. Osborn, President of Michels Energy Group, and Dean Cowling, President of Michels Canada, offer insights into how the Michels Family of Companies is helping customers construct the infrastructure needed to meet North America’s emerging needs.

How has Michels prepared to assist with the paradigm shift of energy transition?

Michels senior leaders and internal industry experts from throughout North America are collaborating on the development of opportunities and strategies focused on energy transition, renewables and the needs

Robert C. Osborn, President, Michels Energy Group, Inc.

Phillip Michels, President, Micon Group, Inc.

Dean Cowling, President, Michels Canada

of progressive partners, like TC Energy. By leveraging the experience gained through more than 60 years of energy delivery experience, Michels is combining best practices with innovation to adjust to the specific technical construction needs of cleaner, decarbonized projects.

How does Michels help customers balance current energy needs with those of energy transition?

As North America advances toward energy transition goals, Michels provides customers with ways to utilize and maintain their current energy delivery systems while developing the next phases of energy delivery. At times, this means Michels will build a new delivery system before decommissioning a legacy system; at other times, Michels rehabilitates existing infrastructure, transforming it from the standards of product being phased out to the standards of future-focused products. Successful energy transition requires a carefully thought-out strategy involving multiple stages.

Michels plans and builds the necessary infrastructure to allow customers to transition from coal and oil to lower-emissions energy sources, like natural gas. At the same time, Michels partners with customers to improve grid efficiency and increase access to renewables and other long-term clean energy solutions.

How does Michels support energy transition?

The Michels Family of Companies helps customers achieve energy transition goals with the same tenacity used to build, strengthen and modernize North America’s energy infrastructure for past and future generations. Specifically,

our technical abilities support North America’s energy transition and developing solutions in decarbonization, including solar, onshore and offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture, battery energy storage and renewable natural gas (RNG) markets. We have experience, capabilities, capacity, and equipment to assist with energy transition and developing solutions in decarbonization, including solar, wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and renewable natural gas markets.

Through early contractor involvement, Michels partners with customers to plan and deliver projects that are safe, reliable and sustainable. Michels encourages a collaborative approach to all phases of a complex project’s lifecycle to ensure smooth transition from planning and preconstruction through to completion and restoration.

What are specific technical examples of Michels’ ability to contribute to energy transition?

A trusted leader in trenchless, pipeline, marine and power construction, Michels’ construction solutions are directly applicable to the specific requirements of energy transition projects.

Renewables: Michels has been delivering renewables since 1999. Michels supports wind and solar farms with transmission lines, collection systems, battery energy storage, substations, civil, foundations and marine support.

Benefits of Early Contractor Involvement

Design review

Constructability review

Risk mitigation

Reduced potential for later changes

Increased collaboration

Michels installed landfall conduit under a beach, traveling to about 1,500 feet into the Atlantic Ocean for an offshore wind farm.

Michels delivers unique, complete & collaborative solutions to meet each customer’s needs.

Pipelines: Michels has extensive experience building energy pipelines and facilities to support compression and transportation of products. With a resume of more than 10,000 miles of new transmission pipeline, up to NPS 48, and more than 1,500 projects using NPS 20 and smaller, Michels delivers what is needed for safe, efficient carbon capture projects. In addition to building pipelines, Michels has experience decommissioning pipelines on land and in the water.

Facilities: Michels’ dedicated facilities team has completed about 100 greenfield and brownfield compressor and pump stations in all geographic areas. Specialized appurtenances are custom fabricated at Continental Fabrication Services, Michels’ ISO 9001:2015 certified pipe fabrication shop.

Trenchless: Michels is a recognized world leader in trenchless construction. Since 1988, Michels has completed more than 2,000 major horizontal directional drill (HDD) crossings, including a 15,426foot (4,701-metre) horizontal

directional drill HDD of a 24inch pipe crossing under Lake Sakakawea on the Missouri River and completing the longest HDD in Canada of an 11,620foot (3,540-metre) crossing of 12-inch steel pipe in Burlington, Ontario, under the Hidden Lake Golf Club. Michels also sets the expectations in microtunneling by completing more than 25 wet retrievals/intakes and setting the North American record for the tightest vertical curve on an 84-inch-diameter tunnel.

Offshore Wind: Offshore wind facilities are vital to the green infrastructure mix necessary for ambitious clean energy goals. Michels has experience with marine construction, including land-to-water and water-to-water conduit and conductor installations using trenchless, conventional and aerial methodologies. When water retention and diversion are necessary, Michels self-performs the design, construction, and dewatering of sheet pile and secant pile cofferdams and cutoff walls. Michels has the equipment and personnel

required to support offshore wind projects by installing conductors up to 400kV AC. Substation building capabilities include station construction and expansion, including EHV projects. Marine construction capabilities include certified diverse, marine support, and subsea installations.

Michels has a reputation for a strong safety culture. How is it applied to energy transition projects?

Safety is the Cornerstone of our Culture. Not only is this Michels’ first core value, but it is a base for all actions. From the Michels family and senior leadership through every person who enters one of Michels offices or jobsite, everyone is expected to make a promise to their family, friends and co-workers to incorporate safety into all actions at work or home. Michels provides all employees with the equipment, tools and training needed to safely perform work and backs its commitment with a dedicated team of safety professionals who provide guidance, assistance and support. Regardless of what industry is being supported or the size and complexity of the work, Michels approaches each project with a unified commitment to help ensure everyone returns home safely at the end of each shift.

How is Michels prepared to ensure quality in line with the unique requirements of energy transition projects?

Michels prides itself on the agile and efficient execution of complex work based on a collaborative and transparent process. Michels takes a multifaceted approach to quality on all projects. Prior to the start of construction, a multidisciplinary team identifies all tasks required to complete

This open air switchyard and distribution station project contributed to the interconnection of 49.3 MW (AC) of solar PV.

a project. Each task is then reviewed to develop an equipment list, risk and opportunity register, and schedule.

As identified by our core values, Michels’ reputation is largely built on our ability to build complex infrastructure safely, efficiently, without rework, and with no harm to the environment. Michels has an in-house Quality team staffed by a core group of highly qualified professionals who are subject matter experts in their specific disciplines, cross trained, and certified. The Quality Assurance (QA) team provides the training, tools, and techniques to achieve quality expectations in accordance with project specifications and standards.

The Quality Control (QC) team conducts inspections to confirm the quality requirements are being consistently fulfilled, and audits to ensure integrity and continual

improvement of work processes and conformance. Michels strives to continually improve the effectiveness, efficiency and repeatability in which projects are delivered, with concentration on turning over completed projects meeting or exceeding customer expectations in performance and life cycle costs.

For complex facilities and largescale construction projects, early integration of a focused QA/QC strategy has many benefits to the project and to the life of the asset. These include implementation of welding processes to join steel pipes to carry hydrogen and carbon dioxide over long distances, best practices for installing cables and conduits to bring power onshore from offshore generation plants, and hardened systems for power delivery and storage in West Coast states.

What should customers expect when working with Michels?

Using the diversified specialties of the Michels Family of Companies, Michels provides economical and constructible solutions for all types of projects. For nearly 65 years, our past has inspired our future, a practice that allows adaptation to energy transition in the same way we have embraced myriad changes in the past.

Learn how Michels can help you to reach your goals on future Energy Transition projects.

This brownfield compressor station was part of the ANR Horsepower Replacement Project. It increased operational flexibility of a pipeline and reduced emissions with the horsepower replacements.