VOICE MARCH 2019
PEEK INSIDE VIEGA’S NEW SEMINAR CENTER AND HEADQUARTERS
SNOWMELT AIDS EMERGENCY VEHICLES COMPANY SAVES BIG BY CONVERTING TO PUREFLOW THERAPEUTIC PROGRAM USES PROPRESS IN NEW FACILITY
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CONTENTS WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA 3 A letter from the CEO
VOICE INSTITUTIONAL 4
10 Viega’s new Colorado Seminar Center and headquarters building
18
31 Tech Talk RESIDENTIAL
16 Senior housing gets potable water via Viega fittings
ON THE COVER
ProPress behind the walls at Adaptive Sports Center
COMMERCIAL 22
Bank updates aging system with MegaPress
25
Fire protection with MegaPress XL
26
Company happy after switch to PureFlow
30
Hotel gets hot water going again with ProPress fix
8 ProPress and MegaPress play important role in apartment boiler repipe
Boston MedFlight uses Viega to keep new facility running like clockwork
Viega’s new Colorado Seminar Center in Broomfield will begin hosting training sessions in April. Along with the New Hampshire Seminar Center, the additional location allows Viega to continue to expand training offerings.
a publication of Viega LLC March 2019 Marketing Director Mark Brodie Creative Marketing Manager Molly Morrow Senior Content Marketing Editor Kristen White Graphic Designer Marcus Jessen Marketing Coordinator Lauren Reutter Contributing authors Jacob Demars, Dave Holden, Kristen White Contributing photographers John Horner Photography, Mark Waldron, Kristen White Future articles and tips Please send in your interesting stories and tips relating to Viega products for possible publication in future issues of Viega Voice to press@viega.us.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA
and seminar center project in Nashua, New Hampshire. That seminar center now trains thousands every year and the original headquarters building is the home of our design and technical support teams. More importantly, with this acquisition, came committed and loyal people like Robert Boots, our supply chain leader, fan favorite, Director of National Accounts Dalyn Cantrell and the people staffing our McPherson, manufacturing and logistics facilities. In 2006, construction began on a nearly 450,000-square-foot manufacturing and logistics center in McPherson, Kansas. Around the same time, Viega invested heavily into logistics operations, establishing three additional distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada to support the evergrowing sales efforts. Construction of additional manufacturing halls, as well as distribution expansion, continues in McPherson as we add capacity for manufacturing ProPress and MegaPress fittings.
A letter from the CEO 3 Alfred Circle in Bedford, Massachusetts: I recall a warm New England day, enjoying a cookout with most of our 30 colleagues at our headquarters of Stadler-Viega. Across the parking lot, it was fourth down and a few feet from the end zone. A quick lateral to Bob Gottermeier, and he reached forward, made a fingertip catch and dove into the end zone, sliding on the gravel parking lot just long enough to rip all the buttons from his new shirt. This was no accident – Bob had every intention of making the end zone. Bob always wins. His winning ways have proved contagious. And, I am told, he is still plucking gravel from the palms of his hands. The family values and significant investments of the Viegener Family set the foundation for Viega in the Americas in the late 1990s. And it was leadership from people like Dan Schmierer, Christian Geisthoff and Bob Gottermeier, the grassroots efforts in the field by Andy Fiefhaus, Mike Gillespie and Bob Shepard, and lots of hard work by many others that established the momentum for Viega in the Americas. In the early 2000s, Viega introduced ProPress Copper into the North American market and has enjoyed strong growth year after year. Quickly establishing a leadership position in press technology allowed for subsequent introductions of innovative metal press products in various materials for a variety of applications. In 2005 Viega established a strong position in the PEX plumbing and radiant heating markets that started with Vanguard Piping Systems and Midtec Inc. and continues today with robust branding and sales successes. With the Vanguard acquisition came our corporate headquarters' move from Bedford, Massachusetts, to Wichita, Kansas, leaving behind a nearly finished headquarters building
The years following the recession were marked with strong growth, new product introductions and a growing organization of true professionals. In early 2016, the decision was made to move our headquarters to Colorado. Once the decision was made, property was promptly purchased and plans began on our second seminar center and our permanent home on an 11-acre campus in Broomfield, Colorado, a property that allows for growth for generations. Our first headquarters offices in Colorado were temporary, in a leased space. This January, after much anticipation, we finally moved into our new offices and they quickly started to feel like home. In April, the new seminar center will host its first trainings, and the schedule for the rest of the year is starting to fill. Through this time of extraordinary change, more than anything, Viega LLC managed to stay true to the values and guiding principles that were established from the beginning. We take deliberate action to ensure these core values are lived every day, in everything we do. We do this to make Viega LLC a place where people want to come to work. We do this to provide the industry with reliable, innovative piping solutions. We do this because it’s the right thing to do. None of this could have been accomplished without the continued support of our customers. Your belief and enthusiasm in the Viega product has inspired us, encouraged us and allowed us to grow from our humble beginnings in Massachusetts to where we are today. Thank you for your trust. This July will mark my 19th year with Viega, and it’s been quite a journey. I believe, though, that the Viega LLC story is just getting started, and I’m excited that you’re here with us. ■
DAVE GARLOW President & CEO
Viega. Connected in quality. | 3
INSTITUTIONAL
CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF: CLIMATE MATS SAVE TIME FOR BOSTON MEDFLIGHT When every second counts, there’s no time to waste clearing snow or ice. That’s why the team at Boston MedFlight decided to install snowmelt products at its new headquarters and operations center at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. Viega got the call for snowmelt and radiant heating products that are used inside the hangar and building. In fact, Viega’s Climate Mats, preconstructed rolls of radiant tubing that make large projects quicker and easier, were used – and that was a first in Massachusetts. CSI Engineers worked on the $17 million Boston MedFlight project, which included the 20,000-square-foot hangar. Jason Churches was the engineer for the project design and had previous experience with Viega (particularly ProPress products). He also knows his local Viega Technical Managers – Reid Goodrich and Paul Jappe – and they suggested Climate Mat. – Continued on page 6
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IF YOU CAN’T GET A PLANE OR HELICOPTER OUT BECAUSE OF SNOW, THAT’S A PROBLEM. AND YOU CAN’T PUT THINGS LIKE ROCK SALT ON A HELIPAD. SNOWMELT JUST MAKES SENSE. – Jason Churches, CSI Engineers
Viega. Connected in quality. | 5
INSTITUTIONAL “Reid brought it to the table and presented it to us. He helped with the design and layouts for the radiant and the manifolds and everything that we used,” Churches said. “It was a great way to save time and money by putting this in.” Because the hangar and outside area for the helipad for Boston MedFlight’s helicopters were fairly square in size, Climate Mat was simple to execute and easy to work with. Mike Bafaro, Vice President for J.J. Bafaro Mechanical Contractors, who worked on the project, said although they’d done radiant projects before, none were to this large of a scale, and they’d never used a product like Viega’s Climate Mat. “We knew Viega designed the project and we knew Reid had worked with the engineer on the initial design, but one of our biggest questions was the labor factor of putting it in,” Bafaro said. “Certainly now, watching the install and seeing the labor savings, we would definitely use the product again. It worked great, the installers loved it and we would not hesitate to use it again.” While radiant products indoors keep the temperature in the hangar comfortable for workers, the snowmelt products outside are what really shine. For a medical nonprofit organization like Boston MedFlight, snowmelt wasn’t just a perk. It was a necessity. “Everyone wants to do snowmelt until they often realize that it might be cost prohibitive,” said Churches. “But with this being a life safety point, it’s a no brainer. If you can’t get a plane or helicopter out because of snow, that’s a problem. And you can’t put things like rock salt on a helipad. Snowmelt just makes sense.” Nearly 21,000 square feet of radiant was installed, including 18,000 square feet in the main hangar, done with Viega Climate Mat. There is nearly 10,000 square feet of snowmelt, most of it in front of the main hangar doors. There are nine Viega mixing stations with actuators (one for each manifold for the radiant system). Viega ProPress products were also used for plumbing within the facility.
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Bafaro talked about how not only did the products work well, but the support from Viega was topnotch too. “Reid was local and he was out here. He would go over the install whenever we needed tech support. He was there supporting the job the whole way,” Bafaro said. J.J. Bafaro did the controls and wiring and balancing of the system, but subcontracted Piping Systems to do the actual installation of the radiant and snowmelt systems. Although Bafaro wasn’t directly involved in the installation, he said it was easy to see the benefit of Viega and the Climate Mats. “Extreme labor savings,” he said simply. “You’re rolling out these mats versus doing all the individual tubing, and that’s a huge number. It made sense with that large of a square-footage area and because it was shaped like a big square. The mats were the best application and I’d recommend it to anybody looking to do an install of this type.” Design for the Boston MedFlight Headquarters and Operations Center started back in 2016, with construction ramping up in 2017.
EXTREME LABOR SAVINGS ... YOU’RE ROLLING OUT THESE MATS VERSUS DOING ALL THE INDIVIDUAL TUBING, AND THAT’S A HUGE NUMBER. – Mike Bafaro, Vice President for J.J. Bafaro Mechanical Contractors
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November 2018 to celebrate the opening of the 54,000-square-foot facility.
Your Life. Y Liffe. Our Mission.
Boston MedFlight is the region’s primary provider of critical-care transport by air and ground. The nonprofit cares for more than 4,500 patients each year. World renowned, the program was established by a group of Boston’s leading academic medical centers and partners with community hospitals, pre-hospital providers including fire departments and EMS services, as well as other air medical programs across the region. ■ Viega. Connected in quality. | 7
RESIDENTIAL
VIEGA FITTINGS VITAL FOR QUICK BOILER REPAIR
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“It was all natural gas, and it was an oversized unit, so we converted the one very large boiler into a staged multi-boiler system,” explained Saavedra. “These boilers work in stages, depending on the outdoor ambient temperature.” Saavedra said there was a 2½" carbon steel water main coming in from the building, but everything else was 2" copper tubing, so his crew used Viega transition fittings to connect 2½" carbon steel into 2" copper. Their vendor, Ferguson, helped gather all the parts needed quickly, so they could get the work done. “Viega made this job happen quickly, because typically we’d cut back and use a threaded fitting. But in this situation, it was all welded pipe, so MegaPress was the best repair option for this. We’ve used Viega ProPress for about three years, but this was our first time to try MegaPress,” Saavedra said. Devix Heating and Cooling uses ProPress for nearly all its water heater and boiler repairs and installations. Saavedra said the fittings are a big benefit to the company. “A job that might take us six days can take us just two or three (with ProPress), which means that it cuts our labor in half. And that means we can pump out twice as much work! It’s a huge win,” he said. Saavedra admitted that after being introduced to Viega initially, he still wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from the products, but after putting Viega press fittings to work on a job, he became a believer. “Everyone loved it. The job was done super quick. It was just phenomenal,” he said. One of Devix’s customers is a building management company in Milwaukee that owns 40 to 50 buildings. The company regularly calls on Devix to do maintenance, repairs and replacement work, such as the Contessa Apartments. Before switching to Viega, Saavedra said they did things “the old-school way” via solder and flux. With Devix using Viega, their clients are noticing the return on investment they're getting. “They love that we can replace a boiler in a day. We’re not a big company, but this allows us to cut and press, and we’re done,” he said. “The only reason we can pump these things out so fast is because of Viega.” ■
– Moe Saavedra, General Manager, Devix Heating
It’s why Moe Saavedra, General Manager of Devix Heating and Cooling in West Allis, Wisconsin, called on Viega ProPress and MegaPress fittings for a boiler-repiping project. In September, when a 60-year-old large boiler at the Contessa Apartments in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, quit working, a fix was needed – and fast.
IT CUTS OUR LABOR IN HALF.
When meeting a crucial deadline, many contractors know that using Viega products will get the job done well and without worries of missing a target date.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA
VIEGA PROPRESS, MEGAPRESS, RADIANT, SNOWMELT, FLUSHING – WE’VE GOT IT ALL.
The beauty of constructing your own building is using your own products, and that's exactly what Viega LLC just finished doing with the efforts of Braconier Plumbing and Heating Co. The new Colorado Seminar Center will open in April and is next door to the company’s new permanent headquarters building that opened for business on January 2, 2019. A host of Viega products was put to work in the seminar center and headquarters building. There’s ProPress behind the walls to provide potable water. Radiant heating and cooling keep the buildings comfortable and snowmelt was installed in select outdoor areas. MegaPress connects the fire sprinkler system, and MegaPressG fittings were used on the naturalgas lines. The modern bathrooms feature in-wall carriers and touchless flush plates. Take a closer look at everything the seminar center has to offer – and see how Viega’s products were put to use.
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THIS FACILITY WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AND EXPAND ON THE TRAINING OUR INDUSTRY DESERVES. – Dave Garlow, CEO, Viega LLC
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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA
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■ 1. “We’ve been using ProPress for years. And even with large jobs, we have no callbacks, so it’s a huge advantage,” said Tom Stone, President of Braconier. “It saves on labor, for sure.”
Denver
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■ 2. Instead of traditional ceilings – where things like piping and wiring are normally hidden – the buildings have exposed ceilings. The fire sprinkler system, provided via MegaPress fittings, for example, hangs visible. Hanging among large wooden beams of cross laminated timber (CLT), the carbon steel and MegaPress fittings provide a clean, straight look. ■ 3. The radiant manifolds incorporate a variety of Viega products into one solution. Copper lines with ProPress provide the water supply, and water flows from the manifold through carbon steel lines with MegaPress fittings. Once to the radiant locations, water travels through radiant tubing. ■ 4. Viega snowmelt products were used in select locations outside the seminar center and headquarters to keep sidewalks and entryways clear, no matter the weather. ■ 5. With wall-hung bowls and no exposed tanks, the restroom facilities are modern and sleek, complete with Viega in-wall carriers and “Visign for More 100” style flush plates. ■ 6. The Colorado Seminar Center marked the largest radiant job Braconier has ever installed. More than 36,000 linear feet of tubing was laid, combined between the two buildings. In the seminar center, bare concrete floors are comfortable year-round because they are heated and cooled by radiant products.
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The Colorado Seminar Center is a much-needed addition to the Viega family. Viega is a leader in the plumbing and piping industry and has consistently trained its customers at the New Hampshire Seminar Center since it opened in 2006. In 2018 alone, more than 5,000 people were trained there, so a second seminar center in Colorado provides ample opportunity to double down on education efforts. “We’re expanding our capabilities, and we hope to attract more people to come to training overall,” said Bo DeAngelo, Manager of Technical Training. “We’d like to capture more attendees from west of the Mississippi, but both seminar centers are open to all regions.”
Learning Center – Color Study – Contrast Wood Grain
roperty of Matrex. Adaptation in part or in whole is expressly forbidden without written permission of Matrex. Copyright 2018.
The state-of-the-art seminar center provides top-rate instruction from seasoned industry pros. Topics include everything from press technology to piping industry best practices to fire protection and many more. Viega’s team of trainers bring their extensive knowledge from the field to the classroom.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VIEGA
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“Demand for training has been increasing steadily under the leadership of our Director of Technical Services Jason McKinnon,” said Viega CEO Dave Garlow. “This facility will allow us to continue to provide and expand on the training that our industry deserves.” The Colorado Seminar Center also features an Interactive Learning Center, which allows attendees to see, touch and experience Viega product while learning about its many capabilities. The video and content-rich environment provides a hands-on experience unlike any other in the industry. It is the second ILC (the original one, newly revamped, is at the New Hampshire Seminar Center), created by awardwinning Matrex Exhibits. More than 150 employees settled in at the new headquarters building at the beginning of the year, excited to be out of a cramped, leased office and into a permanent home where there’s plenty of room for the company to grow. With the opening of the Colorado Seminar Center just around the corner, customers are encouraged to register for a training and check out Viega’s new home. ■
RESIDENTIAL
IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
SENIOR LIVING EQUIPPED WITH VIEGA PRODUCTS Residents in more than 200 rooms at Cedarbrook of Rochester, a senior housing facility in Michigan, will have their water provided thanks to Viega PureFlow and ProPress products. Cedarbrook Senior Living offers independent living, assisted living and memory-care options. The new facility should be done in late summer to be open and operational in the last quarter of 2019. Conti Corporation of Sterling Heights, Michigan, installed the PureFlow Press and ProPress products for water, as well as MegaPress fittings for the gas system. Domestic water in the kitchen is provided via 4" ProPress fittings, while the PureFlow Press fittings in sizes 2" and smaller come off the main to provide water for individual units. MegaPressG fittings brought the gas system together, in sizes 2" and smaller. “I’m a big fan of Viega so I try to use it on every single job,” said David Murray, Director of Piping and Plumbing for Conti Corporation. “This was our first multi-unit build. Once I started digging into the job, I knew I could save money by saving labor [with Viega].” Murray said each foreman in his crew has a Viega press tool, and the company is structured to press whenever possible. Crimping by hand, like others in town do, makes no sense, he said. “The owner of this facility is getting a superior product, and it benefits us all,” Murray said. ■
STERLING HEIGHTS, MI
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Viega MegaPressÂŽ Stainless and Stainless XLÂŽ
De-stress with MegaPress
viega.us/mpstainless
Get it done. Quick, clean and safe. One person can install a Viega MegaPress fitting for IPS stainless steel pipe in a matter of seconds. Production is back online in a fraction of the time it takes to weld or groove, and you can chill out. Viega. Connected in quality. | 17
INSTITUTIONAL
THERAPEUTIC RECREATION PROGRAM CONSTRUCTS NEW BUILDING, USES PROPRESS
For more than 30 years, the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado, has been helping veterans and people with disabilities go on therapeutic recreation adventures. Now the group is finally getting the building – and the space – it deserves, so it can amp up its offerings and help even more people. The nonprofit organization, located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, is constructing a new building all its own. For the past decade, the organization knew it was running short on space, but real estate at the base of Crested Butte Mountain Resort is expensive and hard to come by, so it’s taken a while to turn dreams into reality.
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Two years ago, the organization purchased land and began raising funds. Now the 25,000-square-foot building is just months from opening, and leaders of the ASC can hardly wait. “A lot of work has gone into this new building,” said Brian Barker, Marketing Manager for the ASC. “Our community has been hugely supportive, and we’re lucky to have help from a lot of really generous people and organizations that are both local to the Crested Butte area and across the country. We received donations from local individuals to major foundations and organizations – like Viega – who want to help out, because so many people believe in helping people.” Viega helped this project by donating ProPress fittings for the plumbing. In total, in-kind donations for the construction efforts totaled more than $1 million, and Viega had a hand in it. Not only does the donation of ProPress fittings help monetarily, but ASC Executive Director Chris Hensley said it also helps by saving the contractors time – which also equals money. The schedule for construction of the building was only 13 months, so there was no time to waste. During planning, there were lots of conversations about how to save the ASC money, and ProPress was one solid option. Alpha Mechanical Solutions, LLC, out of Gunnison, Colorado, was hired to plumb the building, and Fred Niederer, a managing member of Alpha Mechanical, was already familiar with Viega and with ProPress. – Continued on page 20
Viega. Connected in quality. | 19
INSTITUTIONAL “Viega’s training facility in Nashua [New Hampshire] made it possible to see the entire product line and made it easy to justify setting up our first ProPress tool seven years ago,” he said. “Our second press tool was a matter of necessity, based on how often we use the Viega system. “ProPress was really great for this project because it had a very tight time frame and I couldn’t think of a better product to use. The time-savings method over standard joining is huge.” Alpha Mechanical had between 15 and 20 workers on the project to plumb nearly a mile of copper lines. The copper with ProPress fittings is for hot, cold-and-hot-water recirculation lines, as well as hydronic lines, some variable-air-volume units, some in-floor heating and a little snowmelt. “This has been press and go. Easy,” Niederer said. The building is officially named the Kelsey Wright Building. Kelsey was a longtime participant of the ASC. After she died her parents gave a generous gift to the organization in her honor to help get the fundraising project started. Barker said her family “really believed in what we do and what we did for her,” and they wanted to share it with others. The four-story building (plus basement) will allow the ASC to double its capacity. Previously, the organization only had the ability to offer overnight accommodations for a group of 15-20 people at a time, at a lodge in town. The new building will have housing on the third floor to allow for a second group to be served at the same time. The facility is ski-in, ski-out, and fully accessible for all participants no matter their ability. Groups of participants come from various hospitals, VA medical centers, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and more.
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There are other activities and amenities within the Kelsey Wright building as well, including an indoor rockclimbing wall, programming area and kitchen facilities. Within the basement there will be lockers that can be rented out as an additional revenue stream for the ASC, and there is an area for participants to be fitted with their skis or other apparatuses before they head out. Adventures through the ASC don’t just happen in the winter either. There are activities like canoeing, cycling, hiking and mountain climbing in the summer, or skiing, snowshoeing and ice climbing in the winter. Founded in 1987, and originally known as the Physically Challenged Ski Program of Crested Butte, 33 lessons were given during the first winter by an all-volunteer staff. Today, more than 6,000 lessons are provided to more than 700 individuals each year. The team includes 15 board members, 14 full-time staff, more than 25 professional instructors and hundreds of volunteers. The main focus is on the long-term impact of programming on participants, aiming to get – and keep – them more physically active. ■
THIS HAS BEEN PRESS AND GO. EASY. – Fred Niederer, Alpha Mechanical Solutions, LLC
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COMMERCIAL
CHANGES ON OLD PIPING SYSTEM A SNAP WITH MEGAPRESS MegaPress fittings saved the day for Holbrook Service in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When their crew was called to a bank in the city for work on an aging hot-and-chilled-water system, Janson Fish and Russell Piano, with Holbrook, ultimately chose Viega for the repairs.
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They found tight quarters in the basement of the bank, with carbon steel pipe in sizes 2 ½" and 3". Bank owners wanted to reengineer the hot-and-chilled-water systems for an optimal energy upgrade and for modernization purposes. This included changing from one pump to two, replacing hot-and-chilled-water coils as well as a chiller, and adding more components that required an extensive redesign of the piping systems to make things more efficient. Instead of threading or welding, Fish, Holbrook’s Division Manager for Colorado, and Piano, Service Manager for southern Colorado, gave Viega fittings a try. “I had been reading about Viega, doing some research for this job. I went in originally bidding to thread or weld and subcontract some of the work out, but with Viega we could take it all in house. That increased our profitability and also made it much faster,” said Fish. They used couplers, reducers, tees and flange fittings. Instead of having to redo whole sections of piping for design changes, the Holbrook crew used Viega fittings for a plug-and-play experience. “Without Viega, you’d be looking at probably 80 hours instead of 20 to re-pipe a bank of chilled water coils,” Fish said. “If we’d done this another way, we would have needed a welder and a fire permit. We would have had to work late or early hours. This product really saved us a lot on labor!” Piano added that because of all the piping systems that had to be manipulated, the ability to cut and press quickly with Viega was extra attractive. “We looked at different options, threading or welding 3" pipe, but Viega was the way to go. It greatly reduced the manpower needed,” Piano said. Work started in September and was a rush job with colder weather knocking at the door. Holbrook was able to get the heat on at least a week earlier than expected. “We’ve discovered that we can expand and do so much more, thanks to Viega,” Fish said. “We’re bidding three more boiler replacements with MegaPress. We can offer solutions – emergency repairs and other fixes – to our customers now that we couldn’t so easily before.” ■
Viega. Connected in quality. | 23
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COMMERCIAL
IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM DONE QUICKLY WITH MEGAPRESS XL Ryan Rousseau had the need for speed. The owner of Ryan Rousseau Plumbing and Fire chose MegaPress, including MegaPress XL products, for a fire protection installation at an indoor nursery facility in Eureka, California, because he needed to get his work done as quickly as possible. The work was done in an existing building, which meant there were tight spaces to work in. Coupled with a heavy workload of other projects, Rousseau wanted to get the job done fast and efficiently. He’d used other Viega products in the past – including MegaPress in residential settings – but the nursery setup was his first go with MegaPress XL. He said he wasn’t sure what to expect for the speed, but figured it still had to be faster than any other method. “Threading would have been more difficult to deal with in this existing building,” Rousseau said. “I would say (MegaPress XL) was 10 times faster than other methods. It was crazy how fast it was.” Rousseau said the nursery facility has some very tight quarters that he worked in doing the installation. He was able to make consistent connections with the press tool, no matter the different angle or space he was subjected to. Using Viega MegaPress for the project also meant he didn’t have to have pipe precut and grooved. He said being able to build the piping system at the nursery – and allow for onsite adjustments – was an added benefit. ■
EUREKA, CA
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COMMERCIAL
MULTIPLE BOXES CHECKED BY CHANGING TO PUREFLOW
I COULD TELL RIGHT AWAY HOW MUCH BETTER THE VIEGA PUREFLOW PRESS FITTINGS WERE – AND I WASN’T EVEN DOING THE INSTALLATION! – Marc Bosco, Superintendent, Ryco Inc.
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Labor savings on the job. Less waste to clean up at the jobsite. Less work in the warehouse. There are so many reasons that Ryco Inc. in Pennsylvania is loving the Viega PureFlow System. Getting Ryco converted to Viega from a couple of different cold-expansion competitors has been a huge win in the northeast. In fact, two new points of distribution carry Viega products now, thanks to the demand from Ryco. The company, which provides plumbing and fire protection services in the greater Pittsburgh area, employs about 200 people. Commercial projects account for about 70 percent of the company’s business. That’s where Jeremy Richter, who runs the residential division for Ryco, said the biggest gains will be realized using PureFlow. “We had been using Uponor and switched the residential over to it, too, but we lost a ton of money there because it was taking longer and the tools were cumbersome. We couldn’t test efficiently and pipe wouldn’t hold for us. We needed heaters on the job to expand [the product],” said Richter.
“Commercially, we do a lot of 2" or 1¼" risers in hotels and multi-unit jobs and the Uponor tool must weigh something like 50 pounds. It’s so big and heavy, and being up on the ladder with this thing is terrible. We had a guy in a hotel that was taking almost 10 minutes a joint with 2" Uponor, so we started talking about a switchover.” Viega District Manager Justin Young had already met with one of the former owners of the company and left some samples of PureFlow fittings. Richter said when he saw them, he noticed how everything with Viega is rolled into a single product, so he knew using PureFlow Press fittings would eliminate snap-off pieces on the ground and also eliminate the need to stock rings in the warehouse. “It’s one less scan code and one less bin to go pull items from,” Richter said. “So we’re saving not only as far as the waste goes, but on the stocking and labor in the warehouse too.” – Continued on page 28 Viega. Connected in quality. | 27
COMMERCIAL
On the jobsite, Richter said he and a superintendent noticed workers had to continually descend their ladders to get different rings for their Nibco fittings. Seeing the time wasted, Richter said he knew they needed to give Viega PureFlow a try. Ryco put PureFlow to work at the Mt. Lebanon senior apartments in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The new build features 60 units for residents age 62 and older. The 6,400-square-foot complex will include laundry, a community room and common areas, a lounge area and an outdoor deck. Viega PureFlow PEX was used for all the mains, in sizes from ½" to 2". PureFlow provides potable water to each of the units, as well as the laundry facilities. Marc Bosco, the superintendent for the project, said installation at the apartments was excellent. “There was definitely time savings, labor-wise,” he said. “It was easy to use. We had Justin come out and do some training with my guys and answer any questions, showed us some little tricks. We had no issues and no reason to need to call Justin back out. “I could tell right away how much better the Viega PureFlow Press fittings were – and I wasn’t even doing the installation!” Bosco said. Richter is excited to do comparisons and break down the savings thanks to PureFlow. Ryco began using Viega last summer, and their fiscal year ends September 30, so he said the end of the fiscal year in 2019 will bring a full year of Viega use and data to compare. “We estimate – and we’re big on historical data – that we’ve got at least a 25 percent savings with the PureFlow Press on the Mt. Lebanon job,” he said. “In residential we'll have less waste and less stocking, and our guys love the tool and the product. It’s been a great transition to Viega for us.” ■
IT’S BEEN A GREAT TRANSITION TO VIEGA FOR US. – Jeremy Richter, Ryco Inc.
28 | Viega Voice | March 2019
Presenting Viega PureFlowÂŽ System. This high-quality, reliable system is more than meets the eye.
Viega.us/RethinkPEX Viega. Connected in quality. | 29
COMMERCIAL
IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
PROPRESS BENEFICIAL IN QUICK REPAIR There’s never a good time to lose hot water in a building – but days before a busy holiday weekend just might be the worst. That's what happened at a hotel in New Hampshire. Father and son duo Kevin and Hunter Hart were able to get hot water going again for the hotel in just two days, instead of four or five, by using Viega ProPress. “It was definitely an emergency. They had two boilers for hot water and two storage tanks. But they’d already lost one of the storage tanks back in the summer and waited to get it fixed, so when the second one went out, they were in a bind,” Kevin Hart said. “We worked side by side for 14 hours, two days in a row, to get it fixed up. But definitely with the Viega press, it cut the job time in half. That hotel could have been without hot water for five days.” They used 2" to 3" ProPress adapters, elbows, tees and ball valves. They also needed MegaPressG fittings, in sizes ¾" and 1", for the gas line to the boilers. After first using Viega for a middle-of-the-night emergency repair a few years ago, Hart said he was hooked. Now he’s teaching 19-year-old Hunter the business. For Hart Plumbing and Heating, owned by Kevin and his brother Robert, the business definitely includes Viega fittings. “We’ve got 13 guys in our crew and now all the trucks have a press tool and fittings,” Kevin Hart said. “When we do work in commercial buildings and things, it’s much safer to not have to light up torches for repairs. Being able to come in and say we’ll do a job in a short time is a huge plus for our business.” ■
NEW HAMPSHIRE
30 | Viega Voice | March 2019
TECH TALK
Q Can ProPress and MegaPress fittings be rotated after they are pressed? A Once a ProPress fitting has been pressed, it can be rotated (not by hand). However, once rotated more than five degrees, the fitting should be re-pressed to restore resistance to rotational movement. Rotation of a ProPress Copper fitting requires repressing due to the physical deformation of the fitting and the pipe, which provides the mechanical strength for the connection. Alternatively, there is no deformation of the fitting or pipe required for the mechanical connection of a MegaPress or MegaPress G fitting. The connection is maintained by a bidirectional grip ring installed in the fitting. Therefore, rotation does not affect this connection and is permitted after the press is made.
Q What is the proper way to prep copper tubing when using the ProPress Copper system? A Viega approves industry-standard copper solder-cup preparation prior to pressing ProPress Copper fittings. Pipe preparation includes the use of emery cloth or a wire brush specifically designed for the purpose of cleaning the copper surface to ensure an oxide-free, burr-free joining surface. Normal caution should be exercised not to damage the pipe surface or alter the tubing’s shape or outside diameter. Any operation preformed on the copper tubing in excess of the industry-standard practices is not recommended and may void any manufacturer’s warranty.
Q Will the ManaBloc deliver hot water more efficiently than a traditional branch and tee system? A A study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which evaluated the performance differences of water distribution installations, concluded that PEX manifold systems deliver hot water to the furthest fixture in approximately half the time that the copper branch and tee systems in identical home layouts. This is because wait time for hot water correlates to the volume of water that needs to be purged. A branch and tee system will have a larger volume of room temperature water that must be purged out before the hot water arrives at a specific fixture. A ManaBloc system provides the opportunity to supply low-demand fixtures with 3/8" PEX tubing, further improving hot water delivery times. While a centralized manifold is almost always more efficient, there are select cases when it's not. One instance in which traditional branch and tee systems may deliver hot water faster is during consecutive uses of nearby fixtures.
Tech Talk provided by Viega technical experts Jacob Demars and Dave Holden
Viega. Connected in quality. | 31
VOICE Viega LLC 585 Interlocken Blvd. Broomfield, CO 80021 USA Change Service Requested
Phone (800) 976-9819 viega.us insidesales@viega.us
The term Viega, as used in this publication, does not apply to a specific company within the various separate and distinct companies comprising the Viega group of companies. The term Viega, as used in this publication, refers to the Viega brand itself or generally to the Viega group of companies. References to activities in North America specifically refer to activities of Viega LLC. A green dot on a Viega ProPress, MegaPress and PureFlow Press fitting indicates the Smart Connect feature with an EPDM sealing element. A yellow dot on a Viega ProPressG and MegaPressG fitting indicates the Smart Connect feature with an HNBR sealing element. A white dot on a Viega ProPress (304 FKM) fitting indicates the Smart Connect technology with an FKM sealing element. For a current list of applications, please visit www.viega.us/applications. Zero Lead identifies Viega products meeting the lead-free requirements of NSF 61-G through testing under NSF/ANSI 372 (0.25% or less maximum weighted average lead content).
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©2019. Climate Mat®, Climate Panel®, Climate Trak®, FostaPEX®, GeoFusion®, ManaBloc®, MegaPress®, ProPress®, PureFlow®, Radiant Wizard®, SeaPress®, Smart Connect®, SmartLoop®, S-NO-ICE®, Viega®, Viega. Connected in quality®, Viega Eco Plus® Visign®, XL® and XL-C® are registered trademarks of Viega GmbH & Co. KG. Eco Brass® is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Shindoh Co., LTD. RIDGID® is a registered trademark of RIDGID, Inc.
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