Ivey Mechanical meets in Birmingham

More than 200 Ivey Mechanical Company co-workers gathered in Birmingham, Ala., at the Ross Bridge Resort for their company meeting in April.

After opening comments by CEO/President Larry Terrell, Thomas Hamil addressed the assembly with an inspirational presentation about his ordeal as a hostage in Iraq. The speech was followed by updates on the financial state of the company from Randy Dew, CFO, and business development from Denny Terrell, business development manager/Mississippi Business Unit president.

In addition to providing the opportunity for its co-workers to become better acquainted, the meeting was filled with learning opportunities. Break-out sessions on topics such as project planning, project management, marketing, financial literacy, drug testing, safety, human resources, estimating, service and information technology were available to all attendees.

Information was also presented on the Ivey benefit plans and each business unit president delivered a presentation on their business unit's projects, staff, and goals.

The meeting concluded with the presentation of service awards. Ivey presented two 40-year, three 30-year, three 25-year, and six 20-year awards.

Mississippi Sheet Metal opens office, fab shop

Mississippi Sheet Metal recently announced that it will be opening an office and fabrication shop on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to handle work for the southern portion of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as Hurricane Katrina-related projects.

Ash Management facility under construction in Escatawpa

Beard Construction Group of Rosedale, La., was awarded a contract to construct a 45-acre ash management facility for Mississippi Power Company in Escatawpa, Miss. The entire facility is comprised of 3,200 lin. ft. of haul road, 30-acre impoundment with a geocomposite clay liner for ash storage, 3-acre runoff pond, leachate pumping system with 14,000 lin. ft. of 14-in. HDPE pipe, outfall structure, wheel wash system and a motor control center.

Beard is scheduled to complete the project in August.

Skyline Steel Pipe Group opens Spiralweld manufacturing facility

Skyline Steel LLC, a manufacturer of steel foundation and structural products, has opened a new spiralweld pipe manufacturing facility in Iuka, Miss. The multi-million-dollar plant employs more than 30 people and is equipped with the most advanced technology available for making high-quality spiralweld pipe.

The Iuka mill has the ability to produce pipe up to 120 in. in diameter with a wall thickness of up to 1 in. The plant is located on the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee Waterway, providing customers with low-cost freight options by barge, rail or truck.

The facility's modern technology allows it to manufacture double-submerged arc weld (DSAW) pipe. This spiralweld process assures full penetration welds and is certified to meet the American Welding Society's (AWS) D1.1 complete weld joint standards.

Skyline Steel President Ted Grodhaus said, "This facility is the flagship for Skyline Steel's commitment to providing quality steel products for foundation, transportation, infrastructure and structural applications."

Grand Bay NERR to begin construction of 'green' building this summer

Construction of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR)/Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve's (NERR) "green" headquarters will begin this summer. The new 20,000-sq.-ft. building is targeted for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-Level Certification, which means it will adhere to the strict set of energy and water saving criteria set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The new building will house interpretive exhibits pertaining to the local ecology, which encompasses coastal bay, expansive saltwater marshes, maritime pine forest, pine savanna and pitcher plant bogs. It will also house classrooms, laboratories, a dormitory for visiting researchers and graduate students, and administrative office space for the Grand Bay NERR and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We want our new facility to be a state and regional demonstration of our philosophy of environmental consciousness and to show our visitors how natural building materials and sustainable design strategies and techniques can be used," said Grand Bay NERR Manager David Ruple.

The facility, designed by the Atlanta office of Lord, Aeck & Sargent in collaboration with Studio South Architects of Pascagoula, will be both state and federally funded. The project will include a rainwater collection and filtering system to eliminate potable water use for toilet flushing, extensive day-lighting with sun-shading overhangs to control unwanted solar gains, and an innovative chilled water storage system to minimize cooling costs, and displacement ventilation to provide a healthy indoor environment.

Hillwood purchases 619,000-sq.-ft. industrial building in Southaven

Hillwood has acquired the 619,000-sq.-ft. Airways Distribution Center, Building 1 facility in Southaven, Miss., from Helen of Troy, which will continue to occupy the distribution center through April of this year. Beginning May 1, the space will be available for lease to users between 200,000 and 619,000 sq. ft.

This transaction, along with the two speculative buildings that the company is developing at DeSoto Trade Center, allows Hillwood to offer more than 1.4 million sq. ft. of prime distribution space for lease in the Memphis market in the second quarter of this year.

Hillwood began construction in October on the 552,000-sq.-ft. DeSoto Trade Center 3 building and the 301,000-sq.-ft. DeSoto Trade Center 4 building.

"After making 2.4 million sq. ft. of build-to-suit and spec lease deals last year at DeSoto Trade Center, Hillwood continues to be bullish on the Memphis market, which has been one of the most active in the country," said T. Preston Herold, vice president for Hillwood Investment Properties. "With the Class A distribution space the company has coming online in the next few months, Hillwood will be able to accommodate deals ranging from 50,000 to 619,000 sq. ft. in state-of-the art buildings that feature tremendous cost-saving incentives."

Recently Foreign Trade Zone status was approved for the 450 acres that were added to DeSoto Trade Center in 2004. Foreign Trade Zone #262 now includes the entire 680-acre business park, which also features outstanding access to Interstates 55 and 40; is within 10 mi. of the FedEx hub and the UPS center at Memphis International Airport and is close to the Memphis rail yard.

Located at 101 Industrial Drive, Airways Distribution Center, Building 1 is within three miles of Memphis International Airport, provides immediate access to Interstate 55 and features 10-year real and personal property tax exemptions available from the city and the county.