Dear valued clients and friends,
Like many of you, the Intertech team enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. I hope that you had a joyous, peaceful holiday season. One of the best gifts we all could receive this season is an improving market outlook – and based on the projects we have in the queue and/or in bid process, the 2011 outlook for many sectors of commercial construction is looking very promising.
Among the bright spots in the market is health care. In fact, according to Texas Construction magazine writer Debra Wood, “Health care remains one the state’s stronger market segments, with several megajobs under way at urban hospital campuses or soon to break ground.” Since the passage of health reform last March, projects that had been put on a ‘wait and see’ status are starting up again. Hospitals are looking for efficiency in design, and evidence-based design solutions that help hospitals reduce length of stay and increase quality. This is all good news for Intertech, as we have specialized in innovative flooring concepts for health care facilities for two decades.
Check out our health care experience and let us know how we can help on your next project.
Our goal is to be the most valued and trusted resource for your commercial flooring needs. Let me know how the Intertech team and I can better meet your needs. Email me.
Willard “Bill” E. Imhoff III
President and CEO
Intertech’s Dallas/Fort Worth division added to its impressive bench strength this fall with the addition of Jim Abercrombie as project manager. Jim has more than 20 years of commercial flooring experience. At Intertech, he will be responsible for servicing client flooring needs, as well as bidding and negotiating projects with general contractors, property managers and end users. He will oversee projects from the estimating and bidding phase through ordering, installation and invoicing.
Jim began his career in 1989 with CSI/CDC Corporation, a Carpet Services firm where he was corporate credit manager and auditor. He spent a year as regional credit manager for MSA Industries’ western region before joining DuPont Flooring Systems, where he worked from 1995 to 2004, as credit manager of the south central division and sales representative. Prior to joining Intertech in October, he had been a sales representative with Spectra Contract Flooring since 2004.
Jim brings a wealth of knowledge in the health care, government, retail and tenant finish markets. In addition, he has deep background in estimating, quality control, and project management and is well respected by clients and colleagues for his professional, customer service focus. He is a great addition as we continue to grow the Dallas/Fort Worth division. Give him a call, email him or stop by the Grapevine office to meet him.
Speaking of the Dallas/Fort Worth division, in October we completed the transition from Intertech/RWA, to now Intertech Commercial Flooring. Clients in the Metroplex will see the Intertech logo on our trucks, building and installation teams’ gear.
Flooring Can Impact
Customer Behavior
A recent study by the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management found that how flooring feels can affect how a customer feels about a product. For instance, a plush carpet would make a distant product seem more comfortable, while hard tile would make the customer less content with the product, according to the researchers.
In the study, U-Minnesota and University of British Columbia researchers had participants stand on both vinyl tile and carpet while evaluating several different products. They found that customers take their physical comfort into consideration on a subconscious level. The findings can help retailers better understand how to make savvy flooring and other design selections that positively impact customer behavior. Read the full article.
Congratulations to Dallas-based design firm Good, Fulton & Farrell which was ranked 14th out of the Top 25 Green Design Firms for 2010 by Texas Construction. Intertech is proud to have been a part of their largest green project to date, the $100 million Ft. Bliss Lifestyle Center in El Paso.
Intertech clients and projects made headlines again in Texas Construction’s Best of 2010 Awards listing last month. Among the headliners for these prestigious honors were:
 |
Texas Southmost College Arts Center in Brownsville, a 57,528 sq ft, three-story building for which Intertech’s Rio Grande Valley team furnished and installed the soft flooring (carpet and vct ). |
 |
Alamo Colleges Northeast Lakeview Campus Project in San Antonio, a 370,000 sq ft facility on 220 acres. |
 |
Leander ISD’s Vandergrift High School in Austin, which included a sports complex, fine arts and athletics facility and 225,000 sq ft academic and career building. |
Access Flooring Expertise Shows in UT Data Center Project
The University of Texas opened a new $32 million, state-of-the-art data center in Austin last summer, and Intertech Flooring was proud to be a part of another outstanding UT-Austin project. Under the direction of the design-build team of DPR Construction and PageSoutherlandPage / Sunland Group, the data center "epitomizes what a knowledgeable, collaborative, forward-thinking and solution-driven project team can achieve on highly demanding and technically complex jobs," wrote DPR in its Fall/Winter 2010 newsletter.
Intertech's work in providing the project's access flooring not only is reflective of its green flooring expertise, but demonstrated the team's ability to handle highly complex installations. According to a DPR case study on the project, "complications arose when the team discovered the roof had insufficient load capacity to support the overhead cable trays. By installing stanchions at the base of the server cabinets, the team was able to support the overhead bracing support system from the raised-access flooring below."
To read the full story with photos, check out http://www.dpr-review.com/fall-winter-2010/story7.php
Green is the "In" Color
Energy efficiency will be a continued focus this year, according to a new white paper from Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm focused on clean technology markets. Among Pike's energy efficiency "top trends to watch" this year, the reports predicts that the pace of building certification will increase, led by LEED. "Although LEED certification and registration numbers are down from 2009 peaks, Pike Research project certifications will rise as the construction markets recover, with the USGBC’s LEED green building rating program continuing to dominate the global market," according to an article in Eco-Structures Dec. 28 issue.
For clients looking to maximize LEED points, Intertech Flooring's LEED Accredited Professional expertise can point you to the best flooring products, installation techniques and recyling opportunities to contribute toward certification. Contact Anne Galmor, LEED-AP for details. To read the full study, visit www.pikeresearch.com.
Tell Us What You Think!
Exceeding our customers’ expectations is the Intertech team’s highest priority. We are proud of our many longstanding customer relationships and know that your trust must be earned project after project. In a few weeks, we will be surveying you to find out how we’re doing. Watch your email for the survey, and please take five minutes to give us your candid feedback. You could win an iPad just for participating!
