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Maven Outdoor Equipment Company Manufacturing Facility | |
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Just a short decade ago, the co-founders of Maven Outdoor Equipment Company asked themselves a simple question – how could they all stay in their beloved community of Lander, WY, while pursuing a passion for the great outdoors?
The answer was to build a business in their own backyard - a direct consumer sports optics company, specializing in custom binoculars, spotting scopes, and rangefinders. Maven is invested in the important hunting culture of the Cowboy State, and not surprisingly, quickly experienced growth. By 2020, the company was in need of a new facility, and worked with both the City and the Wyoming Business Council to secure grants and leases to keep operations in Lander.
West Plains Engineering worked with Hein | Bond Architects out of Casper for the new 22,500 square foot warehouse, manufacturing space, and two-story office. The building consists of approximately 6,000 square feet of office space and another 16,000 for warehousing and manufacturing. The new facility was developed to improve Maven’s ability to deliver its existing product line of optics, as well as expand into new areas in outdoor equipment.
The building footprint is architecturally interesting and includes ceiling clouds with exposed spiral ductwork. Coordination between the spiral duct diffusers and ceiling clouds was paramount for occupant comfort. The building incorporates a significant amount of natural light through large picture windows and combines this aesthetic with tall ceilings with an impressive 2-story atrium as patrons enter the building.
A testament to the importance of the State’s commitment to supporting Wyoming businesses, the ribbon cutting last Spring was attended by several local and state leaders, including Governor Mark Gordon.
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Matt Stroh, P.E., CHD is a Mechanical Engineer and Casper Office Manager.
Email Matt
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Post-Pandemic Manufacturing Growth | |
The manufacturing industry has experienced a remarkable upswing in construction activity since 2020, marking a significant shift in the sector's growth trajectory. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, manufacturing construction spending has doubled since the end of 2021. (“Unpacking the Boom in U.S. Construction of Manufacturing Facilities”, link) This resurgence is driven by a combination of factors, including policy initiatives, technological advancements, and a renewed focus on sustainable practices. | |
Graph from: "Unpacking the Boom in U.S. Construction of Manufacturing Facilities, link | |
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Key Drivers
The substantial increase in construction spending features an emphasis on computer, electronic, and electrical manufacturing. This surge is largely attributed to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and CHIPS Act, which have provided funding and tax incentives for public and private manufacturing construction projects. This, coupled with staggeringly long lead times for overseas equipment production and shipping, has encouraged some corporations to consider reshoring their manufacturing processes. If production is brought back to U.S. soil, naturally, new facilities are needed to support it.
But growth isn’t entirely cornered within the tech industry. The newly available funding and tax initiatives are making it possible for other manufacturers, including fabricated metal products, distribution and warehousing, food production, building products, and heavy equipment to expand their existing footprint. This expansion is paired with an enhanced emphasis on modernizing and increasing production and operational efficiency. The industry is also embracing a growing focus on sustainable manufacturing infrastructure and the use of renewable energy.
AEC Implications
This upswing in manufacturing construction is poised to have a profound impact on the AEC industry's future. As the sector continues to evolve, we could see:
- Adoption of innovative technologies, such as AI and IoT, to enhance manufacturing processes;
- Even further integration of sustainable practices and energy-efficient solutions;
- Modernization of infrastructure to support advanced manufacturing capabilities.
As we approach this from an MEP perspective, our team understands this means:
- More highly specialized MEP systems;
- Greater emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainability, and carbon reduction;
- Integration of new technologies, such as industrial automation, robotics, and process control systems, requiring specialized MEP infrastructure;
- Higher requirements for power distribution, lighting, and HVAC systems to support advanced manufacturing processes;
- More complex plumbing and piping systems for process cooling, chemical distribution, and waste management;
- Increased use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for MEP design, coordination, and facility management;
- Greater collaboration between MEP engineers, architects, and manufacturers to optimize facility design and performance.
As the manufacturing industry continues to transform in response to the changing landscape of national and global politics, consumer trends, industrial process advancement, and a host of other influences, AEC designers will be challenged (and expected) to keep pace.
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Article authored collaboratively by WPE engineers and staff. | |
Manufacturing Modern Tech | |
BAE Systems NSS Manufacturing Facility | |
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As previously mentioned, a principal driver in the recent manufacturing construction boom has been for electronics and electrical components. BAE Systems was among the tech-focused players behind that surge thanks to a $100 million investment in a new Navigation and Sensor Systems (NSS) manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, IA.
BAE is an international leader in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for both commercial and military clients. The new 278,000 square foot facility in the heartland was developed to bring the company’s design and construction employees into a single space – optimizing the process for manufacturing, engineering, and operations. It’s one of 4 new state-of-the-art facilities for the company, including others in Texas, Alabama, and New Hampshire.
West Plains Engineering provided electrical engineering design for the Iowa location, which officially welcomed its 800 new employees in November of 2022.
This project faced multiple obstacles during both design and construction of the facility. The effort began design during the global Covid-19 pandemic, which brought manufacturing to a halt and caused lead times for equipment to extend well beyond a year. To combat this, the electrical design team had to size the electrical riser and all branch circuit breakers in the building prior to MEP and Owner equipment being finalized.
The next challenge was an aggressive construction timeline. To meet the project requirements, construction had to begin as a core and shell building to allow earthwork, foundations, and steel to be installed. This required close coordination between the design team and construction crews for navigating the building's needs as construction began.
The last obstacle was the sheer volume of Owner equipment. Over 2,000 pieces of equipment were sized and located for this building. This involved multiple revisions and required on-the-fly changes and expansion to the original design to meet the requirements.
When all was said and done, the project involved 2 years, +2,000 hours of electrical engineering design from 3 separate electrical engineers and more than 60 electricians on-site to deliver a truly modern electronics manufacturing facility.
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Chris Haman is an Electrical Designer in the Cedar Rapids office of West Plains Engineering and was heavily involved in the design of the BAE facility.
Email Chris
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Scherer, Inc. Manufacturing Facility & Office | |
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The story behind Scherer, Inc. is the stuff of small business dreams. Early in his career, Bob Scherer was working for a machine shop in Sioux Falls and saw the opportunity to buy out the part of the business that reconditioned mill rolls (machines designed for grinding and processing grains). He took the leap and Scherer Corrugating & Machine was established with just a few part time employees. The rest, as they say, is history. But the history of Scherer now proudly boasts more than 2 decades of growth and expansion.
Scherer, Inc. now manufactures grain processing solutions serving the feed, oilseed, and forage processing industry (mill rolls and more). By 2022, operations were split between 3 buildings and Scherer saw the need to improve efficiency by consolidating into a single location. West Plains Engineering was part of the design-build team creating the new $24 million combined manufacturing space and corporate office to achieve that goal.
The new building includes 90,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 15,000 square feet for offices, a large training area, and a break room.
The plant included an area dedicated to welding, which naturally required welding exhaust. The system consists of supply and exhaust ductwork located near the ceiling in a push/pull orientation to entrain welding fumes as they rise to the ceiling. The exhaust air is routed through a dust collection unit that includes multiple banks of filters, including HEPA level filters to remove particulate and odor from the air. That air is then recirculated into the space through the supply ductwork. Recirculating the air provides large energy savings over a typical exhaust/make-up air system, since it limits the outside air needing to be conditioned.
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Nick Carr is a Mechanical Designer in Sioux Falls who was instrumental to the mechanical design for the Scherer project.
Email Nick
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Check out some of our projects featured on social media and the news! | |
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Sioux Falls Airport Terminal Expansion
Sioux Falls, SD
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One Stop Government Office Building
Sioux Falls, SD
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Mr. Liquor South Location
Rapid City, SD
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Tri-Valley High School
Colton, SD
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Levitt at the Falls Expansion
Sioux Falls, SD
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The Lodge at Deadwood Bar Renovation
Deadwood, SD
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Anthony Barella Earns CPD Certificate | |
Join us in congratulating Anthony Barella on becoming a Certified Plumbing Designer (CPD) by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers! Anthony is a CAD Technician in our Casper office who also holds master plumbing and master mechanical contractor (HVAC) licenses with the City of Casper. Congrats Anthony and thank you for embracing continuing education and professional development! | |
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