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Spring 2005 I am writing this note to our customers, partners and team members as I sit in Starbucks Coffee® on a cold Wisconsin winter day. As I review the terrific projects in Grunau Service and Maintenance this edition of the GrunauGram, I am Team Completes Numerous Expansion continually thankful for the wonderful relationships that our team has been service Projects for Aurora Health care fortunate enough to be part of; not only on the projects highlighted here, but Grunau’s service and maintenance team has a In 2001, Aurora asked Grunau to assist with throughout our business each day. long-standing relationship with Aurora Health an update to the computer room’s uninterrupted Care. Aurora appreciates Grunau’s dedication to power source (UPS). The service and maintenance Sitting in Starbucks, I am reminded finding the best and most cost-effective solutions, team installed a larger UPS unit and generator again that we, like the coffee company, and that recognition has prompted Aurora to that could accommodate the previous year’s are in the customer service business. ask Grunau to assist with numerous projects, expansion and add capacity for an anticipated And some key success factors in the including the expansion of two computer rooms. second expansion. customer service business are: providing a differentiating experience and a In 2000, Aurora wanted to convert a computer Again, Grunau Metals assisted in the effort. predictable outcome. When we walk into room’s air conditioning system to dry coolers to The metals team helped install a platform and Starbucks we know that we will have a save money. The company also wanted to expand walkway for a fan coil unit used for backup to unique experience and will walk out with the room by almost one-third. Grunau’s service the UPS room cooling equipment. The installation a predictable outcome: great coffee and maintenance team helped Aurora design a required careful planning due to space constraints. served by friendly, energetic people. system that used reusable glycol as the coolant, If the team built the platform first, there wouldn’t reducing the expensive water costs of the old be room to bring in the units. The alternative, If Grunau is to be successful over a system. The situation became tricky, however, cutting a hole in the wall or ceiling, was too costly long period of time, we recognize that we when Aurora required the switch to occur without and impractical. The teams worked together, must provide the very same things to our disruption or work stoppages. To prevent turning chaining the equipment to the steel structure customers: a differentiating experience off the air conditioning units during the afternoon, above the space to allow Grunau Metals room to and a predictable outcome. We do this the hottest time of day, the Grunau team worked in build. Once completed, the teams lowered the not only through the quality of our work, the early morning when it was cooler and before equipment into place on the platform. but also through the way it is delivered. Aurora employees arrived for work. They installed This includes the questions we ask, our CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 the dry coolers on the roof and ran new piping ability to listen and our understanding to connect the Liebert cooling units to the dry that we must help our customers achieve coolers. Then, Grunau switched the system from their business objectives. city water to glycol, cooler by cooler. In the end, We continue to reinforce this message the service and maintenance team expanded the with our entire team and we continue to computer room by 2,000 square feet and added invest in technology, training, and most two new cooling units. importantly, our “Lean” initiative, to Throughout the expansion project, the service enhance the experience we provide, as and maintenance team called on Grunau Metals well as the predictability of the outcome. to complete specialty metals work. The metals As always, we greatly appreciate the team fabricated and installed metal platforms for opportunity to work as your partner and the rooftop dry coolers and the indoor pumping advocate, and we recognize the powerful and control systems. They also built catwalks, responsibility we have to you and your railings and stairs to allow easy maintenance business. access to equipment. ▲ Thank you to Starbucks for setting a Grunau’s fire protection and electrical teams high standard. installed a new fire suppression system in Aurora Health Care’s second computer room expansion. ▲ Grunau’s service and maintenance team helped Paul Grunau Aurora Health Care save money on air condition- President, Grunau Company ing costs for its computer room by installing dry coolers on the roof of the facility. President’s corner Grunau Exceeds Expectations on Fast-Paced Grunau’s Leadership Results in Fast Roundy’s Project mechanical Turnarounds for Thomson BETA Construction of Roundy’s Inc.’s Grunau Company’s reputation as an effective The plumbing team also had to quickly finish its one million square-foot maintenance and proactive leader for projects with time work, including installation of all water and sewer building, and dry and refrigerated constraints won the firm the HVAC, plumbing, and services in both the interior and exterior of the warehouses, was well underway when fire and specialty suppression systems’ installation building and completion of the reverse osmosis Opus North, the construction manager for job for Thomson BETA System’s 65,000 square-foot system for the HVAC’s cooling units. the project, asked Grunau Company’s data center in Hartland, Wisconsin. Grunau’s fire protection team also completed mechanical team and Grunau Metals to The building’s construction was divided into work at the company. The team addressed provide the HVAC, plumbing and specialty two phases: the data center and the office area. Thomson BETA’s unique needs by installing two metal work. Construction of the data center began in late April waterless fire suppression systems in the data With only five months before the 2004 and had to be completed by October. The room. Grunau called on its Youngstown, Ohio, fire scheduled completion date, Grunau closely project required careful coordination among the protection team, which specializes in special coordinated with Opus North to ensure trades. The Grunau team began by assisting the hazards, to help design a clean agent fire that the mechanical team could install building’s engineers, Affiliated Engineers Inc., suppression system for the data center. A clean underground plumbing without disrupting with the HVAC, plumbing and fire protection agent system uses gas to cause a chemical the building’s construction. systems’ designs. reaction that neutralizes the combustible vapors Grunau also carefully designed the “To stay on schedule, it was essential that of the burning material. Grunau also installed a HVAC system with Roundy’s input to ensure everyone worked as a team instead of as individual pre-action system that requires two forms of fire that the system would meet Roundy’s contractors,” said Ron Kwiatkowski, Grunau vice detection before discharging water into the piping functionality requirements and that it could president for design/build. “We wanted to ensure to extinguish the fire. This allows the building’s be completed on time. The team saved everyone’s needs were being addressed and met occupants time to manually extinguish the fire and time by building the system in phases, to prevent any delays or setbacks.” prevent equipment damage. Waterless systems completing approved portions while waiting are ideal for protecting expensive equipment, like After helping the engineers design the systems, computer systems, that cannot get wet. for the authorization on others. Grunau had a small window of time to install piping Grunau Metals also completed work on for the HVAC’s Liebert cooling units in the data The fire protection team also installed wet the fast-paced job, fabricating interior center’s raised floor. The team had to complete its sprinklers in the office areas and dry sprinklers in stairs and handrails, and the loading dock work before any of the other trades could begin, the generator rooms and on the loading dock— ramp railings and exit stairs. The metals and before Thomson BETA could set up its unheated areas of the building where wet team also installed rooftop ladders, computer system. Installing the computers was a sprinklers could have frozen in winter. exterior access and crossover stairs, and long process, and the company’s main business— Thanks to careful planning and scheduling, fire escape-style drop-down ladders. daily stock transactions—required all systems to all the Grunau teams completed their tasks, and In addition, Grunau Metals completed be running when the building opened or the Thomson BETA had plenty of time to set up its handrails, a sliding gate and stairs in the company would lose money. To save valuable time, extensive computer system before the data maintenance building’s mezzanine. the mechanical team prefabricated large sections center’s scheduled opening. To help meet the tight deadlines and of the piping at Grunau’s Oak Creek facility and allow for quick on-site installation, the delivered them to the job site for easy installation. metals team first fabricated their work at the Grunau Metals’ shop. Once the other trades completed their tasks, Grunau Metals was back on the job site to begin installation. Throughout the project, the scope of Grunau Metals’ work increased, often requiring the team to find solutions without using drawings. Their final task, installing a maintenance platform and handrails around rooftop units, was finished at the end of February, just in time for the project’s completion. “I really enjoyed working with Grunau Company because I knew that I didn’t have to worry about their quality of work or whether they would finish on time,” said Dan Nash, Opus North superintendent.

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