Archive for June 2011
- Jun
- 28
Posted on June 28, 2011 by John OReilly
Grundfos Pumps Corporation today announced that it will voluntarily cut in half the amount of potable water used to irrigate its 27-acre Fresno campus during 2011, with plans to eliminate the practice entirely by the end of 2012.
As a result, the global pumps and pumping systems manufacturer will save roughly 3 million gallons of potable water during 2011 - enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools. In 2013, the facility plans for all campus irrigation to be supplied by reclaimed water.
To achieve a reduction of this scale, the company will redesign its entire campus master plan to utilize “water-wise” plant material; a new “smart” irrigation system; and water harvesting systems and techniques to replace existing potable water.
The aggressive plan bolsters existing sustainability programs already in place at the 180,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, including the addition of a seven-acre solar array, use of energy-efficient lighting, air compressors, pumps, fans and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
Click here for more information on this announcement, including a press release and downloadable hi-res photographs, visit:
- Jun
- 20
Posted on June 20, 2011 by John OReilly
On Monday, June 20, the entire Grundfos Pumps organization worldwide will participate in a daylong, “What Unites Us” event that will begin the process of working with a new set of six newly revitalized corporate values: Sustainable; Open and Trustworthy; Focused on People; Independent; Partnership; and Relentlessly Ambitious.
On this day, all 17,000 employees at Grundfos operations worldwide, including Grundfos North America in Olathe, Kansas, will attend 1,200 workshops to discuss what the values mean and how they are used. During the workshops, all employees will have the opportunity to tell their own versions of the six revitalized core values via text messages, photos and video uploads on a global value website.
In North America, approximately 1,500 Grundfos employees will participate in “What Unites Us” values day activities in Fresno, Calif.; Brookshire, Texas; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Allentown, Pa.; as well as in Canada, Mexico and in Olathe.
Click here to view the full press announcement regarding Grundfos’ values day activities and to download hi-res images.
- Jun
- 15
Posted on June 15, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Leslie Hart is officially joining us today! Leslie Hart joins O’Reilly/DePalma as a New York-based partner, after several years of project collaboration with us in our building and architecture brand consultancy.
If you’re in the kitchen & bath industry, you know Leslie. The Consumer Insights columnist for Kitchen & Bath Design News and honoree in the Kitchen & Bath Industry Hall of Fame, has more than 30 years of in-depth marketing and communications experience in all channels of the kitchen and bath industry.
Trained as a journalist, Leslie was editor and publisher of Kitchen and Bath Business. That is how we first met when I started in public relations at American Standard in 1989.
Leslie and I worked on the Kitchen Bath Industry Show for several years, with Leslie on the trade show management/publishing side, while I was the marketing director of the NKBA, the association owner of the show.
Last year, we teamed up to produce the new NKBA Kitchen and Bath planners.
Our clients will benefit from Leslie’s brand storytelling skills, as well as her expertise in consumer buying behavior related to kitchen and bath brands. Leslie was director of strategic marketing at Meredith Corporation, publishers of Better Homes and Gardens and other leading consumer magazines, where she created integrated marketing programs for The Home Depot and Sub-Zero, among others.
Read more from the O’Reilly/DePalma press release today.
- Jun
- 15
Posted on June 15, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Leslie Hart joins O’Reilly/DePalma as a New York-based partner, after several years of project collaboration with the building and architecture brand consultancy and more than 20 years of industry relationships with principals John O’Reilly and Nora DePalma.
Hart, the Consumer Insights columnist for Kitchen & Bath Design News and an honoree in the Kitchen & Bath Industry Hall of Fame, has more than 30 years of in-depth marketing and communications experience in all channels of the kitchen and bath industry. Trained as a journalist, Hart served as editor and publisher of Kitchen and Bath Business, then as director of strategic marketing at Meredith Corporation, publishers of Better Homes and Gardens and other leading consumer magazines, where she created integrated marketing programs for The Home Depot and Sub-Zero, among others. Read more.
- Jun
- 13
Posted on June 13, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Our American Standard client recently hosted six influential designers who have used social media and blogging to create communities of designers online and-for some-actually reinventing their careers along the way.
Paul Anater (below right) tells the story of going to KBIS a few years ago when he ate dinner alone and had no evening opportunities to build relationships. Since his skillful use of social media and quite amusing unique voice on his Kitchen and Residential Design blog, he notes that he could barely get through the aisles at the 2011 IBS without being stopped by brand marketers, PR firms, the media and his many online friends.
Rich Holschuh and Saxon Henry have benefited so much from social media, that they have teamed up to create Adroyt, a well-named firm for their entire focus: social media and blogging for brands seeking to reach design influencers.
Andie Day, below right, has recently updated her Boston design practice website as she expands more into multi-generational design. Her blog helps communicate her expertise (Great shots from Standard Hotel Rooftop Bar.)
J.B. Bartkowiak (below left) was inspired to share images of his current bathroom remodel underway, already using Porcher products to replace some historical “Standard” products. Laurie Burke (below right), a.k.a. “CabinetGal1” on Twitter, flew in from California to join us as she ramps up her cabinet rep firm.
Business got done. Fun is definitely part of it. The Return on Relationships™ is not designed to drive immediate sales, but rather to build and/or rebuild trust among specifiers who influence homeowners, the media and other professionals. And believe us when we say this group can make the needle move on social media.
Click any image below to start the slide show.
- Jun
- 10
Posted on June 10, 2011 by John OReilly
The new 342,000-square-foot LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., seats more than 18,000 fans for soccer games and over 25,000 for concerts. When all those folks — or at least a large fraction of them — head for the restrooms during halftime and at intermission, the plumbing system in this new facility can get quite a workout. To ensure that sufficient water pressure is available to operate all the fixtures in the stadium properly, the mechanical engineer on the project chose to install a Grundfos BoosterpaQ Hydro MPC System, consisting of three vertical multi-stage CR pumps, to handle the “worst-case” flow capacity of 1,200 gallons per minute.
Click here to learn more about the project and the decision by the mechanical engineering firm, U.S. Engineering Company, to install the Grundfos pump system.
- Jun
- 6
Posted on June 6, 2011 by John OReilly
Uponor has named Bill Gray as vice president of Sales for Uponor North America, effective June 6, 2011. For the past three years as general manager for Uponor Ltd. in Canada, Gray was responsible for the leadership of all Uponor Canadian operations, including sales, marketing, demand management and technical and customer service. In his expanded role, he will lead all Uponor North American sales efforts in the United States and Canada, as well as continue to oversee Canadian operations.
Click here to read more and download a hi-res image.
- Jun
- 1
Commercial radiant temperature control from Uponor is highlighted in this feature article exploring one of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wineries. The article that appeared in the June issue of Environmental Design and Construction Magazine, illustrated why radiant was the only option to deliver the consistent and precise temperature control required for a new winery and barrel cellar. “Temperature control plays a major role in the winemaking process,” explains Kathryn Hall, owner of Hall St. Helena, who notes that the loss of temperature control can ruin an entire batch of wine and would result in a significant loss.
Indeed, the radiant system exceeded expectations, and the project’s environmentally friendly construction recently received the prestigious Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) award. That recognition made Hall St. Helena, the first winery in California to achieve the top certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
