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TESLA, RENO AND THE ROAD T O N E VA D A’ S NUMBER ONE Written by Leila Hawkins and Tom Wadlow Produced by Tom Venturo
Helix Electric has proven itself as the ultimate onestop-shop for electrical contracting across an extremely diverse range of industries. Now with an office in Reno and playing a key role in Tesla’s enormous Gigafactory construction, its aim is to become the leading contractor in northern Nevada
HELIX ELECTRIC
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eno may be dubbed the ‘world’s biggest little city’, but on its doorstep lies one of the largest construction projects in the entire United States. Pioneering car manufacturer Tesla is building a 21 million square feet battery-producing ‘Gigafactory’, just east of the northern Nevada city, and Helix Electric has been instrumental in electrical construction. This is one of many projects currently underway for the company in the north of the state, this having opened a regional office earlier this year. Spearheading the drive to become number one in the area is Helix Electric’s Nevada President Victor Fuchs, who is quick to express the tremendous potential for business to thrive. “We think the northern
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Nevada market is going to boom,” he says. “With our skillset we’re working to become the leader in this region!” Giga-normous
The full spectrum of Helix’s skillset is being deployed at Tesla’s huge manufacturing site. Based near Reno, the ‘Gigafactory’ started production in January having broken ground in 2014. By the time it is fully operational in 2018, it will be able to produce more vehicle batteries than the entire global output of 2013. “We’ve been on the ‘Gigafactory’ project for the last 18 months, and have finished several pieces already,” comments Fuchs. “This is a 21 million square foot building, and thus far, we’ve completed work on the central plant, B section, the nitrogen
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plant and are now doing the ‘D and completed site will bring over 4,000 E Prime Wing’, which is roughly a new jobs to the area and is expected million and a half square feet.” to help Tesla reduce its production Helix is responsible for the costs by some 30 percent. one of the phases of electrical The factory will be powered by a work from the substation, which massive roof of solar panels which includes lighting, controls, will be installed towards tooling and more. the end of the project, “This is a very unique something which project and there Fuchs is more than aren’t many projects hopeful of playing a of this magnitude part in. The ultimate Helix Electric Annual Revenue being built across the aim for Tesla is for the country,” Fuchs adds. facility to be carbon “These are big numbers, neutral, just like its cars. but we are used to working on million-plus square feet projects.” Reno and beyond The site needs to be vast to ensure Although the Tesla project may production can keep up with the be one of the largest Helix has number of electric cars Tesla plans under construction, it is not the to release in the coming years. The only reason for establishing a
$135 Million
T H E S TA R S Y D N E Y
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permanent office in Reno. “We’ve made a commitment to become a local regional contractor in Reno,” says Fuchs. “Many of our key people have moved here and we’re looking for additional talented players to join our winning team.” Fuchs goes on to cite many completed and ongoing projects already on the books in northern Nevada, including several hotel projects such as a new ‘Hampton Inn’ by Hilton in Sparks, along with numerous multi-family residential complexes. The next few months will also see the design stage of various industrial projects move into construction, at which Helix will provide electrical expertise. Education and medical sectors are also active for Helix in the region, where in Fallon, one hour east of Reno, the company is expanding the Banner Hospital. Fallon is also home to the Navy’s “Top Gun” training program, with Helix being part of the P420 Air Wing Squadron and P418 Vehicle Maintenance projects, as well as the electrical for officers’ housing.
Victor Fuchs President “We pride ourselves on being a diverse contractor and we try to get involved in many different sectors,” says Fuchs. “Whatever the requirement, we can work a solution.” Indeed, the full range of industry expertise spans commercial and retail, correctional, design- build, education, government and military, healthcare and biotech, hospitality and entertainment, industrial, mission critical, multi-family residential, renewable energy and transportation.
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HELIX ELECTRIC
Legacy
Darren Vanderford Vice President
Founded in California in 1985, Helix has been building up its vast portfolio for more than 30 years. It now comprises two standalone companies - one with offices all over the state of California, Washington DC, Hawaii and the Nevada arm that formed in 2001 with sites in Las Vegas and Reno. Fuchs first joined in 1987 as Assistant Estimator climbing through the ranks of Division Manager, Vice President and
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Executive Vice President, before moving to Nevada and acquiring the Las Vegas company. Under his helm, Nevada’s Helix Electric is now the largest non-union electrical contractor in the state. In the last year it constructed a huge PV Solar energy-saving system for IKEA’s Las Vegas store and created a training center for people with disabilities to learn skills to live independently. The IKEA store opened last March with more than 3,000 solar panels
Robert Johnson Sr. VP Major Projects
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HELIX ELECTRIC
David Wood VP Estimating
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on its rooftop, custom- designed and installed by Helix. These are preventing over a thousand tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere each year. It’s the biggest solar panel project of its kind in the state, and the furniture retailer’s largest outlet in southern Nevada. In the spring of last year, Helix was involved in building two unique ‘state of the art’ facilities for the Regional Transportation Commission’s Mobility Training
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Center. One is an indoor simulated streetscape complete with crosswalks, actual buses and a sound system playing traffic noise, for participants with disabilities to become comfortable crossing busy lanes of traffic and navigating the public transport system in a safe environment. The second facility is a fully equipped two bedroom house with a kitchen and bathroom, for the blind to acquire the skills necessary to go about a daily routine independently. Called Angela’s
Michael Vita VP Special Projects House, this is the only training facility for the blind in Nevada. Several of these projects have won awards. The IKEA construction won the ‘Spotlight’ Special award for “Best Retail Building from the NAIOP”, the leading trade association for commercial properties. The mobility center was named Best Public Building by ENR Southwest, an American construction magazine. Acquiring these innovative projects is directly proportional to
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HELIX ELECTRIC
WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING [SAFETY] record and our Regional Director of Safety Lawrence Fry has done a great job
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carefully watching the market to see what’s coming up. “We have a great procurement team,” Fuchs says, “and we see what projects there are. We approach the customers, and because of our longevity, financial strength and competitive pricing we’re very fortunate that a significant number of times we’ve been selected by customers to be their contractor of choice.” Such an impressive resume was a key factor in securing the work with Tesla, as Fuchs goes on to explain: “It is about our experience, our people, the safety and training of our field resources, and our supervisors who have made a commitment to relocate to Reno to see this exciting project through.”
Earl Ward Div. Manager Service
Regional Director of Safety, has done a great job! We are very focused on job site inspections and have picked up a number of top safety awards.” One such award recently won was the State Health and safety: no compromise of Nevada, Safety Consultation and Training’s “SHARP” award, Another crucial factor that places which stands for “Safety and Health Helix in a strong position to Achievement Recognition Program”. win contracts is an exemplary Fuchs is correct to point to health and safety record. statistics, which show that in 11 “We don’t compromise on safety, OSHA Inspections since the start and our stats prove this,” Fuchs of 2016 the company has recorded states. “We have an outstanding zero citations or incidents. Over record and Lawrence Fry, our
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the past five years, 39 inspections have also yielded zero citations. Last year saw the company achieve an average health and safety audit score of 86.15 percent, a new record. As well as attracting customers, these elements make Helix equally appealing as a place to work. There is a steady stream of high profile projects to work on and plenty of opportunity for employees to move up and along within the company’s ranks. “We have opportunities for people to grow,” Fuchs says. “We have a tremendous amount of
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backlog, which gives our people a significant amount of stability and job security. Our people know there’s steady work here.” There’s a very strong focus on in-house training. Helix promotes internships by partnering with a variety of mainstream colleges and has their very own academy, “Helix University”, which has existed since the organization was founded, and offers ongoing classes for their employees.
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Giving back
Over the years Helix has regularly been involved with many philanthropic causes. “We do a lot of charitable work. We raise money for charitable organizations chosen by our employees and we do biannual golf fundraisers,” Fuchs says. The Helix Golf Tournament raises money for various charities, including the Down Syndrome Organization of Southern Nevada and the 22 Warriors Foundation, a non-profit body dedicated to putting a stop to veterans’ suicides. Last year’s tournaments alone raised close to $15,000. Other endeavors have included giving toys to children whose parents cannot afford them. In the run-up to Christmas, and in February this year, Helix won an award for donating to the “Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program”, an initiative to help students with limited economic means attend private schools. These factors all contribute to Helix remaining one of the most successful and responsible electrical contractor in Nevada. Fuchs says
it’s all down to its people. “The commitment and dedication of our people, and our management’s dedication to our people, equates to training opportunities, benefits, and longevity.” Looking ahead, Helix’s Nevada objectives are bold ones. Fuchs is targeting business wins of more than $140 million, with $25 million in sales coming from Reno and northern Nevada. Maturation of the Reno office’s operations, with a formulated strategy and leadership structure in place, are key operational targets also in place for 2017. This all feeds into where Fuchs sees Helix in the next few years. “Hopefully a leader of the market, with a very strong backlog of doing the key projects in Nevada,” he concludes.
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2205 Glendale Ave. Suite 147, Sparks, NV 89431 Tel. 775.440.2391 www.helixelectric.com