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CONSTRUCTION
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(210) 308-5800
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Volume 16
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Number 7
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JULY 2017
Concepts in comfort
Business of faith
L-R: Tracey Reichanadter and Scott Roberts, owners of 360 Comfort Concepts
L-R: JR and Meredith Ketter
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60 Comfort Concepts, an HVAC mechanical shop specializing in geothermo energy is relatively new to the Austin market. The company is in its seventh month of operation having been formed in November of 2016 with the purchase of Action Mechanical Services in February 2017. Scott Roberts and Tracey Reichanadter, co-owners of 360 Comfort Concepts are no strangers to the HVAC industry. Roberts grew up in his father’s mechanical, HVAC, plumbing and geo-thermo company, Roberts Service Company in Niles, MI from the age of 12. While doing consulting work for another company in Florida, Roberts met the owner of Action Mechanical Services, Tom Romberg from Austin. Both having
an interest in geo-thermo and the arguments of water-based versus refrigerant based and understanding the differences between the soils in Michigan and Texas, Roberts began consulting work for Romberg. With Romberg ready to retire, Roberts purchased Austin Mechanical Services. The business changed its name to 360 Comfort Concepts partially due to Reichanadter’s background, which is in business development and marketing and wanting to position the company differently in the market place, not necessarily just as a mechanical contractor but as a consulting comfort specialist. “Whether it is straight up HVAC or radiant floor heat or radiant ceiling heat to continued on Page 17
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ith high Christian values, JR and his wife Meredith have built their company with Christian values. “Through the guidance of our Lord, Jesus Christ, JBK Electric was established. We are a small and relatively young company with old fashion values. “We try to price everything more than fair, but the installation and the quality is huge for me because if it’s going to be there, I want it to be there until after I’m dead and gone and still have no issues. That’s the way I was brought up in the trade. You should not go back on the warranty because it’s something you did faulty. Your equipment should fail before your workmanship does,” says JR Ketter, owner of JBK Electric.” Having worked as an electrician his en-
tire life from helping out his dad as a teenager in Midland, to working with larger electrical contractors as an adult, the day finally came that he decided he was ready to start up his own company. After praying about it for a year, he finally made that call to his then employer and told him he was going to strike out on his own. With the support of his employer who knew that day was coming, he did just that. Taking on small jobs here and there, he kept seeing a steady progression. “We did a lot of work on Sixth Street and a lot of that work came from word of mouth. Being in the trade so long, everything was pulled pipe and wire whereas now days, everybody takes a short cut using MC for everything. My dad was in the continued on Page 17
Innovative construction
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he Cedar Park area is rapidly growing. CP Discovery Partners Ltd., and its relationship with Primus, a partnership formed with Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) and Kemp Partners, met those needs with the construction and opening of the newest ARC location in Cedar Park. “The project was built on a parcel that housed three existing buildings, and the piece of property had to be carved out and subdivided,” says Mike Nazar, founder and president of Austin Canyon Corporation. As all projects do, this one came with a unique set of challenges, some from the very start. “Due to the slope of the property, we had to raise the site to make the drainage work. The solution involved combing the existing detention and filtration systems with the new. The site had to be built up so as to allow for enough of a slope for the combined systems to drain properly.” Architectural firm, Office of Architec-
ture in Wimberley, designed the 20,287sf two-story clinic. The project includes 52 exam rooms; two procedure rooms, doctors’ and nurses’ work stations, a lab, offices and physicians’ lounges. The new facility will incorporate an electronic medical recording system. The architect utilized a product manufactured by San Marcos-based Bautex Systems LLC, known for its innovative wall system designed to construct energy efficiency and a healthier, safer and more comfortable working environment in its design. Bautex is an insulated concrete form (ICF) which increases the efficiency of R Value of the building significantly and lowers the electric and utility costs. The proprietary Bautex Block is manufactured from a mix of expanded foam plastic, cement and recycled materials. The lightweight blocks, while larger than traditional concrete masonry units, are strong enough to create wall systems for multi-story buildings, yet Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) Medical Center, Cedar Park
continued on Page 17