Hutchinson recently received the highly coveted Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) “Excellence in Construction” 2017- NJ Project of the Year award for work on the Edison Retail Solutions Project. The award was presented by Chuck Goodrich, ABC’s National Chairman and Mike Bellaman, President of ABC. Hutchinson handled all of Edison’s overall energy needs for its newly relocated 115,000 s/f facility in Pennsauken including lighting and HVAC. Edison Relocates Business Edison, a family-owned and operated company, represents well-known big brand businesses in a variety of industries, including big box retailers across the nation. In 2015, the business acquired Compass, a display company in Georgia, and in 2016 formed Edison Solutions, LLC. Litho had business locations in Moonachie, NJ and Kennesaw, Ga. and with strong urging from the state of New Jersey and the right incentive package, the choice was crystal clear to remain in the Garden State. Once Edison Solutions received Board approval by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) for Grow New Jersey tax credits, things moved quickly. “As soon as Edison Solutions received the green light of approval from the EDA Board, we jumped on the opportunity and knew we wanted to stay in New Jersey,” said Kevin Neureuter, CEO, Edison Solutions. In addition to the Grow NJ tax credits, Edison Solutions also leveraged EDA financing programs, including loans and tax-exempt bonds. As part of its big move, Hutchinson handled all of Edison’s overall energy needs, including lighting and HVAC. “Hutchinson was a great fit – they are large enough to take on a big job like this, are knowledgeable about the services I needed and handled every aspect of the HVAC and lighting upgrades and installation every step of the way,” said Kevin. Edison Solutions closed its Georgia location and combined this location’s services along with finishing and digital services from its North Jersey location into a single facility in Pennsauken.
Challenges tackled head on Edison purchased the building in late December 2016 and needed to be up and running in the Pennsauken location by April 1, 2017. When Hutchinson came into the picture, the building was vacant and previously used as office space so a complete retrofit was required to turn the facility into a manufacturing site. “It was definitely crunch time!” said Pete Hatton, director of commercial services, Hutchinson, “but we put a solid team into place and forged ahead to meet Edison’s deadline.” Energy assessment reveals needs Hutchinson conducted an energy assessment and determined that Edison Solutions needed a complete overhaul of its 30+ year-old HVAC systems and outdated, 30-40 year-old T-12 metal halide production area lighting. Most of building’s existing systems were inoperable. So, timing was of essence to complete load calculation, design build and provide a turn-key design build solution in an efficient manner. Yet, another challenge was retrofitting an everchanging facility. “It wasn’t cut and dry. Our plans changed regularly based on a host of factors but Hutchinson was able to adjust as needed to work within our erratic schedule,” continues Kevin. Mission Accomplished – on time and on budget The Hutchinson team upgraded lighting to linear LED fixtures for the production area and retrofitted LED fixtures for the office area, in compliance with minimum Silver Leed certification. The newly installed HVAC systems are all high efficient package gas rooftop systems equipped with dual enthalpy economizers. For added peace of mind and efficiency, Hutchinson also provided a Wi-Fi controlled solution for in which schedules and temperatures can be adjusted remotely throughout the facility. The energy efficiency upgrades are already demonstrating a cost savings. Even though Edison added air conditioning to this facility, they are still priced under what they were paying in the two other facilities (gas and electric) combined. “Our challenge as a company to relocate our business from North Jersey to Pennsauken was a very difficult task in many ways. Hutchinson was instrumental in making the transition into our new home in a timely and efficient manner,” said Kevin.