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Spring 2008 |
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Watts Receives
Platinum Award from ACEC |
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Watts
has received the Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence by the American
Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC NY) for our design of New
York State Route 20 over the Tonawanda Creek.
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The awards honor projects in numerous categories including studies and
research, building/technology systems, structural systems, surveying and
mapping, environmental, water and wastewater, water resources,
transportation and special projects. Over 650 ACEC members attended the
41st annual ceremony and Kari Byron of the Discovery Channel show, “Myth
Busters” was the Master of Ceremonies.
The project has had a positive economic effect because it was an investment
in New York State’s transportation infrastructure. The project has reduced
the potential for future flooding in the area which will have a positive
impact on public health and safety, and the economy.
This years
Platinum Award is Watts’ third award received in the past four years. |
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New Member Added to MEP Department |
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Mr. Lindstrom has used this system for Verizon’s
Central Offices throughout New York State including the Friendship, Belmont
and Hinsdale facilities. Each of these systems has been operating for more
than 20 years with no problems, just high efficiency and happy customers.
Recently, Mr. Lindstrom completed a geothermal project
at SUNY Brockport. The 204 bed, seven-building town house project
eliminated all outside condensing units, there are no flues through the roof
and it provides great energy savings.
“They love it!” said Mr. Lindstrom, “It is probably
the greatest success story. There is more energy savings than predicted,
which allows the owner to pay off their loan faster or they can offer lower
rent to the students.” 
Along with commercial and school projects, Mr. Lindstrom has worked on many
residences throughout western New York. He certainly is a great addition to
the Watts Team. |
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Watts
is pleased to announce that
 Joseph
Lindstrom
has joined the firm’s Mechanical, Electrical and
Plumbing Engineering Department as a Senior Mechanical Engineer and Project
Manager.
Mr. Lindstrom has nearly 30 years of mechanical
engineering experience and has been involved with hundreds of HVAC projects
throughout New York and across the Country. He has expertise in all phases
of HVAC Design and Construction Projects for educational, commercial,
institutional and industrial facilities. Specifically, Mr. Lindstrom
has been involved with various geothermal heat pump systems throughout New
York State.
Geothermal heat pumps use the natural heat storage
capacity of the earth or ground water to provide energy-efficient heating
and cooling. This system is 30 to 40 percent more efficient than a
traditional gas fired furnace with DX cooling which is found in most homes.
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Spring 2008
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Architecture+Education Honored |
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Watts Designated for a
NYSOPRHP Term
Contract |
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Architecture
+ Education was the recent recipient of a New York State Council of the Arts
grant along with the Buffalo Alliance for Education Corporate Silver Award.
Erika Abbondanzieri
served on the planning committee and is now the
chairperson;
Ed Watts, Jr.
and
Dan Keefe
both participated in the event which paired teachers
and architects. All three went into classrooms and worked with the teachers
and students on projects which were exhibited at CEPA Gallery in the Market
Arcade. Watts was also a corporate sponsor of the program.
Architecture + Education (A+E) uses architecture as a
tool for building understanding of the world around us. The program was
successfully piloted in 2007 with the support of Buffalo Public Schools
Superintendent, Dr. James Williams. Conceived as a way to utilize the
ongoing Buffalo Joint Schools Construction Project as a learning and
outreach tool for the Buffalo community at large, A+E specifically targets
students and teachers at the schools undergoing major renovations.
Teacher-Architect teams develop curriculums which use architecture and
design as a vehicle through which they can link their studies to the wider
architectural world and City of Buffalo.
Planning for next year’s event is currently underway. |
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Watts
is pleased to announce that we have been selected for a three year A/E term
contract by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical
Preservation (NYSOPRHP).
The contract includes Allegany, Genesee and Niagara State Parks Regions.
Watts will provide architectural, engineering, environmental, civil,
transportation, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering
services throughout the duration of the contract.
Although specific projects have not been determined yet, they typically
involve individual assignments including project design, phase studies,
investigations, environmental assessments, reports and related services in
support of the capital program for Park facilities.
Future City Competition
 The
Future City Competition is an event that is held every January in cities all
across the country as a part of National Engineers Week.
Middle School students from approximately 30 schools across Western New York
meet at Mt. St. Mary’s Academy in Kenmore to present technology themed city
designs for various awards and prizes. The students who place first are
sent to the National Competition in Washington, DC every year to compete
against other first place winners from other cities.
This year, Buffalo was represented by Nativity of Our Lord School in Orchard
Park with their city, “La Ville Sur L’eau” which is a futuristic design of
New Orleans in the year 2215. The Heritage Middle School team from
Westerville, Ohio took first place at the National competition this year.
This competition is a way to introduce students to engineering,
architecture, and urban planning in an engaging way. This is the fifth year
that
Ed Watts, Jr.
has participated as judge in the competition, helping to select the
finalists and winners in different categories. |
Spring 2008
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NFPA Seminar On Sprinkler Design
John
Lucenti, Jr.,
of the MEP department, recently attended a National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) seminar in Atlanta, Georgia. The seminar
focused on the designing of sprinkler systems according to the
NFPA
 13
Code Book: Installation of Sprinkler Systems.
During the two day seminar, which took place April 1st
and 2nd, many topics were covered including: how to calculate sprinkler
systems; select density and remote area of a system; and selecting the
appropriate k-value and c-factor for each system.
“I now have an improved understanding of sprinkler
system design.” said Mr. Lucenti.
NFPA 13: Installation of Sprinkler Systems
provided the latest rules for all aspects of automatic sprinkler system
design and installation. It also covered the character and adequacy of water
supplies and the selection of sprinklers, piping, and valves. |
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Employee Milestones
In December 2007, at the company holiday party,
w e
celebrated a number of Employee Milestones....
Phil
Galbo,
15 Years with
Watts
Tina Muschaweck,
15 Years with Watts
Ken Peters,
15 Years with Watts
Kevin Janik,
10 Years with Watts
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American Heart Walk
 Watts
will be participating in the 2008 American Heart Association’s Heart Walk on
Saturday, September 20th, at the HSBC Arena.
This non-competitive 5k walking event includes teams of employees, family
members, friends and others. Participants raise money to fight heart
disease and stroke, and then walk in the event.
The goal for the event is to raise $550,000. The American Heart Association
has helped protect people of all ages and ethnicities from heart disease and
stroke which claim 910,000 American lives a year.
If
you would like to learn more information on the event, please contact Connie
or Becky. |
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New Employees
Joseph Lindstrom
joined the MEP Department as a Senior Mechanical Engineer and Project
Manager. He has nearly 30 years of experience in mechanical engineering.
He started on January 14th.
Connie Wurstner
joined Watts as the Human Resources Coordinator. She has several years
experience as a Human Resource specialist including 27 years at WIVB-TV (Ch.
4). She started on February 11th.
Jim Waddell
joined the Marketing Department as a Marketing Assistant. He is a recent
graduate from Buffalo State College with his B.A. in Public Communication.
He started on March 24th.
Aaron Henderson
joined the
Architectural Department as an Intern Architect. He is a recent graduate
from UB with his B.S. in Architecture. He will be pursing his Masters this
fall. Aaron began on April 14th. |
Spring 2008
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Watts to Participate in Corporate Challenge |
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Watts
will be participating in the 28th annual JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge®
in Buffalo on June 5th. Watts will be sharing a tent with Bergmann
Associates and Prudent Engineering and all employees are encouraged to
participate.
 The
3.5-mile team event will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2008 with a 6:45 p.m.
race start at Delaware Park. The Corporate Challenge drew 11,500
participants from 380 companies last June, its largest crowd since 2001. The
road race and post-race party has earned a well-deserved reputation as being
“the corporate social event of the year,” with hundreds of companies
reserving tent space in the green expanse of Delaware Park.
This year we will be teaming up with JPMorgan Chase &
Co. for a greener tomorrow. The Corporate Challenge will introduce a variety
of tactics designed to lessen the consumption of energy and paper resources.
The goal is to ultimately have the “greenest” road race in the world by
providing participants with understandable measurements of carbon emissions
saved by our combined efforts.
The entry fee for the 2008 JPMorgan Chase Corporate
Challenge in Buffalo is $28 per person and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation
will make a donation for each participant to a local not-for-profit
organization that will be announced in advance of race night. All
entries must be part of a corporate team. A total of 15 companies (five each
in the men’s, women’s and mixed divisions) will earn an invitation to the
JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship, to be held Saturday,
October 4, in New York City.
Online registration for the 28th annual JPMorgan Chase
Corporate Challenge® in Buffalo is now available at www.jpmorganchasecc.com.
If you have any questions, please see Connie or Becky. |
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 Words
from Marketing
By
John Gorton
I
recently passed out an article to a few people
regarding new-age marketing. The point of this piece was to utilize
YouTube to build relationship marketing. While we all got a few
chuckles envisioning a Watts video online, it did remind me that networking
is still the best marketing tool available to us.
I look at relationship marketing as a win – win for
both the seller and the buyer. If you are like most of us, you will
take more care and pay more attention to a customer that gave us work due to
a relationship. No one wants to face this person and explain why there
are problems on the project. You can never walk away from these type
projects!
Networking or relationship marketing is an activity
all of us should practice. Opportunities are everywhere;
from the societies we belong to all the way to our children’s activities.
Each of us is meeting many varied people during the course of our daily
lives. The challenge is to move the relationship stages from unaware
through curious to fan. It starts with the image you leave answering the
question, “So what is it you do?” If you answer “I’m an engineer or
scientist or biller,” you are going to have to work hard to continue a
fruitful conversation. It is much easier if you answer; “I use my
…..expertise,” to give truth to our slogan Excellence In All We Do!
If you’re not comfortable with that statement try, “I help my clients……”
Give relationship building a try. Remember, the
video camera you see next may be putting you on YouTube! |
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Spring 2008
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