US to spend $200 mn a day on Obama's Mumbai visit

US to spend $200 mn a day on Obama's Mumbai visit

The day we do not get worked-up over this kind of big government waste is the day we stop being the greatest country in the world. I think that is why the Tea Party has been such a force this political season, and why they will continue to be a force by throwing out politians regarless of their political affiliation, if they continue to waste our hard earned money (via taxes) like this.

Jeff Littman, the passing of a cousin, a friend, a legend!

Jeff Littman was the kind of a person that made heads turn wherever he went, no matter what he was doing. Someone said when remembering him that he was a "polarizing figure", how true a statement.

Jeff and my wife Vicki are cousins and come from a huge family (I swear they make up half of Cudahy). They are a tight family and when I first met them in the mid 80's I would guess that 98% of them still lived in Cudahy or South Milwaukee. The 2% that lived "somewhere else" were Vicki and Jeff, which may explain why they have been like peas as carrots as long as I have known them.

This fact also made getting to know Jeff easy, and certainly he was much easier to remember. Which is why when I was threatened to be quizzed on the names of over 11 aunts and uncles and 30+ cousins and spouses by my soon to be wife, remembering Jeff was a piece of cake. It also turned out that I had something in common with Jeff that was unique in this vast family; bicycle racing.

As my family grew, Jeff's involvement in our daily lives grew as well. It began with my First Wisconsin cycling team competing against his Vic Tanny cycling team. In particular we competed furiously for the State Cup team and individual titles each year.

I recall one particular year when my teammate Dean Gore and Jeff's teammate Robbie Ventura were neck and neck in points going into the final weekend of racing. Jeff predicted that Robbie would win the individual title and Vic Tanny the team title. The trouble was, he was focused on racing 30+ and could only watch as I helped secure the title for Dean by how should I say it nicely, by "neutralizing" Robbie prior to the final corner of the final lap on the final weekend of racing for the year. Trust me, Robbie is not nearly as pleasant in those situations as he is when he is interviewing Alberto Contador, and this is probably why you will never see me as a guest of Robbie’s when he does interviews at the Tour de France for Versus.

After that season and after some 15 years of racing at the highest level I retired from cycling and helped raise my family and support my wife's budding triathlon career. Several years and a few pounds later, Jeff talked me into coming back and riding for his new Team Wisconsin team of 30+ cyclist; the big red machine as they were know. Jeff recalled how "ruthless" or perhaps how "loyal" a teammate I was at the end of my cycling career and asked if I would help his team out. Jeff had surrounded himself with exceptionally well conditioned "older" guys and didn't really need my help as they were already sweeping races all over the Midwest. But this did get me off my butt and back into racing shape, something I will always be grateful for.

Ultimately, our involvement with Jeff included/concluded with Jeff and my wife Vicki collaborating together in business, he with his health clubs and her with her Chiropractic practice.

Some of my best memories of Jeff:
Jeff seemed to have had regular appointments with the pavement at the end of races, something I attributed to him treating his bicycle like it was a "Universal Weight Machine". He got better at that with time, but while assembling photos of Jeff for a board we brought to the funeral, he still seemed to be squeezing his handle bars together like he was America's polka king, Frank Yankovic.

It has been said by others, but his obsession with Lycra was unmatched. I distinctly recall him asking me each year that I raced for him, “Fisher, what size skin suit do you want, large?” Being somewhat conscious of my expanded girth after several years of hibernation from cycling I replied, “I will take bib shorts and a large jersey.” I got the skin suit anyway; after all it was a pre-requisite when you raced for Jeff. In fact the other day I went through my old cycling kits and realized I still have 6 barely worn skin suits from the various configurations of Team Wisconsin, complete with matching arm warmers. I had even cut the sleeves off several of them, something Jeff did not know but would have made him proud.

Perhaps my most vivid memory of Jeff has to be a time that we were in Arizona for one of those famous training weeks. Jeff always’ had to leave Arizona with the most miles on his computer of course, and in order to accomplish this he would often sneak an extra ride or two in by attending the Tuesday and Thursday morning “shoot-outs” with the local Pro 1 & 2 cyclists from AZ. These 35 mile rides were not for the faint of heart and on one particular cool Tuesday morning I went along for the ride. It didn't take long for Jeff to realize and inform me that this particular ride was to include going up the steep side of “Gates Pass”. For those that have been there you know of what I speak, it is an extremely steep climb in the 18% grade range, hell it might as well have been 28% from my perspective. For those who know me, its no secret that I hate climbing with a passion equal to Jeff’s love for Lycra. As the ride approached the entrance of the McCain loop I decided to duck out and get a head start climbing Gates Pass and wait and watch the fireworks from the top of the pass.

What an amazing vantage point to watch extremely fit cyclist climb this one mile beast. I had concluded that Jeff would be at or very near the front as he loved to attack Gates Pass with every fiber of his being. The riders hit the base of Gates Pass at amazingly high speeds considering they were already going slightly up hill. As the riders began coming into view I discovered that Jeff was not among the leaders. The first 10 were over, then the next 10, then 10 more… all waiting at the top for the rest of the group to crest the pass. Then suddenly a grunting noise and a hulkish figure with brand new “white tiger” tattoos visible on the shoulders thanks to a sleeveless skin-suit could be seen rocking his bike from side to side, seeming to be going in slow motion to the point that it looked like his knuckles were scrapping the pavement with each pedal stroke. Finally the "legend" reaches the top of the pass and screams, “big chain ring”.

Was he showing off or was his perfectly tuned bike (and they were always’ perfectly tuned) really unable to drop the chain from the big ring to the small one? I will leave that one for you all to figure out. For me that was simply Jeff Littman, the legend.

I will miss you Jeff!

"...in a van down by the river"

Of course this is just "my opinion" but how messed-up will it be when we have to report all business transactions over $600. Imagine the hassle of having to request 1099's from each and every vendor. As an employee of a design|build general contractor I think I can speak for the ownership when I write that we are not looking forward to this kind of "change". This kind of "change" is nothing more than a one way "high speed rail" ticket to "living in a van down by the river."

Metal Architecture : Metal Architecture

Anderson-Ashton, Inc. is written up in Metal Architecture Magazine for our designbuild project for the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center's "Flight for Life" helicopter hangar located at Crites Field in Waukesha, WI.

Follow this link for the story:
Metal Architecture : Metal Architecture

YouTube - Governor Christie Responds To Teacher During Town Hall

YouTube - Governor Christie Responds To Teacher During Town Hall

This guy has a way with words, got to love it.

Life Cycle Assessments - Another way of looking at "Green".

Here is an excellent article that drills down into the concepts of sustainable design being more than sun shades, recycled carpet, and low V.O.C. paints. A recent article in Metalmag (an industry leading publication on all things metal) looks at the importants of Life Cycle Assessments and how they impact sustainable design. If your place of business happens to be in a pre-engineered building then you are a pioneer. If you are looking to build new, read this article and become a pioneer without spending a fortune in doing so.

Here is the article, http://mydigimag.rrd.com/display_article.php?id=459575 please pass it on.

Redefining how we design and build buildings in Milwaukee.

I've talked about it before and I will continue to talk about it until I am blue in the face. The best, most energy efficient, and cost effective solution to designing and building a building in SE Wisconsin is to go the pre-engineered route.



Pre-engineered means:

• Technologies that insure all structural pieces fit together thanks to pre-punching of primary and secondary structurals and most recently through the use of BIM technology.


• Pre-punching by Butler Mfg. means primary and secondary structurals go together quickly and effortlessly during the installation phase.


• BIM (Building Information Modeling) means that buildings are virtually built by the supplier (in our case Butler Manufacturing) prior to fabrication.


• BIM allows for the sharing of data across the domains of construction building the road map to a building.


• BIM resolves conflicts that can occur in the field before a building system ever leaves the plant.


• BIM insures faster project delivery, improved quality and lower costs.


• BIM is "green".

Pre-engineered buildings that Anderson-Ashton has designed and built in the past 3 years include the following:



Self Storage of Brookfield http://picasaweb.google.com/Andersonashton/SSofBNewsletterPhotos#



Flight for Life - Crites Field
http://picasaweb.google.com/Andersonashton/FlightForLifeForNewsletter#



Qdoba Plaza - Mt. Pleasant
http://picasaweb.google.com/Andersonashton/QdobaPlazaNewsletterPhotos?authkey=Gv1sRgCJTSgYmwyYXfMA&feat=directlink

While these are good examples of our pre-engineered building work, it is still difficult to convince municipalities to open up to the pre-engineered building idea. I have one more link that I would like to share that I would appreciate anyone reading this to spread around to building owners, developers, brokers, and municipal leaders.

This link: http://butlermfg.com/includes/download.asp?type=literature&id=1003
to a quarterly newsletter put out by Butler Mfg. highlights excellent examples of pre-engineered buildings that would fit in any municipality.

If you know a planner or community development director from the Milwaukee Metro area let them know that there are building types that can be built for less, look good, and fit into any "Municipal Green Initiative".

And now for something completely different

(click here)

So what could be so "completely different" that I would take it to a blog posting you ask? Its a product at my disposal that could easily change the way retail, office, and institutional buildings are built.

Koreteck is a revolutionary wall type that was recently voted the most "sustainable" by one of our countries largest retail chains. I have talked many times about "pre-engineered" construction being the 'greenest" most "sustainable" building type on the market, well Koreteck takes this claim to astonishing new levels.

Assuming a foundation is in place, imagine being able to offer the flexibility to enclose a retail center, grocery store, or medical clinic during the meat of one of our harsh Wisconsin winters, and imagine being able to do so without incurring any winter construction costs; sound interesting?

Imagine how pleased a retail developer would be if they could realize a cost savings of between 35% to 50% due to a reduction in cooling needs thanks to the design and performance of the Koreteck wall panel. Or how pleased they will be when you cut 15% to 25% out of the construction time to boot.

Skeptical? Check out this video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueBO9L4DxDs&feature=youtu.be&a then call me for more details, I would be happy to show you a living example of a building built with this product plus all the back-up anyone would require should they still be skeptical. (262) 613-4015

How to get the most out of a Pre-engineered Metal Building

Did you know?

I have talked several times about how easy it can be to "go green without spending it", and have promised examples of how to achieve this. Now I want to take look at the best example of how to incorporate "sustainability" and "energy efficiency" via the most versatile of building types, the "pre-engineered metal building." You know the ones I am talking about, they're scattered around the Milwaukee Metro area and are probably over 15 years old.

Renovating and/or expanding an existing pre-engineered building is an easy and affordable solution to gaining extra space. It is also an inexpensive way to make your building look new again, and best of all you can make your building energy efficient all for a fraction of the price of building new.


Re-Roof Metal over Metal

This simple procedure of going over an old or leaky metal roof allows an occupant the ability to continue their daily business uninterrupted while we add 3” to 6” of blanket insulation between your old roof and a new MR-24 standing seam roof system from Butler Mfg. The MR-24 standing seam metal roof has been field documented to last up to and beyond 40 years, and is the most specified standing seam roof in the world. The MR-24 roof panel is a green product comprised of up to 40% recycled content, and is itself 100% recyclable.


New Walls

Re-skinning an existing pre-engineered building in most municipalities is not an easy task when those same municipalities are not themselves big fans of corrugated metal wall panels. Since many of the pre-engineered buildings in older Industrial Parks are clad with corrugated metal wall panels, you need to be armed with cost effective and energy efficient wall solutions. There are several cost effective & energy efficient wall solutions that can make any building look new, and at the same time provide energy savings, all at a fraction of the cost of erecting a new masonry veneer. Like the MR-24 roof panel, our wall panels are made with up to 40% recycled content and are themselves 100% recyclable.


Insulation

Most pre-engineered buildings built before 1990 came with either 3” or 4” inches of foil faced insulation with R-values of R-10 & R-13 respectively. Since then a typical pre-engineered building comes specified with 6” of foil faced insulation and an R-19 rating. For less than the cost to re-roof a building Anderson-Ashton can retrofit an insulation system capable of achieving an R-25 to an R-38 rating. This system covers old purlins and girts with a bright white washable sound absorbing surface that can be installed on both the roof and the walls giving your building interior a brand new look while saving up to 60% on your heating bill. It also does a terrific job of keeping buildings cool in summer, an added bonus that has been shown to increase employee productivity.


Insulation w/ Energy Efficient Lighting

This example of an insulation retrofit shows how effective our insulation system can be when coupled with new energy efficient high-bay industrial fluorescent light fixtures. Add a little white paint to the exposed structural frames and your building will look as good as new.
Our experience has shown that you will save on your monthly utility costs, and best of all your employees will be thanking you time and again for thinking about their comfort in the workplace. If you are looking to sell your facility, a retrofit like this will give you the competitive edge over similar pre-engineered buildings.

Incentives, Rebates, & Other Programs
The best part of any interior retrofit offered by Anderson-Ashton is our ability to tie this work into several different programs designed to accelerate a building owners R.O.I. We can also factor in Focus on Energy incentives, and government sponsored revolving loan programs. We also have access to tax incentives for the instillation of energy efficient products such as high R-value insulation, high efficiency light fixtures, and much, much more.

It's not so bad, just click on this Monty Python link and "alway's look on the bright side of life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHhootD0_mQ

Thanks to Bill Fuchs for the idea for the clip!

Time for self examination!

I happen to belong to an industry that has been hit really hard by our current economic down-turn. I have heard that the construction industry is at or near 50% unemployment as we enter 2nd Qtr 2010. The time to panic for many is either upon them or is about to be.

There seem to be several constants that I have noticed lately; the first being a marked increase in inquiries that have lead to several preliminary designs and project budgets. The second constant is a less appealing one, and that's the overnight disappearance of customer loyalty.

So even though activity has increased, the prospect of being the sole source for a project are virtually none existent as potential clients seek multiple bids for everything. And can you blame them for this, no way, not in this economy, not with the unknowns surrounding the new universal health care bill, and most definitely not in the tax hell that is Wisconsin.

It's time for some serious self examination if you ask me. Take my company for example, we have been doing business virtually the same way for over 50 years. In that time we have seen little reason to change the basic business model because we made money. But all that's changed as we have started finding ourselves competing for jobs that in the past we were the sole source for. Like others I have talked too, this simple competitive test has made it necessary to start the self examination process.

This "self examination" needs to go beyond the construction industry if you ask me. It's time for our Federal Government to do some "self examination" instead of trying to "level the playing field for all," or "ram through legislation that creates outrageously high energy standards by applying cap's on carbon emissions," or "regulate the banking industry." Am I the only one that has noticed how hard it is for a company to get a business loan anymore?

Local municipalities need to do some serious "self examining" and decide if this is the time to continue to apply "strict architectural guidelines to industrial parks," requiring "four sided architecture to buildings that back-up to conservancy's, and corn fields," or "to require 8 different bonds andor letters of credit replete with mountains of paperwork," or "to require that new construction projects follow 20+ pages of landscape requirements," or "to employ outside consultants that bill on an hourly basis thus creating mini profit centers by constantly request "more information" on the plans they review."

It would suggest that banks do some self examination but i think they have done that with thanks to our fearless leaders in Washington. Nowits the end user and ultimately my industry that end's up on the raw end when financing cannot secured.

And while I'm at it, what's wrong with Union's doing a little self-examination? I have plenty of examples I could suggest but I don't want to go swimming with the fishes at the bottom of Lake Michigan, so I will leave that one to your imagination.

Without some humble self examination by everyone, I'm afraid that the current state of our economy will at best stay the way it is today, and at worse.....well I don't want to think about what it would be like if it got worse.

How to "go green without spending it"

I have been touting for the past couple of years that Anderson-Ashton, Inc. can help business owners and developers to “go green without spending it”. From those I hear back from, this statement generates two reactions. The first is that of intrigue, the second is to disregard outright. Part of the reason that I started blogging is to satisfy both camps with information and examples, especially to those who would disregard or dismiss the possibility that our approach could actually same them money.


When I am meet with those who are quick to disregard my claims, I am quickly able to interest them by explaining how easy it is to take a new building project, or tweak an existing building, and make it perform more efficiently than a typical building in an affordable way. I am able to quickly and clearly explain to them that by following Anderson-Ashton’s simple approach to going green that we can significantly save them money on their operating expenses, improve the quality of their employee’s work environment, and position them for the day when our current State and Federal bureaucrats pass more sweeping legislation in the form of Cap and Trade.


NEW CONSTRUCTION SO SIMPLE IT’S SCARY
For this particular blog posting I will focus on new construction. You can see some simple things that can be done to an exist building by check out my blog post called “Making old look new again” http://bit.ly/bpbAFI To quote the musical group the Talking Heads, “you may ask yourself, how do I work this” into my building plans. Our approach is so simple it’s scary, but it requires a leap of faith and a willingness to open up to some very basic construction principals that have been around since World War II. If that doesn’t convince someone then consider this:


IS MASONRY ABOUT TO DIE?
Depending on who you talk to, on July 1st of 2010 the federal government will be enacting changes to Wisconsin’s building code that will include the raising of the ASHRAE standards for thermal performance in new construction. If adopted by Wisconsin, this increase in thermal performance will render single wythe masonry load bearing walls useless. As a result design professionals will need to explore alternative building envelop solutions on all future.


THE SOLUTION
Whether a building is Industrial, Commercial, Municipal, Institutional the answer lies in the use of a pre-engineered metal building system. Now before you jump into the dismissive camp you need to consider the following. A pre-engineered metal building system is predominantly comprised of recycled content, 70% in the structural frames, up to 40% in the roof and wall panels. Concerned about metal wall panels, not to worry, we have several wall solutions that replace “wrinkled tin” wall panels that have thermal properties light years ahead of masonry, precast, or even cavity wall solutions.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO CONSIDER A PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDING SOLUTION
It is easy to argue that Industrial building projects that are pre-engineered are the poster child for going green without spending it. But perhaps our most successful green construction project happens to be a commercial retail center that is our most energy efficient and it happens to be pre-engineered. Qdoba Plaza in Mt. Pleasant was constructed using a pre-engineered metal building system with clear spans allowing for the developer total flexibility with demising walls with the 15,000 sq. ft. retail shell. The building has the best standing seam roof in the industry with life cycles pushing 40+ years. Exposed white vinyl faced blanket insulation was easily painted to match tenants interior décor packages and offers fantastic acoustical properties versus an exposed metal deck. The wall system is a state of the art product called Koreteck which we have the exclusive rights too. Koreteck comes with either an R-26.2 or an R-33.6 rating and is completely thermally broken. Independent studies have shown that the Koreteck wall system can reduce heating and cooling bills up to 60% over conventional construction and as a result, a properly designed HVAC system factoring in Koreteck can reduce cooling tonnage up to 35%.

Another example of why going with a pre-engineered building solution would be a wise decision is the following outstandaing example. The Willis A. Smith construction offices in Sarasota FL. is a very attractive building that is both pre-engineered and also happens to be Florida's first privately held LEED Gold facility. Following the link above to the back story on this building and you will quickly see that to go green the pre-engineered way can be both affordable and attractive.

Making old look new again

I love this example of how to make an existing manufacturing facility look new again without spending a lot of money to do so. Once completed this facility will have the entire structural system, roof deck and interior masonry walls painted white.

Notice the difference between the existing ceiling on the left versus the painted joist and deck on the right. Additionally the beat-up and dirty shop floor will be ground down and polished to expose its original light concrete color.

The final piece in the refurb puzzle will be the replacement of the existing metal halide light fixtures with energy efficient T-8 industrial fluorescent fixtures that qualify for Focus on Energy grants.

Already the companies owner has noticed a measurable uptick in the attitudes and performance of his employees as they work in the brighter space.

Cost per/sq.ft

• Paint walls, deck, structurals = $1.21


• Install new high efficiency T-8 fluorescents = $.47


• Grind and polish entire shop floor = $1.80

If one takes the floor grinding and polishing out of the equation, for just a hair over $50,000 an existing 30,000sf building can look brand new again. If you're looking to sell a building you have to ask yourself if its worth $50,000 or $1.68/sq.ft. to make that building look new, especially when you consider the current economy and realize that potential buyers are comparing your building to the many other vacant buildings on the market today.

Spanish Train to Nowhere

I had made a bloggers promise (if there is such a thing) that I would avoid politics in my blogs. I am breaking that promise in today's blog. I am attaching an email that was written by the president of Anderson-Ashton to his respective representatives in Madison (both Republicans) regarding the fiasco that is the "Spanish Train to Nowhere." If the "silent majority" ever needed a voice, I think they have just found it in Dave Miller. I believe that anyone who has followed the developments of our Governor's obsession with trains will relate to the frustration Dave expresses in his letter. Before I say much more I suggest you read what David had to say.

Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:50 PM
To: Rep.Nass
Cc: Sen.Kedzie
Subject: Talgo and the High Speed Train

Steve and Neal,

Are all of the Republicans tied up and muzzled? Why aren't you screaming bloody murder about this high speed train between Milwaukee and Madison? Not only has the planning been done, and the trains purchased via a no bid contract to Talgo of Spain, but the legislature has accepted the $893 million from the Feds for the construction of this project! All of this has happened without a vote or serious input from the public.
I presume that the next step will be to extend the tracks to Minneapolis. Who will pay for that and more importantly, WHO is going to ride this train? The citizens of Wisconsin are going to be saddled with the operating costs of this boondoggle because it will NEVER be able to sustain itself as the limited number of riders will not support it.
Stop acting like you’re impotent and start doing the job you were sent to do at Madison. Someone needs the guts to stand up and introduce a bill to immediately return those funds to Washington and derail this unneeded, misguided, and irresponsible misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Stop the train to nowhere!

David C. Miller
W345 S3681 Moraine Hills Dr.
Dousman, Wi. 53118
262-965-3539

Within five minutes of sending this email, Dave received a response from the office of State Senator Neal Kedzie; it reads as follows:

David,

Thank you for contacting the office of Senator Neal Kedzie regarding the high speed rail. Senator Kedzie has been very outspoken in this regard, and issued a news column a couple of weeks ago, which echoes many of the comments you’ve made. For your review, a link to that column is below:

Click Here to View

In regards to introducing a bill to stop it, at this point in time, that effort would go nowhere, since Democrats control both Houses of the Legislature and all committees which deal with such legislation are under their control. The Joint Finance Committee has already given its approval (even with all Republican members voting in opposition), thus it is highly unlikely – at least at this point – than any legislative action by Republicans would succeed. We simply do not have the numbers to stop them from advancing their agenda in this regard, but certainly hope the political landscape changes sooner rather than later.

Again, thank you for writing on this matter of mutual concern.

Dan Johnson
Chief of Staff
State Senator Neal Kedzie
11th Senate District

Now I find this letter both encouraging and frustrating at the same time. While it is encouraging to us that the State Senate Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee all voted against the Bill, the frustrating part is the "white flag" they seem to be waving on the basis that the Dem's out-number them and therefore their efforts are fruitless.
This defeatist attitude on behalf of Wisconsin's Republicans goes to the heart of Dave's frustration. If these republicans truly feel this is a bad deal for the State, and if they agree that these "Spanish Trains" have cost jobs at say "Super Steel Products", and if the rumors are true that Talgo plans on bringing their own people to the City owned Tower Automotive Site, then draft an opposition Bill with your names on it and force those in opposition to respond.

If you agree with Dave, cut and paste his email and the response from Kedzie's office and send it to your Republican Representative and perhaps suggest that an "opposition bill" might first show your constituents that you have some ba....s, but also that it would look pretty good in a campaign ad come November.

GreenLeaf Inn - Wind Turbine Installation

A critical step in the evolution of the GreenLeaf Inn - Delavan, WI. took place this Thursday the 25th of February. I was fortunate enough to be there to witness the final step in the process, the attachment of the blades and final erection of the Nacelle (the guts) of a the wind turbine.

Attached is a picture the Nacelle inverted to assist in the attachment of the blades.

Also, here is a video of me commenting on the momentous occassion.

More pictures will be posted on Flickr later.

Long-term "green" re-roof solutions

With the new construction business at a virtual stand still in SE Wisconsin, owners are looking to spend less and save money. They are exploring more financially attractive upgrades in opting for that new roof system versus building a new facility.

Butler Manufacturing who we represent in SE Wisconsin is seeing an increase in inquires and requests for quotes and orders for first time retrofit roof customers. As highlighted above, Butler offers several retrofit roof options that are affordable, sustainable or "green", and extremely long lasting. Owners will replace a flat rubber roof as many as 4 times before the MR-24 standing seam roof from Butler finally see's the end of its life. I have plenty of pictures to support the longevity of this product not to mention it comes with a 25yr. weather tight warrenty.

We would great appreciate any opportunity to explore this option, at no cost to the property owner, to whoever maybe in need of a roof replacement, and would desire to score "green" points in the process. Since this roof will far exceed the life span of any rubber roof product, it stands-up to our "go green without spending it pledge" and at the same time will not require the scrutiny of the municipalities that might otherwise stand in the way.

Butler ThermaLiner Insulation System with options available up to R-40

Anderson-Ashton is this areas exclusive contact for this outstanding roof insulation system. This product can also be incorporated into existing roof and reroof opportunities.

The window of opportunity on construction costs is gradually being closed; municipalities need to loosen-up

I found this article http://tinyurl.com/y9mqtes by Alex Carrick (REED Construction Data) to be rather interesting. After a considerable drop in construction pricing from October 2008 to October of 2009, the tides/trends are quickly changing as prices begin to soar. Couple this with the banks tight lending practices and our governors anti-business mentality, and a not so rosy picture starts coming into focus.
Setting aside bank lending for a moment, with retail foreclosures looming, municipalities are going to be faced with an ever growing number of shuttered retail centers and a steep decline in manufacturing starts. Communities that are more business friendly when it comes to engineering requirements and material selections will see their phones ringing far more often than municipalities that require industrial building prospects to make their simple buildings look like a dairy farmer dressed in a tuxedo in a milking parlor.
It doesn't take a rabid Monty Python fan to realize municipalities will need to lighten up and that banks will need to loosen-up so that builders, developers, retailers and manufacturers can afford the material increased for casted in the article by Alex Carrick.

Weather the Storm

This is an excerpt from an article I found entitled "Weathering the Storm - Navigating a Turbulent Market." This piece looks at the current state of the construction market and was delivered to me from Butler Mfg., our pre-engineered metal building supplier. Below is the portion of the article that looks at positive actions to be taken while we all "weather the storm." I hope you find this helpful in preparing strategies for dealing with the slow economy.

We are living at a moment when things taken for granted about our world are changing. What those changes might be and how they might affect your business can serve as a starting point for building possible scenarios for business in the next five to 10 years. We offer a few basic scenarios of possible futures for the construction industry to fit the current planning horizon. These straightforward examples are simply drawn here, but each scenario used for planning your strategy should have the elements of being probable within some range of likelihood, challenging, different from each other and contain enough information to allow real decision making. Furthermore, scenarios should be generated based on your particular business, not merely copied from others.
Scenario One
• Markets fall.
• Credit crunch stalls construction.
• Consumer spending tumbles.
• Backlog stagnates and pulls back.
Overcapacity of contractors leads to record business failures.
Prices fall severely, threatening already thin profit margins.
Scenario Two
The market shock is largely over in 2009.
Credit stabilizes for good contractors.
The cost of credit squeezes mediocre contractors out of business.
The Obama administration spends $200 billion on infrastructure over the next five years, creating stability for public and civil-construction markets.
Scenario Three
Traditional construction markets continue to slow, but new opportunities open up for green construction.
Government programs and tax incentives cause a boom in alternative-energy solutions.
The automotive industry is completely restructured, leaving only two major U.S. manufacturers. Closed automotive plants are sold for pennies on the dollar to entrepreneurs who will retool the manufacturing floor to build “the car of the future.”
A growing number of larger contractors are becoming developers with capabilities of delivering integrated projects to design, build, own and operate facilities.

January 22, 2010 - BizTimes

January 22, 2010 - BizTimes
It is nice to see our Eco-Industrial Park getting some postive PR. A great and fair article by Andrew Weiland of the Biz Times about the progress of this project.

Winter Storm Managment for Buildings

Here is some free advice for the management of Winter Storms on Buildings in climates like ours in WI. Feel free to pass along to your maintenance crew, tenants, clients, owners, etc.

Redefining the Industrial Building in a "green" leaning world.

This to me is the ultimate question and has been my ultimate quest for the past 6 years. Folks that are in my industry are finding it a necessary requirement to advance some sort of "green" service to their business, if you haven't then you are being left way behind. The problem I have with this though, is the lack of education and misleading information concerning the "green" movement and for that matter "global warming".

A broker friend of mine, Brian Parrish of the Dickman Company, Inc. ran an online poll via LinkedIN and asked owners of businesses the question of going green and whether or not they would be willing to pay more, less, or the same to become or to be called "green". The conclusion of the poll came down to this; businesses are willing to go "green" but not if it costs them additional money to do so.

On the surface this presents a potentially difficult challenge to those of us in the design and construction industry. Is it possible to deliver a "green" design and building that does not cost more than a non-green version of the same? My answer to that question is yes, yes, yes it can be done, and in the case of industrial buildings it can be done rather easily and I might argue for less than the typical industrial buildings being built around the seven counties comprising SE Wisconsin over the past 10 years.

Over the next few weeks I will go into detail complete with pictures and other data to support this claim. Please feel free to share this and other blogs on this subject especially to those you might know that could take advantage of this information.