VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 OCTOBER 2008

ELECTRIC TIMESTHE

S E R V I N G T H E E L E C T R I C A L I N D U S T R Y I N A R I Z O N A

The Electric Times2702 N. 3rd Street, Suite 2020Phoenix, AZ 85004

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InsideLetter to the Editor: Prop. 201 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

ROC honors community service at awards banquet . . . . . . . . . . . 3

For Huachuca to get wind power plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Project Focus: Sheraton Phoenix Downtown tops skyline . . . . 6

Third year running for charity demolition derby car . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

STC of Tempe offers green lighting solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

New Industry Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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National company acquires Desert View Electric

Jeff Hipskind is new PJETC Executive Director

Alan M. PetrilloElectric Times

A nationally-recognized electrical con-tractor has expanded its construction servic-es into the Arizona market.

Interstates Construction Services ofSioux Center, Iowa has acquired DesertView Electric in Casa Grande and estab-lished a combined and expanded staff therein a Southwest regional office.

Marvin Barr, senior project managerwho will manage the new office, said “Join-ing with Desert View will allow Interstatesto begin working in this market with anestablished industrial customer base fromthe start.”

Barr pointed out the Casa Grande officewill be staffed by Desert View’s formeremployees, including former owner MikeScott, as well as Interstates’ present crew ofcraft and management personnel in the area.Desert View’s former co-owner, DebbieScott, will be phasing out of the business.

Dave Crumrine, Interstates Constructionpresident, noted that Casa Grande has beenconsistently cited in recent years as one of

the fastest growing regions of the country.“The area is growing demographically

and seems to be under-served industrially,”

Crumrine said. “The Daisy Brand Foods jobhas provided a great start for us, allowing usto get in the area and learn about it.”

Interstates handled a project for DaisyBrand Foods in Casa Grande about a year ago.

As for staffing and seeking new busi-ness, Interstates isn’t sitting on its hands.

“We look forward to moving ahead as alarger team and intend on expanding ourservice to Desert View’s clients while tak-ing advantage of other capital projectopportunities coming to the area,” Crum-rine said. “We are excited about the futureas we combine our expertise and serve ourclients in more places.”

Barr noted that the shared commitmentto understanding a client’s needs and deliv-ering exceptional project results were com-mon elements behind uniting the cultures ofthe two groups.

“We had dealings with Desert View inthe past on a common customer and afterthat job Mike (Scott) and I talked about howwe might work together on a more collabo-rative partnership,” Barr said. “Over themonths we shared help back and forth andeventually came a desire to make them amore solid partner.”

The acquisition of Desert View Electric will allow Interstates tobegin working in the Arizona industrial market.

Kate McDevittElectric Times

Jeff Hipskind isn’t a wireman—andnever has been—but he has spent a lifetimein education.

Now, he’s bringing that experience tothe Phoenix Electrical Joint Apprentice-ship and Training Committee (PEJATC) asits new Executive Director.

Hipskind joined the PEJATC in mid-May and has big plans for the organizationsuch as bringing in more grant money,focusing on green power education andupdating the Web site. Sean Foulk is nowthe training director.

“Personally what my goals are...is toreach out,” Hipskind said. “I don’t believethat a lot of people are really aware of thisopportunity and my goal is to network.”

He added, “In fact, right now I’m work-ing on a brand new brochure that we canuse as a marketing tool.”

The PEJATC is a joint venture of theInternational Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers (IBEW) Local Union 640 and theArizona Chapter of the National ElectricalContractors Association (NECA) estab-lished in 1943, according to the organiza-tion, to develop and maintain the best-trained workforce in the electrical industry.The apprenticeship program allows stu-dents to earn pay and benefits while learn-ing the skills needed to be an ApprenticeInside Wireman. The PEJATC also pro-vides upgrade training to IBEW/NECAmembers to sharpen their skills and stay ontop of new technology.

Jeff Hipskind is the new PEJATC Executive Director.

See ‘Desert View Electric’ page 6

See ‘Hipskind’ page 9

He pointed out several reasons for bring-ing the two companies together, including areputation on the part of each company forserving clients well, a strong and satisfiedclient base, an experienced team of crafts-men and field leaders in the area and a sim-ilar philosophy for doing business that hasworked for both Interstates and DesertView.

“It’s a perfect match culturally,” Barrsaid. “We come from humble beginnings onboth sides, and share strong reputations forserving clients, having experienced peopleand similar business philosophies.”

Desert View Electric was founded in1996 and specializes in commercial, indus-trial and agricultural electrical constructionin the southwest Arizona area.

Scott said he and his wife reviewed theInterstates philosophy toward business andfound that it closely mirrored that of DesertView Electric.

“As we got to know them better, wefound out it was a perfect marriage,” hesaid. “I didn’t think that was possible, buteven though they’re a large company, theystill ensure that the customers, clients andemployees are all cared for properly.”

Scott cited his brother-in-law, MikePool, with playing a big part in the successof Desert View Electric, which allowed themeeting of minds with Interstates.

“One of our concerns was making surethat those who helped build Desert ViewElectric, our employees and clients, wereconsidered in the merger,” Scott noted. “Webelieve both our clients and employees arebetter off with the new company.”

Scott will move into a position as direc-tor of client development, “making sure ofrelationships with existing clients and pur-

suing new customers,” he said. “We had toturn down a lot of work in the past fewyears because we didn’t have things inplace to handle them, but now we’ll begoing after them again.”

Interstates Construction Services beganon the front porch of John A. Franken’shome in the early 1950s as a television salesbusiness. He soon added additional servic-es, such as installation of antennas andpower receptacles. Before long, the electri-cal business occupied more of his time and

eventually led to commercial projects andindustrial work by the early 1960s. Fromthere, Interstates built its reputation bybeing one of the largest traveling industrialelectric contractors in the United States.

Interstates Construction Services spe-cializes in high voltage and low voltagepower distribution, control wiring and light-ing for industrial and hazardous facilities inindustries such as food, beverage and value-added architecture.

In addition, the firm also has sister com-

panies—Interstates Engineering, InterstatesInstrumentation and Interstates ControlSystems—that offer full service design-build electrical contracting, engineering,instrumentation and control systems on aworldwide basis.

Besides the corporate offices in SiouxCenter, Interstates has regional offices inOmaha, Neb.; Nashville, Tenn.; FortCollins, Colo.; and Sioux Falls, S.D..

Jayme CookElectric Times

As summer finally fades out in the val-ley, the weather isn’t the only excitingchange for Phoenicians. Oct. 1 marked thegrand opening of the $350 million high-riseSheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel, draw-ing out Mayor Phil Gordon to attend the rib-bon cutting ceremony. The 31-floor struc-ture, located at 340 N. 3rd Street on thenortheast corner of Van Buren, now standsas the tallest hotel tower in downtown, sur-passing the 24-floor former reigning giant,The Hyatt.

Perini Building Company Project Man-ager Steve Field reported, “We’re just wrap-ping this (Sheraton) up right now. We’re sixweeks ahead of schedule and we actuallyjust turned over the hotel to the Sheratonpeople who are getting ready to open up atthe end of the month. It’s been a good proj-ect.”

City of Phoenix Project Manager JerryHarper stated that the new Sheraton wouldprovide much needed accommodation inthe growing area. “We’re adding 1,000rooms to downtown to compliment theexpansion of the (Phoenix) ConventionCenter that’s currently underway.”

The $600 million expansion of the

Phoenix Convention Center is scheduled tobe completed January of 2009 and the newSheraton hotel was designed specifically toaccommodate this expansion with sophisti-cation and style, boasting a fitness center,outdoor pool and sundeck, state-of-the-artmeeting spaces, plus a ballroom and juniorballroom. The project created plenty ofwork for the HVAC and electrical contrac-tors.

University Mechanical & Engineeringbegan work on the Sheraton Downtown in2006. “The entire project took about twoand a half years,” said Tim Lentz, projectmanager. “We had a crew that topped out at105. It’s not like your average office build-ing here. There are different, strict stan-dards for a hotel. But overall it was a fairlystandard job.”

Project Manager Rich Hare of RosendinElectric agreed that the job was well organ-ized and proceeded smoothly. “It wasn’t adifficult job, there was just a lot of work todo but we finished and ahead of schedule atthat.”

The finished project is designed toreflect its environment; even the architec-ture of the structure was engineered to echothe unique southwestern surrounding. The“cloud-like” white rooftop turns translucent

at night and the exterior color palette radi-ates yellow, orange and brown, representinga desert sunset. The sloping rooftop isrumored to mirror the shape of CamelbackMountain.

Though the hotel’s purpose is to provide

rooms for the anticipated visitors who’ll beflocking to the valley’s newest attractions,the Phoenix Sheraton Downtown nowstands tall against the skyline, a harbingerof big changes on the horizon for the down-town Phoenix area.

THE ELECTRIC TIMESPAGE 6 • OCTOBER 2008

Project focus: Sheraton Phoenix Downtown tops skyline

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, officials and hundreds of spectators attend-ed the official opening of the Downtown Sheraton on Oct. 1.

Desert View ElectricContinued from page 1

Phoenix, Ariz. – Allied Group Sales,Inc. (AGS) of Phoenix has been appointedas the representative for Gregory G-Strutin the Arizona, Las Vegas, New Mexicoand El Paso, Texas territories effectiveSept. 8, 2008.

Gregory G-Strut has been a major sup-

plier to the electrical industry for morethan 11 years.

According to AGS, Gregory G-Strutchannel, Galvanneal WIZcoat Strut chan-nel and Wizard line accessories make com-plex mounting or hanging projects easy.Whether new construction or retrofit proj-

ects, the combination of G-Strut channelconfigurations and hundreds of Wizardline accessories means unlimited ways tocomplete the job with flexibility.

Gregory G-Strut will be stocked in thelocal AGS warehouse in Phoenix.

Jason Elgin, Russ Eddleman, John

Abberton, Rick Jacobson, Kathie Toscano,Karen Moffett, Mick Upchurch, and DonKaminski will cover Arizona. Gene Mar-tindale will handle Las Vegas, with JamieFabian as inside sales for Arizona and LasVegas.

Allied Group Sales appointed to represent Gregory G-Strut