New hospital installation saves time with ViegaTrios Hospital began as the Kennewick General Hospital in 1952 and has grown to become a primary service care provider for the Tri-Cities area of Washington, Kennewick, Pasco and Richland. Trios Southridge Hospital is the newest addition to the Trios Health network.

In June 2012, Trios Health broke ground on a new hospital at Southridge in Kennewick, where Apollo Mechanical Contractors installed Viega ProPress® and Viega MegaPress® systems.

David Brons of Apollo Mechanical Contractors is the General Foreman at the Trios Southridge Hospital project. Apollo Mechanical, a certified Native-American-owned business and the second largest contractor in Washington State, is installing Viega ProPress systems up to 4" for domestic water and hydronics and Viega MegaPressG up to 2" for fuel oil and natural gas.

“I remember the first time I saw the Viega system,” Brons said. “I immediately went searching for a stock option because I knew it was a moneymaker in our industry.”

According to Brons, Viega ProPress fittings were installed with around 30,000 feet of copper tube and Viega MegaPress will be installed with approximately 1,500 feet of black iron pipe.

“There are so many different systems,” Brons said. “We’re looking at about 15 different systems from plastics to stainless to carbon to med gas. That’s been the biggest obstacle is keeping it straight and making sure the right stuff is being installed in the right place. Thus far it’s been good. It’s been an excellent job.”

Apollo Mechanical has been using Viega ProPress systems for many years and Brons and his team appreciate the amount of time they save on the job.

“We love the fact that we don’t have to use torches all over the place,” Brons said, “avoiding all the challenges that come with having an open flame in a building. The guys just love the system. The simplicity of Viega systems is wonderful.”

CUSTOMER: Kennewick General Hospital

APPLICATION: Domestic water, hydronics, fuel oil & natural gas

LOCATION: Kennewick, WA

CONTRACTOR: Apollo Mechanical Contractors

We love the fact that we don’t have to use torches all over the place avoiding all the challenges that come with having an open flame in a building.

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©2014 Viega LLC

The Trios Southridge Hospital project is Apollo Mechanical’s first experience with the Viega MegaPressG system. Viega MegaPress for black iron pipe is the only approved carbon steel press fitting for both water and gas applications.

“It’s just like the Viega ProPress as far as the simplicity of it,” Brons said. “The number one thing is that it’s going to save you labor hours. I do a lot of work in hospitals and it’s an excellent product for anywhere where an open flame is a hazard. New construction is a different deal but whenever you’re talking a DOE project, I would recommend it in those applications due to the complexity of getting burn permits and all the things that go along with it.”

Brons was first introduced to Viega ProPress when he was working on an existing hospital doing a tie-in on a water main.

“When you’re dealing with that situation, you can’t have things go wrong,” Brons said. “And that’s exactly what happened. We didn’t get a joint pressed on the water main before we turned on the water and we had Niagara Falls, but when we put the gun up there and it sealed tight as a drum, I was completely sold.”

Brons and his team love the fact that they can test Viega ProPress and Viega MegaPress systems to make sure that connections

are secure. Viega press systems are the only press fittings with the patented Viega Smart Connect® feature, which allows installers to easily verify that connections have been pressed.

“It’s so solid,” Brons said. “Even if you do have a leak, it’s just a joint that got skipped. You just have to go back and pull the trigger and seal it up. It’s amazing.”

Trios Southridge Hospital opened on July 15, 2014. It is a 170,000- square-foot facility with three stories in addition to a daylight basement. It features 74 licensed beds and 27 emergency and trauma services rooms. Additionally, many of its amenities are energy efficient.

“We’re looking forward to seeing more Viega MegaPress fittings come out,” Brons said. “For an occupied facility to not have to use an open flame to modify or install the system, there’s nothing better than Viega systems.”

For more information on Viega products, visit www.Viega.us, or call toll free: 800-976-9819.