TOUR DAY!

Today was tour day once again at the office. Now that the building is nearing completion, it's easier for everyone to see where their workspace will be and how they'll function throughout the building. When Nick first started doing the tours, they only lasted about 30 minutes. Todays tour ran just over an hour. This goes to show there's a lot more to see and more questions to answer.

The metal accoustical ceiling in the main entrance is coming along nicely. The ceiling blends well with the tongue and groove wood ceiling throughout other areas in the building.

In the background, the workers are installing a corrugated steel siding on the walls. This looks like the same type of steel siding that was used on barns back in the 60's & 70's. In the foreground Jerry works on his camera. He's always trying to one up me with his photography skills.

Looking up at the second level, you can see the workers are installing the wood finish on the    exterior of the restrooms.

 

All of the exterior glass is installed with the exception of the radius pieces on the silo (which you can see straight ahead). The polished concrete floor will be one of many attractions in the building. Even though it's quite dusty in the photo, it still has a shine.

 

    Here's a better shot of the ceiling from a bird's eye view.

This is the women's upstairs rest room. There's more toilets in this restroom than we have in the entire current office.  I'm not sure why Nick's raising his hand, he's the one giving the tour.

 The wood siding on the outside of the restrooms is actually tongue and groove flooring.

 

The commerical kitchen is filled with stainless steel appliances and tables. The delivery and installation of these products is a good indication of how close the completion date really is.

 

Break Room or Lunch Room. Whatever you want to call it, it's much larger than the existing one, which has room for about 6 people.

 

 

We even got to step outside to enjoy the rainy weather (again!). This is the patio on the second floor roof. A green roof will extend from the patio. Dr. Jerry's contemplating what kind of test plots he'll plant out here. In the back ground you can see the finished rain screen (siding) that gives the building a barn look. 

As the move in date draws near, there is a mix of emotions at the office. Some people are excited, some are curious as to how the new office will change day to day activity, and understandably so, some may be a little sad as another chapter of the AgroLiquid legacy comes to a close. Personally, I think it's pretty darn cool because it's a perfect representation of what the company has become - a small town success story that has benefited many. The new building will serve as a great work place as well as a destination for visitors to learn about our company and the history of agriculture.

EXTENSION OF PREVIOUS POST

So I learned a few new blogging tricks from the authority on blogging, Dr. Jerry. I'm not the most computer savy, so I learn the tricks a little at a time and let it sink in. Too much at one time causes technological conjestion. It may not seem like much but posting the photos below required the trade secrets Jerry shared with me.

 

Thanks for the tutorial Jerry!!

 

CHECK THIS ONE OFF THE LIST

We received the certificate of occupancy so it's official, the newest Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizer facility is complete. It took a little longer than anticipated but we finally got there. The new facility combines some of the same construction practices from existing sites with some new ideas that will make the site more efficient as well as accomodate future expansion. Although expansion plans have already been developed, we'll let the guys get settled in to the new facility and get comfortable with daily operations before we implement phase 2.





 

And here's the final product. The construction style exemplifies the buildings at the other AgroLiquid sites. The fabric roof promotes natural lighting reducing the need for powered lighting. Another "green" practice of AgroLiquid as we strive to be an industry leader in environmentally friendly farming practices.

Inside the building, the truck load area is quite similar to the Ashley facility.  

 

A view of the truck load out from on top of the electrical room (which you can see below).  

Here's the electrical room. The concrete walls offer protection from the fertilizer environment as well as climate control.

 Final touches were put on the rail office and the site lighting is installed.

 

 

Nick came out for a site visit and got a piece of the action.   

The landscapers portion of the workload is also complete. Once whatever these plants are grow up, it should spruce up the front of the office a bit. A drip system will be installed before it starts to get too dry - something we don't need to worry about for awhile in the mid-west (dry ground that is).

A little more landscaping. As part of the site plan, we were required to plant 4 trees. Here's one of the "not so big" trees.

 And here's another one. This one looks like it could get lonely.

 

Things look a little different now. When we started, the site was abandoned and a bit of a mess. As you can see from the size, we have a lot of room for expansion.  

Not a bad view coming down Bozzano Road in the morning. Don't worry, I stopped the vehicle to take the picture. This should be a nice site to visit in the years to come...... especially in the winter months.

CORPORATE OFFICE ON SCHEDULE

Mother nature can't seem to make up her mind as the clouds broke up this past weekend to give us a glimpse of the sunshine but now it's back to the cloud filled sky and rain. The good news is that it hasn't slowed progress on the construction of the corporate office. As we near the completion date (toward the end of June), coordination will be essential. You'll see in the photos below, we are getting to the final aspects of construction; flooring is gettting installed, walls are being painted, and they're even scrubbing floors in the kitchen.

Take a look..........

As always, I'll start the tour at the front entrance. Some of the exterior appeal of the building is starting to take shape. At ground level you'll notice the concrete forms which will eventually be planter boxes. The temporary plastic and 2x4 framing is being dismantled as the glass is installed.

This is another planter box located just outside the main entrance. Just a brain storm here but maybe we could use it as a barbeque pit for the grand opening.

Inside the front entrance the stairs and railing have been installed. The bridge to the silo is serving a practical purpose for the time being - storage.

Here's another look at the steps to the second level. The railing is made up of steel and strands of cable.

Look at this picture long enough and you may experience vertigo. Did the scissor lift tip over? The wood you're seeing on the ceiling isn't actually wood. It's some kind of a metal material. I couldn't tell exactly what it was from 20 plus feet away.

Laminated support beams for the bridge from here to there. This will span over one of the water retention areas connecting walkways.

I told you they're scrubbing floors. This is the commerical kitchen that will be used to cater events in the conference area.

 

Here is the wing formerly known as The Ag Tech Center. The new and improved name is The IQ Hub named as such because it's guaranteed to increase your IQ by educating you about the past, present, and future of agriculture.

This is the ADA compliant restroom in the ADA compliant overnight room. Of the five overnight rooms in the building, one is required to have ADA accessibility.

This is a conversation piece. It's one of the many parts of the building where the architect used recycled materials to tie the agricultural theme into the modern technological capabilities of the building. It could also be used as a back stop for an indoor shooting range. Multi-tasking is always good.

They call this siding style a rain screen. I would love to tell you why but I'm not sure. When it's installed this will give the building an old barn look from the west elevation.

The windows in the upper office area have been installed. Whoever gets to sit on the other side of this glass will get a nice view of the sunset over the horizon (if they work long enough).

One of the upper level corner private offices. This is the office to strive for. When you make it here, you know you made it big.

If you look through the framing and glass and past the dirt pile you can see the excavating equipment on the corner of M-21 and Dewitt Rd. They are attempting to finish up the water and sewer, which has been a grueling process through the winter months. Fortunately, the lines and structures along M-21 are nearly complete and they can start on the site utilities.

THE LATEST IN LIQUID CONSTRUCTION

I'll start by apologizing for the month long lapse since my last post. I know avid viewers and readers have been checking the blog site by the hour looking for the lastest news at the sites. A lot has happened over the last month - mostly at the new Stockton site. At this point in the project, the building is complete, the fluid handling components are installed, the concrete work is complete, and the final grade work will be finalized by the end of this week. Final inspections will be called in starting next week and then we'll need to start planning for phase II.

 

STOCKTON

 



The finished product with the new ADA parking spots. I'll refer to this side as the front of the building even though it's 90 degrees to the road.

 

 The entry side of the building. Load Bays 1 & 2.

As you can see the entry side of the building faces the rail. We have room on the currrent rail to hold 8 cars. The length of the site gives us the ability to double the length of the current rail by adding to the head.

North side or back of the building. Overhead doors are partially installed in this photo. The exhaust fan is fully installed on the roof (see the mushroom in the distance).

Ron, Randy, Tony, and I made a couple week long trips to install tanks and plumbing components. In this photo Ron is working on the micro loading station which includes a scale and weigh pot.

Randy's working on the installatioin of the steel rings that wrap around the base of the tanks. This is a new application for us. It was required because of the CA seismic loads.

As you can see, I love having my picture taken. However, I had to include this to prove to my wife that I am actually working during my travels.

 

 

Truck load out office pre-paint. Once again the NCRS fabrication shop did a beautiful job on the steel structure and stairway.

This is the 250 gallon weigh pot provided by one of our new vendors, Kahler Equipment. It will be used to mix micros and inject them in line during the loading process.

Front view of the Kahler weigh pot system. The rack will hold 4 totes on top and 4 underneath. The hoses in the photo each have a valve that will be fastened to each tote.

 

 

 Utility room for electrical panels, compressors, and communication components.  

View of load bays from atop the utility room.  

 

 



Rail load out office and rail pump. This pump will be used for unloading rail cars.

 

 

Say Cheese!! Here is Steve from Kahler Automation going over the load out system with Marcello. To bring everyone up to speed, Marcello is the newest AgroLiquid employee at the site in Stockton, CA. They are standing inside the elevated truck load out office.

 

WILLIAMS

Construction in Williams will be picking back up next week. We've been sitting idle through the winter as you'll see from the limited amount of photos.

 

The completed 60x100 truck load out building - signs and everything. 

 Rail load out office pre-paint.

 

 

OK. So this doesnt' have much to do with a project. But it assisted with getting me to a project. Nick and I took the Merididan to Williams for a day trip and what a way to travel. You can't get much more efficient than a Williams trip in 2 hours while working on the lap top and keeping a close eye on the Krispie Kremes in the seat in front of you. Maybe next time Nick will take the back seat and let me fly.

And back home we go. Taking off from Iowa Falls Airport.