One Week and Counting

After walking through the building last night, it looks like the trades will have their work cut out for them in order to make the move in deadline. As long as they're confident, I'll start packing and eliminating some paper. There are many showcase areas to show off at this time, but some things are better off left for the grand opening in September. Here are a few teaser photos to hold everyone over until then.

 The glass silo is complete. The radius glass was a long lead item but it made it in time.

Here is the sidewalk along the front entry. You can see the landscaping is going in already in the planter boxes and the parking lot islands.

This popped up recently. A late addition to the plans called for some more storage in the form of a 80x152 building. Here is a view looking out of one of the overnight room windows.

My personal workspace which Steelcase calls a "workstation" rather than a "cubicle". It is quite nice and promotes an open office atmosphere which is the trend these days.

There are a few important features that need to be added yet but as you can see, the lobby is nearly complete.

 A view from the bridge in the silo looking over the main entrance off Dewitt Road.

Conference Room. Behind the large doors are the folding divider walls that separate the room into thirds.

This a view looking to the west out the conference room windows. It opens up to this patio which leads to the bridge, which leads to the walking path.

So we'll start moving in at the end of next week.........maybe..........yes we will.


Williams

I made a trip to Williams this week to take a look at the progress we're making there. Now that it's drying up a little, concrete has been poured and we're very close to completion on the current expansion..... with the exception of the new rail spurs.

I'm standing on the truck scale facing east in this photo. The concrete in front of me was all poured this spring. This will make snow removal and drive maintenence easy to manage.

This is taken from the service drive leading back to the site. Somehow people still have a hard time finding the site.

Here is the new containment with the steps ready to go. The small building in the distance to the left is the rail load out office. Now we just need some tanks installed. That will be a tall order (no pun intended) that we'll be doing sometime in late July/early August.

The interior of the new load out building. Right now it's a bit messy as the electricians finish up. Like the other sites, the load out office will be on an elevated platform between the load bays.

Thats all for now.

CORPORATE OFFICE UPDATE AND TANKS IN GOODLAND

It's hard to believe, move in day is just around the corner. We'll be packing up workspaces and relocating a few hundred feet to the south in just a few weeks. The office changes dramatically from day to day as the final touches are being made. As much as we'd like for the experience to be seamless with no surprises, you can only plan so much with an undertaking of this scope and size. Besides, life wouldn't be nearly as fun (and challenging) without a surprise every now and then.

The radius glass for the silo was one of the longer lead items. As you can see we're still sporting the plastic look in that area.

 

 

The front facade of the IQ Hub is nearly complete. The plywood framing around the doors needs to covered yet. The 3 doors you see in the center are similar to what you might see in an airplance hanger.

 The tile backdrop and the cabinetry has been installed for the coffe bar area outside the conference room. On the left is one of many closets throughout the building housing electrical and mechanical equipment.

Straight ahead is a printer/copy area and a private office on the first floor. The raised floor system has been installed over the concrete. Carpet squares will be installed over the metal subfloor you see in the photo. Electrical and data runs will be installed under the raised floor to accomodate the work stations.

Oooooh.....shiny appliances. There's a lot of stainless steel in this room. So far I've identified the stove and the refrigerator. I'm sure I'll figure out how to navigate through this room in no time at all. On second thought, I have a hard time running a grill so I'll stay clear.

The carpet in the upstairs open work area has been installed. This has the same raised floor system as the work area downstairs. Between natural light from the windows and the numerous fixtures, lighting should be adequate.

Yes those are antique rims posing as chandeliers. This was another unique and creative way to integrate modern day technology with historical agriculture.

 A view into the main entrance from upstairs.

 

 I don't know what the official name is but I'll call this the executive wing. Straight ahead are restrooms. On the other side, there are some private offices and smaller conference rooms.

 The bathrooms are nearly complete. Something is missing here. I can't quite put my finger on it.

The executive wing again (on the other side of the restrooms). The chosen materials for the project are blending nicely. The horizontal siding has a nice contrast against the laminated beams.

 The Board Room. Lots of glass with a nice view on such a beautiful morning.

 

 

There are a number of projects underway in Goodland. We're currently building another 500,000 gallon tank on the west side of the site while excavation is underway on the east side of the site for a 2 million gallon tank.

 

2 million gallon tank.

This was a deep hole at one point. The excavator dug approximately 10' deep and then filled the hole back in compacting the soil as he filled. He is just about up to grade level in this photo.

 500,000 gallon tank

This is how they build the foundation for the tank. It's made up of a 12" tall steel ring around the perimeter which is filled with 12" of peastone.





This is the secondary floor of the tank. This floor sits directly on the peastone. The primary floor is built about 1-1/2"-2" above the secondary floor by using shims for separation. There is a valve on the exterior of the tank between the floors to monitor for leaks.

 Tank ring number 1 on the primary tank.

 

 Tank ring number 1 on the secondary tank.

 

And a few days later, they are 3 courses high on the secondary and primary tanks. The thing hanging from the top of the secondary tank on the left is a robotic welder. This machine moves around the tank welding the horizontal seams. Unfortunately they still have to weld the vertical seams by hand.