We Have a Second Floor.......and Some Walls

As you can see from the picture above, we now have a second floor in the front office area!! Pouring of the floor was completed this week and Mericle has also begun further duct work on the second floor. The floor must cure for about a week and then you'll start to see some walls going up - they've already started to frame out the first floor. Below, you'll see the demising wall between the office area and warehouse starting to go up in preparation for work to start on the 3-story warehouse mezz.

This next picture will show the metal stud walls going up in the Purchasing/Marketing area along with the cafeteria walls. There are a lot of construction teams on the project currently and more to come on board this week - carpenters, electricians and the HVAC teams are pressing forward to meet our schedule. Both Benco and Mericle have been paying close attention to coordinating the contractors to eliminate any issues. You can see visible progress by the hour right now - amazing!!

And now, the "scare of the week" - we were all happy to see that our road sign was installed this week - however, if you notice, the address says "195" when it should have been "295". After rushing back to the office, we tore through the files to see what we ordered - thankfully, it wasn't our fault and the sign will be fixed this coming week - whew!

Keep checking back - there is a lot going on right now. And thanks again to Sharon Fiorini for some of the pictures (the better ones) above.

Cover Your Ears!

The work going on right now at CenterPoint has made for some of the loudest days we've experienced yet. As you can see below, some steel has been delivered for the warehouse and cement cutting has begun to prepare for the steel installation.

The other major development this week is the pouring of cement on to second floor of the office section. You can see in the picture below the process, which involves two conventional cement trucks loading cement into a truck with a mechanical arm that can reach the second floor.

Not too much progress with the building exterior. You can see below where some more painting was done and preparations have been made for windows.

Keep checking back for more updates and contests. Thanks for keeping up with The Benco On the Move Blog!

Thanks to Sharon Fiorini again for the great shots.

We Have a Winner!!!

After dozens of successful answers (and some wrong ones), we have a winner to our contest to guess what was going on the concrete slab on the hill in front of the building - and yes, it is the "Tooth"! And the winner is - Tina Kozloski!!! Congratulations Tina!!

Taking Shape

Up at CenterPoint, things are really starting to look like an office building. The steel work is just about finished for the office and its mezzanine level. All that's left to do in that area is putting in the walls, filling some cement and lowering the duct work. Once all that is complete, it will be ready for electrical wiring and eventually furniture. Here you see the two levels completely laid out.













Saw cutting of the cement where steel will be placed for the warehouse is set to begin next week. The orange lines are where the holes will be cut. The steel for the warehouse is scheduled to be delivered in August. For now, the majority of the work being done is staging and planning the electrical layout of the building. This photo is looking right through the future lunchroom.














On the exterior, you'll also start to see some changes. If you look closely at the nearly completed grand entrance, you can see the grey brick face is being painted. Glass is also in the process of being ordered and in the coming months, the exterior will really begin to have an identity.

As always, thanks to Sharon Fiorini for the pictures.

OK - Game Time

OK - Game Time!

We are interested in seeing how many Benco associates are keeping up with the blog updates so we're running a contest (for Benco employees only) and giving away 2 free movie passes to the associate who can correctly guess "What goes on the side of the hill in front of our building at CenterPoint?" Please e-mail your answer to Becky Clouse - if there is a tie, we will draw from all correct answers. Deadline for entry is Wednesday 7.15.09.

GOOD LUCK!

Construction meetings #13 and #14

We continue to have some dramatic changes at the new CenterPoint building. As of yesterday, the steel for the offices is about 95% completed including welding the trusses and putting down the metal corrugate flooring to hold the concrete which should be poured within the next two weeks. This first picture shows the final area that the steel is being erected which is the west side of the showroom. The following pictures will give you a better view of the trusses, "K" bracing and a side view of the office area facing North from the warehouse (where the new warehouse mezz will be constructed starting mid-August).

The main duct work is already completed on floor two and they are beginning to install ducting on the first floor under the decking. Next, Mericle will be dropping in the sprinkler system and main electrical pulls. From the warehouse end, we should begin to see delivery and contruction of the pick mods in about four weeks. The schedule is tight and needs close coordination for both Benco contractors and Mericle contractors. We are also awaiting the delivery of a new generator along with the transfer switches coming in shortly. Back at the Bear Creek facility, Keith is already testing the new Shoretel phone system.


Our biggest focus right now is tying up some loose ends with the finishes and making some changes to include an expanded area for x-ray displays so we can really showcase our expertise in both this area and digital technology. Along with the regular showroom areas, this will truly be a "one-stop-shop" for our customers to view our full line of equipment (the BIGGEST line in the industry!). Chuck, Rick and Larry are really starting to get excited about this - seeing their dream go from a drawing to reality - and we are all just as excited as they are!!! Keep tuned for continuing updates - this is neat stuff!