Now It's Official

Today CenterPoint became Benco's. The new building was christened with the installation of the giant tooth that has resided outside Big Ben since 1989. The monument entitled "Little Soldier" was originally created in New York City as a symbol of the strength and courage needed for healthy teeth. Below are some pictures (courtesy of Sharon) of how "Little Soldier" was transported.

To get another look at the tooth's move, tune into Channel 16's evening newscast. They sent a crew up to capture the tooth on the move.

The Final Weeks

We're less than a month away from being fully operational in our new CenterPoint facility. In fact, we already have some associates working at the new building! The receiving department is already working in the warehouse, taking in stock and organizing it so everything runs smoothly when everyone else arrives.

This is a look at the second floor office area, which is just about complete. Once the furniture is delivered, this area will be 100% ready. This corner will be occupied by the Insite Design Team where the designers will have plenty of natural light illuminating their work area.

The lower level office area is coming along with carpeting and ceiling tile installation wrapping up. Once all that is complete, the area will be ready for cubicle installation and furniture.

Here we have a sneak peek at our lunchroom/cafeteria where we will likely have a food service with plenty of options available for purchase.

Here's a great shot of the shipping portion of the warehouse. You can see how the conveyor runs right to the docking bay where packages will be run directly into the delivery trucks.

Thanks again to Sharon for some more great photos!

Countdown to Moving Day: 1 Month, 4 Days

We're just about a month away from our December 15th move and CenterPoint is really starting to transform. All the generators are in Pittston now (we have two of them), so Big Ben will remain on temporary power until we move. The building exterior, which you can see below, is essentially complete as the finishing touches are hastily being implemented and crunch time begins.

Don't worry about looking at bland, white walls anymore. Here you can see that CenterPoint has some flavor with loud, orange walls lining some hallways. Thanks to Becky Clouse in C&P for sending us this photo.

On the left is an area we haven't seen too much of yet. The restrooms, lined with decorative tile, add a nice touch to the building as a whole. On the right is a shot of the progress in the lower level offices. They're coming along and should be seeing some rapid transformation in the days and weeks to come.

Here's a look at the completed exterior.
On the left is a shot of all the work going on in the warehouse. The conveyor installation has been a tall task but is drawing to a close. On the right is the progress in the upper level offices. Carpet has been laid, paint is on the walls and some doors have even been installed.

Thanks again to Sharon for the photos!

Starting to Feel Like Benco

A stroll through CenterPoint is at last more than walls and steel. Exterior work is essentially complete and the interior has the feel of a polished workplace.

Here is a shot of the second-level office area where TIS will be. The carpet is down, ceiling and lighting installed and the walls are painted. With the exception of cubicle layout and furniture, this section is complete. In the upcoming days, all the same will be complete for the rest of the second floor.

Further along the TIS path, here's a shot of our new server room.And in our usual warehouse update, we've made a lot of progress with the conveyor installation. Here's a look at the latest.

Thanks again to Sharon for her weekly photo trips to Pittston.

One Week Closer

It's one week closer to our December 15th move and things are on cruise control at CenterPoint. Much of the building is taking shape, including some very noticeable improvements in both the office area and the warehouse. Below you can see how quickly things are moving along.

In the warehouse, the pick lines are being installed. With angled, gravity storage behind them, workflow will be greatly improved.

Before we know it, customers and VIP guests will be walking down this hall, taking in the nation's largest dental equipment showroom!

It may not look like much now, but here is the soon-to-be sunbathed lobby as the shot peers down the corridor to our industry-standard, 24-showroom operatory. The two windows at the top of the picture look into Larry Cohen's future office.

Our Grand Entrance is just a little masonry and steel away from being complete.

Continued Progress......Finer Details

The Benco Headquarters project continues to move forward at a very rapid pace - multiple contracting crews continue to work on finishing up the construction "on schedule" and are getting into the "finer details" of the project. Above, you can see the tile beginning in the bathrooms which is BEAUTIFUL!
Below, conveyor installation continues to move along .

Below is a catwalk that connects the warehouse mezz to the large pick module.

And over this past weekend, Bob Hunt, Keith Budurka and TIS team were in to oversee bringing in the temporary generator for the Bear Creek facility and making sure it worked - TIS handled bringing our computer systems down Saturday morning and back up successfully for Monday morning with no issues. Below is a picture of the temporary generator - this week, the existing generator will be moved up to CenterPoint and hooked up which, with the other new 500kv generator, will be able to keep us fully in business during any electrical outages.

Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Rolling Along.........

Above, the final section of racking is being installed for the very narrow aisle storage area - approximately 50% complete. This should be completed by the end of this week. Below, the second floor offices are moving right along - ceiling grids are in and painting is in progress. HVAC ducts are being installed - note that the ends are covered with blue plastic so dust does not get into the units - part of the things we needed to do for our LEED certification. On the first floor, most of the sheet rock is now hung and work is beginning in the x-ray showroom.

Below, the staging area for the conveyor.

Several crews of workers are installing the conveyor. Much of the lighting is now in on the pick mods and beginning on the warehouse mezz for the "shelved" area and repairs. Below is one of the belt inclines being installed.

Below, one of the transition curves that move orders in process from one floor to the next.

This weekend, we'll be moving our generator from Bear Creek Blvd. up to the new building and installing a temporary generator in its place for the remainder of the year. Stay tuned!!!