Case Studies Region: Midwest

It takes one to know one, as kids on the playground often cry. But for civil engineering firm, ADR & Associates, the phrase isn’t derisive and, in fact, it describes the firm’s relationship to general contractors. Founders, civil engineering students and business partners, Doug Mill and Russ Krock, started the firm in Newark, Ohio, in […]

When it comes to wastewater infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives the U.S. a D+. According to ASCE, 76 percent of the population relies on the nation’s 14,748 wastewater treatment plants, which it calls “the most basic and critical infrastructure systems for protecting public health and the environment.” That wastewater infrastructure is […]

This summer, Rock River Electric will host a big event in an even bigger space. After 10 years of business and with a new 12,000-square-foot facility in Colona, Illinois, Rock River Electric certainly has reason to celebrate. Before moving into its new facility in late 2016, Rock River Electric was bursting at the seams of […]

In the winter of 1999, Jason Edens, an environmental graduate student at Bemidji State University, faced a terrifying prospect: he couldn’t afford to buy heating fuel. That would be bad news for anyone living in frigid northern Minnesota, where winter temperatures regularly fall into the single digits and below. And it’s not uncommon, as over […]

“Five hundred twenty four people in church last Sunday,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s a personal thing; you quantify things. It’s good for background in buying land and figuring out the sewer lines and everything else. Even though we have engineers on-site, it helps to be an engineer to oversee everything.” Given how well […]

Ask a general contractor what it’s looking for among its subcontractors and the answer’s likely to be a streamlined and versatile operator like Muska Electric Co., a fixture in the Upper Midwest’s building trades that will celebrate its centennial in 2019. Based in the Twin Cities suburb of Roseville, Minnesota, and licensed in 15 states, […]

Operating amid the hustle and bustle of Canada’s biggest city of Toronto, Joseph Waldman has a knack of seeing regions ripe for development north and south of the 44th parallel and even overseas. The constantly on-the-go president of Highgates Group, Waldman is the man behind many successful projects in such diverse locales as Ontario, Iowa, […]

In the medical world, high blood pressure is a “silent killer,” often caused by clogged arteries. The world of foodservice equipment, water heaters, steam boilers, cooling towers and other equipment that uses water, has its own silent killer: scale buildup and corrosion. Much like plaque can clog arteries, scale and corrosion buildup clogs plumbing systems […]

Rainy day people always seem to know when it’s time to call. So goes Gordon Lightfoot’s old song, the meaning of which may have hit home—literally—for the folks in Minot, North Dakota, in May 2011 when Mayer Electric Inc. lent its services following flood conditions. Normally a much cherished season in the upper plains, the […]

Making orange juice and running a manufacturing facility might seem completely unrelated, but to mass produce the orange juice consumers are used to seeing on their grocery store shelves, beverage companies need to run advanced manufacturing operations. Doing so ensures the morning drink of millions is just right, from the acidity to the packaging. To […]