Viega

Viega LLC manager Daniel Rademacher has won the PMG Leadership Award from the International Code Council (ICC) for his work in training and educating plumbing professionals around the world.

Rademacher, who is the Trades Education Network (VTEN) Program Manager for Viega, was given the award at the ICC’s annual meeting Sept. 18-28 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The award is given each year to an individual or organization for exceptional service to the plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas and swimming pool/spa (PMG) industry.

“Dan’s passion for providing relevant and engaging learning opportunities so that plumbing professionals can achieve their career goals, no matter where they are located, is unmatched,” the ICC stated.

“I’m humbled to receive this award from the ICC, an institution which has done so much to advance plumbing and promote the well-being of people around the world,” Rademacher said. “And I’m proud to be able to introduce safe plumbing practices where they are needed most.”

Rademacher directs the Viega Trades Education Network, which partners with trade schools to provide tools, lessons and training to help educate future trades professionals.

This is only the latest industry honor for Rademacher. Last year, he was elected vice president of the board of directors of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering – International. In 2019, he won a World Plumbing Council Education and Training Scholarship to travel to Rwanda for the purpose of developing and contributing further plumbing industry knowledge. Also, he was the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Industry Person of the Year in 2014.

He has 30 years of experience in the industry and is an accomplished instructor. He is certified as a plumbing/mechanical inspector and plans examiner by the IAPMO. He has extensive experience using, implementing and interpreting the Uniform Plumbing Code, the Uniform Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical Code and International Fuel Gas Code.

Viega fittings and solar thermal heating – it’s a combination that for AET Solar has proven to be a perfect match.

AET Solar, one of the oldest solar manufacturers in the United States, worked on the largest solar thermal project in the country at the time in 2018. Viega played an integral part. The project was in Hawaii at the U.S. Army’s Schofield Barracks. AET installed solar water heaters to provide hot water for a portion of the barracks.

There are eight buildings with a total of 560 solar collectors and seven mechanical rooms with custom skid-mounted pumping stations. The installations were done exclusively with Viega ProPress, copper and stainless, and AET was pleased with its choice of Viega.

“For us, it has been phenomenal to use the Viega components,” said Carlos Fernandez-Aballi, Ph.D. and Engineer with AET. “It’s a natural fit between a press fitting and the huge challenge of collecting the energy that the sun provides. Using Viega reduced our installation time and cost significantly.”

AET’s Executive Vice President, Andrew East, was aware of Viega prior to the Schofield Barracks job, and the company was looking for a more secure and labor-savings connection for its collectors.

“There are two attractive things about Viega for us,” Dr. Fernandez-Aballi said. “Once you set it up, there’s a huge savings in labor – thousands and thousands of dollars in savings in labor on a project of this scale. For a big solar collection system like this, you need large flow rates, which means using large-diameter tubing. When you’re talking about sweating large-diameter tubes on the roof in the sun and the wind and everything else, it’s very cumbersome, so a press solution is the ideal way to go.”

Using solar energy for the barracks will provide the Army enormous financial savings. Dr. Fernandez-Aballi explained that solar thermal solutions can provide 70- to 100-percent of water heating, creating huge energy savings over a traditional system. Solar collectors are seven times more efficient than photovoltaic panels and are the most economical alternative to water heating. In a location the size of a military base, the savings are phenomenal. 

When I asked Sean Debnath, VP of Sales and Marketing, Viega, about the short-term economy earlier this year, he said, “The uptick in business that we all experienced gradually through Q3 and Q4 of 2020, seems to be continuing in to Q1 2021. But we choose not to take that trend for granted with all that is happening around us, and deal with it a month and a quarter at a time. Viega has taken steps with frequent testing and tracing to ensure we keep our factories and distribution centers running.”

Through all of this uncertainty and one month-at-a-time mentality, making the transition to a new CEO can be difficult enough. But through a pandemic? Mechanical Hub recently talked with Viega’s new CEO, Markus Brettschneider, about his vision for the company, and navigating through these uncertain times.

MH: How has Viega navigated through the pandemic and what does the path moving forward look like as we start to normalize?

Brettschneider: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the health and safety of our people has come first. We put into place regular testing and safety measures at the facilities where in-person work was required. Moving forward, health and safety will continue to be our focus. Our other big focus is our customers, and we have done all we can to keep production and distribution as normal as possible. With all of the challenges in the logistical side, it’s a tense period. But we haven’t shied away from spending money to keep things running smoothly. We hope in the coming months to get colleagues back to the office and find new ways of working in various setups. We very much look forward to meeting our customers once again face-to-face, while at the same time being very careful and keeping everyone safe. So far this year, the outlook is positive.

Viega’s interactive displays in Broomfield, Colo.

MH: Has the company learned anything during the pandemic that will be implemented more into the business plan (virtual trainings, less travel, etc.)

Brettschneider: I think we have learned that virtually, a lot is possible. There are even certain benefits when it comes to training as well as new ways of engaging with customers. It will be interesting to see how things like trade shows and other events evolve in the future, but in 2020 we reallocated most of those funds into other channels to make the most of what we could. We didn’t cut any funding. Instead, we trained our own people to be capable in this digital environment, and have excelled with virtual education and customer events. We know there have been changes in buying behavior in the past year, and we remain open to this ever-changing business landscape.

MH: What are some of your top initiatives for the company?

Brettschneider: Our biggest priorities right now are safety and supply to the customers. We’re looking at things like raw materials, logistics and the availability of workforce. We are continuously investing in our company footprint through automation, digitization and robotization. This is all important to help drive growth with our customers. We also know how important it is to invest in virtual and online marketing, as well as launch additional customer training activities.

Viega’s Seminar Center in Broomfield, Colo., comes with a view.

MH: What has impressed you the most since joining the company?

Brettschneider: The people—our colleagues, the customers and the Viega family ownership. I’m extremely impressed with the products as well as the relationship we have with our customers and the opportunity to grow in our space. I’m also impressed with the commitment of the Viegener family to the company globally as well as its strong commitment to Viega LLC (the North American market) specifically. I’ve found the company is willing to constantly invest in order to grow the business, and the ownership’s passion and commitment is impressive.

MH: Explain Viega’s commitment to the supply chain and wholesale channels.

Brettschneider: We have proven our commitment to the supply chain, especially over the last few years . During that time, we grew the manufacturing and distribution presence in McPherson, Kansas, and we invested heavily in the workforce within the supply chain. We hired additional people to ensure our commitment in the U.S. is as strong as it always has been, and will continue. It’s important for us to invest for continual growth, and we know that our distribution and logistical centers are a key part of the business.

Training is paramount with Viega, and getting contractors back into the facilities, safely, is the goal.

A good example of our commitment was after the record cold snap in Texas and other southern states. We prioritized shipments and looked at unique ways to get products to the area that was so desperately in need of help. We are eager to work with our partners to drive growth, and are currently adding points of distribution throughout the U.S. We are a strong believer in wholesaler business and remain absolutely committed to our wholesaler distribution setup.

MH: What are some things you’ve learned throughout your career that will help you in your new position?

Brettschneider: Simply put, there is nothing more important than your own people and building great relationships with customers. Those ideas are central to a successful business.

MH: How do you see the short-term economy?

Brettschneider: Between the Covid relief package, some of the American population having more disposable income than ever, lower fixed-interest rates and potential infrastructure packages, we’re optimistic. We’ll see bumps here and there, I’m sure, because of the uncertainty of a global pandemic, but the fast-pace rollout of the Covid vaccination is giving us all a more positive outlook for the short-term U.S. economy.

A McPherson, Kansas, facility.

MH: Provide an update of the McPherson locations — expansions, new innovations, etc.

Brettschneider: We have invested heavily in that location over the past few years, in both infrastructure and people. This year we are focused mostly on hiring people. It’s important to recognize we are investing not to just maintain, but to grow. Our plan has been to build for significant growth so that we are ready when there are sudden spikes in demand (such as the Texas cold snap). In terms of infrastructure, the expansion in logistics was completed early in 2020 and is fully operational. The new ProPress building is completed, with some machines in operation, while others will be arriving later this year (delayed due to Covid).

Who wouldn’t want to save nearly 500 man-hours on a project?

That’s what CSM Mechanical did on a job for the City of Dearborn in Michigan – thanks to Viega’s MegaPressG fittings. By reworking plans to make the natural gas piping distribution system 4” or smaller on the police and courts buildings, and by choosing to press instead of weld, the CSM Mechanical crew calculated a savings of 491 man-hours.

“The job just went in absolutely phenomenally,” said Craig Mortz, owner of CSM Mechanical. “We saved so much. We took an estimated 30-day project and finished it in 12 days!”

CSM Mechanical has been working for the past four years on an upgrade and update of the mechanical systems campus-wide for the City of Dearborn’s five municipal buildings. Originally constructed in the 1950s, the buildings all had one central powerhouse with heated and chilled water. The renovation plans included disconnecting the heating plant from the central source, upgrading the central chiller plant and giving each building its own individual boiler plant for improved efficiency and energy savings.

None of the buildings were plumbed for gas, and original plans for the police department building included a 6” gas main that was to be welded. Mortz and his team took a look at the project and knew they could improve on the design.

“In working with the owners and with Viega, we got concessions from the natural gas provider to increase the supply pressure so that we were able to get the system down to a 4” line,” he said. “We told the customer we could then also press it instead of welding, which would be faster, safer and save money.”

CSM Mechanical put in almost 1,000 feet of 4” gas pipe, using MegaPressG fittings. CSM Mechanical’s team was the first in Michigan to have the jaws and tool for the larger-diameter MegaPressG fittings, and they were excited to put them to work.

A four-man crew (instead of the six that would have been needed for welding), led by Field Operations Manager Tyler Pryzwara, completed the job. The workers put eight air handlers and four gas-fired boilers in the police and courts buildings, connecting everything with MegaPressG.

Specifications and assistance from Viega were vital in getting MegaPress – and the smaller-diameter pipe – approved for the project, Mortz said.

We showed the owners all the pressure test ratings and standards that MegaPressG is capable of,” Mortz explained. “When we increased the supply pressure and decreased the plumbing size to 4, we were well within any operational and conditional limits for this installation.

“Just the logistics of welding 6” carbon steel pipe and manually distributing it across the various building roofs is where our biggest time savings came from,” Mortz said. “As opposed to 4” pipe that is lighter and can be cut and prefabricated – that saved a lot of time.”

The safety aspect on this project was also a huge benefit. Because the police building is occupied and active 24 hours a day, welding posed significant safety and fire hazards since there were no “off hours” to do the work in. Plus, the buildings have a tar/pitch roofing system.

“We didn’t have to weld on the roof, so we didn’t have sparks and flames and fire blankets and all of the associated PPE,” Mortz said. “Safety was a huge win for us on that building and on the project overall.”

Once installed, CSM Mechanical pneumatically pressure tested the system, which included 1,811 mechanical joints, to 150 psi with no issues or leaks. As winter temperatures set in, the buildings were heated via the new boilers and natural gas line without a problem, providing the City of Dearborn with substantial energy savings and improved efficiencies.