Construction and Engineering Awards 2021

Construction and Engineering Awards 2021 BUILD 67 Jun21623 ooling towers are such a vital part of the industries that keep society moving. They are crucial for keeping the lights on in your house and putting the fuel in your car. As such, we are fortunate that a company as dedicated, responsible and reliable as International Cooling Tower is behind a large number of the towers that you see on the skyline. ICT began as a small company in Canada focused on optimising facilities’ cooling capabilities by using only the highest quality materials and components. This still holds true today, but ICT has grown into a North American market leader with a team of some of the best talent in the industry, and it has expanded across the US with offices in Deer Park and La Porte, Texas; Chandler, Arizona; and Edmonton, Alberta. ICT has the materials, parts and equipment ready for any project, and its longstanding relationships with vendors and logistics partners ensure materials are delivered to clients’ sites on time. This is partnered with dedication to excellent project management, tracking and scheduling processes which also guarantee that projects are delivered on time as well as on budget. ICT’s quality management certifications and construction procedures ensure it performs the work right the first time, and its safe and innovative construction methods which are implemented through comprehensive safety training and employee programmes ensure that it is delivered safely. When dealing with construction projects on the massive scale that ICT does, safety has to be at the core of each operation. ICT takes does safety very seriously. Jeff Colliou McKay of ICT said, “We want all of our employees to return safely to their families each and every day. We have a lot of behavioural- based and onsite safety assessments that occur throughout each day on any given project. There are no shortcuts when it comes to safety. It’s always paramount. ICT is a family, so we watch out for each other and want everyone to be safe at all times.” Over the 60-plus years that ICT has been in business, the focus has always been on its customers. With all its history, experience, knowledge and growth, it has developed a flexibility that allows it to adapt to its customers’ needs. A stand-out example of this is the project which saw it complete a multicell, turnkey cooling tower replacement for a customer. The team was hired to tear down a dilapidated cooling tower for a refinery in the Gulf of Mexico and perform a complete rebuild. The refinery had a very short outage window that the tower replacement had to be achieved within. The key to this project, Jeff says, was planning and communication. The client allowed the team at ICT to develop a suitable plan, then gave the go- ahead for it to be carried out precisely as it was laid it out. “ICT had to remove all of the existing mechanical components from the tower. We then had to start from scratch and build two new cells, but the team was prepared for any obstacles. We were able to really focus on project management, control, and planning, which mirrored how well the project went. Because we were able to develop risk planning and a very good communication plan, if any risk came up – whether it was planned or unknown – we had a game plan on how to fix everything effectively. We had the ideal amount of people in a very small space to efficiently finish the work on time.” The flexibility and laser focus that ICT displayed with this project is typical of the standard to which it performs. For instance, in some cases, it adapts its plans so that some cells can remain running while it works on new ones, or, as with this project in the Gulf of Mexico, it can perform its operations inside a shutdown window. Having its engineering, procurement and construction groups all under one roof allows it to utilise a vast array of experiences and skills to ensure every project can be a success. ICT has a very bright future. It has seen substantial growth over the past five years – growth that looks to continue as it moves forward. The company’s manhours in the US went from 300,000 five years ago to approximately 1.2 million in 2019. The company has even developed its own fabrication facility in Arizona in order to facilitate its builds and make projects more efficient. The quality level of planning and execution that ICT has demonstrated in its past projects is commendable. As the company moves forward, its expertise and experience will serve it well as it continues to grow and expand. Company: International Cooling Tower Inc. Contact: Jeff Colliou McKay Email: [email protected] Website: www.ictower.com C Best Cooling Tower Engineering and Construction Company – North America International Cooling Tower Inc. (ICT) was established in 1958 and has grown into the North American market leader in designing, manufacturing and constructing industrial cooling towers for the industrial process, chemical, oil and gas, renewable and power industries all around the world. International Cooling Tower Inc.