Thanks to everyone for giving us the opportunity to shine.
Our employees make us who we are today. Hernandez Companies is more than a general contractor offering a wide range of commercial services, we are a family and our employees and their families make us the best through their dedication to us and their trade. But, of course we couldn’t make it happen without our clients.
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If your business or your tenants are booming faster than your building’s electrical system can handle it, Hernandez Companies can help before a damaging – and even fatal – electrical accident occurs. Our expert crews can shine the light on these hazards and help you avoid creating new ones.
When opportunity knocks, sometimes it brings 50,000-gallon steel tanks and a complicated roofing project with it. Some contractors simply can’t answer the door, but we have the means –– and a few sturdy cranes –– to welcome the opportunity and get the job done on time and under budget.
Such was the case with Kroger Co., the parent company for Fry’s Food Stores. The Cincinatti-based company has more than 110 stores in Arizona alone and is one of the state’s largest grocery retailers. One of its critical distribution warehouses is located on a sprawling complex near 99th Avenue and Buckeye Road in Tolleson, meaning there was a lot riding on this project –- a job that came to Hernandez when another contractor needed additional expertise and resources to successfully complete the job.
It involved the replacement of two 30,000-gallon tanks with two 50,000-gallon tanks. The best way to get them out of the warehouse was skyward. Our crews, including trusted subcontractors and engineering experts, spent six weeks doing their homework for the job by analyzing the best way to safely remove the tanks.
The method? Remove support beams for the roof area that was involved, prop it up with temporary support beams, cut open a section of roof, lift the old tanks out one by one, seamlessly sew everything back into place and then –– bam! –– Bob’s your uncle. Job complete. The plan, safety measures and all, was in place weeks before the start date, ensuring everyone felt comfortable with the details.
Roof preparations took us two days. Temporary I-beam supports were placed under the area of the roof that would be cut out. Tie-off points for fall protection gear was also installed. Kroger officials shut down plant operations, and it was “game on” for Hernandez crews.
Our building whisperers took apart the piping network and various ladders connected to the tanks. Crews, secured by fall-protection gear, began making the first cuts to the roof. Fire-suppression sprinklers were temporarily removed before the final cuts to the roof began. The tanks were removed by crane and hauled off on the back of a trailer for recycling. The new tanks went down the hole and were secured in place. By the end of the third day, Humpty Dumpty was put back together and the plant was operational again.
Safe, on time and under budget. Those are the cornerstones of a successful construction project.
Check out all the project photos here.
When the University of Phoenix left its old campus in December 2011 in favor of a new one it built nearby from scratch, more than 200,000 square feet of commercial space near the Valley’s busiest freeway was back on the market.
The Muller Company needed Phoenix commercial renovation experts. They chose Hernandez Companies, a Phoenix-based company whose award-winning technicians have been serving the Phoenix area for more than 35 years.
The goal was to make the Sky Harbor Towers property – already attractive with towering ficus trees, shaded courtyards, tranquil pools and a cafe – have even more curb appeal for potential tenants.
“They created a very nice, classy marketing center so we can show [potential tenants] our standards,” says Tiffany Lauchlan, who manages Sky Harbor Towers for The Muller Company .
Hernandez crews created the new marketing center by carving up a small on-campus space that was previously leased to a navigation company’s call center.
Hernandez’s “building whisperers” also worked alongside other outside contractors on myriad improvements to the facade and underground infrastructure.
The building’s exterior greets guests with a modern-looking plate of stainless steel above the entry door. Hernandez crews re-applied a unique adhesive to keep the plates looking as smooth as the walk-up experience. They also painted several interior surfaces, replaced hundreds of feet of old cast-iron plumbing in the walls, and dredged and jetted the storm drains under the campus so that heavy rainstorms wouldn’t clog them and flood the parking lots.
These are just a few of the improvements Hernandez crews have performed at Sky Harbor Towers this winter. The buildings were built in 1987, 1989 and 1991, respectively, and vary in size from 71,000 square feet to 116,000 square feet, Lauchlan says. Hernandez crews performs on-going maintenance at the campus.
Soon, however, the company’s “to-do” list may include dust control. The Arizona Department of Transportation (link) is considering a plan to widen the freeway near the campus, which would require state officials to obtain part of the site for the billion-dollar project. If it comes to pass, Lauchlan says the number of daily motorists passing the site could jump from 616,000 to more than 1 million.
More traffic equals more eyeballs admiring the new-and-improved Sky Harbor Towers.
