Precast Inc. - May/June 2008 - (Page 42) BOOTH 1349 Photo by Ron Hyink Photo by Bob Whitmore MICHAEL GREENROD, PLANT MANAGER, HAS BEEN WITH VCP FOR MORE THAN 23 YEARS. MIKE VAUGHN AND CODY PRICE, PROJECT COORDINATOR, CONFER ON A JOB ORDER. to become certified,” said Vaughn. At the time, it was a bold statement to show that the company had indeed set itself apart from other plants. “That was before the time DOTs were requiring it or even knew much about it.” In 1991 VCP won the Wyoming Governor’s Quality Award, which focuses on leadership, management, customer service and results. “That was pretty nifty for a small business like we had,” said Vaughn. Innovators Despite the company’s small size, VCP is very innovative – not only with its customer service, but also with the products and forms it manufactures. The Water Mill, for example, is a windmillshaped, decorative water vending station that has proved to be a popular item. It consists of a precast kiosk that contains water purification components for a company that sells and services them across the country. “We’ve got them in Florida, we’ve got them in California, we even have some up in the northeast part of the country,” said Vaughn. “They had started with wood, and they needed something that would satisfy, at that time, the Uniform Building Code so they wouldn’t have problems getting permits and so forth. Now we’ve got them in all areas of the United States.” Vaughn explained that other precast manufacturers scoffed at BOOTH 1633 manufacturing the water mill buildings because of various engineering obstacles, such as figuring out how to get the product to release from the unusual configuration of the form. Above-ground storm shelters represent another product that has done well for VCP. “They are made to go in people’s garages or on their back porches,” said Vaughn. “We also make free-standing units that can go out in somebody’s back yard.” The aboveground storm shelters are available in four standard sizes and meet all the requirements of the National Storm Shelter Association standard. Yet another product that has caught a lot of attention is Vaughn’s entry in NPCA’s most recent Creative Use of Precast (CUP) Awards competition. VCP tied for second place in the Above Ground category. Vaughn’s entry, titled “Vertical Axis Wind Energy Turbine Structure,” consists of one 32-foot-tall curved airfoil section comprised of four 4-foot-wide by 15-foot-long by 8-foot-tall solid sections stacked together and two 12-foot-wide by 32-foot-tall by 12-inchthick solid panels that channel wind into a turbine to create an energy system that generates power. “We’re pretty diversified,” said Vaughn. “We’re not the big-volume people – we try to be the details people. We cross t’s and dot i’s very well, and that’s what has been a success for what 42 MAY/JUNE 2008 | PRECAST INC. http://www.rodchomper.com http://www.rodchomper.com http://www.rodchomper.com http://www.concretecareers.com http://www.concretecareers.com
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