The new headquarters of Castcon-Stone Inc. has the complete package: Advanced design and tools for higher production, faster placement and heavier lifting; a big break room; abundant natural light throughout; and office space with carpet and paint instead of linoleum or dark wood paneling. Yet principals and employees of the Saxonburg, Pa., company are likely to point out an equally telling part of their new home: a stretch of 7-ft. wide, lightly stained concrete flatwork running 140 ft. — from the end of the office, through the building entry and break room, to the plant floor.

“The walkway shows plant employees, workboots and all, that they are welcome everywhere,” says Castcon President Laura Huch. “The architects have abandoned a sense of hierarchy and designed a place without barriers. People accomplish more because this is an environment where they enjoy coming to work.”

All 48 employees, a third with under two years' tenure, followed Castcon in its move last month from an older Cranberry Township operation on the outskirts of Pittsburgh to a site 15 miles north. If some were dealing with a longer commute, at least they knew they could count on the new digs. The design of the $5 million, 47,000-sq.-ft. facility factors input from four teams. Each comprised individuals representing Castcon ownership, production or office staff, and the plant's general contractor, architect and HVAC specialist.

“When we decided to expand production and site a new plant, the intent was to get employees involved in the design and layout of office, plant and break room, and come to a consensus on how those areas would look and function,” notes Sandra Ussia, vice president. “The reaction we have seen from most everyone is: ‘This is the work space I felt I needed’.”

Employee involvement in plant and office design proved more fruitful than Castcon principals first envisioned. The consensus approach dovetails with a movement in building design that public and private developers are beginning to embrace in procurement guidelines and project specifications. That movement centers on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, as established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Based in Washington, D.C., USGBC is a coalition of leaders in the building industry working to promote environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Pennsylvania and New York are among states where public agencies are being encouraged to factor LEED standards in facilities, and private developers can realize tax credits or interest-rate reduction on loans for construction USGBC will certify.

Castcon occupies the concrete industry's first plant built with an eye to LEED/USGBC certification (note “Green factors simplify ROI calculation,” page 30). Additionally, its new home represents the first green industrial building in Butler County, whose western Pennsylvania surroundings have one of the country's greatest concentration of LEED facilities.

NEW LANDINGS

Castcon-Stone specializes in precast stairs and architectural products, and is an Architectural Precast Association member. Stairs represent an especially promising niche fueled by continued demand in sports stadium construction, where the company can subcontract to a major structural product player like Virginia-based Shockey Precast Group, plus the increasing acceptance of precast among architects and contractors involved in multi-story construction. Nowhere has that been more evident than New York City. Historically fertile ground for multi-story buildings, the Big Apple has only recently embraced more labor-saving methods for concrete, whether they entail precast options or, for cast-in-place, pumping and engineered formwork.

Some might perceive stairs as commodity precast — in a league with manholes, parking curbs and highway barrier. Laura Huch and company know otherwise: “Stairs are a project-specific specialty subject to tight building code guidelines and, in some cases, considerable traffic before occupancy,” she contends. “Developers have found how stairs can require replacement or modification due to code matters overlooked during design. Contractors can find themselves incurring extra costs from repairs or maintenance leading up to project completion.”

Through model-code and state law monitoring, Castcon drafting and engineering staff can advise developers and designers on new requirements for stairways or building egress, plus Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. “We spend a lot of time showing architects and engineers how precast stairs can fit into a design, but after a job is completed, it's usually the general contractor who beats our drum the loudest,” Huch says.

Precasting can offer aesthetic benefits like color and surface uniformity that customers don't anticipate until shipments arrive at a site, she adds. Equally important, though, are value-added options — nonslip vinyl protective film or permanent slip-resisting step inserts, for example — Castcon recently started quoting.

About two-thirds of the new plant's casting space is dedicated to stairs which, along with architectural precast panels, signs and trim, are enabling the company to look west and south for growth. Based on projected penetration of markets as far as Illinois and Florida, Castcon is gearing up for additional production capacity that will equate to a doubling of shipments over the next three to four years.

GREEN FACTORS SIMPLIFY RETURN ON INVESTMENT CALCULATION

Castcon-Stone's new home is among an inventory of about 40 buildings that are certified by standards the U.S. Green Building Council has established for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. “The biggest misconception is that a green building is more costly,” notes company president Laura Huch. “The energy-efficient techniques and equipment we're using have a six-month payback. That makes it a no-brainer.” She cites some representative green features in the facility's office and production areas:

• Natural light from low-E glass windows (office areas) and clerestory panels (upper plant elevations), saving energy by not having to turn on the lights, and making the workplace brighter, which studies have shown leads to improved productivity.
• Natural ventilation from windows that are operable throughout, saving on air conditioning and improving air quality.
• Energy-efficient lighting and HVAC building automation — lights and thermostats are connected to motion and sound sensors so that lights will be turned off and heat and air conditioning will be reduced in empty offices, bathrooms, and work areas.
• Energy recovery wheels used to preheat or pre-cool the outside air.
• Storm water collection from the parking lots into a natural pond. This retention pond naturally treats any chemicals and gasoline that may mix with storm water draining from parking lots and eliminates the need for underground PVC piping.
• Paint and carpets are VOC (volatile organic compounds) free. Also, carpet is made from recycled fibers, office partitions from particleboard with high recycled material content, and woodwork is finished with plain shellac.

Castcon has set up shop on 17.5 acres in the Victory Road Industrial Park — land that up until the early 1980s housed a sprawling sintering operation for U.S. Steel. The loan package behind the new operation included a grant from the Green Building Alliance, which is supported by another corporate name synonymous with Pittsburgh, H.J. Heinz Foundation. The plant was designed by Perkins Eastman Architects, Pittsburgh, and built by Gabriel Enterprises, Saxonburg, Pa., general contractor; and Clearview Project Services, Hampton, Pa., construction manager.

A designated brownfield site, Victory Road Industrial Park has been completely remediated and upgraded (utilities, infrastructure) by the Butler County Community Development Corporation. The property is also a Keystone Opportunity Zone, for which the State of Pennsylvania provides incentives that include up to 10 years of tax abatement. Pennsylvania was one of the first states to develop legislation promoting brownfield site redevelopment. Its foresight was validated nationally with the passage of the federal Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in January 2002 … a time when Castcon-Stone's new plant was still on the drawing board.