设计和design-assist项目sp新利18备用网址read across the region, construction managers and owners continue to tap Southern Air Inc. to help design and build projects. The Lynchburg, Va., mechanical, electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor’s design staff has more than 100 years of combined experience.
Paul Denham, Southern Air’s president, credits the firm’s 14% revenue increase from 2016 to 2017 to the company’s design-build capabilities on projects such the the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., and the Devils Backbone Brewing Co. in Lexington, Va. “We’ve been a design contractor probably since our existence,” he says. “We’re comfortable challenging design issues, whereas a lot of other [specialty] firms that don’t have the internal design experience are afraid to challenge a mechanical or electrical engineer and say, ‘Well, here’s another way to do it that may be less expensive.’”
这家72岁的公司还拥有自己的学徒计划，该计划与弗吉尼亚州，西弗吉尼亚州和北卡罗来纳州的数十个学区和社区学院合作。夏季，学生实习生，可以在短短四年内赚取一张巡回演唱员的卡，不到通过传统频道赚取卡的时间的一半。丹纳姆说：“我们将一次解决[行业的劳动力短缺]。”“如果我们的行业认为其他人会为我们做到这一点，那么他们会误解。”
南方空气也以其他方式为社区做出了贡献。该公司（在弗吉尼亚州，西弗吉尼亚州和北卡罗来纳州的11个地点，有800多人的员工）向最近的飓风受害者捐赠了10,000磅的食物，水，卫生用品和儿童玩具。员工还利用劳动节周末租卡车，开车去休斯敦下车。
Every year, Southern Air joins with United Way during its Day of Caring to work with the Association for Retarded Citizens of Virginia. This year, the company donated time and materials for a variety of projects, including installing LED light fixtures.
随着地区收入增加到1.2598亿美元，南方航空（Southe新利18备用rn Air）被任命为年度中大西洋专业承包商，在今年的ENR中大西洋专业合同排名中升至第7位。
打孔
Despite catering to a generally rural clientele, Southern Air holds its own in revenue and capabilities against metropolitan-area specialty construction firms. “We’ve cherry-picked both technology and best practices that make us look, feel and act like a big-city contractor,” Denham says.
该公司将其招牌追溯到1990年代后期，当时它与来自全国各地的公司一起加入了同行评审集团。“我们互相打开书籍。我们相互对抗。”丹纳姆说。丹纳姆说，同行集团大约八年前帮助南方航空意识到，它具有扩大虚拟设计和建设（VDC）部门的“经验和能力”。当时该小组有三个人。今天，VDC部门的数字约为十几个。
Denham says expanded VDC capabilities allowed the firm to pursue larger projects, such as a $22.3-million contract for mechanical and plumbing systems on the Western State Hospital project in Staunton, Va. Previously, he says, “It was a big deal if we did a $2- or $3-million single project.” Southern Air was hired in the proposal stage of the public-private-hospital partnership project, completed in 2013, so it could help designers maintain the budget. The firm also installed a more than 1,000-ton variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system with dedicated ventilation systems for exhaust and fresh air, which it says is the largest water-cooled VRF system in North America.
农村根
Expanding the company from a 15-employee, $250,000-revenue business in the late 1940s to one of Virginia’s largest HVAC firms, Southern Air added plumbing to the firm’s portfolio in 1962. That was broadened into electrical services about 20 years later. Building-automation and industrial maintenance departments plus a pipe-fabrication shop, were added in the late 1990s.
南部空气将其服务领域扩大到整个弗吉尼亚州以及西弗吉尼亚州和北卡罗来纳州的部分地区。如今，其收入的三分之二来自机械，电气，控制和工业维护组的大型建筑项目。新利18备用网址另一个三分之一来自服务组，其中包括建筑服务，预防性维护和小型项目，例如冷却塔工作。新利18备用网址
在过去的34年中，该公司每年在BWX Technologies Inc.在林奇堡新利18备用网址的制造工厂为美国海军核反应堆提供潜艇和航空母舰的制造工厂。项目从H新利18备用网址VAC工作到管道和管道设施。
除了BWXT的大型项目外，Southern新利18备用网址 Air在过去五年中在那里拥有一份每年的大师介绍合同，用于维护，建筑和工程服务。BWXT工业工程维护和建设经理John Compher说：“它们是这里运营不可或缺的一部分，也是我们认为是非常可靠且可靠的承包商。”
Wheels Up
John Gallahan, a 23-year-employee at Southern Air, was one of the first to enroll in the firm’s then-new apprenticeship program in 1995 as an 18-year-old. He also was the first to complete the program’s electrical qualifications four years later. Gallahan, now 41, is a Southern Air project manager and an instructor in the apprenticeship program. “It’s a pretty big driver if somebody wants to accelerate their career,” says Gallahan. He adds that Southern Air is the only firm in its area to “sustain a program like this—some others have died out and a few others don’t really do what we do, at least in my opinion.”
The firm’s Wheels of Learning apprentice program is one of the few in Virginia that is certified through the commonwealth. The program allows students who complete 8,000 hours of classroom and on-the-job training to receive a journeyman’s license without sitting for the test with the Virginia Dept. of Professional and Occupational Regulation.
该计划在多个领域提供动手训练，包括电气，管道，HVAC和钣金。从高中生到成年人的学徒，白天工作，每周两晚，使用国家建筑教育与研究中心的课程。该计划自1995年以来已经毕业了125名学生，目前已有94名学生参加。新利18备用
在过去的12年中，至少有20名来自弗吉尼亚州贝德福德市贝德福德科学技术中心的学生已在南方航空实习，其中一些人继续为公司工作。贝德福德学校的讲师亚伦·佩恩（Aaron Payne）说：“南方航空不仅为我的学生提供了一个职业的机会，而且还可以在一家成熟的公司内成长。”毕业后，有几名学生被聘为专职学徒。该公司说，他们只需要在公司的学习计划中上学两年，然后才能成为完全许可的工匠，通常在21岁之前就达到了这一里程碑。一些计划毕业生由南方航空的客户或竞争对手雇用，但Denham说：“我们将与人们饱和，这将为我们服务，它将为我们的客户以及其他承包商服务。”
Denham不必担心偷猎，因为该公司（由员工股票拥有计划拥有50％）以从内部晋升而闻名。自从七年前加入该公司以来，30岁的德鲁·福尔康（Drew Faulconer）被提升了三次。里士满分支的经理说：“对我个人而言，天空一直是极限。”
The firm also looks to promote field employees, most of whom don’t have college degrees, into management positions. Denham says half of the nine-person leadership team never attended college and his predecessor started as a journeyman electrician before serving as president for 17 years.
加拉汉（Gallahan）最初是一名巡回电工，希望有一天能领导他的部门。他说：“我在这里去过23年，但我仍然是年轻的幼崽之一。”“这家公司有很多人有30或40年的时间。对我说很多。”
保险箱
丹纳姆说，南方航空也扭转了一条安全记录，即几年前“可怕”，其中包括“严重的车祸”。它的经验修改率（EMR）接近1.0，其总事件率接近5.0。该公司聘请了新的安全总监，并在每个公司会议上将安全性成为第一项议程项目。每六个月，项目经理每六个月都必须参加不是自己的工作的安全审核。该公司有望将其总事件率提高到2.0，其EMR低于0.70，“我们希望降低，” Denham说。
