Field Good Story

When Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the emergency construction of two “Tier 3” field hospitals for COVID-19 patients, calls quickly went out to local contractors who could handle the work in a hurry. Overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland, Colorado, and the Colorado Convention Center in Denver were announced as the locations of the two alternate care sites.  

Serving as HVAC contractor for the 1000-bed facility in Loveland, Apollo Mechanical contacted duct manufacturer Hercules Industries to help with duct fabrication. 

In order to meet the deadline, Hercules crewmembers worked around the clock on Good Friday to manufacture the spiral duct needed to finish the job on time. 

“They found out at 9 p.m. Wednesday that they needed to have boots on the ground Thursday morning,” explains Hercules regional sales manager and SPIDA member John Newland. “They called us.” 

Hercules is usually closed in observance of the holiday, says Newland, but crews were more than committed to forego the usual holiday to help the cause. “They came in, worked all the way through Friday night and Saturday,” says Newland. Apollo’s installation crews worked Easter Sunday to put the bulk of the duct in place. A job of this magnitude would normally take weeks to fabricate the duct and months to install, says Newland. To meet the deadline that time was cut down to days and weeks. 

“We’re just blessed to be able to be part of the bigger cause,” says Newland. 

Food For Thought

As the effects of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) called on the kindness of strangers to help those in need, Sheet Metal Connectors answered the call with a company-wide effort.

Every year, Sheet Metal Connectors gifts employees hams for Easter. This year, employees made the decision to turn around that kindness and pay it forward by donating the items to local food shelves in the area. 

Due to COVID-19, many food shelves were unable to host their normal in-person fundraising efforts to collect resources for those in need. A generous donation by Sheet Metal Connectors contributed hams totaling over 3200 lbs to efforts to feed the community for the holiday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

This article originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of SNIPS Magazine.