Location: Pryor, Oklahoma

Project Description: Sega is the owner’s engineer for the relocation and construction of a 500-MW Nominal 2-on-1 Siemens combined cycle plant. Developed and negotiated the engineer, procure and construct (EPC) power block construction contract and Sega is providing detailed design for [...]]]> Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Chouteau Unit 2
Combined-Cycle Project

Location: Pryor, Oklahoma

Project Description: Sega is the owner’s engineer for the relocation and construction of a 500-MW Nominal 2-on-1 Siemens combined cycle plant. Developed and negotiated the engineer, procure and construct (EPC) power block construction contract and Sega is providing detailed design for the site
preparation, water treatment, chiller retrofit and other construction packages. Sega is providing
construction and start-up support.

Scope of Work:

• Developed the EPC Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Power Block
• Negotiated the EPC Power Block Contract
• Provided Owner’s Engineer’s review for the Power Block detailed design
• Provided detailed engineering design for the site preparation package, water treatment equipment, and CTG chiller retrofit
• Provided contract Administration services for the Power Block EPC contract
• On-site construction engineering support
• Start-up and commissioning support

Black & Veatch, Kansas City’s largest engineering firm with 3,120 local employees, will be getting a sparkling entrance for its massive headquarters in Overland Park.

And Burns & McDonnell, another big player in the engineering world, is realizing its [...]]]> July 25, 2011 - Engineering firms need more office space for expansions

Black & Veatch, Kansas City’s largest engineering firm with 3,120 local employees, will be getting a sparkling entrance for its massive headquarters in Overland Park.

And Burns & McDonnell, another big player in the engineering world, is realizing its dream of occupying the entire 485,000-square-foot, two-building campus on Ward Parkway built by Ewing M. Kauffman in 1986 for Marion Laboratories.

What’s even better news for the local real estate market: Both firms expect to need even more office space after their major expansions are completed.

In a local real estate world marked more by vacancies and company contractions, a healthy engineering sector has been one of the bright spots.

“They are a significant factor in our office market, and the fact they continue to expand has helped our occupancies in terms of the long-term health of the market,” said Ken Block of Block Real Estate Services.

Kansas City counts nine engineering firms in the top 500 list compiled annually by Engineering News-Record. Three of them — Black & Veatch, Burns & McDonnell and HNTB Corp. — are among the top 20. And with a growing domestic and global demand for the engineering firms’ services, jobs have been added at a steady pace.

“We have 100 people being added monthly globally, 75 percent of them in the U.S.,” said James Lewis, chief administrative officer for Black & Veatch.

The firm expects to add 200 more employees in Kansas City alone by the end of the year. Its total workforce should be about 8,700 employees.

Not to be outdone, Burns & McDonnell is expecting steady employee growth as well and expects its local workforce will reach 2,200 employees by the end of the year, about 3,300 total.

That’s what’s fueling its takeover of 9300 Ward Parkway, the other half of the former Marion complex. Burns & McDonnell has been in 9400 Ward Parkway since 1996.

“We have always thought it would make a lot of sense to consolidate our Kansas City operations in a single facility, especially when that facility is one of the most attractive office complexes in the metro,” said Greg Graves, chairman and CEO.

HNTB is comfortable within its current office space. Its headquarters is in downtown Kansas City at 715 Kirk Drive, but it does expect to add more employees as well in areas where its business is growing, including high-speed rail, aviation, tolls and transit.

Black & Veatch, though declining to offer a cost estimate, is launching the largest project this January. It includes an overhaul of its 600,000-square-foot headquarters and the addition of a 12,000-square-foot pavilion. The glass structure will provide additional training and meeting space and a splashy new front door.

It’s been a little more than two years since the firm decided to buy the office building at 11401 Lamar Ave. for about $60 million from its Chicago landlord. Black & Veatch had always been its sole tenant.

“The lease was expiring, and we had to decide what to do,” Lewis said. “We had options, including a new building in a new part of town, Missouri or Kansas, but we ultimately decided to buy the building. We knew we had to remodel.”

 The behemoth — the largest office building in Kansas — was built in two phases.

The west section was completed in 1976. At the time it was thought to be large enough to accommodate the company, which then had 1,200 employees. But continued growth required the construction of an addition on the east side in 1996.

The plan calls for a complete renovation of the older section of the building and an extensive updating of the 1990s addition. Three floors will be taken out of service at any one time for the work. J.E. Dunn Construction is the contractor, and 360 Architecture is the designer.

The overhaul of the existing building is expected to take two years. When complete it will meet the basic Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council and provide employees the latest technology.

The showcase of the Black & Veatch corporate makeover will be the glass pavilion, scheduled to begin construction in mid-2013.

The current office building lacks a distinctive entrance, and the new pavilion is expected to fulfill that need plus add airy and attractive new meeting and training space.

“We wanted to make a statement to the community that part of the Black & Veatch vision is a sustainable vision,” Lewis said.

To help achieve that goal, the roof of the new two-level pavilion will be covered by native grasses.

All the projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2014, in time for Black & Veatch’s centennial celebration the next year.

Down the road, the firm also has identified a site on the west side of the headquarters for a 250,000-square -foot expansion, but no timetable has been established for that project.

At Burns & McDonnell, work has begun on renovating the space it will be occupying at 9300 Ward Parkway. The 217,000-square-foot building had been occupied by JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services, but that firm completed its move to the Sprint campus at the end of June.

The former JPMorgan space is being completely renovated and will achieve LEED Silver certification when completed, said Denny Scott, chief administrative officer for Burns & Mac. The building now occupied bythe firm at 9400 Ward Parkway will have upgrades as well.

The major project will be a 9,000-square-foot auditorium that will be built between the two wings of the office campus. Work is expected to begin this week. Architects at Burns & McDonnell are designing the project, and the firm will serve as its own contractor.

The auditorium will accommodate 450 people, and its atrium will be designed to link with 9300 Ward Parkway to form a larger gathering area for social events.

Other features of the Burns & McDonnell renovation and expansion include a new fitness center, expanded cafeteria and additional conference rooms. The entire price tag is estimated at $25 million, and the project is expected to be completed next summer.

“We’re excited about all the upgrades and improvements we will be able to make to the new space,” Graves said. “Having 2,000 of our employee-owners working at the same place will definitely make us more efficient.

“The only downside to all this is that we already know we won’t be able to locate everyone in the headquarters building” because of the firm’s continued growth.

Scott said Burns & McDonnell was talking to local landlords about leasing additional short- and long-term space.

Black & Veatch will continue to lease buildings at 8400 Ward Parkway and 6601 College Blvd., and have employees in leased space at Corporate Woods and Lenexa as well.

Other engineering firms in the Kansas City area also have been growing in terms of space.

Four years ago Shafer Kline & Warren doubled the size of its Lenexa headquarters when it moved into a 31,000-square-foot building at 11250 Corporate Ave. in the South Lake Business Park. The firm employs 150 people locally and 240 companywide.

It also leased a 34,000-square-foot former warehouse in North Kansas City at 1700 Swift St. two years ago and spent $1.5 million to convert the 1920s vintage structure into modern office space.

“We’ve got quite a bit of space so we can stay put,” said Ron Petering, president of Shafer Kline.

Sega Inc. added 32,600 square feet to its headquarters at 16041 Foster St. in Overland Park in 2008. The $5 million project doubled the size of its building, and the engineering firm, which employs 150 people, is now spending $200,000 to remodel the old space.

And although Kiewit Power is not based locally — it’s a subsidiary of Kiewit Corp. of Omaha — the firm recently announced it was expanding its offices in Lenexa.

The firm at 9401 Renner Blvd. currently employs 680 people at its two local divisions, Kiewit Power Constructors and Kiewit Power Engineering. The expansion will occupy 17,000 square feet in a nearby building at 16201 W. 95th St.

Chris Wally, a broker at Wally & Co., said one of the most attractive aspects of leasing space to engineering firms was their solid reputation.

“It’s always good when you have big tenants like that which are also stable,” he said.

“The fact these firms are getting bigger — if that trend continues, we won’t see that space returning to the market.”

 By: Kevin Collison
The Kansas City Star

View a printer friendly version of this article: Engineering firms need more office space for expansions

Kansas City’s two largest engineering firms expect to hire a total of 350 additional employees this year as the area continues to live up to its national reputation as an industry hub.

Three of the nation’s top 20 engineering firms [...]]]> April 27, 2011 - KC-area engineering firms do well in national rankings

Kansas City’s two largest engineering firms expect to hire a total of 350 additional employees this year as the area continues to live up to its national reputation as an industry hub.

Three of the nation’s top 20 engineering firms are based in the metro area, according to the latest annual survey of Engineering News-Record, a respected trade publication. Nine others nine made the magazine’s top 500.

And executives at two of the larger firms, Black & Veatch and Burns & McDonnell, say they expect significantly more hiring in 2011.

Overland Park-based Black & Veatch plans to add 430 employees companywide, 200 in the area, and Burns & McDonnell, which is expanding its headquarters on Ward Parkway, expects to hire 300 additional staff, about half locally.

According to Engineering News-Record, Black & Veatch was the 16th largest design firm overall in the U.S. last year, down from 14th in 2009, and ranked No. 1 in the power and telecommunications categories. It also ranked 15th in international business.

Revenues generated by Black & Veatch’s telecommunications operation have increased from $63 million four years ago to $347 million in 2010, according to the company.

The firm is expecting more growth this year as it pursues a Sprint-Samsung Network Vision project. Black & Veatch employs 8,100 people companywide, with 3,000 in the Kansas City area.

“Communications infrastructure is rapidly improving the quality of life around the world and provides economic and improved operation efficiencies for businesses and governments,” Len Rodman, Black & Veatch’s top executive, said in a statement.

Black & Veatch also plans to build a 15,000-square-foot operations and training center in Lenexa this year.

HNTB Cos. of Kansas City moved up two spots to 17th overall in the trade magazine’s rankings for 2010, and was the fourth largest in the transportation category.

Burns & McDonnell of Kansas City was 20th, up from 22nd, and it ranked sixth in the power category.

“We weren’t surprised, but we certainly like it,” said Greg Graves, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. “As an employee-owned firm, our most important goals aren’t ranking; we’re more focused on return to our owners.

“What doesn’t surprise me is that our culture shows better in bad economic times even more than good.”

Graves said Burns & Mac experienced strong growth in its aviation and facilities group, as well as in its transmission and distribution group. The company employs 3,100 people nationwide and 2,100 locally.

This year, the engineering firm is taking over the entire campus formerly occupied by Marion Laboratories at 9300 Ward Parkway. It’s occupying space vacated by JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services, which is moving to the Sprint campus in Overland Park.

HNTB experienced continued growth in its core transportation sector. However, the firm has no big hiring plans, said Kevin Wallace, leader of the Kansas City office.

 “Our success over the last year is not anything we’ve done differently,” he said. “Our infrastructure practice has been our focus. I can’t say we have huge plans for aggressive hiring, but we’re taking a strategic approach to hiring.”

HNTB employs 3,800 people overall, with 700 in the metropolitan area.

The other local firms making the top 200 list for 2010 are in the accompanying chart.

The local firms making the top 200 list for their 2010 design revenues

View the whole list here: 2011 ENR Top 500 Design Firms view the whole list here

By: Kevin Collison
The Kansas City Star

View a printer friendly version of this article: KC-area engineering firms do well in national rankings

Instead of only burning coal, UNC has added dried wood pellets to the mix to test the feasibility of co-firing with biomass as the university moves toward its goal to become coal-free [...]]]> March 17, 2011 - Burning Green

Compressed-air storage for energy use (CAES) has been used intermittently since the 19th century, but is finding new employment in the U.S. In 2009 an electric utility, BSC Holding, Inc. (mine owner), and Sega Inc., a design engineering firm, entered an agreement to investigate [...]]]> April 24, 2010 - Compressed-Air Storage in Salt Mine

Compressed-air storage for energy use (CAES) has been used intermittently since the 19th century, but is finding new employment in the U.S. In 2009 an electric utility, BSC Holding, Inc. (mine owner), and Sega Inc., a design engineering firm, entered an agreement to investigate feasibility of storing wind energy as compressed air in the Lyons Salt Mine in Kansas.

The test comprised isolating a cavern in the mine with a concrete bulkhead 25 ft wide, 17.5 ft high, and 16 ft deep, embedded into the salt surroundings. The final seal was a rubberized grout proprietary to and applied by Sovereign Hydroseal Ply Ltd. of Australia. A hydrostatic test with brine solution plus 20 cu ft of air was incrementally pressured to 50 psi, then 100, 390, and finally 1,220 psi, with no measurable pressure drop inside. The bulkhead moved forward 3/4 in. while pressing into the salt formation.

Published in the Engineering News Record

View a printer friendly version at: Compressed Air Storage in Salt Mine

It stands to reason that it will take smart people to operate the “smart grid” — the term for the energy-delivery technology of tomorrow.

Metropolitan Community College is leading a consortium aiming to use $2.5 million in stimulus money to help create a smart-grid-ready [...]]]> January 15, 2010 - Metropolitan Community College seeks $2.5M for smart-grid training

It stands to reason that it will take smart people to operate the “smart grid” — the term for the energy-delivery technology of tomorrow.

Metropolitan Community College is leading a consortium aiming to use $2.5 million in stimulus money to help create a smart-grid-ready work force. The group includes Kansas City Power & Light Co., the University of Central Missouri, and Sega Inc., an Overland Park-based engineering firm that specializes in the design and operation of power plants.

The coalition is seeking the financing through the Department of Energy’s Strategic  Training and Education in Power Systems program. Word on the grant award is expected this month, said Deborah Goodall, president of MCC’s Business & Technology Campus.

The proposal calls for Metropolitan Community College and its partners to develop a curriculum that includes everything from continuing education for utility workers to degree programs at the colleges. The coalition also includes three other Missouri community colleges in Sedalia, Trenton and Neosho.

Existing smart-grid technologies include thermostats that — with the customers’ permission — utilities can briefly shut off during times of peak demand. Goodall said the energy system of the future probably will include increasing use of solar panels and wind turbines at homes.

Plus, she said, power plants will become increasingly complex to operate.

“The technicians that work on the system need to be familiar with the technologies. They need to know how to install them, test them, troubleshoot them, repair them, etc.,” Goodall said. “And so, those skill sets simply are not there.”

She said Sega’s role is key because the firm would develop a simulator for the curriculum.

The effort also would benefit the firm, said Bruce Kelly, manager of plant operation services for Sega.

“We, like everybody else, are interested in how this smart grid is going to evolve,” he said. “This gives us a chance to focus on that right now.”

By: Mike Sherry
Kansas City Business Journal

View a printer friendly version at: Metropolitan Community College seeks $2.5M for smart-grid training

In a world where electricity markets have grown massively complex and public policy is driving exotic technology upgrades to the nation’s grid, a casual observer may wonder if local public ownership is relevant in the 21st century.

Rest assured, it is. And a utility established in the [...]]]> January 8, 2010 – A Portrait of Relevance

In a world where electricity markets have grown massively complex and public policy is driving exotic technology upgrades to the nation’s grid, a casual observer may wonder if local public ownership is relevant in the 21st century.

Rest assured, it is. And a utility established in the 19th century stands as an important piece of evidence in support of the continued value of public power. Rock Falls Electric Department in Illinois was established in 1895 to bring electricity to residences and businesses of this northern Illinois city of 9,500. The city’s 5,400 electric customers pay rates that are 10 to 30 percent below those charged by neighboring investor-owned and cooperative utilities. Beyond the rate advantage, the city’s very infrastructure benefits from the presence of the locally owned electric utility.

Megan Grevas is manager of geographic information systems and information technology for the city. She is a 2005 graduate of Augustana College who majored in geography and studio art. She discovered the exciting world of GIS as a college sophomore and, as a junior, interned for the cities of Rock Island and Moline on a project to map fire hydrants. Now working full-time for Rock Falls, she is maintaining the city’s GIS database, beginning with the electric facilities. Using a database created for Rock Falls Electric by Sega Inc. of Stillwell, Kansas, Grevas makes sure the system’s maps accurately depict primary and secondary lines throughout the 74-square-mile city, showing the location of every structure in the city as well as poles, underground vaults and switches. The maps identify where electricity lines feed into each building in the city. The system also maps the Electric Department’s fiber communications network. Ultimately, the GIS database will map the  city’s sewer, water, streets and streetlights…

Continue Reading: Portrait of Relevance

By: Jeanne LaBella
Public Power Magazine

The best way to upgrade Columbia’s city power plant to meet future federal regulations will be better understood after a study of two of its three boilers.

The Columbia City Council last night unanimously approved a contract with engineering firm Sega Inc. for a [...]]]>

November 17, 2009 - Power plant’s future may rely on biomass

The best way to upgrade Columbia’s city power plant to meet future federal regulations will be better understood after a study of two of its three boilers.

OVERLAND PARK – Sega Inc. was recently presented the IEEE Region 5 “Outstanding Small Company Award 2008”. IEEE Region 5 includes Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Sega Inc. has been a strong supporter of IEEE having sponsored two employees serving active roles in the IEEE organization and 20 additional [...]]]>

May 4, 2009

OVERLAND PARK – Sega Inc. was recently presented the IEEE Region 5 “Outstanding Small Company Award 2008”. IEEE Region 5 includes Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Sega Inc. has been a strong supporter of IEEE having sponsored two employees serving active roles in the IEEE organization and 20 additional employees as active members. These employees attend the bi-annual Transmission and Distribution Expo. Sega Inc. is also a paid sponsor of the 2009 Substations Committee meeting to be held in Kansas City.

Nominations for the award are judged on the following merits: company’s willingness to pay 100% of employee’s IEEE dues, level of support of employees’ participation in IEEE, support of local IEEE section, and support of IEEE at region and institute level. Companies must have less than 500 engineering employees to be classified as a “small company”.

IEEE, a non-profit organization, is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. Through its global membership of 375,000 people in more than 160 countries, IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Members rely on IEEE as a source of technical and professional information, resources and services with over 1,300 industry standards, over 1.7 million documents in an electronic library, and sponsorship of 850 annual conferences. Find out more at www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/home/index.html.

About Sega Inc.
Sega Inc. is an employee-owned engineering and technical services firm that has been providing quality services for over 35 years to utilities, institutions, and industrial facilities. They assist clients with planning, design, procurement, construction, programming, and field services for projects related to the production and distribution of energy.

Media Contact:
Kristin Haynes
913-681-2881
khaynes@segainc.com