In Osceola, Ark., Big River Steel has embarked on the $1.3 billion development of a new steel mill that is aiming to change the face – and the fortunes – of the American steel industry. Under development for several years, Big River Steel achieved its financing goals in June 2014, and it broke ground on its Mississippi County mill last fall.
Big River Steel is the largest economic development project in Arkansas history in an area of the state Big River Steel Chairman and CEO John Correnti calls “steel heaven” due to its proximity to the BNSF railroad, location close to I-55, and direct access to the Mississippi River.
“Our U.S. equity investors give this project credibility, and we also have senior secured financing guaranteed by the German government,” Chief Commercial Officer Mark Bula says. “We are well financed and have a platform for growth.”
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Although an electric grid can cover hundreds of square miles, it’s really the little things that count, such as the electronics components inside the equipment that distributes power to a utility’s customers. Power and energy companies need to know that the manufacturers they team up with are capable of providing them with highly sophisticated electronics assembly test and integration. In particular, they need to understand the unique requirements of each product so that they can customize the manufacturing processes and test infrastructure. That’s why customers in the energy sector and beyond have chosen to work with San Jose, Calif.-based Bestronics for over 25 years. President Nat Mani says the company has a relentless focus on improving its capabilities to become more valuable to its customers.
Bestronics was founded in 1986 to support Silicon Valley manufacturers with contract electronics manufacturing services. In 2012, Mani joined the company as president and has spearheaded significant expansion in company infrastructure and senior management resources who are highly experienced in the industry.
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Carl Borgquist has a varied professional background that includes serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy District Attorney for Alameda County, Calif., and a stint as a Naval Judge Advocate. He also worked with the Davidson Trust Company as director of wealth management.
Borgquist had little experience in renewable energy or utilities, but when a client asked him for assistance with the legal and tax implications associated with a wind development project, he was intrigued. “I was thrilled to get involved in a new and evolving side of the energy business,” Borgquist says.
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Waters Construction Co. keeps strong after more than 50 years by focusing on the bottom line rather than growth, President Mario Smith says. “We focus on what we do well, rather than chasing volume for volume’s sake,” he says.
Based in Bridgeport, Conn., Al Waters founded the company in the early 1950s, Smith says. Over time, his father, Terence Smith, became owner and president of Waters Construction, which moved into sewer, road and building work. When the company encountered a recession in the early 1980s, “My father wound down the building division of the company,” Mario Smith recalls.
When the younger Smith took the role of president in 1991, “We became more involved in highway construction and rehabilitation,” he says. Today, Waters Construction has a paving division, a highway division, a site work division and mass transit division that has performed work at high schools, highways, railroad track crossings and rail yards.
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Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative is currently upgrading its delivery method from copper to a fiber-optic network.
“The capabilities of fiber optic are so much better than anything copper cable can deliver,” explains Jonathan West, general manager and CEO. “Copper has been a good workhorse for many years, but it is reaching the end of its usefulness.”
The major upgrade project kicked off in 2007 and expanded rapidly in 2010 following a federal stimulus fund grant. This stimulus funding portion of the project is slated to wrap up by July. “We are in the process of constructing an additional $30 million of fiber facilities made possible by an infrastructure loan from the Rural Utilities Service,” West says. “With that, we can complete construction in about 12 months and finish another substantial portion of our 2020 Vision project of bringing fiber to every home in the cooperative area.”
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Created by a city ordinance with the city of Stillwater, Okla., as the beneficiary, Stillwater Utilities Authority was established to operate and maintain the city’s utilities system. That system provides electric, water, wastewater and waste collection to Stillwater residents, businesses and industries.
Stillwater Utilities Authority is a public trust operating under a trust indenture dated April 1, 1979. The mayor and city council serve as trustees and govern the authority. The trustees approve the authority’s rates and budget. Through a designated formula, the authority transfers revenue to the city’s general fund, which the city uses for various services that benefit the residents of Stillwater. Stillwater Utilities Authority’s goal is to provide its customers with professional, reliable and friendly service.
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With more than 4 million customers across the southeastern United States, Southern Company has a huge responsibility in providing power to those customers as well as future customers. In particular, the state of Georgia has experienced significant growth in population over the last several years, and those numbers are expected to continue to grow in the years to come. To help it keep up with the need anticipated in the region over the coming years, Southern Company’s nuclear generation subsidiary, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, is taking a major step to address the region’s future needs.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company is in the middle of building two new nuclear power generation facilities at its Plant Vogtle facility near Waynesboro, Ga. These will be the first new nuclear generation facilities built in the United States in more than 30 years, and the company says it understands the massive responsibility that comes with the project.
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With more than 35 years of experience, S&N Communications has earned a reputation for taking challenges. “We’ve become well known for solving problems and finding different ways of looking at construction,” President and CEO Allen Powell says. “We look outside the box.”
Based in Kernersville, N.C., S&N provides an array of infrastructure services, including drop cable placement, service repairs, utility locating, installations, splicing, gas distribution, testing and implementation.
Powell notes that the company’s history dates back to the 1970s when Crawford Smith and Wayne Newkirk started the company as a copper-splicing firm. Several years later, the men met Powell, who operated Pyramid Construction in Virginia, which catered to cable TV companies.
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