Today, July 6, Mike Brown joins the Louisville team as Construction Manager for the Local 51 Market. Mike recently moved to Louisville from North Carolina after 20 years working in the racing industry. He spent the majority of that time at Bill Davis Racing, where he acted as General Manager and CFO. Until it was sold in 2009, Bill Davis Racing participated in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, winning the Daytona 500 in 2002 with driver Ward Burton. After all those years working weekends, Mike is excited about a job that allows him to spend more time at home with his family. I am thrilled to bring Mike’s management expertise to our Louisville branch.
One Million Hours without a Lost Time Accident
Gribbins Insulation’s first priority on every job site is safety, and this dedication has resulted in a major milestone. As of June 1, 2010, we have worked 1,000,000 consecutive hours without a lost time accident. These accident-free hours have been logged since October 2007 – two and a half years of no lost time!
Our safety manager, Trevor Atherton, believes that the success of our safety program is due primarily to excellent communication. As he said, “From the office to the field employees, the importance of safety is continually emphasized, and our President, Jim Gribbins, is fully dedicated.” According to Trevor, this communication begins with the interactive new hire training program. As Trevor explains, “We do not just show a video or open a book. Our new hires have the opportunity to review the manual with the trainer and ask questions. This focused time and attention ensures understanding and reinforces our commitment to safety with every employee.”
Our field employees are the ones who live and breathe our safety program each and every day. Tony Barnes, an insulator for over 15 years, feels that the best part of the Gribbins Insulation Safety Program is that we “genuinely care about the safety of employees and making sure everyone gets home safe. “ He adds, “The safety program is not just something in writing at Gribbins. There is a true commitment to work and live safely.” Rick Beck has been an insulator for over 20 years, and his favorite part about our safety program is simple: “I like the fact that it’s successful – Gribbins stresses the importance of safety and it works.”
For more information on our safety program and incentives, click here.
Building Star Program
The Energy Star ratings program and the Home Star program will hopefully be joined soon by the Building Star program, an incentive program for commercial building owners. The legislation was introduced in the Senate on March 4, 2010, by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR). If passed, the program would save building owners $3 billion annually on their energy bills, and reduce U.S. emissions by 21 million metric tons. Plus, the program would create 150,000 jobs over the next two years in some of the hardest hit industries – construction, manufacturing, and distribution. Mechanical insulation would be covered by the Building Star incentives, and the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers support the legislation. Click here for the press release from Senator Merkley.
Duke Energy Power Plant in Edwardsport, Indiana
Since our founding in 1985, we have seen continued growth and are now proud to be the largest insulation contractor in the Tri-State. Much of this growth over the past 25 years has stemmed from the opportunity to participate in high-value local projects like Duke Energy’s new power plant. At a time when most companies are cutting back, Duke is creating jobs and opportunities with a huge project right in our backyard. In February 2010, we learned that Duke chose us for nearly all the mechanical insulation work required for the new plant. This is our largest job to date.
Duke Energy recognizes the benefits of local contractors. By choosing a contractor like Gribbins Insulation, Duke is taking advantage of our knowledge and experience working in the area with our local highly-trained union members. We know the area, we know the workers, we know how to get the job done. During construction over the next two years, the Edwardsport plant alone will employ up to 200 insulators at any one time, and this will be in addition to our usual work.
For more information on the new Duke power plant.
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2009 Pinnacle Safety Award
The Indiana Construction Association (ICA) recently selected seven Gold Summit Award winners for achievements in safety as best in their categories for 2009. From the seven recipients, Gribbins Insulation Company, Inc. was chosen by the ICA Safety Program Awards Selection Committee for the ICA’s highest safety award: the Pinnacle Safety Award – representing the “Overall Leader in Construction Employee Safety.”
Employees and supervisors of contractors/subcontractors throughout Indiana vying for this award were confidentially surveyed to test how well the company’s safety program is understood and implemented. ICA Director of Contractor Relations George Sheraw said, “Gribbins Insulation Company was clearly ranked best overall by the judges. The judges commented that they were impressed by the consistent responses received from the confidential worker and supervisor surveys that were completed by the Gribbins Insulation company employees.” One of the judges stated – “It’s clear that at Gribbins Insulation, they talk safety all day, every day. From top to bottom they are committed to safety.” By winning this award, we demonstrated that we have a well-written safety program that is understood by employees and effectively implemented on the job.
Safety Manager, Trevor Atherton and Vice President, Brian Willett accepted the award on November 19, 2009, at ICA’s annual membership meeting. In February and March 2010, President Jim Gribbins, Vice President Brian Willett and Safety Manager Trevor Atherton held presentations and panel discussions for ICA members. Visit our company page on Facebook to see pictures from these events.
About ICA
The Indiana Construction Association (ICA) is the state’s largest and oldest construction trade association. The core purpose of ICA is to enhance the image, well-being, economic stability, and political strength of the Indiana construction industry for the success of its membership. ICA represents more than 315 member firms employing more than 45,000 workers. For more information, visit ICA’s website.
25 Year Anniversary
On April 1, 1985, Gribbins Insulation opened its doors for business in a green building near downtown Evansville, Indiana. The entire operation consisted of Jim Gribbins as estimator, Leslee Gribbins as receptionist, and three insulators in the field.
Now at our third building in Evansville, we have seen tremendous growth over the past 25 years. Among our five locations in Indiana and Kentucky, we employ over 30 office staff and average about 150 insulators in the field. Over the past 10 years, we have completed projects in Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, and even the Bahamas. Our participation in industry associations has introduced us to a broad network of industry support, and we are proud to be the largest insulation contractor in the Tri-State area.
We have performed work on the following projects:
- Abengoa Ethanol Facility – Mt. Vernon, IN
- Cardinal Station FGD – Brilliant, OH
- Casino Aztar – Evansville, IN
- Duke Energy IGCC Project – Edwardsport, IN
- Marathon Petroleum – Robinson, IL
- Old National Bank – New Headquarters in Evansville, IN
- St. John’s River Power Plant – Jacksonville, FL
- Toyota Plant – Princeton, IN
- University of Evansville Ridgway Center and Koch Engineering Center
- University of Louisville Arena – Louisville, KY
Our founder and President, Jim Gribbins, holds Gribbins Insulation to the highest standards of excellence, and we are proud to put our name on our jobs. We continue on our mission to “maximize customer satisfaction by providing the highest level of safety, quality and productivity leading to the optimum employee fulfillment and company profit.”
