Every so often we take a moment out from our usual blog posts to pass on a story or two about one of our clients and the mechanical contracting work we’ve done for them. This month, we’ll do just that. The following is a letter we recently received from one of our clients.
To whom it may concern,
I would like to personally commend TMS’s performance during Cargill’s recent biodiesel plant expansion project in Iowa Falls, IA. The level of performance, in safety, quality of work, and general attitude of the entire team was nothing short of bar setting for all other contractor crews involved. Any time a suggestion or request was made to anyone in the company, not just foremen or superintendents, but every TMS employee, it would become expected and common practice. The site working relationship between all companies involved was largely influenced by the willingness of the TMS crew to cohabitate the site, and work in harmony with all crafts. This mindset extended from office and design personnel to subcontracted labor, and in my personal opinion does not simply happen. The only effective way to perform at this level of safety, responsibility, and customer service is a “top down” approach. That is to say without doubt every single employee believed in these ethics to their core, and they were upheld in every action taken by their leadership. If you see this is actually something your boss cares about, and walks the walk, talks the talk, so do you. I was reminded over and over again from numerous superintendents of other contract crews what a pleasure it was to work with TMS.
We have to date been able to exceed our nameplate capacity of the production plant by an additional 18% capacity. The project was designed for 150% capacity, we are already comfortably at 168%. This is above and beyond what we were committed to deliver upon for the investment we made. A major contribution to this were the hard hours, dedication, innovation and cost management performed by the TMS site leadership. I would like to call out special appreciation to Pete Cashen, Phil Duffman, and Bud Curry. We would not have achieved the level of success we did without the positive attitudes, commitment to safety and hard work that these gentlemen demonstrated individually, and held their teams accountable for. I also would like to call out the help and hard work of Jeremy Luecke and Patrick Sullivan, whom had the same mindset when onsite, and put in countless more hours in the office to aid in the success of our project. My only regret is I was not able to familiarize myself with the balance of the crew which kept the onsite team afloat from KC, and ensured their ability to perform for us as well as they did. Please ensure this email reaches them, so they feel the true appreciation the Iowa Falls Team, and Cargill have for their efforts. In the year end presentation for the closing of the project, I delivered a summary to the Cargill corporate leadership team, in the presentation I explained “Quality contractors are worth their weight in biodiesel,” sort of a pun on the weight in gold adage. It was in this regard I was definitely thinking of TMS’s influence of the overall project. In the end I very much felt the project was a shared one, and not something being contracted or purchased from TMS for Cargill.
I again want to thank you personally as well as professionally. Please know my expectations of future contractors has been permanently influenced by the ability of the Iowa Falls crew.
Please feel free to forward this email on to all those appropriate in hearing the recognition of a job very well done.
Regards,
Brandt Stewart
Process Engineer
Cargill Biodiesel, Iowa Falls
Cargill GOSCNA
Thank you Brandt, we appreciate the kind words! As we’ve said before. It always makes us happy when our customers are happy. That’s our goal with every job we do. Contact us for your mechanical contracting needs and become another one of our success stories.