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May/June 2008
Leeding the Way: New HQ Strikes Gold
Cashman Equipment goes green at its desert headquarters, creating a campus setting to house its sales, rental and service business
By Tom Nicholson
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| A crane lifts a tilt-up concrete panel during construction of the ultra-green headquarters for Las Vegas equipment dealership. (Photo courtesy of Cashman Equipment Co.) |
t was perhaps a blessing in disguise for Cashman Equipment Co. when the firm lost several acres of its Caterpillar dealership last year to a highway expansion project next to its Henderson, Nev., headquarters. A potential setback, the firm instead took it as an opportunity for improvement, choosing a 42-acre site across town for a new ultra-green headquarters campus that is currently under construction.
About 50% complete this spring, the project was started last July and is expected to be finished by December. With design performed by Las Vegas-based F.W. Architecture, the project includes construction of eight concrete tilt-up buildings in a campus setting to house Cashman’s heavy-equipment sales, rentals and service business. Totaling about 300,000 sq ft, the design features buildings for administrative, utility, rental, service, a dyno-clean room for engine and chassis work and a central plant for a geothermal heating and cooling system, says project manager Roger Thomas of Las Vegas-based contractor Burke and Associates.
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| Workers drill deep for water as part of a geothermal heating-andcooling
system integrated into the project. (Photo courtesy of Cashman Equipment Co.) |
Aiming for a high level of environmental sustainability in the project, the construction documentation and materials procurement is proceeding according to LEED-Gold standards. The campus design integrates a full range of green features, including high-efficiency power and plumbing fixtures, use of recycled materials, indoor finishes free from volatile organic compounds, sunlight optimization, and a geothermal system consisting of 359 wells bored 400 ft deep. The geothermal system will utilize the 70° groundwater temperature for winter heating and summer cooling, and is expected to cut energy consumption by 45%.
Being involved with the cutting-edge green project “for me is just a passion,” says Thomas. “I believe in sustainable construction not only for the health and environmental benefits but because it makes good business sense.”
Cashman President Mike Pack says the decision to go green made good long-term economic sense. “We would have done this even if it didn’t have economic payback because it’s just the right thing to do,” he says. “Although it did cost us about 5% to 7% more to go green, from a business perspective we will see the payback in energy savings on the investment in five to six years.” Pack did not disclose the project’s total cost, but noted that construction is under budget and on schedule.
“We would have done this even if it didn’t have an economic payback because it’s just the right thing to do.”
— Cashman President Mike Pack |
The project sets a new precedent in Nevada, as it is the largest LEED-Gold industrial project in the state, says Thomas. “This is an example of living the philosophy,” he says.
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| (Photo courtesy of Cashman Equipment Co.) |
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| When complete, the Cashman Equipment dealership will become the largest LEED-Gold industrial project in Nevada. (Photo courtesy of Cashman Equipment Co.) |
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