Whiting-Turner Contracting Leverages High-Tech Industrial Experience to Win Nanoscale Research Facility Construction Management Contract in Florida

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The Tampa, Florida office of The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company has been awarded the construction management contract for the Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technologies (NIMET) Nanoscale Research Facility to be constructed at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The $35 million facility will include cleanrooms (class 100 and 1000), laboratories, and offices to support multi-disciplined research efforts in the emerging nanosciences field. The project is being designed by cleanroom expert M+W Zander (Chicago, Illinois).

"We found out about the project from information supplied by Industrialinfo.com, when it was first reported as part of the PECWeb Direct project reporting service in August 2004. From that point on we followed the project very closely, contacting the University, eventually we were shortlisted, interviewed, and finally selected as the construction manager," according to Brent Voyles, Vice President handling the Greater Tampa and Florida region for Whiting-Turner Contracting.

Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Whiting-Turner Contracting has been in business for 96 years and has extensive experience in constructing high-tech and life science projects, having pioneered jobs for IBM, Micron Technologies, Universities and governmental agencies throughout the country.

Whiting-Turner’s expertise extends further than the pharmaceutical-biotech industry, encompassing both commercial and industrial projects. Mr. Voyles goes on to state, "We are a very diverse $3 billion per year company with 25 offices nationwide, providing engineering and construction services in industrial, high-tech, pharmaceutical-biotech, healthcare, and retail to name a few."

At the peak of construction, Whiting-Turner will staff five superintendents and managers to oversee the NIMET building project. Construction subcontractor bid packages for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and interior work will be released starting around April of 2006. Construction is anticipated to begin in June or July 2006.

Construction service firms throughout the country are experiencing high levels of activity. Mr. Voyles comments on the state of the economy, "Lately, it’s been very busy for us in Florida and throughout the country. All facets of commercial construction, as well as pharmaceutical-biotech industries are going gangbusters."

Exemplifying the concept of multidisciplinary research, the NIMET project will provide laboratory and nanoscale cleanroom research areas for the development of practical technical applications. The NIMET will serve a variety of hi-tech fields, including biology, electronics and mechanical systems. For more information on Nanotechnology see related June 15, 2005 article titled - Notre Dame Hopes to Score Technology Touchdown with Construction of Nanotech Research Center.

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