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SAVINGS ARE WAY UP - THANKS TO PCX
Not long ago, officials at outdoor retailing giant Bass Pro Shops received an interesting letter. It came from Raleigh, NC - based PCX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of custom off-site pre-manufactured electrical and mechanical solutions. In the letter, PCX Vice President of Sales & Marketing Dean Di Lillo claimed that Bass Pro, a purveyor of premium gear for outdoor enthusiasts, could realize substantial and immediate cost savings by outsourcing construction and installation of electrical and mechanical equipment at its stores. Moreover, the letter claimed this tactic would enable faster construction of those stores, and through elevated positioning of equipment, provide more floor space which could ultimately help boost annual sales.
Bass Pro's Director of
Construction Tom Gammon was intrigued. The chain already out-sourced
manufacturing of several in-store fixtures such as chandaliers and gun
racks and had once toyed with the idea of carrying this concept into the
larger electrical and mechanical realms. In response, he returned to PCX a
set of plans for a soon-to-be-opened store and asked company
representatives to quantify the cost savings they promised using
specifications contained in these plans, and they did. A meeting ensued
and from this was born a long-term partnership between Bass Pro and PCX.
For Bass Pro, a privately-held company headquartered in Springfield, MO and operating 16 stores throughout the Midwest, Southwest and Southeastern United States, the concept of outsourced, pre-manufactured electrical and mechanical solutions made good sense on several counts. First and foremost is size; Bass Pro stores average about 100,000 square feet, so any cuts in anticipated fixed utility costs would be substantial. Then there are unique physical requirements in each department to consider. Many stores feature elaborate wildlife exhibits, waterfalls and 15,000-gallon aquariums filled with fish species native to the store's given location. As such, custom engineering of mechanical and electrical elements was mandated from the outset. Lastly is user-friendliness, the scope and enormity of these stores make them tourist destinations and beacons of community involvement, thus placing a premium on uptime and reliability. From a cost standpoint, Bass Pro's Gammon knew that containment is only effective so long as the equipment in his stores remains viable under a variety of conditions. After visiting the PCX factory and learning more about the custom engineering that comprises each PCX solution, he agreed to bring the company onboard to provide complete electrical power systems including computer rooms for the three upcoming stores. "We went to their shop, learned about their processes and were very impressed," recalled Gammon. "These were quality solutions. I was very impressed with how they were able to pack so much into a small space. These aren't just thrown together, there's a lot of thought that goes into them, a lot of engineering."
Said Bass Pro's Gammon, " One
of my initial fears was that our electrical people would object to
(off-site electrical fabrication), but in fact, this enabled them to do
other work around the store rather than sit a room all day and hook up
switch gear. In the end, PCX helped us to save weeks during construction
by getting the power up and running early. Having the rooms elevated also
gives us the ability to do warehousing below, so we gain additional floor
space."
For the three Bass Pro
projects, PCX will deliver a fully equipped electrical room already
meeting all NEC, UL and ETL standards and ready for the slab to be poured.
An obvious advantage to this approach is completion of primary electrical
and mechanical components upon delivery. Bumping these requirements up
earlier in construction schedules helps to change the entire process and
expedite store completion, assuming on-time delivery. Bass Pro's Gammon
expects PCX solutions to deliver on Di Lillo's initial promise of near and
long-term savings. "PCX is someone we plan to do business with again," he
said. "We were very impressed with the product, the delivery and the
service. At each of our sites, there was a lot of custom engineering
involved, and the foremen were very complimentary as well."
Visit Bass Pro Shops online at www.bassproshops.com
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What made PCX
applications unique for Bass Pro was the fact that the rooms for three
upcoming stores planned for Louisiana, Florida and Virginia (averaging
about 39' x 12' in size) were elevated. PCX's Dean Di Lillo said, "We made
the decision upfront to elevate the electrical rooms above the store
floors and realize revenue generation. Traditionally, electrical rooms are
located on the ground in the stores themselves. For Bass Pro, we're
offering a mezzanine support structure as part of our package." The
exception to this rule will be the Bossier City store ( slated to open
later this year), in which PCX plans to stack two rooms on top of one
another, placing the electrical room on the ground floor and the computer
control room above it. This enables Bass Pro to connect power almost
immediately during the early stages of construction.
