Safety Day Filled with Awards & Recognition

James CRAFT & Son has been holding “Safety Day” for the past several years where all employees are required to gather at our office, warehouse and shop facilities in York Haven.  This annual event features top notch safety training, updates in employee benefits, and the latest news & trends in construction.

Each year we also use this opportunity to proudly recognize our Safety Award winners, and hand out Years-Of-Service awards.

First the Safety Awards – 2016 had one of the largest groups to date (18 in all) as shown below.

We also recognized Tim Wolf for 20-years of service, Duane Swartz for 30-years of service, and Jim Craft for 40-years of service.  CONGRATULATIONS GENTLEMEN!

Ten 5-Year Safety Jacket Winners
L to R:  (1st row) Andrew McCormick, Bret Jordan, Kyle Kauffman, Jake Stough
(2nd row) Lance Litsinger, Todd Mundy, Ian Dilley, Ian Sayres, Tory Anderson
(not present) Mike Jackson

Two 10-Year Safety Jacket Winners
L to R: Gerry Brown, III & Robert Krebs

One 15-Year Safety Jacket Winner
Leon Goudy

Four 20-Year Safety Jacket Winners
L to R: Don Miller, Lee Slagle, Marc Krout
(not pictured) Dan Speelman

One 25-Year Safety Jacket Winner
Jr. Brown (Sheet Metal Shop Foreman)

20 Years of Service – Tim Wolf (Sales/Estimator)

30 Years of Service – Duane Swartz (Service Manager)

40 Years of Service – Jim Craft (President)

Getting The Job Done Utilizing Industry Tools & Technology

As the ever changing construction environment presents new challenges, James CRAFT & Son changes with it to continually provide customers with Quality CRAFTsmanship. This means utilizing the latest technology and tools to deliver our systems. Here are two examples of these innovations and how they help us get the job done.

Viega Mega Press:  The press fit system for schedule 40 steel pipes eliminate the need to thread pipe and fittings. Sounds fairly simple, but this time savings and quality in the field is unmatched. It eliminates the need to set-up a heavy and bulky thread machine and saves down time when working on a live water, steam or gas systems.

Learn more here…
http://www.viega.us/xchg/en-us/hs.xsl/9216.htm

Bluebeam Revu: This powerful software incorporates all the aspects of PDF editing software while also providing construction features like on-screen take offs and scaling. Our project management team can save time and paper producing submittals and O&Ms (Operation & Maintenance Manuals) while also providing more detailed document mark-ups for project team members.  Learn more here…http://www.bluebeam.com/ 

Happy Anniversary!

Today (9/28/2016) marks the 116th anniversary of James CRAFT & Son.  Dating way back to 1900 Faros Craft (great-grandfather of the company’s current owners) started in business for himself in the small town of York Haven, just up the road from our current location.  Read more about our history.

Did you know?  In the year 2000 we celebrated our centennial with a company photo…

 

 

Beating the Summer Heat

It has been a very busy summer here at James CRAFT & Son. Our job sites are running full steam, and the service department is working very hard to keep customers cool and comfortable.  Meanwhile back in York Haven the warehouse and both shops are hopping – fulfilling piping and sheet metal orders to support our field operations.  Not to mention our office staff who have continued to provide support, while the sales & estimating departments find more work to keep us busy into 2017.

A few weeks ago The Craft Family decided that all work and no play makes for a very dull day. We hit the pause button and rewarded our office, warehouse and shop employees with a special lunch.

James P. Craft, Steven Kearns and Fred Craft grilled up a delicious lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixings. Everyone enjoyed time for lunch and socializing before the Ice Cream Truck from Sarah’s Creamery arrived to dish out some homemade ice cream.

The Craft Family would like to take a moment to thank each and every employee for their hard work and dedication, not only during the hot summer months, but every day, all year long. 

Our Operations Team

What’s a project manager?  According to the dictionary “A project manager is the person responsible for leading a project from its inception to execution. This includes planning, execution and managing the people, resources and scope of the project.”

The project managers at James CRAFT & Son have a vast amount of experience and know-how to get our projects completed on time and within budget.  Juggling schedules, man-power, equipment deliveries, job site safety requirements, project profitability and many other responsibilities.  All this takes place each and every day to ensure that we deliver “Quality CRAFTsmanship In Every Job” each and every time…our valued customers deserve it, and they have come to expect it from us.

Our project mangers “Git R Done”!

 

 

2016 Apprenticeship Graduation

Tuesday May 24th marked an exciting milestone for a special group of people as they furthered their careers at James CRAFT & Son (and within the industry) by graduating from the Associated Builders & Contractors Apprenticeship Program.  Ian Dilley, Aaron Owens & Ian Sayres graduated from the Plumbing Program; Jason Smith & Ben Witmer graduated from the Sheet Metal Program.

 

There were some special recognitions highlighted also…

Straight A’s all 4 years –  Jason Smith & Ben Witmer

A & B Average all 4 years – Ian Dilley & Aaron Owens

Perfect attendance all 4 years – Ian Dilley

Perfect attendance for 2015/2016 – Ian Dilley and Ian Sayres

Congratulations to our 2016 ABC Apprenticeship Graduates!

 

Administrative Team at James CRAFT & Son

The administrative team at James CRAFT & Son recently got out of the office for a luncheon in celebration of Administrative Professionals’ Day.  The management team recognizes the important roles these ladies have around our office.  Thank you for your (in some cases many) years of dedication to the company.  The employees in these positions certainly keep our office running smoothly and help to support our work happening out in the field.

And our administrative staff is growing! James CRAFT & Son has welcomed 2 new additions to the office over the past few weeks, Nikki Kamler and Angie Temple.

Nikki is the new Service Dispatcher for our Service Department while Angie will be our receptionist in the afternoons.  We extend a warm welcome to both Angie and Nikki in our office!  

HVAC Cooling Towers Set in Place

In many commercial HVAC systems “cooling towers” are used as part of the design/build process.  James CRAFT & Son sells, installs and services cooling towers on a regular basis.  Recently we were involved with the installation of cooling towers for two fine customers in our area…the CGA law firm in York and the Lancaster General Hospital (LGH) in Lancaster…

“I am pleased to announce a MAJOR milestone for the LGH Energy Center Project . . . Cooling Towers 3, 4 and 6 have been set in place on the top of the new Energy Center.  This is a major milestone accomplishment given the importance of re-establishing cooling capacities with Chillers 3 & 4 within our scheduled timeline.  This accomplishment is the result of expert, tenacious, and professional collaboration and cooperation by all trade partners involved…”

Roger Daub, project manager with Benchmark Construction

Overlooking the York City skyline, a new cooling tower adorns the rooftop of the CGA Lawfirm.  This project incorporated setting and aligning water pumps, installing chilled water piping, and fabricating a steel support frame with vibration isolators to hold the new equipment on the roof.  This new tower will provide years of worry free cooling capacity to the building’s occupants.

Remember

Today (April 27th) marks the 32nd year since fire destroyed our York Haven warehouse in 1984…below are a few pictures of that day.  This unfortunate event was a turning point in our company’s history which led to the construction of our current corporate “world” headquarters facility (2780 York Haven Rd) which combines our offices and warehouse, as well as 2 state-of-the art Sheet Metal & Welding Fabrication shops…all under one roof.

Every company has a history, some of it tragic like that fire, but most of it positive and memorable…to see more here’s a link to the company’s “Historical Timeline” on our website. 

Out With The Old; In With The New

Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home recently hired us to replace the air handler for their main dining area.  Out with the old; in with the new as they say!  Replacing these large air handling units is a unique challenge for a talented group of our skilled and experienced CRAFTsmen.  They make it look easy, but it’s not something that just anyone can do.  Doing it, and doing it right takes the right people with the right knowledge and training…the kind of people James CRAFT & Son takes great pride in employing.

From the demolition of the old equipment, planning and setting of the new equipment, the piping & duct work, and then the start-up and commissioning.  It’s a process, but it’s what we do everyday for our valuable customers.

Great job guys!