DuPont Awarded “Green Approved” Product Seal from NAHB Research Center

DuPont Products Eligible to Earn National Green Building Standard Points

DuPont announced that products from its Building Innovations portfolio have received the coveted Green Approved Product Seal for National Green Building Certification by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center.;

The third-party endorsement means that DuPont “Green Approved” products can now be used by builders to earn points toward certification to the National Green Building Standard™.

“Sustainability continues to be a critical strategic initiative for DuPont,” said Thomas F. Schuler, vice president and general manager – DuPont Building Innovations. “For us, sustainable building products are not just nice things to have; they are necessities. From our latest surfacing introductions to new building envelope innovations, this certification further demonstrates our commitment to providing sustainable solutions for the marketplace.”

DuPont — one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals 19 years ago—has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

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Nason Construction Celebrates Grand Opening at Christiana Care Health System

Nason Construction recently stood alongside Christiana Hospital as they celebrated the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art Helen F. Graham Cancer Center Pavilion in Newark, DE.

This four-story, 120,000 square foot expansion designed by HKS Architects is connected to an existing facility by a glass-enclosed walkway and reflecting pool.  It is now the new home for a vast array of outpatient services under one roof that includes doctor and surgeon offices, clinical research labs, imagining (PET/CT, Film & MRI), and a pharmacy.

Nason built the core and shell as well as eight concurrent fit-outs that included research laboratories, cancer treatment and diagnostics, and sustainable design features such as a green roof and commissioning of MEP systems. 

Nason worked closely with Christiana Hospital during construction to ensure that the cancer center is equipped to better serve Christiana Care Health System's 110,000 plus cancer patients.

“Nason Construction understands that being involved in a project such as the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center ultimately allows Christiana Hospital to increase the quality of care for their patients,” said Nason President Michael B. Berardi.  “That is why healthcare construction is among the most rewarding work we accomplish.”

In addition to the Cancer Center, Nason has worked with Christiana Care Health System for over 15 years on projects such as the award-winning Medical Building Expansion in 2005 as well as over 50 other projects.

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EPA Demolishes Evergreen Products Building

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demolished the Evergreen Products buildings, located in North Camden, on Tuesday, July 14, a day members of Save Our Waterfront and the North Camden Community have long awaited.

City officials shut down the detergent manufacturer in 1990. However, investigators found that the company continued to receive and store hazardous materials for several years after.

The site is one of the obstacles to neighborhood revitalization, as outlined in the North Camden Plan, and has become a popular location for drug use. By demolishing these buildings and securing the site, officials and community leaders believe it will greatly improve the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhood.

It also will open up land that could eventually be used to generate property taxes.

The City of Camden, operating under a grant from the New Jersey Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund, had a preliminary assessment and site investigation completed in the late 1990s. Following this investigation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection conducted an emergency removal of drums of hazardous materials abandoned at the site in 1999.

Based on concerns over historic documented spills and more recent illegal dumping at the Site, in May 2008, the Camden Redevelopment Agency requested that the EPA Removal Action Branch evaluate the Site for removal action eligibility.

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The South Camden Theatre Company Gets Inducted into the New Jersey Theatre Alliance

The South Camden Theatre Company, Inc. located in Camden, New Jersey was recently inducted as an associate member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance becoming the 12th associate member of the organization.

The South Camden Theatre Company has been staging productions for four years in the basement of Sacred Heart Church and plans to move its performances across the street into the new 99-seat Waterfront South Theatre in late fall of 2009.

Located at the corner of 4th and Jasper Streets in Camden , New Jersey , the new building is currently under construction at the site of the former bar named Walt's Cafe, an establishment previously owned by Paprzycki's grandparents and the setting for his first play and forthcoming book, "Last Rites".

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PECO's Building Of A Smart Grid, Investing In Distribution Automation For Better System Reliability

All sorts of things can happen to cause power outages – trees can contact aerial utility lines, vehicles sometimes strike poles, birds and squirrels can make the wrong move and trip electrical equipment, equipment fails at times, and wind and lightning can result in power problems, for example.

One approach PECO is taking to improve electric service reliability is by making its distribution circuits operate “smarter.” That is, sophisticated smart switches, also known as reclosers and sectionalizers, are installed with telecommunications to automatically sense “faults” or problems on a distribution circuit that cause outages affecting customers.

The switches, which break up the length of the circuit, have built-in intelligence to sense when a circuit experiences a fault and activates automatically, most often keeping the lights on for many customers, or transferring customers to an adjacent circuit within minutes. The devices then communicate this information to PECO's operations center. This allows PECO to better pinpoint the problem and dispatch utility crews to make for repairs quicker.

“We are making a concerted effort to improve electric service reliability for customers in the local area. These devices are proven effective, and they certainly will make a positive impact on service quality for the area,” said John McDonald, PECO vice president, Technical Services.

PECO will invest nearly $4 million this year on its distribution automation, one facet of its annual reliability improvement program. McDonald said distribution automation improves the utility's system performance, saves operating costs, and helps to satisfy customers with improved reliability.

PECO has more than 1,300 smart switches on its electric distribution system across the Greater Philadelphia region.

The company estimates these switches prevent outages for more than 500,000 customers each year. Each device costs between $50,000 and $65,000, and installation takes about a week.

Nearly 50 distribution circuits will be upgraded this year with reclosers or sectionalizers. PECO is also upgrading telecommunication equipment on existing devices to enable them to share information between one another, making them part of PECO's ongoing development of a smart grid.

Circuits were selected based on the number of customers served and their recent outage history. The circuit upgrades are planned this year in Delaware County in Chester , Chichester, Bryn Mawr, Woodlyn, Media, Morton, Middletown , Springfield , and Radnor.

In Chester County , customers in Berwyn , Paoli, Malvern, Downingtown, and around Phoenixville will benefit.

In Montgomery County customers will benefit mainly in Horsham, North Wales, Upper Moreland , and in the Plymouth-Whitemarsh area.

Areas of Northeast Philadelphia and Central Bucks also were included in the distribution automation program this year.

Distribution automation is one component of a smart grid in the making for PECO. In the electric industry, smart grid technology connects power generation facilities to the end users with advanced controls and telecommunications for enhanced operations, reliability, cybersecurity, and consumer benefits.

Distribution automation is one part of PECO's overall $400 million capital investment program for this year, which is designed to upgrade and modernize regional utility facilities, improve electric and gas delivery system performance, enhance service reliability for customers, and meet the needs of areas with growing use of electric or natural gas, as well as raise operational productivity and energy efficiency.

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Almac Group Hires Aggressively in Greater Philadelphia to Fill New $112 Million HQ

Running counter to staffing conditions at many local employers, one Philadelphia-area company continues to aggressively hire as it prepares to move to its new North American headquarters next year.

The Almac Group ( www.almacgroup.com ), a global provider of pharmaceutical and biotechnology services, has hired 150 professionals within the past six months, bringing its current U.S. workforce to nearly 900 – with 670 employees based in the Greater Philadelphia region. The company is actively recruiting to fill 70 additional positions in the area, some of them senior-level professional and technical jobs. Globally, Almac employs 2,400.

With facilities currently in Audubon and Yardley, the company will consolidate its PA operations and workforce at a new, $112 million North American headquarters it is building in Souderton, located in Lower Salford Township , Montgomery County. It plans to relocate there in July 2010. The 240,000-plus-square foot facility will accommodate a workforce of 760, nearly a 15 percent increase in employees over Almac's current staffing levels.

“The challenging economic climate has not reduced demand for our services,” said Jim Murphy, President and Managing Director of Almac Clinical Technologies. “More than ever, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are relying on trusted partners who can help them move their products through the clinical development process more quickly and efficiently. Our aggressive hiring and expansion plans come in response to that demand.”

Almac helps leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies bring their drugs to market by providing a range of services, including R & D, formulation development, clinical supply management and clinical technologies. Its 600 customers include all of the global leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.Murphy said Almac was strategic in its decision to build its North American headquarters in the Philadelphia region.

 “The Lower Salford location keeps us directly in the New Jersey-Pennsylvania-Delaware pharmaceutical corridor. In addition, it is surrounded by a growing and vibrant region that gives us access to highly educated, well-trained talent, not to mention its proximity to many major transportation routes, including I-476 and Route 202.”

The new facility will house pharmaceutical supply chain activities, including manufacturing, project management, software development and clinical technologies, as well as administration, IT communications and a network operations center. 

Rich Moore, Director of Human Resources at Almac, said the company is recruiting for a number of jobs, primarily in project management, production, distribution, software development and IT. The positions range from entry level to highly-skilled, technical openings. A complete list of available positions is posted on the company's website.

The company, which has its global headquarters in Northern Ireland , also has facilities in Durham , NC and San Francisco , CA , two other pharmaceutical hotbeds. These facilities will remain open.

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