United Construction Company has announced it has been awarded the contract for a design-build project with NOW Foods, an international manufacturer of health food and nutritional supplements, for its new 130,000 square foot west coast distribution and manufacturing facility, to be located at 575 Vista Blvd. in Sparks. The project is set to break ground in July.
“This is another important project not just for United Construction, but for northern Nevada and our local economy,” said Craig Willcut, president/CEO of United Construction. “We have been fortunate to have the ability to work with great companies such as NOW Foods in order to help them to expand their operations in our community, create jobs and bring a positive economic impact to northern Nevada.”
The new 130,000 square foot facility will consist 70,000 square feet of warehousing and distribution, 50,000 square feet of manufacturing, 6,000 square feet of office and 4,000 square feet of cooler/freezer space. The project will be designed to cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) Pharmaceutical Standards.
NOW Foods will pursue USGBC LEED Silver Certification for the new Sparks facility by meeting or exceeding the local development and green building standards. NOW Foods is committed to environmental stewardship by minimizing the environmental impact of their operations and by engaging in progressive recycling programs, community-based volunteer programs and natural resource and habitat restoration activities.
In 2009, NOW Foods received the Illinois Governor’s Award for Sustainability that recognizes businesses that are run efficiently and that minimize their impact on the environment. This award recognized NOW Foods for their integration of solar power on their Chicago facility, conversion from petroleum-based plastic bags to corn-based bags, conversion from virgin corrugated board to 100% recycled-content board for shipping boxes, and numerous energy conservation projects including substantial energy-efficient fluorescent lighting retrofit work at their Chicago facility.
Because of NOW Foods’ social responsibility philosophy, the NOW Foods project team is currently evaluating additional value added energy-saving systems for the new Sparks facility such as rain water harvesting, storage and reclamation, ground source heat pump air conditioning and rooftop mounted photovoltaic (PV) power generation.
United Construction will work closely with Karl Heitman, NOW Foods corporate architect on the design of the project. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Karl for over a decade, and we have built some terrific projects together,” said Michael Russell, chief operating officer of United Construction. “Karl is one of the premier building information modeling (BIM) practitioners in the U.S., and has exceptional design sensibility and expertise.”
Phase one of the project is scheduled to be completed in early 2012, and will include the warehouse/distribution facility and the manufacturing space; the second phase of the project will feature installation of the manufacturing equipment and related building components required to complete the manufacturing operation.
According to the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), Phase one of the NOW Foods project represents a projected one-year economic impact to the region of $1,126,058, and a five-year economic impact of $5,630,290. It’s also estimated that as a result of the phase one project in Sparks, a total of $1,292,766 in state and county taxes will be generated over the next five years of operation.
NOW Foods, a manufacturer of dietary supplements, sports nutrition, personal care and beauty products and nutritional foods based in Bloomingdale, Ill., currently operates a distribution facility at 990 Packer Way in Sparks, which opened in 2003.
About NOW Foods
Founded by Elwood Richard in 1968, NOW has grown from a small, family operation to a highly respected, global manufacturer of natural health products. Today, NOW manufactures and distributes over 1,500 dietary supplements, natural foods, sports nutrition, and personal care products. NOW’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility has been GMP certified since 2000, and its quality testing labs are among the most advanced in the industry. The company has over 600 employees and its products are sold in more than 60 countries. For over 40 years, the company has remained family owned and operated, and is committed to its original mission of providing value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. For more information please visit www.NOWFoods.com.
About United Construction
United Construction is one of Nevada’s leading design/build and construction services firms, providing more than 30 years of best-in-class services to a wide variety of customers in the western United States. United Construction’s portfolio includes more than 35 million square feet of successful building project completions for both public and private sector customers. For more information, please call Michael Russell at (775) 858-8090 or visit their website at www.UnitedConstruction.com.
United Construction Awarded NOW Foods’ Design-Build Project