Trident Manufacturing headquarters in Pingree Grove, Ill.
Agility has been part of Metropolitan Industries’ DNA since the very beginning. We know that shifting needs and unforeseen obstacles can mean everything from design changes and shortened lead times to expanded project scopes and access challenges at installation. Nothing surprises us anymore.
Then came the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic right as we entered the busy spring season. Even we can admit our surprise as the United States began to shut down and business for many
slowed or halted all together. However, even during the most challenging times, critical infrastructure and industry — including water distribution and wastewater collection – must keep moving forward. Our experience and abilities allowed us to pivot with our employees’ and customers’ safety in mind without losing focus or momentum. Of course, our commitment to our customers, and their changing needs, never wavered either. And not even the pandemic could affect our ability to move quickly and think on-the-spot.
So, when a lift station design we completed in February for Trident Manufacturing in Pingree Grove, Ill. was suddenly needed almost overnight, we were ready to make it happen.
Efficiency, Meet Efficiency
Trident Manufacturing is pretty familiar with agility, too. By combining the knowledge of a best in class medical device contract manufacturer and a top-tier automobile supplier, they
offer turnkey medical manufacturing solutions that span from product design to customer packaging. When the pandemic hit and the healthcare industry began to see increased
demands, Trident was ready to help. There was only one hiccup: they needed to complete the newest addition to their manufacturing facility before they could begin full production on a critical medical component.
Having the sanitary lift station design already completed and approved did save some time, but the equipment still needed to move through production (including programming, testing, and packaging to enable simple installation) and then installed at the facility.
Could Metropolitan manufacture and provide the equipment to the installers to make this happen?
Absolutely. In fact, the entire team at our Romeoville facility answered that question with a resounding yes. The all-hands approach required careful communication from the first step to the last. Under normal conditions, a project like this would take about ten weeks including submittal review, but it could run longer depending on complexity. We cut those times in half more than once to have the full system on its way in less than two weeks.
The job was far from complete after the final pallet was loaded on the truck, but we took a minute to celebrate because we had every reason to be confident. All of our systems are designed for intuitive installation without any surprises. Even so, surprises still manage to pop up. That is why the importance of a skilled contractor in the field cannot be overstated, and Metropolitan always finds reliability in Kellenberger Plumbing and Underground in Elgin, Ill. We knew that as soon as our components — in this case, pumps, guide rails, access hatches, and complete control equipment — arrived, everything would go down without a hitch. Similarly, Kellenberger knew they could rely on their experience with Metropolitan.
“We appreciate the relationship that we have with you,” says Miles Kellenberger, Sitework Project Manager at Kellenberger. “When you say you’re going to do something, you
do it, and Metropolitan is very good with communication.”
A Reliable System from a Single Source
Manufacturing facilities have just as much need to remove wastewater as they do to ensure the reliable supply of freshwater, meaning an effective lift station is essential. While there are arguably several appropriate ways to design a good system, Metropolitan’s various pump and control system options offer unique advantages that keep both the facility and the maintenance team in mind.
Our LMS Jr Level Controller and complete control panel provided a powerful and versatile duplex lift station pump control solution that also allowed for local and remote alarm monitoring capabilities for the owner/operator to know what is happening at the pump station by monitoring operations of the system from MetroCloud’s SCADA platform via safe and secure cellular communications.
Additionally, we pride ourselves in being a single-source supplier, which simplifies component sourcing and service calls. Metropolitan engineers, builds, programs, and tests everything in our facility. This full-service approach allows us to ensure quality while decreasing installation complexity with a “plug-and-play” system that can be connected with ease. Then, when everything is complete, our 24/7 service and large parts inventory means help is just one call away.
It is probably fair to say that no one wants to tackle rush jobs. Then again, life often forgets to take our wants into account. This is why we remain ready for the unpredictable. If our customers find themselves in a tight spot, we make sure they know they are not alone. This time around, that meant leveraging close collaboration with our internal teams and Kellenberger to get Trident up and running in no time. And when the need for an agile supplier inevitably surfaces again in the months and years ahead, we will be ready for that too.
