P1 Service's Quick Response Helps Customer in Wake of Disaster

On an October morning in 2019, P1 Service received an urgent call from the owners of the I-44 Cold Storage in Springfield Mo. I-44 cold storage is a storage facility for restaurant supply and custom cold storage that houses a 10,000 sq. foot freezer, 10,000 sq. foot cooler space, and 30,000 sq. foot of dry storage space.  

During the night, winds of up to 90 mph had whipped through the area and caused significant damage to the building. The roof of the cooler and part of the freezer were completely blown off, including the majority of the ammonia piping, causing a considerable amount of ammonia leakage.

 “P1 has been supporting I-44 Cold Storage’s emergency and routine service needs for the past year,” Brad Fredrickson, Assistant Service Manager/Ammonia Division, said. “So when the owners reached out to us that morning, we were ready to quickly assemble a team and we were onsite before noon.

The emergency response team consisted of:

Michael Schram, Industrial Mechanical Specialist
Brad Fredrickson, Assistant Service Manager-Ammonia
Mitch Stuerke, Ammonia Service Technician
Cody Dunkel, Ammonia Service Technician  – Wichita
Clint Welch, Fitter Foreman
Ray Hansuld, Warehouse Driver, Lenexa

“Initially they were going to bring in a pumper truck from Airgas to pump out the remaining ammonia left in the system, but we were able to mobilize our own equipment that day and pump the ammonia into our storage tanks for future use, leading to considerable savings to the customer,” Brad explained.

After the initial threat was contained, Brad, Michael, and Project Manager Brandon Holladay assessed the damage and started aligning subcontractors and building estimates for repairs. They were able to negotiate this with no competition due to our immediate response.

The original project was to replace all of the piping that had been compromised, roughly 800 feet, along with new large evaporators and a new Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) system with remote capabilities. Since that time, additional damage was discovered and the scope of work has been amended.

In addition to the response and project teams, Brad also notes that Local 178 Pipefitters and I-44 Cold Storage Business Manager, Justin McCarty, were tremendously helpful partners in this effort.

An unpredictable storm may have caused a very hazardous situation, but P1 Service’s ability to react quickly and alleviate a huge problem was just what the customer needed. This level of preparedness and responsiveness in even the most challenging situations is the reason P1 Service continues to create customers for life.