• Posted: May 11, 2020
• better communities, DualTemp Clauger, Frank Herbik

In the past week, troubling news reports have surfaced about potential breakdowns in the U.S. food supply chain as processing plants have been forced to close due to outbreaks of COVID-19. The scale of the problem is not yet fully known, but one thing is certain in Chicagoland: industrial food facilities serviced by Powering Chicago electrical contractors and electricians will not be forced to suspend their operations because of their electrical infrastructure or machinery is faulty.

That is because, throughout the metro Chicago area, skilled union electricians working for ECA contractors have demonstrated their ability to deliver better construction on some of the most complex industrial jobs imaginable time and again. In doing so, they help keep assembly lines operating smoothly, workers on the job, and a steady supply of food on grocery store shelves. For Powering Chicago member DualTemp Clauger, which employs 11 skilled union electricians from IBEW Local 134, ensuring their customers’ infrastructure is in top shape is more important now than ever.

Based in suburban Cook County in McCook, Illinois, DualTemp Clauger is an industrial refrigeration specialist that works primarily in food processing and large food storage facilities. The company has five divisions, including construction, pipe fitting service, insulation, parts, and electrical, and is a full-service provider to a variety of companies that produce and sell food throughout the region. Within the electrical division, a typical day could include relocating or adding a cooling evaporator at a meatpacking facility or relocating the electrical infrastructure on the roof of a grocery chain’s distribution center to make it more operationally efficient, among other types of projects. Whatever the assignment, DualTemp’s work must be completed quickly to prevent the facility’s operations from being disrupted and be done right the first time to avoid unnecessary delays.

“When working in food production, the window of opportunity is very, very small,” says Frank Herbik, Division Manager of DualTemp Clauger’s Electrical Division. “If you are dealing with raw meat, our electricians can’t be working next to you. That often means we are working on weekends when these facilities are closed. And whether that means we work eight hours or all weekend, we have to be done by 6 a.m. on Monday morning for production to begin.”

Being able to adapt to the needs of its customers, ensure there are no disruptions to normal operations, and get jobs done consistently well under any circumstance is one of the hallmarks of unionized electrical contractors like DualTemp Clauger. In recent months, however, the narrow window of opportunity in which DualTemp excels has gotten even narrower thanks to COVID-19. Herbik describes a number of measures being taken to limit the spread of the virus, including enhanced sanitation procedures, personal protective equipment for any electrician working at a food processing or distribution facility and constant coordination with other trades working on-site to limit interaction while continuing to keep essential work moving.

“We’re working in a team environment with other trades such as pipefitters and insulation to make sure that our electricians are working on different sections of the project on different days,” said Herbik. “We’re trying to stagger the work areas for our people amongst three divisions and coordinating with various project managers to protect our workers while working as efficiently as possible to keep these industrial facilities running smoothly.”

Though their list of customers is confidential, DualTemp is trusted by some of the most recognizable food manufacturers and distributors in Chicagoland because of the skill and experience they bring to every industrial job and their ability to provide customers with information and control that improves their businesses.  

“We are primarily a refrigeration contractor where we bring power to our equipment,” Herbik says. “And then we integrate the controls from control panels to our equipment to allow equipment such as pumps, compressors, and solenoids to operate based on temperature, humidity, and processing needs. We provide engineering, design, PLC, and HMI programming.  We prefabricate and build our own control panels based on customer requirements and we are a UL Certified 508a panel shop. We are proud to introduce innovative improvements and new ways to control more devices every day. This will provide more information to the customer, giving them better control over their refrigeration systems. We strive to improve energy efficiency with our controls, which provides cost savings to the customer and respects the environment.”

Herbik credits the union apprenticeship model for producing electricians capable of executing simple projects flawlessly while also taking on complex projects and getting them done on time and on budget, every time.

“The union electricians come out of a five-year apprenticeship with skills that would take decades to pick up on the job,” Herbik says. “They’re learning from people every day during that experience who have 30+ years on the job who are imparting everything they’ve learned during their careers. That is a phenomenal gift and it is worth a lot. The journeymen electricians graduating from our union apprenticeship programs are better equipped and prepared for these types of installations.” 

To learn more about DualTemp’s capabilities in the food processing space or the industrial expertise of other Powering Chicago contractors, contact us today.