The topping out ceremony was held onsite to celebrate the placement of the last structural steel beam. More than 200 project team members and trade partners, in addition to several NREL and DOE leadership members and key stakeholders, gathered to mark the occasion, signing the beam before it was hoisted into place on the north building.

“Reaching this milestone less than a year after breaking ground is a true testament to the strength of intentional collaboration,” said JE Dunn Project Executive Charlie Slattery. “EMAPS is a uniquely complex project and the progress we’ve made so far has reflects the dedication, innovation, and teamwork of JE Dunn, SmithGroup, NREL, and the trade partners on-site. While there’s still plenty of work ahead, the energy and anticipation we’re already seeing on campus speaks volumes about the impact this facility will have.”

The 129,000-square-foot facility, located on the east side of NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus, is designed to accelerate the scale-up of advanced energy materials from lab research to market-ready technologies. By fostering collaboration among scientists, engineers, and industry partners in shared lab spaces, EMAPS will drive innovation in energy storage, advanced manufacturing, buildings and power electronics, technologies for grid modernization, advanced polymers, fuels and chemicals, and industrial efficiency.

Leveraging a $224 million budget, the facility aims to achieve a LEED^® Gold certification with a high-performance design, in addition to advanced energy efficiency approaches such as heat recovery and gray water reuse.

Following this topping out, crews will shift focus to the building envelope and interior work. Precast panels are being rapidly installed around the exterior, followed closely by framing, curtainwall, and window systems. Inside, framing is progressing upward from the first floor as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades complete rough-ins. Finish trades are actively procuring materials in preparation for installation once walls are enclosed.

The EMAPS facility broke ground in September 2024 and is on track for completion in 2027.

The post JE Dunn Construction, SmithGroup & NREL Celebrate EMAPS Topping Out first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

JE Dunn is one of the leading construction companies in the semiconductor industry because we understand our clients’ need to be proactive and flexible. To better empower our clients to navigate the complexities of semiconductor construction with greater efficiency, our teams employ four key drivers to increase speed to market: early involvement, high-performing teams, flexible design and delivery, and unmatched communication.

Early involvement

Having the right team is critical to ensuring greater certainty of outcomes. The earlier JE Dunn is engaged in a project, the better positioned we are to help our clients get ahead of potential bottlenecks. Where possible, we collaborate with our partners early to anticipate technology needs, examining what operations should be prioritized and where flexibility is most needed.

Additionally, we help clients weigh the pros and cons of a new or full buildout versus retrofitting an existing space to meet a client’s unique business demands. This allows our clients the ability to safely keep crucial business operations running while building more capacity or making updates in phases. On a project we completed with a client in the western United States, our early engagement during design development generated over 1,000 questions that we were able to review and resolve with the design team prior to completion of the design or bidding. The result was a much more coordinated design that enabled a much more efficient bidding and construction process.

To some, it may seem excessive to involve a general contractor in these early considerations, but bringing JE Dunn experts on board early in the process ensures that stakeholders have a genuine partner in making informed decisions about pricing options, resource procurement, and more. This early involvement is the most concrete way to communicate and plan strategically to guarantee jobsite safety, minimize rework in future stages, and maximize capacity to continue business operations as construction gets under way. Early engagement with our clients leads to effective team building and often results in significant cost reductions by incorporating lessons learned from similar projects. Providing this input often results in value engineering options that are crucial to adhering to capital budgets and aggressive schedules.

High-performing teams

At JE Dunn, our people are our greatest assets. To enhance speed to market, we begin by providing the right talent from the outset, ensuring effective communication, thorough planning for onsite safety, and navigation through every phase of construction. We collaborate closely with our clients to build a plan that aligns with their end goals, working backward step by step to the current state. This process helps us synchronize each construction milestone with the right resources and timelines needed to achieve the final vision.

Whether JE Dunn takes the lead in coordinating teams or collaborates alongside a client’s in-house talent or preferred external vendors, we draw on more than a decade of experience in semiconductor facility construction. Our dedication to understanding each client’s specific needs, safety concerns, and business operations fosters a tailored approach to every project. This heightened level of collaboration and communication enforces a relentless commitment to safety and attention to detail, ultimately making interruptions to production a rarity.

JE Dunn has been highly successful following both a Collaborative Project Delivery and a true Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model. On one Design-Build project, we pre-selected trade partners with the client, developed a high performing team charter, and proceeded to work as one team: client, contractor, designer, and trade partners, to deliver a work program that exceeded all of our client’s stated performance metrics. On an east coast project, the client selected an IPD model, and we successfully delivered the project on time and under budget. It was deemed a huge success by the client, giving them the flexibility they desired along with buy-in from all parties.

Flexible design and delivery

Our Advanced Industries clients invest significant time — often months or years — researching and testing their operations to optimize both the product they create and how they make it. Any change in that recipe for success can call for an upgrade to the tools, systems, or the physical space needed to manufacture. As a partner, our flexibility in accommodating these unique requirements and any changes to it is paramount.

With the right people and the right timing, the third driver to increasing speed to market is choosing the design and delivery method that best fits a project’s intended goals and technology. Every client is different, often balancing the need for certainty of results with the flexibility to adapt in planning and building. At JE Dunn, we present our clients with all their options when it comes to integrating design and delivering results that best balance anticipating changes in work and keeping schedules on track.

In most cases, we strongly recommend considering an integrated design approach. This approach brings together a collaborative team of a construction manager, designers, consultants, trade partners and suppliers all working together with the client. Having an integrated and robust team like this offers clients the opportunity for cost, schedule, and quality reviews at every project stage. This helps our high-performing team to better optimize project funds and maintain communication across all areas as well as with clients and stakeholders.

For delivery, we also offer a range of options to our clients. Each of these options offer different levels of involvement from a construction partner.

• Design-Build: Offers less initial certainty of results but with the highest levels of flexibility, collaboration, efficiency in design and construction, and opportunity for schedule compression.
• CM/GM: Offers less initial certainty of results but with a higher level of flexibility; involves more collaboration and opportunity for schedule compression.
• Design-Bid-Build: Offers the highest certainty of results with the lowest level of flexibility; involves the lowest amount of collaboration and longest schedule.

Unmatched communication

With the right team, timeline, and approach, the last key to increasing speed to market comes down to communication. Our approach to communicating throughout the construction journey starts with building a foundation of trust, allowing all stakeholders to work together authentically and effectively. Our teams first work to gain an in-depth understanding of our clients, their stakeholders, and what it takes to build for their specific operations and advanced technology needs.

As plans form for a project, our teams use this understanding of a client’s needs to lay out and explain all the options so stakeholders can make informed decisions at the optimal time, keeping projects on track. By ensuring the right stakeholders are involved at key points in the construction timeline, we facilitate timely decision-making to avoid rework and project delays.

When executed successfully, this grants clients the cost validation and planning they need to avoid future budgeting constraints and anticipate potential challenges in procuring materials so construction can be completed without interruption. Within all complex projects changes inevitably arise, but the trust and mutual goals forged from the beginning will allow the team to communicate and navigate these issues together to keep projects on track. Speed to market is a critical component to restoring U.S.-based companies to the levels of market share experienced in the ‘70s and ‘80s. This approach not only enables our partners to outpace the competition but also plays a crucial role in advancing national security, setting a new standard for excellence in the industry.

The post Four Drivers to Increase Speed to Market in Semiconductor, Other Advanced Manufacturing first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

The post The Look Ahead: Advanced Facilities Group first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

Overview

Indicators

Spotlight

Insights

Local

“JE Dunn is driving growth in these advanced manufacturing markets by ensuring quality, safety, and timely delivery. Our approach includes strong trade partner relationships, skilled labor, and a national presence to meet the increasing demands of these sectors.”

Paul Neidlein

Advanced Facilities Group President

Advanced Facilities Group Spotlight

This spotlight examines the unique and complex challenges of working on advanced manufacturing projects amid ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Paul Neidlein, Advanced Facilities Group President, explains how JE Dunn tackles these hurdles with innovative solutions, ensuring timely, high-quality results in critical sectors such as semiconductors and data centers.

Learn More

Ready to Work With Us?

contact us

© JE Dunn Construction

About

Locations

Markets

Services

News & Insights

Careers

Linkedin X-twitter Facebook Instagram

The post Advanced Facilities Group: How JE Dunn Meets Demand on Complex Projects in High-Growth Markets first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.