Emergency Power: Helping an Essential Business at a Critical Time

It was late on a Thursday afternoon when the call came in. Essentium, a provider of industrial 3D printing solutions, needed help. Fast. 

The call to FSG Austin that Thursday, March 26, was actually placed by Essentium’s landlord, Live Oak Real Estate. As tenants at one of Live Oak’s properties, Essentium had contacted them looking for help finding an emergency temporary power solution.

Emergency temporary power is a service FSG has provided for hundreds of clients over the decades. Organizations and facilities experiencing sudden catastrophic power loss make up most of our calls, in addition to requests for temp power at construction sites.

An Emergency of Critical Significance

The call from Essentium on March 26 combined both: a natural catastrophe, and the construction effort working to provide relief for the disaster. 

• The Catastrophe
  • COVID-19. As an industrial 3D printing solutions provider, Essentium possesses an important weapon in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Or rather, they possess several important weapons: gigantic industrial 3D printers. Using these printers, Essentium can quickly and efficiently manufacture an array of medical items to help combat the pandemic. Especially important are Essentium’s abilities to produce both PPE and ventilators.
    
    Anytime an office, factory, skyscraper, or auto dealer needs temporary power, FSG is available. Helping our clients overcome challenges is why we do what we do, and why we do it quickly. As the FSG Austin team spoke with Essentium, though, we began to realize what was at stake. If they didn’t get the temporary power they needed, Essentium wouldn’t be able to lend their weapons to the struggle against COVID-19.
     
• The Construction
  • More space for new 3D printers. On March 26, Essentium had just received a new contract to start producing PPE and ventilators immediately. Their customer? The United States military. Specifically, the Air Force and Air National Guard. Almost instantly, 24 new 3D printers were on their way to Essentium’s location in Austin, Texas. Their job? Put those printers to work right away.
    
    As it turned out, Essentium had already been planning to expand its Austin operations. As such, they already owned the space necessary to install the printers, and it was adjacent to their existing operational space. However, the new space was completely empty. With zero utilities or infrastructure in place, the new area was totally useless. Until a massive construction effort could be mounted, the printers would sit idle. A massive construction effort would require emergency temporary power.

FSG’s Michael O’Shea, Senior Account Manager, took the call at our Austin office. Right away, he grasped the need Essentium had, the speed that would be required to help properly, and the reason that speed was so important.

“We all knew how critical this project was. Helping Essentium get these printers up and running would be like helping all the folks who needed that PPE.” 

Michael O’Shea, FSG Senior Account Mgr.

To lead the effort on the ground, FSG sent two experienced journeyman electricians, Pete Galvan and Juan Guerrero. FSG Austin’s Service Manager, Chip Seck, as well as Project Manager Chris Willard, were responsible for providing planning, oversight, and logistics.

“Our team here in the office ordered lifts, materials, and organized the manpower we would need to get the job done ahead of schedule.”

Michael O’Shea, FSG Senior Account Mgr

Over the next four days, FSG crews swarmed through Essentium’s new space at their Austin site. First, the main service had to be connected. Transformers needed to be installed, breaker panels had to be positioned, and branch circuitry for all the new equipment had to be prepared.

On top of all that, lighting for the new space had to be assembled. FSG put together temporary lights for the initial construction efforts and electrical work.

“The final result was a ‘temporary’ power installation that was so well done, it could pass most inspections as permanent,” Michael related with a smile. Now, as Essentium continues to expand into their new space — even when their operations there are no longer directly associated with the present pandemic — there will be little if any need to make serious changes to the electrical work done by FSG.

Helping Others During a Time of Need

“Everyone involved throughout the project had a great sense of pride that they were helping their country,” said Michael O’Shea.

“We were providing the infrastructure to enable immediate manufacturing of needed medical supplies for our fellow citizens.”

FSG certainly is proud of the work by Michael, Pete, Juan, Chip, Chris, and the dozens of others who made it possible for us to help Essentium at this crucial moment. 

Counting on a Partner during an Emergency

Every time a building is accidentally plunged into darkness by a power failure, it’s an emergency. During that power interruption, business owners are losing money, employees are missing productive time, sales leads are going cold. Every time a construction site has to halt work because they’ve exhausted their power supply, those idle tools and machines represent just so much wasted opportunity.

That’s why FSG is proud of all the work we do in providing emergency temporary power. Certainly, though, FSG Austin’s work with Essentium was a unique chance for us to help — even in a small, indirect way — in the effort to fight back against the novel coronavirus. 

With Essentium’s 3D printers humming away, more masks and gloves are going out to frontline medical workers, as well as to workers in essential industries. With their printers churning along, Essentium is supplying ventilators to those most critically affected by the disease. 

FSG is happy to have contributed to that vital work. From UV disinfecting lighting to Protective shields to Temporary power, we continue to be here to help as more and more businesses around the country look to get back to work.

Call the FSG Guide Center at (512) 615-6615 if you need help or have questions about Temporary power or other solutions to get and keep your business running efficiently.