Remarkable Renovation in Record Time

Bringing new commercial life to 250,000 Sq. Ft. in just 11 months.

On November 1, 2001, the old Falstaff brewery was a derelict. A shell of its former self, stripped of brewing equipment, emptied of Falstaff memorabilia. It held tons of inoperable equipment, scrap metal and rubbish. It was boarded-up, occupied only by some groundhogs. Sprinkler pipes and roof drains had frozen and broken apart. It was a cold, icy, miserable mess. An eyesore and a big negative for the east side of the City of Fort Wayne.

Not only would this project be one of the largest renovation jobs managed by Current Mechanical, it would also become our new home. It was a matter of pride to make this facility an efficient environment for our business, a sterling example of our skills and a showcase of commercial redevelopment for an area of Fort Wayne that was in serious need of help.

The first step in the renovation was the removal of more than 150 tons of scrap steel and iron, along with all the trash that had accumulated through the years. Then, completely replace 100,000 sq. ft. of roofing, apply new paint plus entirely new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, sprinkler and alarm system.

Fortunately, the winter was relatively mild. Work got underway quickly and by January 2, 2002, the first of the warehouse space was ready for occupancy.

One Step at a Time

"We were working out of one building into another." said Tom Current, the manager for the rehab project. "We'd finish one section, then move into another area, gut it, install the new systems, and then move to the next section. Starting Three Rivers Warehouse was our first priority, a warehouse company in downtown Fort Wayne."

"The building was picked clean," said Tom Current, "everything of value had been removed. The only surprises we had were the normal, unpleasant surprises that come with any rehab project. We ran into a little asbestos. The building was supposed to be asbestos free, but this didn't hold us up long."

Moving all the operations of Current Mechanical under one roof was not part of the original plan. "After about four months we started talking about it. The warehouse space would allow us to purchase all materials for customer projects at one time, giving us better pricing in large quantities. Then with the fabrication shop located in the same building, we would have a very convenient, efficient work flow. This makes delivery more timely and reliable for our customers. We talked about it, and then we came to the decision to move all of Current Mechanical under the same roof."

Work continued to progress at a quick pace. Eventually, this project would include five acres under roof on a ten-acre site that covers two city blocks. Over 1,600 gallons of paint were required to refresh the warehouse space alone.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

On June 1, the Current Mechanical Fabrication Shop moved into 23,000 sq. ft. of newly renovated space while work on the office area and the new Current Parts facility continued. The project is scheduled to be complete on
October 1, 2002, just 11 months after work began.

The City of Fort Wayne was very pleased that a former landmark-turned-eyesore was acquired by a private concern for renovation and returned to commercial use. The Land Plan Group, an architectural landscaping firm in Fort Wayne, designed a presentation for softscape (trees and foliage) and hardscape (sidewalks and curbs). The presentation won support from the City of Fort Wayne for some of these site improvements.

"Congratulations to Current Mechanical for their decision to make an investment in East Central Fort Wayne," Mayor Graham Richard said. "Current's move to the Former Falstaff site is exciting for many reasons.
The renovations Current have made to the former brownfield site are very impressive. The investment and expansion that Current is making will also encourage additional economic development in Fort Wayne."

While the business opportunity and civic pride primarily drove the decision
by Current Mechanical to take on this immense project, there was also a sentimental reason behind the effort. Bob Current, the founder and president
of Current Mechanical, was raised in the neighborhood. Today, this
hometown boy's investment is bringing new life to a part of the city that
holds special memories for thousands of people who lived and worked here
for so many years.

CURRENT(ly) 25 Years

"I always wanted to go into business for myself." says Bob Current, President and Founder of Current Mechanical. "I had worked for other contractors and businesses. I had some experience at all aspects of the businesses; estimating, installation, service, sales and management. When the opportunity came along to buy into a business, I felt like I was ready."

It was 1978 when Bob bought a small contractor business in Leo. The business was known as Bender-Current for the first three years, then became Current, Inc.

What does Bob think is the best part about the business? "Having the opportunity to work with my family and friends. I think of all the people in this company as friends. I'm proud that we have been able to maintain a good reputation while growing the company as much as we have."

From modest beginnings, Current Mechanical has grown to include a staff of 90 people, offering commercial and industrial HVAC, fabrication, industrial piping, service and maintenance, temperature controls and parts. In the future, Bob plans to continue doing what he enjoys. "I enjoy coming to work and I plan to keep helping primarily with sales." Bob says. "Do I want to stay home and go fishing? No. Will I go to Florida? Well, maybe for a month in the winter. Otherwise, they'll probably have to carry me out of here."

Built for Brewing

A 25-year-old business housed in 113 years of history

Herman Berghoff and younger brother Henry were taking the train west in 1870 when Herman disembarked to buy a pretzel. In the next few moments, he was offered a job, he got his brother off the train and they stayed in Fort Wayne. Twenty years later they were running the largest brewery in Indiana, producing one of the most popular brands in the nation.

The first time the Berghoffs built a new brewery in 1887, the new building was destroyed by fire before construction was finished. They recovered from that loss and immediately started on an even bigger facility. It is part of the building that stands today, bounded by Washington Boulevard, Maumee Avenue, Glasgow Avenue and the Lutheran Cemetery.

During prohibition, the Berghoff family changed their business to the Berghoff Products Company, producing "Bergo" soft drink and Berghoff Malt Tonic. They eventually sold the business but held on to the building. When Prohibition was repealed, this was the first facility in Indiana to produce 3.2 beer. At its height, the plant employed 400 people and was updated with a new canning line, rail and truck loading facilities and storage capacity that could hold enough beer to fill 17 million cans or bottles.

By the 1950's, sales went flat and upgrading to compete with national brands was not financially possible. The brewery closed its doors in 1951. The Berghoffs sold the facility to Falstaff. Production started again in 1954.

In addition to the Falstaff brand, this brewery produced multiple brands, generic beers and novelty brands that included "World's Fair" and "MASH 4077." By the late 1980's, production was winding down and the plant was closed January 7, 1990. Most of the brewing equipment was removed and shipped to China for a new Pabst Brewery in the People's Republic. The facility had been vacant until Current came to call.

With the new renovation, all of the operations of Current Mechanical will be under one roof. Parts of this building will be leased to other companies and several thousand square feet will be available as warehouse space.

The Whole Family Under One Roof.

The result of the rehabilitation of the Falstaff Brewery will be the consolidation of all operations of Current Mechanical in one location, plus a significant amount of new commercial warehouse space.

Offices

When you look at the immense amount of space in this facility, the offices seem like a pretty small section. But that small section is much more space than we had in our previous facility, plus we have plenty of room for expansion.
All the business units of Current Mechanical, including Mechanical, Fabrication, Service Group, Industrial Piping, Temperature Controls and Parts, will be managed out of these offices.

Fabrication Shop

By June 1, 23,000 sq.ft. was ready for our Fabrication Shop to move in. This represented a significant amount of tools, equipment and materials. This shop is used to build and fabricate individual parts that will be required on job sites. Having the right equipment in one place and in a controlled environment makes this kind of work much more convenient and efficient.

The move came off without a hitch and the shop was operative almost immediately. With significant storage space for components and raw materials under the same roof, this facility will provide efficiencies now and in the future.

Parts Store

Current Parts will have its own entrance off of Glasgow Avenue with parking right at the door. Current Mechanical installs equipment from a number of different manufacturers. We have parts in stock for our Service Team, while our customers who have their own service crew would have to go to several different distributors to get parts. Occasionally, the distributors would not have parts in stock and ordering would often cause further delays for the customer.

We have opened Current Parts as a store where our customers can find all the parts they need without running all over town. Plus, we have made a significant commitment and investment to assure that most parts will be in stock or available the next day.

Warehouse Space

With a total of five acres under roof, we have space available to rent. We have a separate company, Three Rivers Warehouse, to manage this space and rent it to other businesses. For heated, freshly-painted warehouse space complete with new sprinkler and alarm systems, electrical,plumbing, roofing and including easy access, this is an attractive address.

Current Parts: Quick and Easy!

For most commercial and industrial HVAC parts, we either have them in stock or we can get them here by tomorrow.

Fort Wayne used to be a tough town for getting the right parts.

We've had many jobs where Current Mechanical was hired to install equipment, then our customer used their own maintenance staff employees to do service and repairs. The problem for these customers had been getting the replacement parts they needed in Fort Wayne, for a couple of reasons.

The first step was to find the distributor for the part manufacturer. Once the distributor was located, the distributor often did not have the part in stock and had to order it. That could take a few days or even weeks. Plus, a single repair may require parts from different manufacturers. So that meant more distributors, more searching and more waiting.

Now, the right parts in one place.

Since we already had relationships with the manufacturers of the equipment we install, it was a logical step to make their parts available in one place. Our customers would no longer have to look to different distributors. To insure that this parts operation would run smoothly, we hired Barb Baus as parts manager. Barb has years of experience in parts management with both a manufacturer and distributor.

"Customer service is the name of our game." says Barb Baus, manager of Current Parts. "We have agreements with more than 20 manufacturers to create a one-stop shop for customers. By bringing all of these brand names to one location, along with years of experience in HVAC, we can save our customers precious time then they don't have to go to several distributors just to get all the parts they need for one repair."

We have it in stock or we can have it here tomorrow.

"To us, customer service means we have the part they want in stock."says Barb. "If not, we have made arrangements to get a wide variety of parts delivered the next day. That means our customer can get up and running again in a lot less time"

Getting to Current Parts is also quick and easy. Current Parts has a separate entrance located on Glasgow Avenue, between Maumee Avenue and Washington Boulevard. A call to 260/420-8138, extension 223 will put you in touch with Barb, the fax is 260/420-2789.

What a Difference One Word Makes

A small change in our company name should make a big difference

We still have the green and blue lines on our trucks and letterhead. "Current" is still our family name. But after 25 years of successful operation in mechanical contracting, 24 hour service and maintenance, we wanted to make it clear that this is not, repeat not, an electrical contracting company. So in conjunction with our relocation, we have decided to add the word "mechanical" to our company name to help end the confusion.

Ted Current told of an experience he had in the last few weeks. "I talked with a lady just the other day," Ted said, "I mentioned that I work at Current Incorporated and she said, "Oh yes, the electrical contractors!" I told her that, no, we do commercial and industrial mechanical contracting, but she insisted that electrical is Current's main business. I guess the fact that I work for Current Mechanical was not enough to convince her."

From now on, our trucks, letterhead, business cards and shirts will read "Current Mechanical" Since the move to our new location requires new printed materials with the new address, it seemed like the right time. It may take us a while to get all the trucks re-painted with the new name and the phone book will still have us listed as "Current, Inc." until the new one comes out next spring. But we are fortunate because all of our signs and advertising can be changed easily. It's not like one of our employees had used the previous version of our name as part of a tattoo. Or at least, none that we know of.

A Letter of Welcome

August 2, 2002

Dear Mr. Current:

This letter is from a personal standpoint, but reflects the opinion of all at Deister Machine Company. We are very pleased with what Current Inc. is doing with the American Can building (part of the old Falstaff Brewery complex). Any neighborhood improvement is beneficial for all of us who operate within it. It has been exciting to see the tremendous growth of IIT and the housing revitalization on Wayne, Berry and other neighborhood streets.

The presence of Current Inc. in the neighborhood will only enhance the betterment of the area. The building and grounds are showing the promise of how nice everything about the property will soon look. Congratulation on your impending 25th anniversary, your efforts with the renovation and the nice article in the May 13 News-Sentinel/Business Monday.

As to the idea of using the red-brick building to house a retail establishment, restaurant or coffee shop, those of us tired of the limited neighborhood fare vote for the restaurant and guarantee our patronage. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Sincerely,
Laura Burger
Executive Assistant to Mark Deister

New CURRENT MECHANICAL address:
2120 East Washington Blvd. Suite A
Fort Wayne, IN 46803

Phone: (260) 420-8138
Fax: (260) 424-1938
Service fax : (260) 420-2038
Parts Fax: (260) 420-2789
www.currenthvac.net