CONSTRUCTION

COMPANY NEWS

NEW PRODUCTS

Many projects, mergers and acquisitions are detailed in monthly updates in the Market Report’s Chapters under Industry Analysis. Click on the links below to view current updates for each industry.

Recently released new residential construction statistics for May 2011 showed privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000. This is 3.5 percent above the revised April estimate of 541,000, but is 3.4 percent below the May 2010 rate of 580,000.

Single-family housing starts in May increased 3.7 percent from April to 419,000, and the rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 134,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits increased 8.7 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 612,000, from the revised April rate of 563,000. Single-family authorizations in May increased 2.5 percent from April to 419,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 190,000 in May.

Manhattan developers are planning the city’s biggest decade of office construction since the 1980s, betting on rising demand for modern space even with tenants unsigned and the availability of financing more limited, Bloomberg reports.

More than 25 million square feet (2.3 million square meters) of projects are under construction or may be built in the next nine years, according to commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley. Developers including Related Cos. and real estate investment trusts Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) are in talks with potential tenants as they step up plans for towers. Some, including Vornado, may proceed without lease agreements.

Builders and brokers say Manhattan is ready for the boom, citing corporate appetite for the latest in comfort, energy efficiency and technological capability in an area where more than 60 percent of buildings are at least half a century old. The risks for developers are that they are competing for tenants and may have to put up more money as banks are reluctant to fund new projects just three years after the credit crash.

• Boston Properties may be the first to start building with construction of a stalled project poised to start in the fourth quarter. In the final stages of negotiations with law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP to anchor the planned 1 million-square-foot tower at Eighth Avenue and West 55th Street, according to the Bloomberg article. The company said it has invested about $480 million in the roughly $1 billion project, which was suspended in 2009 after another law firm withdrew as an anchor tenant.

• Manhattan’s Far West Side, the area roughly between Pennsylvania Station and the Hudson River, may be one of the biggest areas for development as Related and Brookfield Office Properties take the first steps to attract tenants and start construction on a potential 10 million square feet of offices.

• Vornado has two Midtown projects in the works. One is 15 Penn Plaza, a 2.8 million-square-foot tower planned for the site of the Hotel Pennsylvania, across Seventh Avenue from Penn Station, awaiting a major tenant to proceed.

• The other Vornado project, a 1.5 million-square-foot tower that would be constructed on top of the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, may start without a signed tenant a practice known as building "on spec." An unidentified Chinese investor agreed to put $500 million to $700 million into the project, Crain’s New York Business reported in March.

• Edward Minskoff said he will erect a 413,000-square-foot, 13- story office building at 51 Astor Place, across from the Cooper Union engineering school, from whom he leases the ground. "There’s 26 million square feet of leases rolling in 2013 and this building will be operational April of 2013," he said. "There are no blocks of space in any brand-new, A-plus building that are going to be available in that same time frame."

• Related, led by billionaire Stephen Ross, has been marketing the $3 billion-plus first phase of the Hudson Yards development. The company a year ago lined up the Oxford Properties, a real estate investment unit of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, or OMERS, to serve as an equity partner in the 26-acre development, Manhattan’s largest unbuilt space. Related has declined to say how much the Canadian pension fund is investing. It’s "always been our expectation" that Related and its partners would raise about $2 billion of equity for the entire $12 billion project, said Jay Cross, president of the Related unit overseeing the site. Related and Oxford have said they could start the first phase of as much as 4.5 million square feet as early as next year should tenant commitments and accompanying construction financing be secured. They intend to seek additional equity partners for future phases of the 26-acre site.

• Brookfield, owner of downtown’s World Financial Center, is seeking to start its 5.4 million-square-foot Manhattan West project a block east of the Hudson Yards site. Preliminary work on the project shut down in 2008, the company envisions two towers with one of them exceeding 1,200 feet in height.

• Developer Gary Barnett’s 750,000-square-foot International Gem Tower in the Diamond District opens next year. A new building isn’t scheduled to be finished until 2013, when Minskoff’s project and World Trade Center towers One and Four are completed.

Financing new development may not be easy. Across the U.S., there were only a few large office-construction loans in the first quarter. One was for the 600,000-square-foot 600 Brickell Ave. project in Miami, which got a $130 million loan from Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC in February.

Spending on U.S. office construction fell to $24.4 billion in 2010, down 36 percent from 2009, and 56 percent from the peak year of 2008, according to the Census Bureau.

China will "top out" a new skyscraper every five days for the next three years as it continues to embark on the biggest building boom in history, according to newly published research, The Telegraph reports.

The 2011 China Skyscraper City List shows the speed with which China is redrawing the skylines of its major cities as it builds houses and offices for the millions of people migrating from a rural to urban lifestyle over the coming decades.

Compiled by "Motian City", a Chinese website for skyscraper enthusiasts, the list finds that China and Taiwan currently boast five of the world top 10 tallest buildings in Taipei (No. 2), Shanghai (No. 3), Hong Kong (No. 4), Nanjing (No. 7) and Guangzhou (No. 9).

There are no plans to beat the world's tallest building – the 2,716ft-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai – but by 2015 China will have claimed the No.2 and No.3 spots with its Shanghai Tower, at 2,073ft, and the 1,988ft Greenland Center in Wuhan, the capital of the central Hubei province.

The blistering pace of construction is seen around the world as a sign of how the economic centre of gravity has shifted east, with China boasting nearly half of the 50 skyscrapers due for completion worldwide in the next six years.

If China's economic development continues on its current trajectory, it could build a new Chicago every year until 2030 more than 1,500 new buildings that are over 30 stories high according to a report, 'China's cities in the Sky', released in January by the consultants McKinsey & Co.

However, the Motian research also warned of the growing danger of white elephant projects, as local Chinese governments build towers as vanity projects in a bid to establish themselves as international-standard cities.

The research also found that a far higher proportion of Chinese skyscrapers are owned by property developers compared with the US, where two-thirds of the top 50 skyscrapers are owned by companies from industries such as finance, petrochemicals, cars, ports and airlines.

Ahlstrom will invest into additional capacity in filtration material for gas turbine and high efficiency air applications at its site in Tampere, Finland. The investment will be completed by the end of September 2011.

"This capacity increase in Tampere is an important step for Ahlstrom's Filtration Business Area and we are committed to grow with our global customers in power generation and high efficiency air markets. We understand the importance of efficient and flawless gas turbine plant operation and we have focused on building the right product portfolio of filter media to meet these needs", states Fulvio Capussotti, Vice President, Advanced Filtration.

Ahlstrom is the leading manufacturer of filtration materials globally with 11 production sites across four continents. In 2010, the company acquired a transportation filtration plant in Binzhou, China and announced a EUR 17.5 million investment to expand capacity in Turin, Italy. The company recently announced additional investment to its plant in Louveira, Brazil.

Montreal’s Noveko International Inc. said recently it has received a supplementary type certificate from Transport Canada allowing installation of filters incorporating its patented antimicrobial technologies in the worldwide fleet of Airbus 330 airliners.

The product was developed jointly with Europe’s Industrielle du Ponant and will be sold under a Noveko brand name.

The filters are being shown at the Paris Air Show. "The certification is one of a series since we intend to have them installed in the entire Airbus fleet and then do the same with other aircraft manufacturers," said COO Alain Bolduc.

DelStar Technologies has officially opened a new 70,000 square-foot facility in Suzhou, China, which will replace its current factory, also in Suzhou, and will double its current production capacity in China, with the potential to double it again in the future. The new facility is a multi-million dollar investment and a symbol of DelStar’s responsiveness to growing Asian-Pacific markets, according to executives at the Middletown, DE-based company.

DelStar Technologies is a leading manufacturer of thermoplastic nets, nonwovens, laminates, and extruded components used in filtration, automotive, healthcare, industrial, food, electronics and textile markets.

DelStar Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. has been a wholly-owned and fully operational foreign enterprise since 2005.The company’s presence in China began in 1997 with the establishment of a sales office in Shanghai to service the Asia Pacific region.

"DelStar Technologies is dedicated to the Asian marketplace, and this new factory is the next exciting step in our journey," said president & CEO Mark Abrahams. "We are now positioned to react quickly, uncover opportunities, and support our customers’ growth.Our customer intimate philosophy allows us to understand and anticipate our customers’ needs in Asia and invest in their futures with this new factory."

Mitsubishi's Electric Cooling & Heating division is launching a national campaign touting the company's ductless home air conditioning as an energy-efficient technology in TV, print and online ads.

Joe Mastroianni, chief marketing officer at Mitsubishi Electric's heating, ventilation and air conditioning division (HVAC), tells Marketing Daily the opportunity for Mitsubishi ductless systems in the U.S. is both for new houses and older central systems.

"Most new construction doesn't put in sufficient duct work to control temperature throughout the house," he says. "And probably 80% of houses with central have some hot spot or cold spot problem for which our product is a natural solution. The potential is phenomenal."

Peter Landau, editor of industry journal Indoor Comfort News, tells Marketing Daily that the market potential for ductless systems is huge in the U.S. because, while such systems are ubiquitous worldwide, they are all but absent in North America. "They are really trying—Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, LG, and others—to market here because it is less than 10 percent of the market. Also, it's very energy efficient because when you move air around through ducts you lose energy."

The Mitsubishi ductless system features multi-stage filtration:

• a large hybrid catechin pre-filter absorbs odor-causing gases- washable and lasts up to 10 years
• a blue-enzyme, anti-allergen filter helps reduce germs, bacteria, and viruses and helps trap dust, pollens, mites, and other particles
• some systems include a Platinum Catalyst deodorizing filter to further reduce unpleasant odors

Camfil Farr USA recently announced the launch of http://www.green-air-filters.com which will cater to the North American market, specifically the green air filter needs of sanitary industries like hospitals, nursing homes & health care facilities. With an established international presence, the company is now focused on delivering air filtration products and solutions to the American market.

The company’s website has valuable tools for building engineers, maintenance supervisors, and facilities managers. Those who deal with energy management and air quality in healthcare facilities and other industrial environments where cost savings and clean air are top priorities will find the tools for selecting green air filters like the Life Cycle Cost Anaylsis, Mobile Media Tester, CAM Tester, and Energy Cost Index Rating.

AllergyBuyersClub.com, a leading internet retailer of healthy home products for allergy relief, has named its top ten choices for air purifiers for 2011. The company has been testing home air purifiers since 1998 and its recommendations and ratings are used as a source of material all over the web. Their ratings:

• IQAir HealthPro Plus ($899) is Category Winner as all around best air purifier, IQAir MultiGas ($1149) #2 spot as best all around odor and gas air purifier. Virtually nothing escaped their HyperHEPA filter during testing; superior technological features such as a huge capacity pre-filter, filter change indicator lights, a HEPA filter efficiency rating and six fan-speed settings.

• Airfree Onix Air Purifiers ($299) #3 spot. No filters at all, relying instead on a unique patented technology for the sterilization and incineration of allergens. No maintenance costs, however, not recommended for serious gas and odor removal and household dust is not reduced - but allergies will subside.

• Blueair Air Purifiers 600 series with HEPASilent filters ($699) gained the #4 spot. Combines ionizer, electrostatic, carbon and HEPA type filter technologies, with no external ozone. They gained very high marks for their ability to deliver large amounts of purified air, as certified by AHAM, at a very low noise level.

• Airpura Pet V600 and Airpura Smoke T600 Purifiers ($599.98+) attained the #5 and #6 spots respectively. Three filters, units are modular and can be refigured if application needs to change at a later date; difficult to change filters and lacking a filter change monitor.

• Winx PlasmaWave 9500 ($299.95) in #7 spot at. Above average air filtration, space saving design, easy filter changes, some auto monitoring features, fairly quiet and are Energy Star compliant; not recommended for serious gas and odor removal.

• Humanscale Personal Zone Air Purifiers ($299). Near perfect clean air bubble around breathing zone, for both bedrooms and desk at work; not recommended for serious gas and odor removal.

• Whirlpool Whispure 510 Air Purifier ($299) #9 position. Excellent filtration efficiency and sizable room coverage; not recommend for serious gas and odor removal.

• Airgle 750Air Purifier ($799). Certified by AHAM to have one of the most air changes per hour, good amount of carbon, perfect air filtration efficiency.

The runners up include Austin Air Air Purifiers, AllerAir air purifiers and Alen Air Purifiers.

NEW PRODUCTS

Bry-Air, headquartered in Delhi, India, recently announced a breakthrough in its ‘in-situ’ synthesized macro porous Honeycomb technology research by extending it to Gas phase filtration. In a chemical filter gases are filtered and cleaned out when they are passed through a chemical filter. The cleaning of gas occurs at molecular level, through a process known as chemisorption, when a pollutant gas molecule reacts with chemicals (e.g. KMnO4, KOH, etc) in the chemical filter. The chemicals in the chemical filter get consumed overtime as it reacts with gases. Bry-Air's new honeycomb matrix based macro-porous chemical filters provides the largest amount of impregnated chemical (typical 15% for KMnO4) for the chemical reaction for maximum efficiency for a given physical size and geometry of the media matrix and its air carrying capacity for a given pressure drop. The air flows through the honeycomb matrix are typically at 400 to 600 fpm (2 to 3 mtrs/sec) unlike the granular media bed at 80 to 120 fpm (0.4 to 0.6 mtrs/sec), thus shrinking substantially the chemical filter media bed/matrix face area as well as depth. The new desiccant based macro porous honeycomb matrix is even capable of removing ultra low concentration of gases from the supply air and is much more effective than previous generations.

Unlike the extruded honeycomb matrix with limited ‘chemical’ carrying capacity, this technology is the first ever such solution in the world which uses the ‘in-situ’ synthesized macro porous Honeycomb Matrix to remove Air borne contamination like formaldehyde, Hydrogen Sulphide, Sulphur Dioxide, Bromine and Oxides of Nitrogen & Chlorine, other lower molecular weight gaseous compounds and VOC's. Bry-Air’s new Air and Gas purification System comprising of macro porous desiccant based honeycomb matrix is impregnated with oxidizing agents, alkaline solutions and is also made bactericidal by treating the same with antibacterial agents.

This proprietary technology not only reduces the size of chemical filtration equipment but also increases efficiency, life and decrease in energy usage. This patent pending technology has been developed by Bry-Air's R&D group. This is one of the five patents filed by the group in the last 2 years in field of Air Treatment and moisture measurement technology.

This technology well expands the group's offering of air and gas purification systems. Bry-Air, a group company of Pahwa Enterprises, also has a large range of Air & Gas Purification systems, the Bry-Air EcoScrub series which removes air contaminants through a process of adsorption and chemisorptions.

Bry-Air is a privately held HVAC company employing more than 800 with production plants in Malaysia, China and Germany and representative offices in Middle East, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Korea, Japan and Australia.

Web site:  www.mcilvainecompany.com