VEC expands into Tennessee
By RON SELAK
Staff writer
GIRARD — VEC Inc. has expanded into Tennessee, a move that positions the Girard-based national provider of electrical and general contracting services to better service its customers in the Southeast part of the U.S., according to the company.
The company’s new Nashville office is in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where VEC Inc. is finishing its work on the second Ultium Cells plant, a facility that will produce electric-vehicle battery-cells in a joint venture between General Motors and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.
The office opened in mid-August. At the moment, five people in superintendent, estimator and engineer roles work there, but there are plans to add more, according to the company.
“The new office in Spring Hill is part of VEC’s plan for strategic growth. We’re focusing on several different types of projects in the Southeastern United States from this office and we’re looking forward to forming strategic partnerships with local businesses and vendors,” Jeff Barber, executive vice president of projects at VEC, said in a news release Monday. “We’ve had the good fortune to work with several local unions at the Ultium Cells 2 Battery Plant and we look forward to continuing to employ these great individuals for the foreseeable future.”
Said Bruno Frate, vice president of manufacturing and industrial construction, “We are so excited to be a part of Greater Nashville and the surrounding community. We’ve worked here for the past two years, helping to construct the Ultium Cells 2 EV Battery Plant, so we’re thrilled to have a permanent location down here.”
At the Ultium Cells site in Tennessee, the company has done electrical, mechanical plumbing and fabrication on the solvent recovery process units, the structured cabling and fiber optic installation and data center, according to VEC Inc.
The company also worked on the first Ultium Cells plant in Lordstown. There, according to a release on VEC Inc.’s website, it built the switch yard and distribution lines that feed power to the facility. It was one of VEC Inc.’s first industrial general construction projects.
In addition, the company built the data center and solvent recovery process units, and installed the structured cabling and fiber optic.
VEC Inc. also has been awarded work at Ford’s Blue Oval Battery Park in Memphis, Tennessee, the release Monday states. For Ford, the company is doing the process electrical installation for the battery pack building.
The company has three offices in Ohio: its corporate headquarters on Tibbetts Wick Road in Girard, a warehouse in Liberty and its mechanical pipe, stainless steel pipe, structural steel and electrical fabrication facility in Hubbard.
Founded in 1965, VEC is a privately held construction company performing electrical and mechanical construction, including process piping, structural, electrical and mechanical fabrication and industrial piping. The company’s focus markets include automotive, chemicals, manufacturing, mission critical and pipeline facilities.