KJ TechEx 2018

On October 12th and 13th, over half of the employees of our company came together in Henderson, Nevada for our bi-annual TechEx symposium to connect and celebrate KJ’s culture, its innovative projects and technologies, and its legacy.

TechEx has been part of the KJ culture for decades and it brings together employees from our more than 25 offices across the nation. The symposium gives our employees a chance to share the details of the innovative projects they have been working on, inspire us with their personal stories, and to move forward together as a stronger team.

CULTURE

Aurora Gonzales and Javier Rios shared their stories of overcoming adversity along their way to KJ. They inspired TechEx attendees and showed that our diverse experiences come together to make One KJ. Our strength lies in our diversity of thought and experience, our inclusiveness and our desire to learn from each other.

INNOVATION

Steve Diamond shared the details and innovation of the Tesoro Viejo Master Planned Community-a design-build success. The Tesoro Viejo Community includes the development of 1,600 acres in Madera County, California, including 5,000 residential units and 3 million ft.2 of commercial/industrial space, over a 15-year period.   This project is one of the largest design-build projects KJ has been a part of, thus far, delivering reliable water and wastewater systems to a new community. This program includes a new microfiltration water treatment plant and a membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plant that includes the use of Title 22 recycled water for landscape irrigation and future groundwater recharge, with all related pipelines, pump stations and storage facilities. The team worked on a fast-track schedule, where for some facilities, the start of construction began before the final design was completed.

Regarding lessons learned from this style of design-build project, Steve said it’s important to “resist the urge to take the design further than it needs to be” for the purposes of construction. Steve’s presentation exemplified the movement towards design-build project delivery as another opportunity for the firm and a new generation of staff to define their careers and write the next chapter of KJ.

LEGACY

Keith London, Laura Kennedy, and Alex Page were among just some of the presenters who spoke about KJ’s legacy with pride. Keith reiterated KJ’s values and what makes us a unique firm. Laura shared her pride in being part of an employee-owned firm, saying she feels inspired every day because she gets to take part in the legacy of KJ. Alex shared a multimedia presentation of KJ’s journey over the past 100 years, explaining that the company is not just a bystander in history but has played an active role in shaping it. After another successful TechEx symposium, we are all looking forward to the next century together as One KJ.

Special thanks to all our TechEx presenters and speakers:

Ross Dunning

Patrick Huston

Tobie Welgemoed

Annika Silverman

Keith London

Phil Potter

Eric de Montigny

Sarah Williams

Todd Reynolds

Gregory Braun

Harold Glaser

Jarod Fisher

Steve Diamond

Alex Page

Stephen Esaki

Aurora Gonzales

Javier Rios

Scott Larew

We had such a great time at TechEx 2018!