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BUSINESS NEWS SECRET CITIES, 75 YEARS LATER: BECHTEL HIGHLIGHTS FUTURE OF LOS ALAMOS, HANFORD, OAK RIDGE A museum exhibit profiling a largely untold aspect of a turning point of the 20th century opened in Washington, D.C., sponsored in part by Bechtel , a global leader in engineering, procurement, and construction. The new exhibit, called Secret Cities: The architecture and planning of the Manhattan Project, examines the innovative design and construction of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico; looks at daily lives within the cities, and addresses each city’s development since the conclusion of the project. Seventy-five years ago, the United States began an unprecedented, highly classified transformation of open spaces, ranchland, and rural farmland in three states. In a race against enemies in World War II, the United States rapidly built nuclear reactors, factories, laboratories, roads, utilities, and other industrial facilities to support the Manhattan Project – the nation’s effort to design and build the world’s first atomic weapons. The effort also needed housing, dining, medical facilities, infrastructure, and other facilities for the tens of thousands of workers suddenly occupying Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford. These overnight communities

and their continuing importance as centers of research and technology are the focus of the exhibit. Bechtel’s participation recognizes the company’s ongoing presence in national security or environmental cleanup projects at each of the three sites. “We believe there is another untold story of Hanford, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge, the story of contemporary cities driving American scientific progress,” said Barbara Rusinko, president of Bechtel’s nuclear, security, and environmental global business unit. “At Hanford, thousands of workers are cleaning up the environment from those decades of nuclear defense activities. And Los Alamos and Oak Ridge are still going strong, making contributions in breakthrough discoveries and national security science. They’re modernizing their infrastructure with sustainable practices for the next 75 years and Bechtel teams are proud to be part of that has substantial environmental cleanup at Hanford and is building the Waste Treatment Plant to safely treat liquid radioactive waste stored in underground tanks there. At Los Alamos, Bechtel is part of a consortium managing and operating Los Alamos National Laboratory. At Oak Ridge, Bechtel leads a consortium managing and operating the Y-12 National future.” Bechtel performed

Security Complex as well as a sister facility near Amarillo, Texas, called the Pantex Plant. If you go, the National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20001. Secret Cities: The Architecture and Planning of the Manhattan Project opened on May 3, 2018 and will close on March 3, 2019. Bechtel is one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies. Together with its customers, Bechtel delivers landmark projects that create long-term progress and economic growth. Since 1898, Bechtel has completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all seven continents. Bechtel operates through four global businesses: Infrastructure; nuclear, security, and environmental; oil, gas, and chemicals; and mining and metals. Bechtel’s company and culture are built on more than a century of leadership and a relentless adherence to its values, the core of which are safety, quality, ethics, and integrity. Bechtel believes, expects, delivers, and lives these values.

JIM TIPPMANN, from page 7

wins in each segment. You need to win two-thirds of the business to perform. TZL: While M&A is always an option, there’s something to be said about organic growth. What are your thoughts on why and how to grow a firm? JT: The best model is a combination. For example, Nelson has a lot of knowledge in the M&A world and we have a lot of knowledge about organic growth. In an ideal world, I would say a good balance is two-thirds organic growth and one-third M&A activity. TZL: Do you use historical performance data or metrics to establish project billable hours and how does the type of contract play into determining the project budget? JT: We use performance data and track on billable hours. The individual has to meet certain goals. We take building project fees, create billable value, and do a man-hour plan- ning budget which equals the fee. We then determine mar- ketplace tolerance and recalculate as needed. TZL: What’s your prediction for the rest of 2018? JT: Nothing really stands out as a warning sign. We might see a changing political climate in 2019 which could influ- ence the business climate a bit, but I remain optimistic and see an opportunistic environment for businesses for at least the next 12 months.

JT: I can’t really speak to heating up or cooling down, but I do see change. Retail is changing dramatically, work envi- ronments are changing dramatically, and so is healthcare. To me, that means we need to start rethinking these spac- es and how people operate within them. If I had to pick one area that may be in a slower growth model, it would be edu- cation. They have a tough economic model right now. “Selling is the smallest piece of the puzzle once you’ve built your brand. You need to have a group of marketing professionals who can create that buzz and then let the people who are working with the client close the deal.” TZL: Measuring the effectiveness of marketing is diffi- cult to do using hard metrics for ROI. How do you evalu- ate the success/failure of your firm’s marketing efforts when results could take months, or even years, to mate- rialize? Do you track any metrics to guide your market- ing plan? JT: We measure where business is coming from; referred business; and outreach. We measure our success rate of

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 25, 2018, ISSUE 1254

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