Partnership paves way for metal buildings

From left, Mario Valentino, Triple J Enterprises construction operations manager; Robert Jones, president of Triple J Enterprises; Scott Wilson, regional sales manager of Butler Manufacturing; Dan Murrell, senior vice president of Triple J Enterprises; Mike Sablan, vice president of Triple J Enterprises; and Fred Camacho, business development manager; after an interview with Saipan Tribune at the Surfrider Resort Hotel in Chalan Kanoa. (LEIGH GASES)

Triple J Enterprises, Inc. has partnered up with Butler Manufacturing to speed up the construction process in the CNMI and Micronesia through pre-engineered metal buildings.

Butler Manufacturing offers quality building products and professional construction services from the U,S. and has been in existence since 1901 or for more than 122 years.

A Butler Building kit is built in a factory in California and is shipped to their client. The prefabricated materials eliminates some labor which there is a shortage of in the CNMI.

Contractors are seen during the mixer to learn more about Butler Manufacturing and its partnership with Triple J at the Surf’s Club last Friday. (LEIGH GASES )

Along with speeding up installation and lowering construction costs, it creates low-maintenance structures that can withstand the weather in the islands.

In an interview with Scott Wilson, regional sales manager for Butler, he said that the buildings can withstand up to 194-mph winds and has a 25-year warranty.

According to Wilson, Butler doesn’t do residential projects, but they focus on three things or CCI for short, which stands for Community, Commercial, and Industrial.

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, second from left, with his wife Wella; are seen with Scott Wilson, regional sales manager of Butler Manufacturing, left; Jay Jones, back, center, Mario Valentino, Triple J construction operations manager; and Mike Sablan, Triple J vice president; during the mixer event held for contractors to learn about the partnership of Butler and Triple J last Friday at the Surf’s Club. (DONNA LIWAG )

Community projects could be a sports venue such as a football training facility; commercial projects could be Costco warehouses; and industrial projects could either be factories or aircraft hangars, to name a few of what Butler is able to design and build for a client.

Dan Murrell, senior vice president of Triple J Enterprises, said that “we’re really happy to have Butler part of the team and we’re excited about the new possibilities that it brings.”

As to why the partnership was formed, Murrel said it was a need for their own development which grew from there and has been in discussion for a couple of years.

“Part of the beauty of the Butler System is that they have sort of a further processing in their fabrications that allow the buildings to go up more like an erector set that speeds along and also limit some of the labor requirements in the field on the islands, which is key. We’re very challenged by lack of construction labor in the Marianas, and so part of the beauty of the system is that you’re getting to have the prefabrication that eliminates some of the need for some labor that a traditional system from another company requires,” said Murrell.

Additionally, after the interview with Triple J and Butler on Friday night, a social mixer was held at Surf’s Club with contractors, businesses, and government agencies, which include RNV Construction, R3A General Services, Joeten, Pacific Engineering, Northern Marianas Housing Corp., and Northern Marianas Technical Institute, to name a few that allowed an opportunity to educated and expand what the partnership means.

In the mixer, Wilson said “it’s my pleasure to be here and happy to be partnered with Triple J to bring the Butler Systems back to the island. It’s been some time since we’ve had a presence here.”

He then talked about the company and said that he is very excited with the partnership with Triple J. “We’ve been working closely with Triple J for the past six months, getting to know each other, and training with each other. We also got to make sure that our values are aligned, so we’re very excited for this partnership.”

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, along with his wife Wella. was also in attendance and said in an interview with Saipan Tribune that the partnership is beneficial for the community.

“Butler Buildings is a very reputable steel building company from the states and it’s globally recognized, and so I’m very happy that they have formed a partnership with a very reputable local company like Triple J.”

“We look at good things happening with this partnership in our community,” said Gov. Palacios.