Althoff Industries, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Chicago’

Commercial Plumbing Pipe Materials—And When to Upgrade

Monday, March 18th, 2024
worker-cut-pvc-pipes

No commercial facility has only a single type of piping material in it. Different materials serve different functions, and some facilities may have specific piping requirements. One example is process piping used in many manufacturing plants: these pipes may need to transport gas, sugar, chemicals, etc.

We’re not going to focus on process piping in this post. We’re going to address the common piping found in the majority of facilities and when these facilities may need repiping done. We work with all types of commercial piping in Chicago, and we’re ready to help you with making important upgrades.

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The Different Ways Pipes Are connected: Threaded Pipe vs. Flanges vs. Welded vs. Pressed

Monday, February 5th, 2024
plastic-industrial-pipes

In the world of commercial plumbing, one of the key parts of the success of any installation or repair is using the correct type of pipe connection. If you’re not familiar with the plumbing industry, you might think there’s only one type of connection, or if there are different types, the differences are only minor. But commercial plumbing is complex and needs to be customized for the many different roles in a facility. 

We’ll look at the four main choices for pipe connections: threaded pipes, flanges, welded joints, and pressed connections. Having the right pipe connections will have a major impact on how effective your facility’s plumbing is and how long it will last. 

We’ll take you on a brief tour through the different pipe connections and their best uses. Remember to always trust professionals for any type of commercial pipe services, from commercial pipe installation to commercial piping maintenance in Chicago, IL.

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Why Plumbing Maintenance Is Essential for Your Business

Monday, January 22nd, 2024
pipe-maze

Running any business requires juggling numerous tasks. One that you might overlook as you move into the new year is the plumbing in your facility. If you simply leave the plumbing alone and only pay attention to it when you need to schedule a repair due to a problem, you’ll end up with plenty of problems. Bigger problems. Problems that can even put your entire business in jeopardy. 

What your commercial plumbing needs is professional plumbing maintenance in Chicago, IL. The Althoff team offers plumbing maintenance for all types of commercial businesses and facilities, including maintenance for process plumbing and other special situations.

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The Importance of Ark Flash Protection

Monday, January 8th, 2024
scorched-outlet

Arc flash incidents pose a major risk to many types of commercial buildings, threatening both people and equipment. Having arc flash protection is a crucial aspect of commercial electrical safety. 

You may not know just how important arc flash protection is, or even what an arc flash is. In this post, we’re going to look closer at arc flashes, how arc flash protection systems work, and why they’re critical for fire prevention in a commercial facility

For a comprehensive solution, we recommend contacting Althoff Commercial—we’re the commercial electrician in Chicago, IL with a proven track record over more than sixty years.

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The Corrosive Culprit: Sugar’s Impact on Commercial Piping

Monday, December 25th, 2023
pipes-with-wrench

Commercial facilities often overlook a hidden menace that lurks within their pipes: the corrosive power of sugar. Whether you’re in the confectionary business, work with any product that involves sugar, or even if your establishment often sees soda flowing down the drains, it’s crucial to understand the damage sugar can have on your commercial piping. 

Below, we’re going to examine the corrosive nature of sugar and provide some insights on detecting and preventing sugar-related pipe damage. It’s important to choose the right commercial plumbing partner to safeguard your process piping and commercial piping in Chicago, IL—and we’re the local contractor with more than six decades of experience you can trust!

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Smart Outdoor Lighting Systems: A Bright Investment

Monday, November 13th, 2023
parking-lot-lights

In the ever-changing landscape of commercial spaces, staying ahead in energy efficiency and technological advancements is crucial. One avenue where businesses can shine (quite literally) is through the implementation of smart outdoor lighting systems. In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits and considerations of integrating smart lighting into your commercial property.

You want your business to stay ahead when it comes to energy efficiency and the newest technology advances that have made energy savings more effective and powerful than ever before. One method where you can improve your energy efficiency is in outdoor lighting. For businesses where outdoor lighting is a critical component of operation, implementing smart outdoor lighting systems can make a significant change in energy efficiency.

Below, we’re going to look at the benefits and several considerations of integrating outdoor lighting in Chicago, IL into your commercial property.

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The Importance of Field Heating for Athletic and Sports Fields

Monday, November 6th, 2023
football-field-from-above

We know we have a lot of sports fans reading this: Chicago has been the home of numerous great teams in all types of sports. But the winter weather in Chicagoland poses some serious problems for spots that have to play outdoors during the coldest part of the year. When temperatures drop and people are watching baseball or football (and if they’re lucky, get to see their team in the playoffs), they may not realize that many of these stadiums deal with the chill in the ground with something called field heating systems. These specialized installations help with snowmelt as well as make the ground softer to reduce the impact on athlete’s joints. (If you’ve ever jogged across a frozen field, you’ll know how much impact ice-cold ground has on your knees!)

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Process Piping: What It Is, And Why You Need Experts to Handle It

Monday, September 4th, 2023

Process piping may sound like it’s simply another part of a plumbing system, but it’s quite different. The plumbing in a building, such as a commercial facility, is used to transport both water and waste and usually connects to municipal systems such as the freshwater supply and the sewer system. Process piping consists of the pipes that connect to processing machines, such as the machines used in commercial and industrial facilities: chemical plants, oil refineries, power plants, pharmaceutical plants, food processing plants, manufacturing or chemical plants, etc. 

The short version of this is that process pipes are used to facilitate process, i.e. the actual business of a manufacturing plant, chemical plant, food processing plant, etc. 

Because process piping must transport a wide range of gases and fluids other than water, they have special requirements for materials, size, and engineering.

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The Vital Role of Switchgear Maintenance for Commercial Businesses

Monday, August 21st, 2023

Without switchgear, your commercial facility wouldn’t have power sent to the right equipment and locations in your facility, which would not only harm general efficiency, it could also lead to extensive damage and even safety hazards. 

To ensure that the switchgear in your facility continues to work correctly for many years with few power interruptions, you’ll need to schedule routine maintenance for it from professionals. 

For comprehensive switchgear maintenance services in Chicago, IL, trust to Althoff Industries Commercial. Our team of professionals has more than 60 years of experience working with all types of commercial electrical services in the Chicagoland area. 

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The Challenges of Clean Rooms

Monday, June 26th, 2023
virus-cells

A clean room is a carefully controlled environment that minimizes contamination of sensitive components or ingredients. It can only take a particle of dust or stray strands of hair to destroy or inhibit the product being worked on in the clean room. The challenge is keeping these areas fully sterile. Clean rooms play a vital role in several industries, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, microelectronics, and healthcare.

At Althoff, our team works with clean room equipment and follows all necessary protocols. We understand how important your clean room is for your operations, no matter the industry, and we can ensure you have the ideal sterile, clean environment. 

Creating and maintaining a clean room requires facing several major challenges to ensure their efficient operation. But, as we say at Althoff, “Challenges accepted!” Below, we’ll examine some of the significant challenges we overcome in our clean room services in Chicago, IL.

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