Bringing More Value to Every Project

Pictured left to right: Cody Nunez, Ken Kawamoto, Christie Hall, Casey Peery

We are an industry leader in SAVE International (SAVE) Value Methodology and have been incorporating these best practices (internally and externally) for more than a decade. 

We have four employee-owners who are certified Value Methodology Associates (VMAs) through the SAVE organization: Cody Nunez and Casey Peery, Senior Project Managers, Ken Kawamoto, Pre-Construction and Client Services Manager, and Christie Hall, Pre-Construction Manager.

Our VMAs assist project teams by using tools such as cost-benefit analyses and a risk mitigation assessment and management process to ensure that Achen-Gardner projects bring value according to our clients’ needs. They also evaluate project scope and budget details to determine any opportunities to decrease costs while maintaining the full function and scope of the project.

“Having certified VMAs on staff sets us apart because of the function-based, open mindset we bring to projects,” Casey said. “This mindset helps us bring personalized value to each client.”

“Value Methodology takes a look at many factors and how they apply to different stakeholders that will be involved in a project,” Cody said.

Connections Magazine wins State and National Awards

Pictured from left to right: Scott Kirchhofer (Business Development and Marketing Manager), Annie Treichel (Marketing Coordinator), Christy Hanzuk-Spaletta (Marketing Assistant), Cailey Jones (Proposal Manager)

We’re proud to share that Connections, our internal newsletter/magazine, recently won two awards! We received the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Marketing Communications Award and the Arizona Chapter SMPS Phelix Award for Newsletter/Publication!

The purpose of the Connections bimonthly magazine is to allow Achen-Gardner employee-owners to feel seen, heard, informed, and appreciated by listening to them and telling their stories in a way that connects us all. It serves as a tool to reinforce our company values, celebrate achievements, and share stories about and from our employee-owners. This magazine has a modern aesthetic. It features English and Spanish storytelling with digital innovation and interactive elements, offering an experience that resonates with diverse reader interests.

We love that Connections creates a bridge between departments, teams, and leadership, ensuring every employee-owner feels informed and valued. From celebrating milestones to spotlighting individual team achievements, each issue is carefully crafted to reflect the diverse voices at Achen-Gardner. The use of mixed media, such as digital links, QR codes, and print visuals creates an engaging and accessible experience for all readers. This approach to internal communication is what set Connections apart from the competition.

Wearing the Difference

Achen-Gardner recently replaced all of our employee-owner’s Type I hard hats with new Type II safety helmets. Aric Smith, Achen-Gardner Safety Manager, and his team are always searching for new personal protective equipment and high-quality products for our employee-owners. “If you’re looking out for your people, you get them the best,” Aric said. 

2025 Arizona APWA Statewide Conference

Our employee-owners joined more than 800 industry professionals from across Arizona to network and celebrate public works at the 2025 Arizona Chapter American Public Works Association (APWA) Statewide Conference. Highlights included:

• We were a Platinum Sponsor, Public Agency Sponsor, and Prize Drawing Sponsor. We shared information about our project experience and services, and our booth hosted games and giveaways with fun swag and prizes.

• Our City of Phoenix PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation – North CMAR won a Project of the Year Award! This project rehabilitated more than 17,000 LF of pipe, and 36 manholes were either rehabilitated or constructed. There were 20 sewer bypass operations, including a double containment system crossing the Central Arizona Project canal at the Cave Creek Bridge.

• Abi Goode, Project Manager, and Ken Kawamoto, Pre-Construction and Client Services Manager, led a session called “Pipe Bursting: Is it the Right Tool for Your Project?” They discussed their experience with pipe bursting as a trenchless method of pipeline rehabilitation through projects such as the City of Avondale Sewer Repair and Design Services CMAR project. 

Keeping our community hydrated

We recently donated more than 8,000 bottles of water to help keep our communities hydrated during the summer heat.

• In the Town of Queen Creek, we brought 96 cases of water to Fire Station No. 1. Employee-owners from our local project sites – the Crismon Road Widening - Riggs Road to Cloud Road CMAR project and the Water and Wastewater Distribution JOC – loaded up company trucks full of water and made the delivery.

• We donated 84 cases of water to the City of Surprise Community Resource Center on. Our Cactus Road (BNSF Railroad Crossing to Litchfield Road) CMAR project team met with the City to help load, deliver, and unload more than 2,000 water bottles.

• We donated two pallets of water bottles to the City of Tempe at the Escalante Multigenerational Center with our team from the Infrastructure Improvements – Smith Road, Apache Boulevard to University Drive CMAR project. This was more than 3,800 water bottles!

We’re proud to support the communities we work in. Thank you to the employee-owners and municipalities who made this happen.

Gazelle Meadows Park is Open!

We are proud to share that our Detroit Basin/Gazelle Meadows Park Storm System CMAR project is wrapping up, and the park is open to the public! Improvements include a new basketball court, ramadas, skate park, barbecue grills, accessible parking and sidewalks, new playground equipment, landscaping, and shade structures. This complex job included installing more than 7,000 LF of large-diameter storm drain and extensive wet utility and roadway upgrades, all within a busy residential area. We coordinated with the City of Chandler, design engineers (Entellus and Dig Studio), inspectors (Ardurra), and residents to ensure high-quality results and minimized impacts.

Our team joined Mayor Kevin Hartke for the ribbon cutting, celebrating the success of this project in alleviating neighborhood flooding and delivering a safer, more beautiful community space.

2025 AZ Water Conference

Achen-Gardner employee-owners had a rewarding and engaging experience at the 98th Annual AZ Water Conference on April 14-17 at the Phoenix Convention Center. We were a Silver Sponsor, led two technical presentations, and won a Project of the Year Award. We had a great time connecting with clients, designers, engineers, and other friends in the industry. We kept things lively at our booth, No. 900. There were fun games, awesome swag, prizes such as a DJI Flip drone, and a wealth of useful information. 

Project Of the Year Award

We are proud to have received the Wastewater System Project of the Year award for our City of Phoenix PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation - North CMAR project. We rehabilitated more than 17,000 LF of pipe, and 36 manholes were either rehabilitated or constructed. There were 20 sewer bypass operations, including a double containment system crossing the Central Arizona Project canal at the Cave Creek Bridge. These bypass systems managed flows up to 49.5 MGD. Some rehabilitation segments were located in high-traffic arterial streets and busy intersections.

This project also recently won the 2025 Build Arizona Award from the Arizona Chapter Associated General Contractors. Dan and his colleagues NAMES accepted the AZ Water award on Wednesday evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Congratulations to this highly skilled project team!

Trenchless Pipeline installation Experts

Several employee-owners presented technical sessions. They demonstrated expertise in these areas, showing clients and partners that Achen-Gardner is the award-winning local leader in trenchless rehabilitation methods. If you or your organization would like more information about our pipeline rehabilitation services, contact Dan Broderick at dbroderick@achen.com.

Ultraviolet Cured-in-Place-Pipe

Dan Broderick and Tino Tarango, Project Manager, presented “The Benefits of Ultraviolet Light: A Sustainable Alternative to Heat-Cured Pipeline Rehabilitation” on Wednesday, April 16. This presentation discussed the benefits of UV CIPP technology as an alternative to heat-cured pipe lining. They presented case studies from recent municipal applications and benefits such as a reduced carbon footprint, improved capacity, risk mitigation, and less community disruption.

Check out the highlights:

• We partner with Reline America. More than 3.7 million LF of their Alphaliner has been installed in the U.S. since 2006.

• Pipelines can range from 6” to 72” when using UV CIPP materials.

• The strong reinforcement of UV curing allows for a thin 10.5 mm liner, which means that pipes maintain their maximum capacity.

• This process produces excellent chemical resistance and tight porosity.

• UV curing produces low to no airborne oder, no post-curing discharge, and less noise in comparison to heat curing.

• This process has a smaller work footprint and requires less equipment than felt (heat-cured) lining.

Pipe Bursting

Ken Kawamoto, Pre-Construction and Client Services Manager, and Abi Goode, Project Manager, presented “Pipe Bursting: Is it the Right Tool for Your Project?” on Tuesday, April 15. They discussed the four different pipe bursting methodologies, which involve pulling or pushing a new pipe through an existing pipe underground, “bursting” the existing pipe. They also presented case studies from recent municipal pipe bursting projects that included challenges such as bursting near railroad tracks, management of wastewater flows, and avoiding existing utilities.

Here are the main takeaways:

• Achen-Gardner is the only mainline contractor in Arizona to use pipe bursting.

• Pipe bursting began in Europe in 1975.

• The four types of pipe bursting are static, lateral, pneumatic, and gas line slitting.

• We use static pipe bursting, which pulls a new pipe through the existing, or “host” pipe.

• This trenchless method of installation reduces noise, traffic impact, and dust pollution.

• Pipe bursting can reduce excavation by up to 85%.

A Culture of Safety

On March 24, Achen-Gardner Construction’s Safety Department hosted two safety presentations with guest speakers John and Tiffany Pendleton, who spoke about their first-hand account of a traumatic and near-death accident with heavy machinery. This is one of many ways that we educate our employee-owners about jobsite safety to ensure they go home to their families every night.

John was electrocuted by 4,160 volts to the head in 2019 while working as a rock miner in south Florida. He sustained life-threatening injuries such as fourth degree burns and brain trauma. After more than 30 surgeries, extensive rehabilitation, and major lifestyle adaptations, he is still recovering from his injuries. Since 2020, he and his wife have become professional speakers who advocate for workplace safety among trade occupations.

“Being blue collar is a blood type,” John said. He explained that this means everybody on the job site must take care of each other. Construction coworkers often feel like family and their friendships run deep. They have a responsibility to make sure everyone is safe.

John and Tiffany shared a few main points for our employee-owners to remember:

• You will never be 100% safe because there’s always the chance of an accident. That is why it’s so important to wear proper personal protection equipment and follow OSHA guidelines.

• Don’t ever think you are invincible. Caring more about being strong than safe distracts people and can cause mistakes that can lead to accidents or death.

• It’s always a good idea to ask for help when your mental health is suffering. Put the safety of yourself and others before your pride.

Tiffany closed the speaking engagement with a powerful message of inspiration, “You are here today because you were safe yesterday. Be here tomorrow because you choose safety today.”

Aric Smith, Safety Manager, organized these visits because we believe at Achen-Gardner that education is the key to maintaining a culture of safety. He’s impressed with the impact the Pendletons left on our employee-owners. “This is another example of how we are continuing our commitment to safety education and training for our employee-owners,” Aric Said.

Women In Construction Week 2025

We love to celebrate our employee-owners, and since March 2-8 is this years’ Women in Construction (WIC) Week, we are proud to recognize our many hardworking women. 

We devoted this week’s social media content to WIC Week 2025. Monday, we introduced the theme with photos of some of our amazing women who shape Achen-Gardner and our industry. On Tuesday, we brought in Nothing Bundt Cakes for the ladies in our Chandler office to enjoy. We shared some content of Achen-Gardner employee-owners Abi Goode, Project Manager, and Stacy Mcgeehon, Water Truck Driver, doing their jobs on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, we spotlighted Christie Hall, Pre-Construction Manager, for her many contributions across 34 years of service in the construction industry. 

We are proud to spotlight these employee-owners to encourage other women and girls to become construction professionals. At 15.6%, Arizona has the second highest percentage of women in the industry of any state. We choose to be part of that solution.

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and we are wrapping up WIC Week 2025 with a big thank you to all our women employee-owners for their contributions to our success. These talented members of our organization received pink Stanley cups as a unique token of our gratitude. Achen-Gardner Construction is immensely proud to support the growing presence of hardworking women in construction.

An Award-Winning Team

2025 Build Arizona Award

Our PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation – North CMAR project for the City of Phoenix won a Build Arizona Award from the Arizona Chapter Associated General Contractors of America. This project included the rehabilitation of more than 17,000 LF of pipe, varying from 30” to 48” in diameter. There were 20 unique bypass systems, including a double containment sewer system crossing the Central Arizona Project canal at the Cave Creek Bridge. Thank you to our partners at the City of Phoenix, Dibble, and our employee-owners who worked on this project.