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International Women’s Day 2024

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2024, we applaud some of the women within Senneca and Subzero Engineering who buck the trend of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

Across the tech or manufacturing industry, many women hold the same roles as men but are never valued equally. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. Today, we take action to drive gender parity by extolling our female engineers and operational personnel who create so much value across Senneca Holdings.

With that being said, let us meet some of the inspirational women on our team, and learn a little more about them and their role – in their own words.

This is the first organization I’ve been with where I don’t feel that being a woman is a conscious issue.

This is the first organization I’ve been with where I don’t feel that being a woman is a conscious issue. It has its moments, but I think the tech industry, in general, feels more data and performance-driven. There’s trust in the data and the systems that we use. And when our numbers are good, it doesn’t matter who you are.

I’m consistently impressed by how many women we have on the manufacturing floor in our offices. I feel like we add an element of humanity where we don’t judge each other if we’ve had a bad day and support each other in those rough moments. And when you have a great day, it’s fantastic to have people to celebrate with. We recognize that everybody makes mistakes. It’s nice not constantly feeling on the spot or that you can’t afford to have one of those days. Just having that breathing space allows all of us here to grow and be ourselves, personally and professionally. We’ve all achieved things most of us wouldn’t have expected by being allowed that breathing room.

What advice would I give to someone wanting to come into manufacturing? First off, don’t be scared. Don’t be afraid to get dirty. But the biggest thing is learn to toot your own horn. It’s not something that comes particularly naturally. You discover very quickly that there often isn’t anybody to do it for you. Bragging about yourself is okay.

Women’s backgrounds, their life experiences and the multifaceted jobs they have often mean they need to be very detail-oriented. I didn’t think I was a good project manager until I told my manager that in the space of two weeks, I had moved my kids into a new apartment, got everybody enrolled in school, and got myself a new job, he asked me how I got all of that done in two weeks and why I wasn’t a project manager? I had never thought of that. It’s just something that we do, and we don’t apply it to the business sector, which we should do.

I feel my role needs to be very positive. It’s about encouraging people to know they already have the solution and know what to do. You have to go out of your comfort zone and you’re going to have to problem-solve in areas that you didn’t think was your job. I’m able to see where teams can benefit from working together or see what’s going on and say, I’ve been able to do this in the past, how can I help you with that? Invariably there’s always something to do to help, a natural skill for women because of the different viewpoints we see things from.

Seeing men and women on the production floor, it’s good to see them standing next to each other, working and problem-solving together. To me, that’s really exciting.

One of the key ways to empower is to give people the ability to make decisions. 

I’ve been in manufacturing for a while, but it’s a very male-dominated profession. However, I like being able to hold my own, being viewed as a trusted advisor, influencing things or being sought out for how to improve processes.

The biggest strength I bring to my role is my ability to build partnerships with any area of the business, whether it be sales, marketing, operations or direct labor. I don’t speak financially even though I’m in finance. I look to find common ground in which to move forward.

As you grow as a leader, you become less task-based and more development-based. It doesn’t matter whether you are a male or female of any race if they have the drive to grow, as a leader, you have the responsibility to help them get there. As a leader, your job is to empower people and give them the opportunities to step out and take a leap, while being there to catch them if they fall or praise them if they do well.

One of the key ways to empower is to give people the ability to make decisions. Diversity leads to better innovation because you get different ideas. Not everybody has the same upbringing. It’s where they came from in life and what they bring to the conversation. Sometimes if you only surround yourself with like-minded people, you can become set in the ways that you do things.

Organizations need to reinforce women in the workplace and recognize those who have excelled in technology, overcoming that traditional glass ceiling or barriers to entry.

I see my role in human resources as identifying and supporting women and people from underrepresented groups. We miss out as an organization when we don’t identify and leverage that talent, it’s extremely important for our success and our differentiation in the market to have those multiple voices.

Mentorships helped me get through different levels and different industries, and I found it very important to build those relationships and trust early on in my career. Now that I have acceded to a leadership level, I see it as my role to look out for other females who may not have had the same opportunities that I did.

Organizations need to reinforce women in the workplace and recognize those who have excelled in technology, overcoming that traditional glass ceiling or barriers to entry. Women who may have had to work a little harder to get into that space is a commendable achievement. And we need to recognize that.

With women primarily being the caretakers not only of children, but of aging parents, neighbors, and patrons within the church, they need lots of different communication styles. I think women adapt to their audience very well and wear multiple hats. They change their style according to what the situation demands.

At both Senneca and Subzero, we prioritize an environment of respect for all perspectives. We miss out if we censor or shut down different voices and different opinions. Diversity keeps us all growing and progressing, and that will differentiate us for success.

Women in management positions and leadership positions speak volumes to the younger females.

I have an extensive background in tech, starting as an electrical engineer in the British Royal Navy. I’ve also worked in oil and gas, electronics and construction. In my younger days, I would feel that you had to give 150% to stand still, but back then, the opportunities weren’t as available as they are now.

I have seen a lot of changes over the years and have encountered some challenges. But I think that if you turn back time, I wouldn’t want to take away any of those challenges. I think they’ve made me the character that I’m to be.

A lot of women don’t believe they’ll have the same opportunities as men. But I think having women’s voices on social media helps. I’ve also worked in places where we have a women in technology mentorship program where the senior leaders that are females are paired up with the younger females that want to advance and coach them. Women in those management positions and leadership positions speak volumes to the younger females.

I feel very determined to support the women here. I make extra effort to make sure they know that I’m around and that I’m here to support them, spending time with them one-on-one and letting them trust that there’s a path there for them. Sometimes we just need to have someone believe in us.

Women bring diversity and different approaches. Sometimes females can bring a softness to harder environments. Whenever there’s diversity, there’s innovation and growth. Everyone has their unique journeys in life and their unique backgrounds and cultures, which makes them look at things from a bunch of different angles. It’s proven that the more diversity in companies, the better their innovation. Everyone brings something different.

The more people you have with different backgrounds and the different approaches that you have, the more well-rounded you become.

Communication as a production planner is imperative. You can’t get anything done if you’re not constantly talking to the production manager or the engineers. I have to keep tabs on what’s coming or going.

For companies looking to attract or empower more women, they would need to look at what Senneca is doing with regard to its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. It’s progressive with people from all backgrounds, ethnicities and genders highlighting our differences and how it makes the business great.

Diversity is really important in a company because it allows companies to be more empathetic. The more people you have with different backgrounds and the different approaches that you have, the more well-rounded you become.

When you are surrounded by people who know and trust you as a good engineer, being a female engineer is no different than being a male one.

I’ve always been into engineering. My dad’s an engineer and he’s always encouraged me to kind of look into things and how and why they work. I’ve worked in various industries with different jobs, however, this is the first job that I’ve had where I actually have an engineering title.

As a female engineer, you tend to run into a lot of biases. It’s unfortunate and something that we can work to change. But the only way that we’re ever going to be able to change is by creating better environments in which those biases don’t exist.

There’s a lot of distrust but once you’ve earned that trust, it’s no longer a roadblock to breaking into a position. If you can get past the initial double-checking of your work or questioning your decisions, and get to a point where you are surrounded by people who know and trust you as a good engineer, being a female engineer is no different than being a male one.

One of the challenges as a woman in engineering is coming across as assertive, but not so much that it’s seen as emotional. One of the best ways that you can do this is by developing a good rapport with your team and encouraging a positive environment for women with the technology. This starts from the top down.

Collaborative environments that allow women to speak their piece within informal settings where it’s less likely to come across incorrectly, or teambuilding activities that help encourage women to find their voice and to encourage positive communication all help to contribute to a positive environment.

Getting women, especially young girls, interested in science, technology, engineering and math is critical. One of the best things about tech is that you can start children early getting into STEM and getting them comfortable with computers and science and asking those questions. This can make a huge difference in how comfortable they are within the environment. It can help counteract other biases that can happen as the more comfortable you are, the more you’re likely to stay within the field, even as challenges arise.

We get more women into the industry by asking their opinions. Women are going to see that. They’re going to read this.

I’m the only lead woman out of six men. I can be more humble than the guys. I pay attention to my workers, I care about their opinions and what we’re doing. I take their advice and they always give me feedback. I like having women on my line because they can be more detail-oriented. I love working with women because they’re easy to train. Women want to be challenged and to learn and build.

We get more women into the industry by asking their opinions. Women are going to see that. They’re going to read this. They’re going to see somebody working in manufacturing or tech and that gives other young women the incentive to do the same.

Forging equality

When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.

And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

#InspireInclusion

Company
Press Release

Subzero Engineering Relocates Headquarters to New State-of-the-Art Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah

Subzero Engineering, the global leader in turnkey engineering solutions for data centers, industrial cleanrooms and mission-critical environments, is delighted to announce a new 155,000-square-foot facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The extensive premises enables the company to expand its capabilities while enabling the company to relocate its Simplex manufacturing facility into the same premises.

The new headquarters is set to transform the industry with its cutting-edge amenities. The new facility comprises 95,000 square feet of dedicated manufacturing space, 25,000 square feet for shipping, receiving and storage, and an additional 35,000 square feet of office space.

This strategic move, coupled with recent expansions in the sales, engineering, manufacturing, and installation teams, positions Subzero Engineering for remarkable growth in the coming years.

The new facility, located at 805 South 3600 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, represents a significant milestone for the company and the industry as a whole. This new facility will provide the space needed to support the combined teams of Subzero Engineering and Simplex Modular Cleanrooms, one of the most prominent names in modular cleanrooms, softwall curtains, strip doors, separation and process isolation, and their growing customer base. It will also encourage and develop the collaboration and teamwork of both teams to assist customers with custom projects, product enhancements, and new products while delivering support for all cleanroom and separation needs.

With an entire area dedicated to research and development, the company will be in a pivotal position to progress innovation, design and productivity. This is expected to become a prominent resource, establishing the company as a key partner in the evolution of the industry.

Notable highlights of the relocation include:

  • Expansive Product Demo Room
    The product demo room showcases the full range of the organization’s data center and cleanroom products, allowing customers to comprehensively explore their options. The new product demonstration room is a testament to the company’s commitment to showcasing its cutting-edge offerings.
  • Cross-Product Knowledge Sharing
    The new facility fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between the data center and cleanroom product lines.
  • Research and Development
    The dedicated Research and Development area will be the company’s epicenter of innovation, driving the development of cutting-edge solutions.
  • Enhanced Inventory and Materials Storage
    The larger space allows for expanded inventory stock and improved materials storage capabilities, ensuring timely deliveries and better service.
  • Improved Customer Support
    With the additional personnel and facilities, Subzero Engineering is committed to providing even better customer support and assistance.
  • Central Shipping Hub
    Salt Lake City’s strategic location as a central shipping hub will expedite shipping and receiving processes, benefiting customers nationwide.

Shane Kilfoil, President of Mission Critical Environments, covering both Subzero Engineering and Simplex product lines said: “We’ve gone from starting in a garage, to now having a 155,000 square foot facility and seven different production lines. We’ve also tripled our workforce to help keep up with demand over the past 18 months. We foresee that continuing — but we also recognize that not everything can be done just with people. So, we’re making active investments in machinery and automation that will help us to further keep up with demand and take the strain off our employees to allow them to focus on other more value-added offerings and solutions that we can give to the customers and end users.”

Data Center
Video

Data Center Sustainability and CFDs

Video Overview

In the first episode of “The Data Center Expert Series”, we’re joined by Gordon Johnson, Senior CFD Manager. Gordon talks us through his career and role at Subzero Engineering, before sharing insights into his latest white paper, titled The Future of Containment – Has Air Cooling Reached Its Limits? which looks into the cooling options available to cope with today’s rising demands on data centers.

Further highlights include:

  • Subzero Engineering’s company history and its key differentiators
  • Data center containment’s role in sustainability and cost savings
  • Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD), and why is it vital to help operators drive data center performance and efficiency
  • Insight from 15 years in the data center industry and the challenges facing the sector
Cleanrooms
Video

Simplex Cleanrooms Overview

Video Overview

In this latest installment of “The Cleanroom Expert Series”, we’re joined by Jerry Cross, Simplex Cleanroom Regional Sales Manager at Subzero Engineering. Jerry talks us through why Simplex cleanrooms by Subzero Engineering is the right choice for its customers and how, with a 40-year industry heritage, customers directly benefit from its industry knowledge and experience.

Other key discussion points and takeaways from this episode include:

  • Simplex product line history
  • Custom cleanroom solutions
  • The advantages of a modular cleanroom solution
Company
Video

Video Tour of Subzero Engineering’s Massive Industry-Leading Facility

Video Overview

Welcome to Subzero Engineering’s groundbreaking facility in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah—an impressive 155,000 square-foot powerhouse of progress that’s set to redefine the industry. Join us on a journey through our state-of-the-art facility, where innovation meets immersion in our expansive product demo room showcasing cutting-edge data center and cleanroom solutions. Focused on collaboration, our cross-product knowledge-sharing approach brings together teams for comprehensive support on custom projects and new innovations. With a dedicated research and development area, we’re pushing the boundaries of engineering solutions. Our enhanced inventory and materials storage, coupled with a larger workforce, ensure efficient operations and improved customer support. Positioned strategically in Salt Lake City, a central shipping hub expedites deliveries nationwide. Hear from Shane Kilfoil, our President, as he reflects on our journey from a garage startup to this impressive facility, underscoring our commitment to value-added solutions. Join us in pioneering the future of turn-key engineering solutions for critical environments. Visit our website and schedule a tour to witness the Subzero Engineering difference firsthand.

Further highlights include:

  • Tour our expansive product demo room featuring our complete Data Center and Cleanroom product line
  • Learn how cross-product knowledge sharing contributes to the turn key solutions we provide for critical environments
  • Learn about the value of our dedicated Research and Development area
  • See our robust material and inventory storage capabilities
  • Gain confidence in our improved customer support department, ensuring your needs are met promptly and efficiently
  • Details about our centralized shipping hub which guarantees faster delivery times and smoother logistics
Data Center
Educational Article

The Most Effective Strategies for Ensuring Uninterrupted Mission-Critical Operations in a Data Center, Particularly in the Face of Unexpected Disruptions

Today’s data centers are the backbone of numerous industries, supporting critical applications and services. To ensure uninterrupted operations, particularly in the face of unexpected disruptions, organizations must adopt strategic measures focusing on monitoring, redundancy and failover capabilities, in addition to implementing Disaster Recovery plans and operational continuity procedures.

Of course, it’s relatively easy to design an efficient and reliable data center if you’re building one from scratch. With potential future uses, scalable capacities, data center densities and specific cooling needs considered when in the design phase, redundancy measures can be implemented from the outset with the knowledge that power surges and cooling requirements have been allowed for.

Separation and zoning of mission-critical and high-density servers that require different cooling technologies, and backup generators and monitoring infrastructure can also be built into the data center space at the construction stage. But while these strategies can also be retrofitted into an existing data center setting, additional considerations may be needed to maximize the utilization of existing infrastructure and resources.

Being able to flexibly expand and meet spikes in demand without compromising performance or reliability means monitoring systems are invaluable.

Being able to flexibly expand and meet spikes in demand without compromising performance or reliability means monitoring systems are invaluable.
These can proactively identify and address potential issues before unplanned incidences occur. Having monitoring software that can produce compliance-ready ESG reporting to track sustainability efforts and make data-based decisions, helps to prioritize energy efficiency measures and optimize resource utilization.

Monitoring also aids in identifying right-size computing requirements and working out when to retire older or more inefficient hardware to optimize energy consumption.

It’s all very well having systems and components such as backup generators in place to prevent single points of failure, but the data center also needs to conduct regular drills and tests to prepare for unexpected disruptions. Maintaining a cross-trained workforce that can quickly respond and resolve issues across different systems is vital to ensure unforeseen outages can be assessed and resolved as swiftly as possible.

A robust supply chain should also be developed to ensure reliable access to necessary materials and parts. As we have seen in the recent past, the pandemic rapidly identified vulnerable supply chains, causing untold misery across many industries and markets.

It’s important to harden the supply chain to ensure reliable access to necessary materials and parts to withstand unplanned incidents such as natural disasters, cyberattacks or unexpected interruptions of operation.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can ensure sustained operations in their data centers, in addition to optimizing resource utilization, enhancing sustainability and building resilient infrastructures capable of adapting to future challenges in the dynamic digital landscape.

Company
Video

Driving Excellence: President Insights

Join us for a captivating episode of “The Expert Series” featuring Shane Kilfoil, President of Mission Critical Environments. Shane shares his insights into the world of mission-critical environments and discusses Subzero’s journey towards becoming the number 1 dedicated containment provider globally.

Our conversation also explores:

  • Communication and teamwork within Subzero’s dynamic environment.
  • Subzero’s pioneering role as an industry leader in critical environment solutions.
  • Uncovering the unique aspects that set Subzero Engineering apart.
  • Our commitment to delivering efficient and effective results.

Tune in for this enlightening discussion with Shane and gain valuable insights into the future of mission-critical environments and Subzero Engineering’s pivotal role in it!

Data Center
Video

Subzero Engineering’s Global Scope

Video Overview

In this episode of “The Data Center Expert Series,” we join Andy Connor, Channel Director of EMEA at Subzero Engineering, as he guides us through Subzero’s global scope, sustainability initiatives, and pivotal growth trends spanning EMEA and beyond.

Our discussion also delves into:

  • Subzero’s strategic expansion across EMEA.
  • The intricate challenges of serving the EMEA region.
  • The pressing customer challenges experienced in Europe.
  • The flourishing data center market in the Nordic region.

Don’t miss this enlightening conversation with Andy Connor!

Cleanrooms
Video

40 Years of Innovation: The Past, Present and Future of Simplex Cleanrooms

Video Overview

In our next installment of the Cleanroom Experts Series, we talk to Ward Patton, Director of Sales for Simplex Cleanrooms by Subzero Engineering. Ward talks to us about the exciting new manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, and the new capabilities of moving cleanroom manufacturing from Fontana, and the advantages to this geographical relocation.

Other key discussion points and takeaways from this episode include:

  • Industries that could specifically benefit from the Simplex modular cleanroom product line
  • Simplex cleanroom’s 40 year history
  • Customizability
  • Collaboration
  • Modular cleanroom applications for the life sciences and pharmaceutical Industry
  • Meeting Industry Regulations
Data Center
Video

Subzero Engineering’s History, Innovation & Future

Next up in our latest episode is Gary Domichel, Sales Director. Gary takes us through his illustrious 15-year history with Subzero Engineering, discusses how his extensive tenure has given him insight to truly understand the industry, and why he believes customers can trust Subzero Engineering with their critical environment.

Further highlights include:

  • Deep dive into how Subzero Engineering is the leader in ‘turnkey engineering solutions for mission critical environments’ for both data centers and clean rooms
  • Benefits to data center containment
  • What kind of customers Subzero Engineering works with on a day-to-day basis
  • What makes Subzero Engineering stand out in a data center environment
  • The advantages of Sustainability with Subzero products and the benefits to the customer  
  • How Subzero Engineering prioritizes customer satisfaction