YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Have you ever thought about what it takes to keep the aquariums at Wonders of Wildlife running? Gold Mechanical’s life support system provides the behind-the-scenes infrastructure to make the visual experience possible. The company specializes in LSS for large-scale aquatic habitats for projects including the San Diego Zoo and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.
SBJ: How did you get started manufacturing life support systems?
Carl Kicklighter (vice president of construction): You know the saying necessity is the mother of invention? That is a good way to sum up how we got into it. The first job we ever worked on was an LSS project. The contractor who was hired to do the LSS ultimately ended up not being able to perform the task. We were asked if we could help. It was mainly a testament to our skillset in our other trades. We never back down from a challenge. With some rapid training we found out that we were pretty good at it and then we were off and running.
SBJ: What is something people may not know about aquatic life support?
Kicklighter: We definitely fall into the STEM field and people view our work as very technical and science-based, but the interesting part is truly how blended the art and science is. When it comes to aquariums, they are so visibly stimulating and I think people fail to understand how it truly works. Then, there’s the satisfaction of our guys who get to stand back when it’s done and say, “I built that.” The amount of people who get to see the outcome of their hard work, that fulfillment factor is really hard to replicate and that was one of the driving forces of [how we got into the business]. It was how well we got to blend the art and science.
SBJ: What does it take to design a system capable of sustaining an entire aquarium?
Kicklighter: As our country continues to put an emphasis on water conservation and water quality, the rate at which the technology is improving and compounding, to address those needs, I think people would underestimate the innovation it has taken to keep the LSS product moving at the rate the country is requiring. A lot of it consistently revolves around the filtration part and the different filtration systems. When you look at filtration systems from salt water to osmosis systems, all of the nuances, those things require different flow rates, different pressure rates, different inlet and outlet pipes and all of those things really impact us and our abilities to meet those demands.
SBJ: What’s the coolest aquarium you’ve worked on?
Kicklighter: You’d be hard pressed to get me to vote for anything other than Wonders of Wildlife. Some of the other cool ones that we have going on: At the San Diego Zoo, we’re working on a big elephant exhibit.
SBJ: Why is it important to manufacture in the Ozarks?
Kicklighter: Given that Wonders of Wildlife was our first one, we like to stay true to our roots and want to make sure, when we look at our company as a whole, we are truly integrating with the community and making sure we keep that economic impact in that area that it was birthed for us. At Gold Mechanical, we are 100% employee owned, so all of our workers live, work, raise their kids and go to school in the Ozarks. It’s important for us to support them and we feel one way we can do that is to keep manufacturing and installation as close to home as we can.
Taking shape on 3.5 acres just east of State Highway H/Glenstone Avenue in the area of Valley Water Mill Park are the Fulbright Heights Apartments – three 23,000-square-foot buildings with 24 units each for a total of 72 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
