CH-IV International to Support U.S. LNG Export Project
Click here to download the PDF
Alexandria, VA. (Dec. 2, 2010) - CH-IV International, a joint venture affiliate of MPR Associates, recently announced that it will expand and continue its Owner’s Engineering support for the Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P. (Freeport LNG Project) with Macquarie Energy. Jeffrey P. Beale, President of CH-IV made the official announcement on November 22, 2010.
CH-IV had previously been contracted by Freeport LNG to execute a Pre-FEED for the LNG Export Project, which included the evaluation and selection of the Liquefaction Technology. As part of the overall FEED for the expansion project, CH-IV will continue its support to Freeport LNG by managing and contributing to the preparation of the required Resource Report 13 (RR13) for the NEPA Pre-filing Process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
In a statement made by Mr. Beale he commented that, “CH-IV is excited to continue working with the Freeport LNG Team on such an important project. We look forward to adapting the current infrastructure to meet new commercial goals while maintaining the existing high levels of safety and operational proficiency.”
Mr. Michael Diemert, of MPR and CH-IV’s combined Houston Office will manage this project.
MPR to Participate in AdvaMed 2010’s Entrepreneurship in the Medical Device Industry Boot Camp
Click here to download the PDF
Alexandria, VA. (Oct. 7, 2010) - MPR Associates will be participating in the Entrepreneurship in the Medical Device Industry half-day boot camp for chief executive officers and general managers of pre-revenue start-up companies hosted by AdvaMed and MPR Product Development. The event will be held on Oct. 18 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Vernon Place NW, in Washington, D.C.
This AdvaMed 2010 boot camp, developed in conjunction with MPR Product Development, will provide important insights from key industry experts in evolutionary financial and regulatory times to ensure the success of innovative technologies reaching the market quickly. Attendees also will learn the reasons behind the successes of various medical device development strategies and take away new approaches to implement in their organizations.
Through a combination of workshops and panels, attendees will learn from a variety of investors and companies on; how to develop best practices for attracting the right source of funding, how to best present your organization and approach investment opportunities, and how to keep overhead costs to a minimum while earning revenue and increasing the value of your company. Additionally, attendees will become familiar with innovative methods to reduce risk in regulatory strategies to increase their company's valuation such as, selecting regulatory support early in product development to work effectively with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and implementing design control with limited resources.
Christian Haller, director of MPR Product Development, will lead the "Staffing Up or Staying Slim" workshop, which is geared toward covering best practices of the virtual company model. Joining Haller will be speakers from other notable industry organizations such as SalesForce4Hire; Advocea; Hogan Lovells US LLP; Medtronic, Inc.; Blu Venture Investors, LLC; WFD Ventures; the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center; Vidacare; and Galil Medical.
"We often see amazing technologies not reach the market due to the need for additional experience with the funding and commercialization process, especially in highly-regulated industries. Our goal is for this boot camp to provide a learning opportunity for both experienced and new entrepreneurs to gain additional insight given the current economic and regulatory environments," said Ashley Wallin, business development manager for MPR's Product Development division.
Andrew Calhoun, vice president, Membership Services at AdvaMed, explained: "AdvaMed makes a large number of resources available to smaller, Emerging Growth Companies, from expert insights covering the political and regulatory landscape delivered via short email bursts and one-page newsletters to direct access to FDA, CMS officials. Member companies also are assisted by AdvaMed staff and partners in their drive to understand the best paths to market launch."
To learn more about AdvaMed 2010’s Entrepreneurship in the Medical Device Industry Boot Camp, please click here.
Federal Services Wins $12 Million USACE Contract
Click here to download the PDF
Alexandria, VA. (July 2010) - MPR Associates has been awarded a $12 million dollar contract by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide construction engineering services for various civil works, environmental, DOE and military projects assigned to the USACE. MPR’s team members on this contract include Black & Veatch, Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., and Environmental Dimensions, Inc. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch is one of the largest, most experienced engineering and architectural firms in the United States. Ben C. Gerwick is an internationally known consulting engineering firm that specializes in marine structures. Environmental Dimensions specializes in services for environmental investigation and remediation of sites contaminated with radioactive, hazardous, and mixed-waste materials.
Bob Coward Speaks to Latest Challenges Affecting New Nuclear Plant Development
Click here to download the PDF
Click here to download Bob Coward's PPT
Alexandria, VA. (July 2010) - In June 2010, Bob Coward, a Principal Officer of MPR Associates, gave a speech titled Competitiveness, Economic and Intangibles of New Nuclear Power Plants- An Implementation Perspective to a conference sponsored by the US Nuclear Infrastructure Council where he highlighted the rising total cost of new nuclear units to be the greatest challenge facing the new nuclear industry. According to Coward’s speech, the nuclear industry has made considerable progress in the reliability of new nuclear units over the past five years. However, utilities and merchant power companies face a growing struggle in how to fund the increasing total cost of large new nuclear units. “The sheer size of the investment is turning in to the biggest challenge, not the cost per kilowatt,” said Coward. With the total cost to build a new nuclear unit estimated between 6 to 8 billion dollars, the total cost is rivaling the market capitalization of several utilities and merchant power companies in the US, essentially turning new nuclear projects into “bet the company” projects. On top of the soaring total cost of new units, cash flow issues and potential diluted earning incurred during construction are presenting further barriers to development of new nuclear units. As Coward stated in his speech, “A company might have to spend as much as 30% of the entire project costs before an NRC license is secured, and those up-front expenditures are especially difficult to finance.” Alternatively, the rising cost of large new nuclear units has increased interest in investing in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). SMRs can be constructed and brought online faster with a reduced total cost compared to large new nuclear units providing more flexibility in approaching new nuclear implementation. Coward’s speech describes a “Societal Approach” to addressing cost related issues associated with new nuclear unit development. Coward’s “Societal Approach” calls for increased effort to promote energy company collaboration on new unit projects, consideration of additional incentives to ease cash flow and diluted earnings issues even before obtaining government licenses, and for an industry wide review of total cost drivers of new units and proposed ways to reduce total cost of new nuclear implementation. Coward is scheduled to present a speech on the status of the new nuclear renaissance to the 2010 Women in Nuclear Conference in Seattle, Washington at the Westin Hotel on July 18th, 2010.
MPR Acquires HUCKdesign LLC
Click here to download the PDF
Alexandria, VA. (June 2010) - MPR announced the completion of its acquisition of HUCKdesign, LLC, an award winning industrial design firm. The new entity will now operate as HUCKdesign, A Service of MPR and will be positioned as MPR’s in house industrial design service. This acquisition developed naturally out of the strategic alliance that MPR and HUCKdesign, LLC formed in 2008 to offer their clients a comprehensive and streamlined product development process. Together, MPR and HUCKdesign offer an integrated product development process that concurrently combines first-of-a-kind engineering with human factors-focused industrial design. Through concurrent engineering and industrial design, MPR is able to provide turnkey product development solutions to our clients allowing for rapid prototyping of new innovative products and technologies. This process has provided their clients with more than 100 new products and technologies.
“We are excited about the joining of our companies because our combined strengths will result in delivering dynamic solutions to customers. This union cements a working relationship that is vibrant and effective, and we are looking forward to the opportunities it will unleash,” said Paul Damerell, principal officer of MPR.
MPR, with HUCKdesign, now combines technology, engineering, and conceptualization with design, packaging, and model building to propel new products and solutions from concept to prototype to reality. Christian Haller, MPR’s director of Product Development, commented: “The formal joining of our businesses will continue the MPR and HUCKdesign reputation of excellence for developing first-of-a-kind innovative technologies.”
“Our companies are an ideal fit. We share similar values and approaches and we have complementary skills that have proven to serve customers well,” explained Charles Huck, president of HUCKdesign, LLC.