Energy Service, Industrial Airpark and Rural Commercial Building in Woodward

Service shops, parts storage and crew buildings for wind and oilfield operations need to be built where the work is, which in northwest Oklahoma often means a long way from a supplier showroom. We build those buildings in and around Woodward, and we plan every one with the haul distance in mind: where steel comes from, how far a concrete truck travels and what happens when wind stops a crane.

Woodward sits at the junction of U.S. Highways 270 and 412 and State Highways 15 and 34, according to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Wikipedia also reports that BNSF Railway's Southern Transcon passes through Woodward and that the shortline Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad also serves the area and interchanges with BNSF. A town with four road routes and a main-line railroad is a natural supply point for a wide area, and that is why shops, warehouses and equipment buildings do well here.

Our team is comfortable on open ground, in wind and with long deliveries, and we are used to explaining to an owner why a concrete pour that starts at dawn may be finished before the afternoon gusts arrive. We keep jobs simple: a clear pad, a practical frame, a durable slab and a building that can be expanded when the owner's business grows.

Wind farms and the buildings that support them

Federal energy data, as shown on interconnection.fyi, lists Boiling Springs Wind Farm in Woodward County at 148.4 MW nameplate capacity, operated by RWE Americas, LLC, with its first unit online December 1, 2020. The same source lists Persimmon Creek Wind Farm 1 in Woodward County at 198.6 MW nameplate capacity, with its first unit online September 1, 2018. We rely on that source with some caution, and we claim no work on either facility.

What those records tell a builder is that wind generation is part of Woodward's landscape. Wind operations need maintenance buildings, laydown yards, parts storage, small offices and sometimes training space. The usual building is a pre-engineered steel shop with a high door, a bridge crane in some cases and a slab that tolerates heavy equipment. See our pre-engineered metal buildings page, and the matching metal building page for structure and finish options.

The industrial airpark and similar sites

A September 30, 2020 release from Rep. Frank Lucas on a $2 million Economic Development Administration grant to the City of Woodward says the project will open a 124,000 square foot industrial facility within the Woodward Industrial Airpark. A report dated October 6, 2020 said Woodward would receive a $2 million federal EDA grant, matched by more than $1.2 million in local investment, for Woodward Industrial Airpark improvements to support businesses recovering from the 2018 wildfires.

Those two records describe the type of building we expect to see more of: mid-size industrial space that can host manufacturing, warehouse or distribution tenants and be divided. A 124,000 square foot building usually means an eave height around thirty feet, several dock doors, concrete tilt panels or insulated metal panels and a large truck court. We cover that in our tilt-wall construction and manufacturing plant pages. We make no claim to have built the airpark facility; we cite these records to show what the market is investing in.

Building on the plains

Open ground raises three issues. The first is wind: crane picks, panel tilts and roof installation all depend on a wind limit, and we plan work with a weather window and a backup task list. The second is distance: subcontractors, inspectors and suppliers may come from other towns, and we schedule inspections and deliveries in clusters. The third is utilities: electric, water and sewer may be far from a rural lot, and a long extension can cost as much as the building.

We deal with these by doing a site walk early, with the utility provider and the building official, and by pricing off-site work separately. Owners then see which choices drive cost, and which ones only look expensive on paper, such as moving the building closer to the road or choosing a septic and well system instead of a long line. Our site development and utilities service describes the process.

Tornado and wildfire experience

The National Weather Service Norman tornado list records an EF3 tornado on April 14 to 15, 2012 that crossed Woodward and Ellis counties on a 34-mile path 400 yards wide, with 6 killed and 29 injured. The wildfires of 2018 are also mentioned in the grant record above. Together, they show two hazards owners here care about: wind and fire.

For wind, we use continuous load paths, wind-rated doors and secured roof edges, and we discuss shelter rooms where many people gather. For fire, we talk about defensible space, noncombustible cladding and roofing, vent screening and the distance between buildings and grass. Not every owner needs every measure, but each is an inexpensive decision at design that becomes costly after the fact. We also help owners sort out insurance questions with their agent before final design.

Hubs and neighbors

Woodward often serves as a base for work in neighboring counties. A company with shops in Woodward may also need space in Enid or Guymon, and we can carry a standard design from one site to the next. That approach appears in our programmatic multi-site rollouts page.

For energy-related owners, the same crews build offices, break rooms, storage and small warehouses. For public owners such as towns and school districts, we build fire stations, community buildings and school additions. Our government and public sector page describes the process.

Building in Woodward?

Tell us the use, the lot and the date. We will return a budget and a schedule that accounts for wind, distance and utilities. If your project includes several sites, mention that and we will plan them together.