Business View Magazine | March 2018

58 59 www.waltersgroupinc.com @waltersgroupinc Walters Group is a family-owned steel construction company that designs, fabricates, and constructs commercial and industrial projects throughout North America. Regardless of the industry, size or complexity, we always bring the same passion and commitment to every project we take on. Walters Group is proud to have been a part of bringing the vision and structural innovation to the Yardman Arena in Belleville. Transforming Vision into Reality. Business View Yardman advt 2018.indd 1 2018-02-08 8:21 AM BUY DIRECT BUY QUALITY BUY SMART 1-800-757-1235 info@mkrcabinets.com Canadian designed and manufactured dental cabinetry for today’s dental office. corporate and club suites,a newrefrigeration sys- tem,upgraded concourses,a newscore clock,and an enhanced sound system.OnNovember 1,2017,the newly-named Belleville Senators,a topminor league affiliate of theNational HockeyLeague’s Ottawa Sena- tors,began their debut season. “We’ve tried to get our customer experiencewell abovewhat it used to be,”Lyng asserts.“We’ve changed seating angles,we’ve changedwashroomaccessibility, we’ve changed the elevator function-all three levels of our building are fullyaccessible towheelchairs,now. We’re able to control our temperature better.We gutted all the old lighting systems in the building; it’s com- pletelyLED,now. “The city runs a private and a publicnetwork,sowe have a thousand IPs that we can give out through the night; we’ve got complete coverage fromend to end as well as inside the buildings.We partneredwith Bell Canada a fewyears ago andwe have cell phone repeaters within the building,as well.(Acell phone repeater is a type of bi-directional amplifier used to improve cell phone reception.) “We have a solar farmon the roof–2,800 solar pan- els and 490megawatts.We generate approximately $1,000 a dayof electricity that we feed back into our local grid,as well as into the building to help reduce operating costs.Wewent back to thermal storage, which is like the old iceboxes that our grandparents used to have in the 1930s and‘40s.We freeze large THE YARDMEN ARENA PREFERRED VENDORS n MKR Dental Cabinets www.mkrcabinets.com n Walters Inc. www.waltersgroupinc.com vats of water overnight when electricity is cheaper in Ontario.In the daytime,I use that coldmaterial to chill the air in the building.In the first year of operation,I reducedmyenergyconsumption by$60,000. “The lastprojectwedidwasaneco-chill plant that is 98percent efficient.So for everydollar I spend tomake ice to skate on,I get 98 cents backworth of heat into the building.And,we are in the process of installing co-gens in the building,whichwill reclaimwaste heat from the heating and hot water systems.So,I have two boilers that only run once a year–onNewYear’s Day. And theAHLreferees say this is the best ice they’ve skated on.” In addition to the Senators and other area hockey teams, the Arena is also home to The Quinte Sports Hall of Fame, and hosts many concerts, circuses, reli- gious events,and other events such asMonster Trucks andThe Price is Right Live stage show.“We’re open to any type of showthat wants tomake a stop in Bell- ville,”says Lyng.As for the rest of theQuinte Sports& Wellness Centre,it’s a perpetuallybusyplacewith an average of 1,500 visitors per day.“When you do the math over the year,and you lookat our population, which is just 50,000,it shows howpopular we are,”he declares.