Same Service Excellence, New Headquarters

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (August 31, 2018) – United Services Group continues to grow with the purchase and build out of a state-of-the-art company headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Co-owners, Josh Armstrong and Stephen Gillman cut the ribbon on the opening of the new official home of United Energy and United Technical Services in August 2018.  The new company headquarters located in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina allows United’s core business to grow further with the ample space to bring on additional shop fabrication, welding, and machining projects in-house.

Co-Owners Josh Armstrong and Stephen Gillman during the ribbon cutting ceremony of their new company headquarters at 2505 Hutchison McDonald Road in Charlotte, North Carolina.

During the company ribbon-cutting ceremony, Stephen Gillman, Chief Operating Officer, provided us with some background on the tremendous growth of United Services Group.  “It’s been five long years of hard work by every member of our team.  Without the hard work and consistent effort of everyone who has worn the United blue we wouldn’t be here.” Stephen continued, “every one of us played a vital role in the growing of this business. Josh (Armstrong) and I are extremely blessed with the staff we have built around us.  Without each member of Team United, we wouldn’t have reached this point as quickly as we have.”

United’s new 17,000 square foot facility provides much-needed space for our growing business.  Plans for the facility have included the build-out of a weld test facility, a state-of-the-art fabrication, and machine shop, as well as the growth of an equipment rental fleet to service the power industry.  Many of these projects began breaking ground the day the facility was acquired.  Additionally, all corporate employees have moved and are officially working out of the new headquarters.

“As we continue to grow, we wanted the capacity that mirrored our daily drive for service excellence.  This new company headquarters allows us the ability to expand aspects of our business and introduce and add new services.  Additionally, it allows us to grow exponentially.” Chief Executive Officer, Josh Armstrong shared this vision of the new space during the ribbon cutting ceremony, “we now have the space to grow our equipment rental business and have started building out a full-scale weld test facility.  Moreover, with the location still being in the heart of Charlotte, we are still close to the epicenter of the power industry which allows us the opportunity to continue serving our core customers.”

The new facility features ample office space for future growth.  Work has competed on upgrading the new conference room, as well as the designated office space for project management and field support staff while they are in the facility.  Additionally, United has created a few remote office spaces for clients and customers who are traveling into the Charlotte metro area.  Josh Armstrong gave us a few more details about the potential of these new spaces “The size of this facility allows us to bring customers in for demos, bring on larger scale fabrication projects, provide additional continuity testing and training to our craft, and allows us the ability to rent our fabrication shop to customers and clients who need a facility.”

The team is already hard at work at converting the current spaces to fit the needs of United Services Group.  Stephen Gillman provided us with an update on the current state of the build out. “The facility was already a great fit for us, it was fundamentally move-in ready when purchased.  The few areas that didn’t work for the previous owners, we have already started being demoed and being transformed to provide us with additional workable space.  The built out is already underway for the weld test facility, our rod room, as well as the moving in and organization of our equipment fleet.  We are hoping to have this all completed by the end of the calendar year.”

Along with the new facility, United Services Group continues to diversify and provide additional services and products to the ever-growing power industry. United is committed to service excellence. Josh Armstrong summed it up best, “we built this business on a few core values that have provided this opportunity for growth.  We made a commitment to employ the best in the industry and provide all our services with a focus on safety, quality, and affordability.  This commitment has allowed us to be here today.”

The new company office headquarters is located at 2505 Hutchison-McDonald Road in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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About United Services Group United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications. We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets. For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

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United Services Group welcomes its first Vice President

Richard Lehman
Vice President

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (July 31, 2018) – Josh Armstrong, Co-Owner and Chief Executive Officer, and Stephen Gillman, Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer, of United Services Group, are pleased to welcome and announce Richard Lehman as the company’s first Vice President.

In his new role with United Services Group, Richard will oversee the Quality Control and field operations of United Services Group and its subsidiaries. Additionally, he will oversee United’s code welding program.  He brings more than 20 years of welding, nondestructive examination, and quality control expertise, leadership, and executive management experience to his role within the company. He has built a reputation as a quality expert within the power generation industry.

Josh Armstrong had high praise for Richard, “Richard fits effortlessly into our team and his quality and welding expertise will help United Services Group grow more efficient in our field operations as well as in our facility here in Charlotte.  With his background, he can step in immediately and provide insight into all facets of our business. We are happy to have him as a part of the future growth of the United Services Group.”

Richard joins United Services Group after successful serving as the Quality Director with Thompson Construction Group, where he supported their company with his immense knowledge of Quality Control, Quality Assurance, and Nondestructive Examination. While with Thompson, Richard managed and maintained Thompson Code Welding Program and provided field assistance and clarification of codes, standards, and/or site-specific specifications.

During his more than 20 years within the power generation, pressure vessel, process piping, and industrial construction industry, he has served as Quality Director at both TEI Construction Services and Wachs Services where he was responsible for each company’s Quality program and Code compliance.  He directly supervised each company’s Project Quality Managers.  Moreover, he was responsible for generating welding procedures and coordinating NDE.

Richard began his career in the construction industry as a welder in the United States Navy.

Additionally, he has written and implemented several complete Quality programs meeting ASME and National Board requirements for both Nuclear and Non-Nuclear work.

“Richard has had built his career on his proficiency in welding, nondestructive examination and quality control in every position he has held”, Stephen Gillman said. “His addition to our management team will allow his knowledge and quality expertise to be implemented seamlessly into our current and future projects to deliver performance above our industry’s standards.  We have always promised to deliver services and expertise that exceed our customer’s expectations and Richard’s background allows us the ability to provide yet another level of expertise.  He is a wonderful addition to our team.”

Richard is a graduate of Hinds Community College. He holds accreditations as an AWS Senior Certified Welding Inspector as well as an AWS Certified Radiographic Interpreter.  He has been previously qualified as a Level III Quality Control Inspector, Quality Assurance Planner, NQA-1 Lead Auditor, as well as an SNT-TC-1A Level III for VT/PT/MT.

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About United Services Group United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications. We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets. For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

Announcing the formation of the Elite Specialty Providers Consortium

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (February 5, 2018) – United Services Group partners with fellow industry experts to create the Elite Specialty Providers Consortium. United Services Group is one of the founding members of the consortium which partners together an accomplished team of reliability engineering and technical field service experts.

Josh Armstrong stated “By partnering with these other first-class organizations and subject matter experts, we will be able to partner with our customers to execute new innovative solutions for the complex outage and turnaround projects. Our focus will be to execute effectively with a focus on the highest quality and safety in the industry. We are excited to be a founding member of this consortium and feel that it will bring a lot of value to not only end users and full-service EPC contractors but General/Mechanical contractors along with fabrication shops. We are excited about the future with the team we have assembled.”

The Elite Specialty Providers (ESP), is a consortium of acclaimed reliability engineering and technical field service experts, selected at the request of prominent energy owners, to provide immediate condition assessment, engineering design and flawless execution of cost-effective maintenance, repair, and capital construction services. We have taken the concept and formalized a working agreement to make these resources available to others, respecting individual autonomy and our client’s preferred provider networks.

This unique arrangement offers simplified single source access to World-Class providers and technical resources, leaders in their respective areas of expertise, and fills a vacuum of critical field technical services, as companies and OEM’s have reduced technical expertise and support resources from their portfolios.

ESP features noted industry and subject matter experts in every field summarized below and is designed to serve a wide range of Energy Markets including full-spectrum Power Generation, Refining, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Pipeline, Pulp & Paper industries. The group is experienced working in tandem with or subcontracted to Global EPC Contractors, Design Groups, Mechanical/General Contractors along with Fabrication shops.

Ideally suited solutions, specially tailored for complex Outage or Turnaround projects, demanding highest Quality, Cost-Effective, Safest coordinated execution, to meet critical path, optimized fitness for service and return on investment.

Our clients may utilize any company, or combination of companies, to complement or augment existing preferred providers:

Assessment Services
• NDT Inspection Services (Assessment and Execution)
• Design Engineering (Structural, Component and Pressure Parts)
• World renown Material Laboratory Services and Testing
• Life Management Assessment and Analytics
• Welding Engineering, Procedure Development, and Qualification
• Engineering Consulting Services

Maintenance, Repair and Capital Construction
• Project and Operations Management
• Field Machining
• Full-Service Welding Resources or Augmentation
• Field Heat Treatment
• Shop Furnaces and Fabrication
• Specialized Thermal Coatings and Reliability Engineering
• Engineering Consulting Services
• Research, Development, Training, and Testing

Unlike traditional multi-disciplined organizations, ESP is comprised of experts and leaders in every discipline, driven by the common philosophies of Exceptional, Cost-Effective Customer Service, Safety, Quality and Community Service.

The consortium is driven by a commitment to Executing Innovative Solutions for its customers and members alike. The consortium’s founding 10 members are as followed:

1. United Services Group – www.united-services.com
2. Applied Inspection Systems – www.appliedinspection.com
3. ATC Coating and Heat Treatment – www.appliedthermalcoatingsusa.com
4. ATC Engineering Service Group – www.appliedthermalcoatingsusa.com
5. Boiler Construction Experts
6. Design Engineering (formerly GE Alstom)
7. Lewis Reliability Resources
8. ALS Maverick Testing – www.alsglobal.com/maverick
9. Superheat – www.superheat.com
10. Wasatch Welding Engineering Services – www.wwes-utah.com

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About United Services Group
United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications. We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets. For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

Safety Tips Blog: Holiday Travel

Safety Tips: Holiday Travel

Did You Know? More than 63.9 million Americans will travel during the holidays.  82% of those travelers (roughly 82%) will travel by automobile.

The best part of the holidays is spending extended time with your friends and family, but this always means having to travel to see them.  We want to help make your drive as smooth as possible so you can arrive at your holiday travel destination without any accidents.

Follow these important travel tips to ensure your family is safe this holiday season!

Happy Holidays from United Services Group to all our co-workers, friends, family, and customers!  We hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Holiday Travel Safety Practices and Tips:

• Make sure that your car is equipped for travel.  Check your tire tread, tire pressure, battery, antifreeze, windows, and brakes.
• Ensure you have your spare tire properly inflated, you have a jack, lug wrench, and jumper cables.
• Allow extra time in your travel schedule.  The holidays is one of the busiest times to travel and patience and flexibility are needed.
• Keep a safety kit in your vehicle.  The kit should include items you might need in case of an emergency: flashlight, first aid kit, water, non-perishable food items, matches, blankets, flares (or other warning devices).
• Driving while drowsy can be as dangerous as driving after drinking alcohol.  Schedule your trip to avoid driving during normal sleep hours.  Plan for at least a 15-minute rest stop every two hours.  Limit driving to 350 miles per day or no more than eight hours on the road to avoid drowsy driving.
• Even if the weather and roads look okay in your area of the country, that may not be the case where you are traveling.  You should check weather conditions of the interstates and roads you will be traveling on.
• Map your route in advance and be prepared for busy roads.  If possible, consider leaving earlier or later to avoid the heavy traffic periods.
• If you are traveling with children, remind them to not talk to strangers.  Accompany them on bathroom breaks so your family doesn’t get separated.
• Have roadside assistance contact information on hand in case an incident occurs on the road.
• Avoid distractions on the road, don’t text and drive.
• Most importantly, make sure everyone in the vehicle is wearing their seat belts properly.

Sources of Tips and Information in this Post:

Safety Toolbox Topics: Christmas Travel Safety

AAA: Holiday Road Trip Survival Tips

American Red Cross: Top Ten Holiday Travel Tips

United Services Group closes 2017 with Two Business Awards

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (December 18, 2017) – United Services Group has been awarded two well-respected industry awards for a second consecutive year to conclude a successful 2017 calendar year.

United Services Group was awarded the 2017 award as the Best Full-Service Specialty Energy Contractor award as well as the Award for Excellence in Rapid Response Welding Solutions from the Wealth and Finance International’s fourth annual Business Awards. This is United Services Group’s second consecutive win in both categories, winning both awards previously in 2016.

“We are extremely honored and blessed to have been nominated for two consecutive years, but to be awarded both honors for consecutive years, especially with the competition in these categories, has been the biggest honor”, Chief Executive Officer, Josh Armstrong stated. “These awards are displayed proudly in our headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina and show the dedication and commitment of each member of our team. Without every individual who we employ making that initial commitment to safety and quality when they walk through our door, to upholding it on every job-site we deploy to, none of these types of awards would be possible.”

2017 has been the most successful year for United Services Group, to date. They have performed more projects and worked more man-hours than any other of their previous four years in business. Additionally, they have committed to growing their Charlotte, North Carolina based business. They have invested in a new company headquarters, which they are scheduled to move into this upcoming May, as well as investing in people throughout the Carolinas to help continue to grow their business.

Armstrong continued, “Ultimately, from all of us here at United Services Group, this is a tremendous honor. Anytime you are awarded as one of the best in your industry, it’s rewarding. We are always thankful and it’s a great way to end our most successful year. Additionally, it helps refocus everyone on 2018, knowing we can’t rest on past success and sets the framework for our commitment to our customers and partners. We continue to strive daily to be the best specialty contractor in this industry.”

Wealth and Finance International’s business awards program recognizes talented organizations throughout various industries. They provide a platform to the brightest, best performing, and most deserving companies. Their winners are chosen through a combination of votes gathered through a network of well-respected industry partners and through demanding in-house research.

They scrutinize everything from the nominee’s region, their performance over the past 12 months, their commitment to innovation, their methods and even their competition to ensure that only the most deserving names walk away with one of our prestigious trophies.

The full list of 2017 Business Awards can be found on the Wealth and Finance International website by clicking here.

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About United Services Group
United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications. We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets. For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

United Services Group celebrates 4th Anniversary

To all our customers, employees, and vendors:

First and foremost, Thank you. Why there are too many individuals to name here who took a chance on us as either a customer, employee or vendor, know that we are extremely honored that you provided us an opportunity to build this company. Without every one of you, we wouldn’t be here today celebrating our fourth anniversary.

When we came together in 2013 to form United Services Group, we envisioned a specialty services company based on service excellence. This philosophy was driven by three things: being the safest company in the industry, providing the best quality in the industry, and most importantly, the individuals we employ.  Today, we are a power industry leader because of this commitment.

To our clients and customers:  Even though the both of us had built relationships as well as achieved industry successes at different organizations, we thank you for believing in us. We appreciate your willingness to take a chance on us during our infancy years. From day one, we didn’t want to be just a contractor, but as your partner, who would help find ways to make your projects successful.  To this day, we continue to make this commitment by providing accurate cost assessments as well as confident scheduling for your project needs. These assessments along with our field experience have enabled us to complete our job scope and deliver our projects on time, ahead of schedule, and under budget.

To our employees: We are humbled by your commitment to our team and from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. From our first day in business, we built a company culture, both on-site and in our home office, to encourage each of you to take a hands-on approach in all aspects of our company for continual company improvement and advancement. I can say your willingness to challenge different aspects of our organization has allowed us to grow exponentially during these first four years and for that, we are extremely thankful. As we continue to grow, we will continue to challenge each of you to provide the safest, quality-driven services to every customer daily. As we move forward, we will continue to recognize and honor each of you.

To our vendors: Thank you for seeing our vision and working with us from the very beginning. We relied on you to provide us with various services, equipment, and products with stringent deadlines and you have delivered. We are thankful to have built such successful relationships with you to allow our business to grow. We will continue to rely on you.

During these last four years, we have been thankful for our growth, but we will not rest on our laurels.  We are committed to our vision of being a company built on service excellence.  We will continue to push all aspects of our business to be better, more successful, and we’re driven to be the industry name for project success.

In these four years, all of us have contributed to over 450+ projects, employing over 500 individuals, working over 700,000 man hours without a lost time injury or accident, maintaining a welding reject rate of less than two percent, we have formed and started five United Services Group subsidiaries, built an equipment fleet, and purchased a company headquarters.  None of this would have been successful without the people we employ or do business with.  We are extremely thankful for your support and dedication to United Services Group.

Here is to continued success for years to come,

Josh Armstrong & Stephen Gillman
Co-Owners, United Services Group

United Services Group welcomes new Chief Financial Officer

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (September 12, 2017) – Josh Armstrong, Co-Owner and Chief Executive Officer, and Stephen Gillman, Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer, of United Services Group, are pleased to welcome and announce Michael Holt as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer.

In his new role with United Services Group, Michael will oversee the financial and accounting operations of United Services Group and its subsidiaries. He brings more than 40 years of finance, accounting, leadership, and executive management experience to his role within the company. He has built a career reputation as a financial leader in the manufacturing industry.

Josh Armstrong had high praise for Michael, “As sharp as he is a financial expert, he is an even better person. He fits seamlessly with our team and his business expertise will help to take us to new heights. We are happy to have him a part of the future growth of United Services Group.”

Michael joins United Services Group after successful stints building Kaplan CFO Solutions and Cha Technologies, Inc. (CTI) While as an Engagement Partner with Kaplan, Michael helped build a network of Chief Financial Officers who work side-by-side with small- to mid-sized business owners along the eastern United States.

Prior to his success with Kaplan, Michael spent 17 years as the Chief Financial Officer at CTI, a textile conglomerate involved in manufacturing, research, and international trade consisting of eight companies throughout various countries. He oversaw all accounting, financial, tax and human resources tasks for the entire company and its subsidiaries. During his career, Michael negotiated the purchase and sale of numerous subsidiaries for the company.  Additionally, he took the financial role in the formation and start-up of subsidiaries in China, Canada, Brazil, and Australia.

“Michael has had built his career on financial successes in every position he has held”, Stephen Gillman said. “Michael’s addition to our management team will strengthen everything we do from a financial standpoint. He is a tremendous addition to our team and we are pleased to have him aboard.”

A native of Tennessee, Michael is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. He holds accreditations as a Certified Public Account from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as a Certified Valuation Analyst from the National Associations of Certified Valuation Analysts.

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About United Services Group
United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications. We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets. For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

Valve Project in California

Here are a few photos from a current valve project in California:

About United Services Group
United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications.  We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets.  For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

Valve Prep to Completion on a recent project in California.

On-Site Machining: Valve Prep to Completion on a recent project in California.

About United Services Group
United Services Group offers union and non-union field welding and field machining services with expertise in maintenance, life extension, specialty engineering and new construction applications.  We have expertise in multiple industries including both nuclear and fuel power generation, pipeline, petrochemical, refineries and other industrial markets.  For more information, visit our website at www.united-services.com.

Happy International Women’s Day

#BeBoldforChange