When Cleveland-Cliffs needed to replace another electrical contractor on the IronUnits LLC hot-briquetted iron plant project, primarily for safety reasons, they went straight to Craig Turnow, general electrical foreman at GEM.

The customer made GEM an offer: if they could immediately mobilize 18 electricians, they could finish the electrical work for the stacker reclaimer.

“The GEM team is making it happen,” Turnow said. “A big part of why we got the work is because we haven’t had any safety issues.  All it takes is one recordable out here and I think there’s no way we would be offered work.  It’s a risk for the customer to change contractors so close to the end of a project.”

Planning the job before beginning a project is key, Turnow says. “The biggest challenge for us on this project is lockout/tagout, and we had our lockout/tagout meeting before we started work. We also make sure we have all the safety equipment we’ll need to finish the project.”

Turnow adds, “We’ve been out here for 16 months and it’s a very challenging site. I’ve been very happy with the electricians’ safety performance.”

What makes GEM Inc. a go-to for this customer? 

Building a reputation for being knowledgeable. Being willing to take on challenges and see them through. Being willing to “scramble.” And do it all safely, says Monte Goodremont, safety specialist contracted to Rudolph Libbe on the IronUnits site.

“Because of Craig Turnow and his team, the GEM mentality and their history at IronUnits, the jobs keep coming,” Goodremont says.  “Craig and his group have put GEM in a place where it’s shining on this project. We’ve got an excellent record.  Associates like Craig Turnow and this approach to safety is the heartbeat of GEM.”

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