Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1956 [PAGE 186]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1954]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

l83

CONTRACTS FOR EQUIPMENT AND ELEVATORS FOR HOME ECONOMICS BUILDING (12) The Director of the Physical Plant and the Comptroller recommend awards of the following contracts for installations in the Home Economics Building now under construction: Walrus Manufacturing Company, Decatur Wood kitchen equipment for laboratories $53 430 27 Special wood cabinets and other laboratory fixtures 67 565 46 $120 995 73 Alex Janows and Company, Chicago — equipment to be installed in cafeteria and public dining room kitchens 78 887 00 George S. Grimmett and Company, Springfield — metal kitchen equipment 33 193 62 Laboratory Equipment Company, Mineola, New York—-metal laboratory equipment 125 307 00 Long Elevator and Machine Company, Springfield Passenger elevator 24 063 OO Freight elevator 13 736 OO 37 709 00 The W a l r u s Manufacturing Company, the Laboratory Equipment Company, and the Long Elevator and Machine Company are the lowest bidders on their respective installations. In the case of the equipment for. kitchens for the cafeteria and dining rooms, the second lowest bid is recommended (the difference between this and the lowest bid is $4,434) because University representatives who inspected the plants and a number of installations of the two lowest bidders were not assured that their product would be acceptable for installation in an institution where training in use and knowledge of the best equipment available is essential to good teaching. However, Alex Janows and Company, the second lowest bidder, has recently undergone a major reorganization and work recently executed by it was found to be of the highest quality. T h e Company has given written assurance that if the contract is awarded to it, the work will equal recent examples of its high quality production. The award of the contract for metal kitchen equipment to George S. Grimmett and Company, the second lowest bidder (the difference between the lowest and second lowest bids is $304.14), is recommended because the bid is on equipment made by the St. Charles Manufacturing Company, St. Charles, Illinois, a manufacturer' of metal domestic kitchen cabinets of the highest quality available. Its product was used by the architects as the standard in preparing drawings and specifications for this installation. An exemplary kitchen equipment installation is essential to good teaching. The lowest bidder, the Walrus Manufacturing Company, an old recognized manufacturer of wood cabinet and case work, has only recently been making metal equipment and did not show listings of installations of custom grade domestic kitchen equipment of the type contemplated in the drawings and specifications for this division of the work. (However, this manufacturer is being recommended for award of the contract for the wood kitchen equipment.) When the construction contracts for the Home Economics Building were recommended to the Board on September 24 only one bid, $399,466.30, had been received on the laboratory equipment including the equipment for laboratory kitchens but excluding the equipment for the cafeteria and dining room kitchens. This bid was rejected because of the amount and lack of competition, and new bids were taken. The amount of the recommended awards for the same installations, but divided into four divisions of work, is $279,406, or $119,970 less than the original single bid. I concur in the recommendations for the awards of these contracts and request that the Comptroller and the Secretary of the Board be authorized to execute them.

On motion of Mrs. Holt, these contracts were awarded as recommended, and the Comptroller and the Secretary were authorized to execute the same.