Some quick trivia. Nashua, N.H., is the only city to twice be named Money magazine’s “Best Place to Live in America.”

Nashua also is home to Viega’s Educational Facility, one of this industry’s continuing education gems. The company recently hosted 17 media, advertising and communications professionals for two days of information-packed classroom and hands-on training sessions at the state-of-the-art facility.

And when I say information-packed, I mean information-packed. Viega Manager of Training and Technical Support Jason McKinnon presented a tremendous amount of useful information on the company’s systems, applications and construction practices for the residential, commercial and industrial markets. McKinnon definitely knows his stuff.  I left the two-day session with not only greater knowledge about Viega’s many products, but also about how those products are best used in many different construction platforms.

McKinnon’s second-day industrial market presentation was of particular interest as was his fire-protection solution talk. McKinnon noted Viega provides a fire protection design service that is currently driving that side of the company’s business.

The classroom was not the only location in the facility where education was dispensed. I took part in numerous hands-on sessions, including helping out on the installation of PEX tubing in a radiant-designed ceiling. Teamwork on that job was an absolute must. Attendees also had the opportunity on the second day of the event to use a pipe-threading machine and thread a section of pipe. For someone that had never witnessed that process let alone performed it, it was a definite eye-opener. The accompanying photo looks like I actually know what I’m doing.

While McKinnon was lights-out in his presentation, a tip of the hat also goes to Viega Product Trainer Andy Richards, who was the main point man on the hands-on portions of the event. Richards showed tremendous patience in running attendees through the pipe-threading process.

The overview we received during our two days was only a taste of what goes on in the facility throughout the year. The spacious building has a large amount of classroom space as well as hands-on areas designed to best educate the likes of contractors, engineers and wholesalers on Viega products and systems.

And there are plenty of opportunities to learn. A quick glance of Viega’s training Web page at www.viega.net shows some 15 courses scheduled during  the October through December 2012 timeframe on topics such as radiant systems, fire sprinklers, geothermal and solar, commercial radiant heating and cooling, and snow- and ice-melting systems.


For more on the continuing education event, you can check out my video interview with Jason McKinnon by clicking this link.

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