The amount of talent and intelligence that is part of the Drury Family is very impressive. Both of these traits are indeed applied to the DSW Mechanical Team.

Prior to the 1980’s, the mechanical and plumbing design for the hotels was hired out to a firm in Memphis. Shortly after Dennis Vollink became employed with Drury Southwest, Bob Drury realized our team was capable of doing our own design. Since then, the mechanical team has expanded and their work includes building HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) as well as plumbing. This includes the design of hotel systems and plan submittal, equipment ordering, field inspections, and equipment maintenance and replacement.

As you can imagine, mechanical planning is no small task. The experienced team consists of five dedicated gentlemen from Cape and San Antonio. Dennis Vollink is a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in 17 states which allows him to sign and seal all mechanical and plumbing drawings.  Darin Halter received his P.E. last year in Missouri, and Andy Schneider is sitting for his P.E. exam in April.  Kenny Horrell and Gregg Mrzlak have contributed many years of designing, drafting and installation experience to this amazing group. Recently, the team finished plans for DPH Milwaukee (a historic renovation), and is currently working on revisions for a Drury conversion in St. Paul.  Existing buildings present unique challenges as our team is forced to work with the defined layout of the building. This may alter the typical design but does not reduce the building efficiency. The team has also focused their attention on developing plans for the prototype hotels, making small changes with each new hotel to improve overall building performance. In the years to come, DSW will continue to train our engineers in designing hotels with lower maintenance and operating costs.

Bob’s ability to understand mechanical systems, from his experiences, even though he was not an engineer himself, influenced the division to become what it is today. With the work ethic of each member of the team and the different talents that they all bring to the table, we can be assured that there is no stopping this team!

People listed in the Picture

Dennis Vollink, P.E. – 37 years, Andy Schneider – 4 years, Kenny Horrell – 23 years, Darin Halter, P.E. – 4 years, Gregg Mrzlak – 20 years