Not your usual building
Mentor construction firm
specializes in unique demands of veterinary clinics
By
Clifford Anthony – Business Writer, News
Herald - July 31, 2002
Building a veterinary clinic takes more planning than simply designing
a big hall and dividing it into several rooms.
Veterinary clinics are scientifically built to
prevent the spread of animal odor and noise, said Laurence A. Kline,
president of VetCon,
a construction firm specializing in building veterinary clinics.
VetCon is a subsidiary of Kline Construction Corp. in Mentor, which
is owned by Kline.
The Concord Township resident said veterinary
hospitals are built in such a manner to control the airflow.
Air ducts in the clinic
are zoned so that the air from one particular zone doesn't
flow into another zone.
The zoned system prevents unclean air in
the animal room from spreading to the waiting lounge, consulting
room, the vet’s office and
other areas in the building, according to Kline.
“You don’t want to be sitting in a waiting room with
bad smell and animal noise,” he said.
After filtering, the unclean air is pumped out the building.
“It takes out dirty air and brings in fresh air,” he
said, adding that regular commercial buildings and homes recycle
the air instead.
Also, the animal boarding and treatment rooms are made soundproof
with special ceiling with crevices and insulated masonry walls that
can absorb the noise.
“So, the noise doesn't bounce
off the wall and spread to other rooms,” Kline said.
Robert Pierce, who operates North Ridge Veterinary
Hospital, in Madison Township, is pleased with VetCon’s work.
The 11,000-square-foot clinic needed “special air system and
special architect.” Pierce said. “They (VetCon) did a
good job.”
The hospital building won a design and construction award from Veterinary
Economy Magazine in a nationwide contest in 1998, according to Pierce.
VetCon, which was based in Albuquerque, NM, was
acquired by Kline Construction in 2001. The company has built more
than 50 veterinary
clinics throughout the country.
At present, it is busy building eight clinics in California, New
York, Florida, Kentucky and New Jersey, said Kline, a 22-year veteran
in the construction industry.
Kline has a work force of 50, and of this eight employees are associated
with VetCon.
Expansion and renovation of clinics are done without interfering
with the day-to-day treatment of animals, he said.
Another specialty of Kline’s is constructing dental clinics
that require special systems to “scavenge and flush out” dirty
water.
The company also builds regular commercial offices and plants, he
said.
