From VIP’s first project—erecting a Varco Pruden PEMB at the Schlitz Brewery—to decades of collaboration across countless industrial facilities, the VIP–Varco Pruden partnership has thrived on shared values: collaboration, adaptability, and always doing what’s best for the client.
In the early years, many PEMBs were simple boxes, warehouses, or storage buildings. As VIP gained experience with PEMBs and utilized the systems in more innovative and creative ways, Varco Pruden’s flexibility and engineering horsepower proved to be a key component of VIP’s design-build approach.
Whether designing and building a distribution center or a manufacturing plant with specialized equipment and heavy loads, VIP often worked directly with Varco Pruden’s engineers—exploring dozens of design options to find the most efficient solution. Many of these projects blended pre-engineered and conventional systems to maximize performance and preserve flexibility for future operations.
“Varco Pruden stood out because of their willingness to customize and engineer exactly what we needed,” states Dave Nutting, who ran VIP Structures from 1975 to 2021. “Other manufacturers had preset frames. The Varco Pruden team would take our snow loads, wind loads, spans—whatever it was—and engineer each building precisely. That meant we could deliver lighter steel, less waste, and faster schedules.”
Over the years, VIP earned Preferred Builder status with Varco Pruden, received multiple national awards for PEMB design and construction, and saw Nutting serve on Varco Pruden’s President’s Advisory Committee.
The VIP–Varco Pruden relationship stands as a clear example of what’s possible when two teams share a commitment to flexibility, engineering excellence, and putting clients first. This partnership has not only shaped how complex industrial and manufacturing facilities can be delivered across Central New York but continues to set the standard for collaboration and innovation in the pre-engineered metal building industry.
