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Enabling Better Operational Decisions: Transforming the Way Environmental Data is Collected

Thanks to the innovative solutions Masen provided, Matt and his technicians will no longer have to do that. Together, they formulated a plan to install monitors at the stormwater outfalls that will allow the on-site environmental team to monitor them remotely and constantly, along with site-specific weather data. When it rains, instead of having to check each specific outfall visually, Matt can get an email alert telling him exactly which stormwater outfall is about to begin discharging and will need to be manually sampled. This will allow him to spend more time on higher value-added tasks and be proactive rather than reactive. “Anytime that we have better data, we can make better decisions,” he says. Masen originated from an internal capability that assisted Koch companies in solving their biggest issues and filling in the gaps where solutions didn’t already exist in the marketplace. Masen’s director, Eric Peterson, says there were plenty of companies selling sensors and monitoring devices and the software solutions to combine with them, but nobody had really figured out a comprehensive customer-centered solution. That is the gap Eric and his team have set out to fill. Masen’s goal is to be a solutions provider. Because it isn’t a device manufacturer, it is not focused on pushing a specific product or application to a facility. Instead, Eric says people like Jacob Vigh, commercial operations manager, work with each environmental leader individually to find the right solution to their unique challenges. Jacob was previously an environmental manager at a Georgia-Pacific facility, and uses that personal experience to his advantage. “Jacob will go out with the environmental teams and look at what their program is and what their needs are and where they’re struggling,” Eric says. “Then, we utilize a human-centered design process to provide them a right-sized solution.”

What I Learned From the Jobs I Wasn’t Ready For

KOCH INVESTS: Koch Disruptive Technologies leads $50M Series A round in Rhino.ai, a win-win for digital transformation

Koch Disruptive Technologies , Koch’s venture capital group, is leading a $50 million Series A round in Rhino.ai , helping fuel the D.C. startup's mission to help organizations transform outdated systems into agile, scalable solutions. Why it matters: Rhino.ai's end-to-end platform revolutionizes system modernization by combining AI with human expertise, reducing modernization timelines from years to months and enabling more seamless collaboration across business teams, developers and system integrators. The big picture: The global market for legacy system transformation is projected to reach $583 billion by 2027, underscoring the urgency for organizations to replace cumbersome systems with flexible, future-ready infrastructures. Rhino.ai automates the discovery, transformation, and deployment of entire application portfolios. Between the lines: "Rhino.ai's innovative approach to legacy system modernization aligns perfectly with the urgent need for digital transformation across industries," said Byron Knight, President of Koch Disruptive Technologies. Integrating Rhino.ai's innovative platform with Koch’s vast network and experience creates mutual benefit for Koch as a customer and its partners. This collaboration will help organizations navigate the complexities of digital transformation with enhanced ease and precision. "This partnership with Rhino.ai represents a continuing shift towards AI in our digital transformation efforts," said Matt Hoag, Koch CTO. "By addressing our technical debt more efficiently using AI agents, we have the opportunity to not just save time and money – but also free up our talented developers to focus on innovation." What's next: The investment will support Rhino.ai's growth by expanding its engineering team, enhancing product offerings, and scaling operations to meet the surging demand for modernization solutions. If you'd like to learn more or collaborate with Koch Disruptive Technologies, visit https://kochdisruptivetechnologies.com/ .

Koch Industries Earns Environmental Protection Agency 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Energy Management

Leadership

Chase Koch - Executive Vice President of Origination and Partnerships

Molex

See how collaboration between Molex and a major smartphone manufacturer led to the development of Quad-Row™, an innovative board-to-board connector smaller than a grain of rice that powers many of the devices we rely on every day.

Koch Benefits Team Deploys Innovative Solutions to Drive Better Outcomes For Employees

Koch Pro Bono Initiative Helps Nearly 80 People at Wichita Expungement Clinic

THE PICTURE: A Closer Look at How Koch Hires

To fill its nearly 8,000 open positions , Koch looks for "contribution-motivated" individuals who aren't just focused on their own success, but in making the business and the people around themselves better. Though the term itself is relatively new at Koch, the concept behind it is consistent with how the company has hired for years. "In the simplest terms," Cara says , "it's somebody who's coming to work every single day and wanting to make a difference, striving to make things better around them, improve their contributions and help make everyone else better." Another way Koch is filling open roles is through its skill development programs , which offer two different tracks for prospective employees in accounting and information technology roles. The Koch Accounting Apprenticeship provides qualified candidates paid on-the-job training with potential to hire on for an accounting role with Koch upon completion, while Koch's partnerships with GenSpark and Catalyte provide training opportunities for individuals wanting to become software developers. "The global labor market has changed," Cara says. "In the U.S., we have fewer college graduates in some disciplines than ever before, so we must be creative in finding gifted individuals who may have taken a different path. These programs open doors for nontraditional talent that have the skills and aptitudes to be successful and find meaningful work that is mutually beneficial." Learn more about Koch's hiring philosophy and the Koch Accounting Apprenticeship by watching this episode of The Picture, a Koch Industries Spotlight Series , covering inspirational stories from Koch's hometown of Wichita.

The Latest Advancement in Commercial Construction is … Wood

John Mulcahy, Georgia-Pacific’s vice president of stewardship, says constructing buildings using mass timber has many benefits. Because all the parts are manufactured off-site, they show up ready to be put in place. That means once the foundation is poured, a crew of 8 to 10 people can raise all the pieces into place like a giant version of a kid’s construction toy. This decreases construction time compared with traditional steel and concrete buildings and reduces the potential safety risks for workers on construction sites. Mass timber buildings also have less embodied carbon – the carbon emissions arising from the extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction and disposal of building materials – than concrete and steel buildings. About half the dry weight of wood is made up of carbon, which gets stored inside the building for its lifetime. “Giving our customers an alternative that helps them meet their carbon goals is something we care about,” John says. The last mass timber beam for 619 Ponce was placed in June of 2023. When it opens in 2024, the more than 100,000-square-foot building will house both offices and retail space, including Pottery Barn. Fritz says Georgia-Pacific has learned a lot from the 619 Ponce project and that it’s proven to partners, such as SmartLam, the value it can bring to this growing market. “GP just thinks a little differently,” SmartLam CEO Derek Ratchford says. “And I think that's what sets them apart as a supplier of choice.”