A Technician's Approach

PROJECT EXECUTIVE CHET HENRY AND THE CRAFT OF BUILDING COMMUNITY IN WENATCHEE

When Chet Henry moved his young family to Wenatchee in 2007, he expected to spend a few months helping a data center client pull fiber. Sixteen years—and several hundred thousand cable terminations—later, he leads Cochran’s Wenatchee office as Project Executive, guiding a team that powers server farms and modernizes civic landmarks while still finding time to coach apprentices on the finer points of Fluke testing.

"We’re more than contractors. We’re neighbors. If you hire us, you’ll see us again at the hockey rink or the racetrack — and you’ll know the job was done right."

Chet Henry, Project Executive, Cochran

From customer to colleague

Henry’s route to Cochran is itself a story of relationships. As an infrastructure manager at VMware, he once hired Cochran to help expand a Quincy, WA data hall.

“When their superintendent John Votel passed away, Cochran asked if I’d step in,” he recalls. “I’d already seen the culture—transparent, accountable, kind. Saying yes felt natural.”

Landmark wins, hometown pride

Signature Project

– Chelan County PUD – Fiber & Smart Grid Buildout

– Wenatchee City Hall Renovation

– Confidential Hyperscale Campus, Quincy

Scope & Impact

– 400,000+ ft of Cat 6A, campus OT backbone, multi-year phasing through COVID

– 130,000 ft of Cat 6, new electrical service, life safety systems

– Ongoing MAC (moves-adds-changes) inside live data centers

Henry’s Take

“They trusted us onsite, so when extras popped up, the PUD handed them straight to Cochran.”

“Two local apprentices journey manned out on that job. Watching them own the cabling rooms was a proud dad moment.”

“Relationships keep that gate badge active. They know we’ll protect uptime like it’s our own.”

Logistics on the edge of the Cascades

Wenatchee sits 140 miles from the nearest Wesco or Graybar warehouse. Instead of seeing distance as a disadvantage, Henry leverages it:

• Vendor Relationships – Weekly consolidated shipments from Seattle & Spokane arrive pre-kitted to reduce site congestion.

• Design Efficiency – Energy-dense layouts and prefabricated racks ease the region’s tightening power grid.

• Cross-Trained Crews – Techs certified in Corning, CommScope, Leviton and Lenel pivot between low-voltage and security scopes without waiting on subs.

Investing in people - then keeping them

Chet’s retention formula is simple:

1. Certify Everyone. “Fluke, Corning, AFL fusion splicing—if there’s a class, I’ll sign a tech up.”

2. Show the Path. Apprentices see clear rungs from installer to lead to foreman.

3. Live the Community. Golf leagues, ice hockey nights, trail maintenance days—workmates become friends.

“When we invest in someone, they feel valued,” Chet says. “Yes, it makes them more marketable—so we treat them well enough they don’t want to leave.”

A full-service hub on the river

Chet envisions Wenatchee as the gateway office for Central Washington and North Idaho:

• Add an Electrical PM & Security PM to offer true one-stop delivery.

• Expand MAC Services for the region’s growing hyperscale campuses.

• Support New Hydropower & EV Infrastructure as the PUD scales green energy.

“The data center boom isn’t slowing,” he notes. “But neither is the civic side—schools, hospitals, public safety radio. We want Cochran to be the partner everyone trusts, whether it’s five cables or five miles of duct bank.”

Why it matters

Communities like Wenatchee thrive on quiet reliability—the confidence that lights will stay on, phones will stay connected, and first responders’ radios will cut through concrete. Chet Henry’s team delivers that confidence every day, one perfectly dressed cable tray at a time.

And when the job-site gates close at dusk?

You’ll find the same crew high fiving at a Wild hockey game, volunteering at Apple Blossom, or casting lines where the Columbia bends. Because in Wenatchee, work and life have always been part of the same circuit.