| A Pile of News: November 2021 |
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A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors, associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers who comprise the PDCA.
by Matt Bisbee, PDCA
Originally sent Nov. 1, 2021 |
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Dale Biggers won industry-wide adoration and accolades as he was posthumously honored with the 2021 Distinguished Service Award at the DFI 46th Annual Conference on Oct. 14 in Las Vegas. His widow Virgene and Boh Bros. president Robert Boh accepted the award in his stead. He spent a 53-year career at Boh Bros. modernizing and advancing the pile driving industry. Dale Biggers, 1944-2021.
Joe Caliendo, PhD, was an impactful, celebrated PDCA educator whose career is recognized by his past employer, Utah State University, through an endowed scholarship in his name for civil engineering students. Interested benefactors may contribute. Caliendo is remembered at PDCA for his work with the Professor's Driven Pile Institute, among other programs. He passed in August 2019.
Inspiring news as we near Veterans Day 2021 Atlas Tube and parent company Zekelman Industries funded $1M toward a $1.1M mission to transport Americans and other lawful residents from Afghanistan following the August U.S. withdrawal from the war-torn country. READ MORE. |
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| Association & Chapter Events |
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- Nov. 11: NCCCO hosts Dir. Scott Ketcham of OSHA as keynote at Industry Forum where he will address revised crane operator certification requirements during live/Zoom event.
- Nov. 11: South Carolina Chapter to award Nigels Scholarship to a worthy Citadel student; members elect '22 chapter board and a bestselling author present at quarterly dinner meeting.
- Nov.18: Gulf Coast Chapter to host fourth quarter meeting at Messina's Restaurant in Kenner, LA; a reception begins at 5:45 p.m. CST and is followed by a dinner.
Northeast Chapter of PDCA annual Meet & Greet on Oct. 6 at TopGolf in Edison, NJ was a success (PHOTOS). Sponsors included George Harms Construction, International Construction Equipment, Consolidated Pipe & Supply and MT Kaye Steel Products.
SPOTTED in Vegas: As a cooperating organization, PDCA participated in the October DFI 46th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations. See PHOTOS of attendees, exhibitors and presenters at the Las Vegas event.
Houston Social Redux: PDCA has learned several members in Houston are gathering Nov. 2 at 5:30 PM at True Anomaly Brewing to network, discuss a formal TX PDCA presence; email armando@brcint.com for details. PDCA thanks area membership and supports growth efforts. |
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ASAP Group, you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of November to claim your prize! |
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Transitions:
- Harold Baur named new piling and marine dept. manager at Boh Bros. Construction.
- Sean Walsh promoted to VP of engineering at Eustis Engineering in New Orleans.
- Sean McMahon of EXP promoted to EVP; Sarah Wilkinson moves to VP of marketing.
- Amanda Wall to lead talent acquisition team at GZA GeoEnvironmental.
- Rob Sanders elevates to Knoxville, TN area manager at S&ME, Inc; Nikolay Boykov PG joins the firm in Charlotte, says geotechnology "is an art and science."
- Alexandra Cormier, Jessica McBryde new sales reps at Flores Automation & Machine Control.
Recognitions:
- Tracey Turner, P.E. of ESP Associates, Inc. was elected director at large to board of Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) in South Carolina.
Congratulations!
- Mike Elliot says 49 years earns him consultant status at Equipment Corporation of America; thanks, "F.I.G.," for your contributions to PDCA and the foundation construction industry!
- Joseph Khaled, of McCarthy in Texas, welcomes a baby girl; his employer has good gift game!
- Justin Lijo of Trevcon Construction and his wife welcomed a third daughter in September.
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Acquisitions & expansions:
Governmental relations:
- GZA GeoEnvironmental and Patrick DiCerbo Northwestern Mutual were among the sponsors of an engineer's meeting with New York City mayoral advisor Lorraine Grillo.
Anniversary:
Thatcher Foundations, Inc. has earned the reputation as a premier, specialty contractor in the Midwest for business successes during all or parts of nine decades. The late Tom Wysockey, a two-term PDCA president in the 1990s was the longtime owner of the Gary, IN-based company, now run by his two sons. PDCA congratulates Thatcher on 75 years in business.
On the job:
APC Construction engaged in two JVs winning government contracts: 1) $2.7M to drive sheet pile for the USACE in Avondale, LA; and 2) an MACC for Washington Headquarters Services in DC.
ASAP Group optimizes a coffer cell in a South Florida Flow Equalization Basin, a strategic installation contributing to restored water quality in the Everglades.
Balfour Beatty US selected by Jacksonville (FL) Transportation Authority to construct Phase 1 of the Ultimate Urban Circulator autonomous vehicle program.
Black River Solar drives 487 piles at three forthcoming solar farms; 250 in Athens, AL; 85 in Archbold, OH; and 144 in Eldorado, IL (that's el-doh-RAY-doh). Total electricity production is estimated at 1.8MW.
Boh Bros. completes major design-build job that began with $1M savings through value engineering by the piling and marine group. Read in-depth about the new facility in the Houston Ship Channel.
DFI crews from the Houston, TX branch continue installation of driven pile for a North Dakota client.
Linde-Griffith shares time-lapse video of timber pile installation for NJ, Sisters of Charity retreat house.
Orion Marine Group selected by FDOT to replace Florida road/bridge ($125M) which crosses NASA Causeway and provides ground access to Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Center. In Texas, the contractor picked to construct berth expansion ($67M) at Port of Port Arthur.
Parker Marine drove PC/PS concrete and steel sheets while Soil Consultants Inc. provides ongoing testing at 44 Line Street, an 11-story, residential development in Charleston, SC. (h/t Taylor Johnson)
Weeks Marine, Trevcon Construction, Keller and others continue work on a transformational, waterfront overhaul in Manhattan. Coming summer 2023, the East Midtown Greenway will be a 32-mile bike and pedestrian path, complete with an elevated park.
DuroTerra supplied 145 ductile iron piles for installation adjacent to an historic Washington, DC façade; it will become the foundation for the Adele redevelopment three blocks from the White House.
Heldendfels supplies precast concrete piles and more for the rebuild of the Cole Park Fishing Pier in Corpus Christi, TX, a project likely necessitated by 2017's Hurricane Harvey.
Junttan makes a service call to replace a slewing ring on a PM25 at American Pile and Foundation.
Nucor Skyline steel and ICE, Inc. equipment is depicted in dramatic images from Tomas Cabrera at the new Howard Franklin Bridge (I-275 Tampa to St. Pete) job site.
Pile Master equipment spotted on the shores of Lake Erie in PA; a Model 36-5000 installs new sea wall.
Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering is lead design firm for JV chosen by NCDOT for a $432.7M job to widen I-95 near Lumberton; components include 250,000 sq. ft. of retaining walls, six new bridges.
Insight Group provides quality control to the contractor driving piles in the median of I-20 to construct a bridge foundation for an eventual US-1 overpass near Lexington, SC.
Shannon & Wilson performed exploration and testing for the newly operational Northgate Link, which enhances Seattle public transit with 4.3 new miles of rail from downtown to north Seattle.
Recognitions:
Giving back:
- Powell Foundations publicly issues a land acknowledgement in observation of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; Canada began the annual, national remembrance for Indigenous victims of decades of injustice on Sept. 30.
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Carteret County News-Times reports on accelerated timeline from NCDOT for the Harker's Island bridge replacement in coastal NC; Balfour Beatty Infrastructure won the $60M contract in July.
Washington Business Journal profiles Clark Construction president Brian Abt for his 36-year career, which has given him oversight on several prominent, national projects. [PAYWALL].
Alaska Journal of Commerce publishes job site/equipment photos, details progress on the ongoing Port of Alaska modernization; Pacific Pile & Marine performed award-winning pile installation on Phase 1. Completion of the entire project depends in part on passage of a federal infrastructure bill. |
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Vintage Piles and Pigskins Geotechs a century ago listed pile load test results on billboards affixed to job site structures. Don Robertson of Applied Foundation Testing engaged on a social media post that showed an old billboard photo; the job site was at his Pittsburgh high school's crosstown football rival.
Big Pharma, Big Tech and Big Tobacco can conjure negative sentiments. But PDCA embraces "big" as it relates to the pile driving industry. Morris-Shea Bridge Company introduces us to this monster truck that carries a maximum torque of 112,000 lbs. Don't overlook Bigfoot Pipe & Piling, which dispatched a load of giant, 140' x 30" trestle piles from its Puyallup, WA yard. Dewberry also plays on the big stage; AVP Carol Holland, P.E. recently presented at the Mega Maryland Conference.
So, it's not their rap name? "T-Port" is a multipurpose, waterfront site complete with a service shop, pile splicing, steel fabrication, concrete recycling and more. Trevcon owns the Elizabeth, NJ facility.
Cosmic Kobelco apparently, they let anyone (or anything) in space... well-played, Company Wrench.
Quotable was he speaking to contractors? "It ain't as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning." Rule #1 in the late Gen. Colin L. Powell's Thirteen Rules of Leadership. RIP |
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Noise and Vibration: Protect your company's image and build trust in the community
Don't miss the final meeting of the PDCA of South Carolina, coming Thursday November 11th at 6:30 at Town and Country Inn in Charleston. In addition to networking and social time, great dinner and industry fellowship, attendees will be treated to the following:
