A Pile of News - October 2021
A Pile of News: October 2021
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 Oct. 1, 2021
From the Association & Chapters
Upcoming industry events:
  • Oct. 6: The PDCA Northeast Chapter hosts the TopGolf Meet & Greet from 69 PM EDT at TopGolf in Edison, NJ. Visit the link for registration and sponsorship details.

The PDCA 2021 Houston Social brought the regional pile driving industry together for a networking happy hour and short program about the benefits of forming a PDCA Chapter. (PHOTOS)
  • Thanks to event sponsors: Antaeus Foundation Equipment, BRC International, ICE International Construction Equipment, PILECO, Inc., APE American Piledriving Equipment, Flexicore of Texas, GRL Engineers, Hammer & Steel and John Lawrie Tubulars

Event note  DICEP 2021 was originally scheduled as a live conference in New Orleans in September, however Hurricane Ida forced a venue change. PDCA moved the conference to a three-day, virtual program with the original presentation line-up. Many virtual registrants joined a PDCA-led hurricane relief effort which raised more than $7K. Recap and PHOTOS from DICEP.
 
Now available at The PDCA Store If you missed the PDCA 2021 Education Webinar Series #5 entitled "Vibrations in Pile Driving" by subject matter expert Dr. Cathy Martin, an archived copy is now available at no cost in The PDCA Store. Obtain your copy of this very popular presentation.

Welcome new and returning members!
  • Contractors: Coastal Pile Driving Inc., Dissen & Juhn Company, Farrell Brothers Marine Construction, Island Piling, Inc., Macro Enterprises, LTD., Mason Construction, O'Quinn Marine Construction, Southern Concrete Construction Co., Inc., Spark Contractors, Weeks Marine
  • Associates: Bigfoot Pipe & Piling, BRC International LLC, Copier, Inc., DeSoto Treated Materials, Flores Automation and Machine Control, GMS Piling Products, Heldenfels Enterprises, Radise
  • Engineers: CRW Engineering Group, LLC, Linfield, Hunter & Junius, Inc., Nagy Engineers, Soil & Materials Engineering, Inc., Southern Earth Sciences, Inc., Terra Mechanics, Inc.
  • Affiliated Services: Dafanie Financial Group LLC
  • Individual: Mississippi DOT
Pacific Pile & Marine, you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of October to claim your prize!
News from PDCA Companies
Acquisitions & expansions:
  • Pileco is finishing the build-out of a new and larger facility in Conroe, TX. The building will sit on a 10-acre property near their existing three-acre location; completion expected in November.

On the job:
The ASAP Group installs JD Fields steel to enhance 129 miles of the Florida East Coast Rail line. Also, a crew advances I-10 widening in Jacksonville with a PVE vibro mounted on their patented sheet piler.

Foundation Constructors drives 36" CISS piles for the ongoing Harbor Bridge project on US-101 in Central San Rafael in California's Bay Area.

Goettle has a crew in Pittsburgh installing sheet piling, along with king piles to reconstruct a land mass to enable expansion of a treatment plant along the Ohio River.

Keller is involved in construction of a new TopGolf venue in Baltimore; D.W. Kozera, Inc. has performed PDA testing for the long-awaited entertainment center.

Manson Construction Co. drives first test pile for the modernization of a U.S. Navy, coastal installation at Seal Beach, CA.

McMullen & Pitz Construction completes 1,900 LF steel wall along Wisconsin's Fox River for the DOT.

Poseidon Dredge & Marine installs new Southeast Florida seawall. A barge-based working platform wasn't an option, so crane assembly was done onsite to drive 18 ct., 18" diameter PS pile in 36' lengths.

PRECO-MSE installs driven piling with a Junttan PM16 for a downtown Montreal shoring wall.

Weeks Marine mitigates tough conditions, installs two monopile breasting dolphins in Panama.

Company Wrench Ltd. hosted its techs from around the country at the Ohio HQ for a training with MKT Manufacturing on a piece of its pile driving equipment.

ICE, Inc. equipment helped construct the newly rebuilt Frederick Douglas Memorial Bridge; the span crosses the Anacostia River and connects South Capitol St. in DC to PGC in Maryland. Junttan rigs were also onsite; Nucor Skyline supplied steel and ECS Limited was among the consultants.

Jinnings Equipment shares action video of the BSP CG240 "working out" before going to the next renter.

Junttan's PM23LC is spotted driving timber piles for a New Jersey boardwalk in Carteret.

Nucor Skyine supplies steel products for Quonset Business Park rehab in North Kingstown, RI.

Dewberry awarded contract to develop community resilience strategy along the North Carolina coast.

Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers provides geotechnical, foundation engineering for the new UBS Arena in Elmont, NY soon to be the new home of the New York Islanders.

Peirce Engineering has designed 300K square feet of excavation support to include steel sheeting for the Baxter well basin replacement of the Philadelphia Water Dept.

PND Engineers, Inc. enhanced an historic Luling, TX dam by developing an open cell sheet pile system incorporated into the bulkhead on the banks of the San Marcos River.

Recognitions:
Giving back:
Governmental relations:
  • Shannon & Wilson teams with University of Wisconsin to research soil-based PFAS impacts on drinking water in Rhinelander, WI. Elliot Draxler (of S&W) is interviewed by local media after participating in a briefing he and others gave to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Anniversaries:
Arthur R. Henry, Inc is in its 75th year and continues providing a multifaceted portfolio of contracting services to clientele throughout central and southern New Jersey. Congrats to the certified Small Business Enterprise, which has brought forth large projects such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City and the Health Science Center at Rutgers University.

Clark Foundations reaches 50 years in business. To date, it has been involved in several high-profile projects in the mid-Atlantic region such as the Museum of the Bible, the National Museum of African American History & Culture and CityCenterDC.
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Brook Serafino elected to executive leadership at Foundation Constructors, Inc.; the current controller gains new fiscal and corporate governance responsibilities.
  • Christopher Dineen, P.E. joins GeoStructures, Inc. to serve the Carolinas as a project manager.
  • Bryan Binda, B.Sc. joins the Hammer & Steel regional sales team in St. Louis.
  • Matthew Koss, CSP, CHST tapped by ECS Limited to lead corporate safety from Baltimore. Elsewhere, John Hicks, P.E., Cliff Hendrickson, PG, Dave Bearce, P.E. and Joey Broussard, P.E. all promoted to regional management at ECS in Florida.
  • Christina Cruz promoted to VP regional marketing at EXP.
  • Clive Sorhaindo, P.E. elevated to group leader at S&ME, Inc. in Knoxville, TN.
  • Kathy Troost L.G., Ph.D. rejoins Shannon & Wilson as senior consultant in Seattle.

Recognitions:
  • Shana M. Carroll, VP at D.W. Kozera, is membership director at CREW Baltimore, which provides programming to professional women.
  • Jeff Prattini, Shields Mott partner, named a Best Lawyer in construction litigation. Anthony LaPlaca of Seyfarth Shaw also makes the 2022 list. Both are PileDriver legal authors.

In memoriam
Widely regarded as one of the country's expert sales consultants for cranes that facilitate pile driving, Greg Etue, who spent the last six years as regional business manager for Tadano Mantis Cranes and Tadano America, suddenly passed away Aug. 25. PDCA joins his family and friends mourning his loss.
Notes from the Field
Is there a frequent flier program? Have you ever calculated driven pile quantity in miles? R.L. Wadsworth Construction held a clever social media contest; rather than guess the number of gumballs in a jar, you were to guess the number in miles of driven pile that were used in a foundation job at the Salt Lake City Airport. The answer was 171 miles; contestant Braden Watson won a $100 gift card.

The Heartbreak Hotel is unspecified, but may have been the venue for a science and tech program, hosted by Kevin Ragon of the Timber Piling Council. You might recall that Suspicious Minds of the 1980s made mainstream, a theory that Elvis Presley was still alive. Now, Kevin's program has produced photographic evidence of The King. (Please Return to Sender if you find this to be a poor attempt at being clever).

Do their personal clubs have wooden shafts and heads? Lodge Lumber Co. continues its partnership with other local businesses to prepare golfing grounds for the annual, 2021 Houston Open in November. It is also a supporter of the Astros Golf Foundation.

And the winner is... Drunk Bus A movie by a J.D. Fields' sister company is Best Comedic Film at 2021 Montauk Film Festival.
Media Hits
Global Trade magazine mentions Corman Kokosing for its work at the Port of Baltimore; article discusses ongoing efforts to increase berth capacity at the facility.

3 WTKR-TV airs a story entitled Piles of Progress and includes video from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project jobsite. Several PDCA members are involved in this, the largest-ever infrastructure project in Virginia. (h/t George Smith.)

WJCT News 89.9 updates the ongoing Hal Jones Contractor project a rebuild of the Pier at Jacksonville Beach, FL; expected complete in 2022. Herald Wattenberg at PVE Equipment enjoys his weekend work-out near the job site where he can see a PVE 55M in use on the project.

Hawaii News Now television covers state contractors' compliance with public facilities vaccination mandate. Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company is referenced through an interview with HR director Manu Bermudes and video footage of crews on job sites.

WPXI-TV Pittsburgh airs a conversation with Koppers CEO Leroy Ball in which the two discuss running a global company during a pandemic.

Thanks for reading this installment of "A Pile of News;" we will be back on Nov. 1. To close this month's report, we salute the late Norm MacDonald who frequently signed off for the SNL Weekend Update segment he anchored (199497), by saying: "And that's the way it is..." RIP.
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Virtual DICEP '21 attendees give $7000 to New Orleans hurricane relief


Staff at Consolidated Pipe & Supply Co., Inc., one of many PDCA Member companies to give a portion of their DICEP '21 refund to hurricane relief. *See list at the end of this post names of all DICEP participants who opted to donate to Ida-related charity.


The 22nd Annual Design & Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles (DICEP) Conference which took place September 15-17 is doing more than the intended purpose of providing technical education and professional development. Thanks to the generosity of many attendees, it is also a source of hurricane relief for those who experienced destruction in New Orleans during Hurricane Ida in late August. DICEP was originally scheduled to be a live, technical program at the New Orleans Marriott. However, city evacuations and storm damage rendered the facility unavailable for a conference, mere days after Ida ripped through Louisiana and beyond.

Taking quick action, PDCA was able to preserve all scheduled presentations and move the entire three day program to a virtual format. Exhibitors and attendees who registered for the live conference were given the option to participate in the virtual rendition at a reduced cost. And when they committed to the virtual option, they also committed a portion of that to go to a Hurricane Ida relief fund. In all, PDCA was able to collect $7275.00 in hurricane relief donations from more than 30 participants.

Full list of Virtual DICEP '21 participants who sent a portion of their registration to Hurricane Ida relief funds:
AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe Company, LLC
Beaty Construction
Braun Intertec
Cajun Industries, LLC
Consolidated Pipe & Supply Co.
Giken America Corp.
GRL Engineers, Inc./Pile Dynamics, Inc.
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
Hartman Engineering
Herbert F. Darling, Inc.
ICE - International Construction Equipment, Inc.
Mason Construction, LLC		 Nagy Engineers, Inc.
Nucor Skyline
Pacific Pile & Marine
Palmetto Pile Driving
Patrick DiCerbo/Northwestern Mutual
Patriot Construction & Industrial
Premier Geotech and Testing, LLC
Richard Goettle, Inc.
S&ME, Inc.
Samuel Roll Form Group


As for the conference, attendees heard nine different presentations over the course of three consecutive afternoons. To see the presentation names along with screenshots of the virtual program, see the images below:

Keynote #1 'Even Introvert Engineers Can Network,' by Jennifer Anderson of Moving Forward Solutions, Inc.
'Expanding the Toolbox: A driven pile alternative to drilled micropiles to solve site challenges' by Matt Caskey, PE of DuroTerra

'An Integrated Computational and Experimental Study of Driven Pile Set-Up in Soft Clay' by Brent Guthrie of Cajun Industries and Chad Held, PE of Eustis Engineering
'Cone Penetration Testing and Pile Driving: A great combination,' first presentation by Gerald Verbeek, Technical Advisor at Ejilkelkamp

'Cone Penetration Testing: What really matters for contractors,' second presentation by Gerald Verbeek
'Pipe Piles Placed at 2.5D on Center for Tsunami Walls' Resilient Foundations: Case Study,' by Takefumi Takuma and Ian Vaz of Giken, Ltd.

'Pipe Piles Placed at 2.5D on Center for Tsunami Walls' Resilient Foundations: Case Study,' by Takefumi Takuma and Ian Vaz of Giken, Ltd.
'Lessons Learned from Sheet Piling Structures' by Dick Hartman, PE of Hartman Engineering

Keynote #2 ' The Value of Character: Undiminished After All These Years' by Micah McRae of Innovative Piering, LLC
'Driven Pile Foundation Design Considering Improved Geotechnical Site Characterization,' by Silas Nichols, PE of the Federal Highway Administration

Webinar photo not available:  'Treated Timber Piles as Ground Improvement,' by Skip Gardella of Norwalk Marine (above) and Lawrence Johnson of GZA GeoEnvironmental.		  








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PHOTOS - The PDCA 2021 Houston Social

The PDCA 2021 Houston Social took place in Downtown Houston, Texas on Thursday evening, September 23, 2021. Area contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and engineers gathered for what was billed as a networking happy hour at True Anomaly Brewing. PDCA Executive Director Frank Peters gave a 15 welcoming presentation to the assembly indicating a strong desire to re-establish a more formal, PDCA presence in Texas. Attendees were enthusiastic about more opportunities for local association involvement.

PDCA graciously thanks the event sponsors which included: VIP & Food & Beverage Sponsor Antaeus Foundation Equipment, LLC. VIP Sponsors were BRC International, LLC., International Construction Equipment, Inc. and PIleCo, Inc. Food & Beverage Sponsors were American Piledriving Equipment, Inc., Flexicore of Texas, GRL Engineers, Inc., Hammer & Steel, and John Lawrie Tubulars.




 

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Biggers to be Recognized With Prestigious, Industry Distinction


PDCA member and current DFI President Michael Wysockey (r) will present PDCA Technical Committee Chair Dale Biggers (l) with DFI's prestigious Distinguished Service Award on October 14th in Las Vegas. The two posed for a photo (above) during IFCEE 2021.

Dale Biggers, P.E., a vice president at Boh Bros. Construction in New Orleans, is the recipient of the highest award bestowed to an individual by the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), the Distinguished Service Award (DSA). This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. The award is being presented at the Awards Banquet on Thursday, Oct. 14, during DFI's 46th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Las Vegas.

"Dale truly embodies the essence of the DSA," says Theresa Engler, executive director of DFI. "During his storied career he has shown exceptional leadership, technical innovation and dedication to the advancement of the deep foundations industry as well as the young engineers and students who are the future of the industry."

Biggers has worked with Boh Bros. for 53 years and was previously the manager of the pile driving and marine construction department.

In addition to his work at Boh Bros., Biggers also devotes time to industry associations. He is an active member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), DFI Driven Pile Committee and ACI 543 Concrete Pile Committee. He is chair of Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) Technical Committee and chair of the GeoCoalition Code Committee. He is also a mentor to the Capstone Project teams at the University of New Orleans.

As thoroughly documented in a three-issue series in PileDriver magazine in 2021, readers learned how Biggers was the chair of the task force for the International Building Codes (IBC) revisions, a nine-year effort involving monthly meetings of a 35-member committee comprised of structural engineers, geotechnical engineers and contractors from across the country. He served as chair of the 2017 DFI Annual Conference on Deep Foundations held in New Orleans and was awarded the ASCE Outstanding Engineer New Orleans in 2006.

Hailing from New Orleans, Biggers attended Tulane University, where he earned bachelor's degrees in both mathematics and civil engineering. In addition, he graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Officer Candidate School.

There is still time to register and attend the DFI Annual Conference in Las Vegas coming up October 12-15, visit the CONFERENCE WEBSITE.

 

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PODCAST of interest: Geotech perspectives on large diameter piles

Dr. Kathryn Petek who is a senior engineer at PDCA Engineering Affiliate member firm Shannon & Wilson, Inc. in Seattle, appeared  in a recent episode of the Geotechnical Engineering Podcast with host Jared M. Green, PE, D.GE, F.ASCE. 

If you haven't already, carve out 30 minutes to view the broadcast on YouTube; you'll hear Dr. Petek explain a fascinating driven pile project on which she worked to design a foundation for large diameter piles to be driven to depths of 120-140 feet. She recalls that despite the contractor installing the piles with a hammer smaller than specified, the dynamic testing was near-perfect.

It's an enjoyable segment in which she also describes her unique entry into the deep foundations industry while at the same time recalls her years at the University of Michigan. To access the full podcast in it's video version, please CLICK HERE. 

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Ida Forces DICEP Online; PDCA Members Assist Storm Recovery



As much of Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricane Ida which brought Category 4 storm intensity to the region in late August, PDCA has moved the 22nd Annual Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles Conference (DICEP). Originally scheduled as a live technical conference running September 15-17 in New Orleans, DICEP is now a virtual event on the same days. The storm is said to be the second most damaging hurricane to strike the State of Louisiana and has left significant portions of New Orleans in disarray, thus negating its viability as a desirable conference destination.  

DICEP registrants are still able to attend the original lineup of presentations, however those will be delivered through the Zoom webinar platform. All sessions for Virtual DICEP 2021 take place Wednesday through Friday (September 15 - 17th) between 1:00 - 5:00pm ET each day. Please visit the online registration page for Virtual DICEP 2021 to secure your spot at the Conference and obtain the necessary Zoom credentials for access to the content spread across three days. PDCA has proudly elected to earmark half of each registration fee for contribution to Hurricane Ida recovery efforts in Louisiana. If you too are interested in sending aid to the area, the City of New Orleans website has lists of local charities to consider.

Meantime, several PDCA Members in Louisiana and beyond are assisting in ground recovery operations in parts of the impacted region. As pictured above, a photo from a LinkedIn post from Baker GCI depicts their crews which are committed to rebuilding efforts in hurricane-ravaged areas. Patriot Construction & Industrial (pictured below) has made available operational space at its Duson office for use by out of state power restoration crews; it has also mobilized personnel in the field to support power restoration efforts across South Louisiana through its civil, hydro excavation, and deep foundations capabilities.

Several other Bayou State PDCA members were quick to take to social media to convey a sense of shared grief and community solidarity with their fellow Louisianans. See the following posts from Sealevel Construction and Premier Geotech and Testing, LLC as found on LinkedIn.




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FREE Resource: Access expert webcast on pile driving vibrations

PDCA 2021 WEBINAR SERIES VIBRATIONS IN PILE DRIVING

 
THIS VIDEO PRESENTATION IS Available AT NO CHARGE at The PDCA Store

Subject matter expert Dr. Catherine Aimone-Martin has delivered a fresh and insightful presentation on 'vibrations' at two PDCA events in 2021; now you can receive the full, archived video version of the presentation she gave during the PDCA 2021 Education Webinar Series installment entitled Pile Driving Vibrations on August 3rd. You will hear about best practices used to monitor and manage ground and structure vibrations during pile driving. The webinar will address the origins and justifications of vibration limits found in many pile driving project specifications.  The use of seismographs to develop a site vibration attenuation model will be explained and illustrated with examples from projects where claims of structure damage were circumvented or easily refuted based on sound measured data.

At the conclusion of the webinar, you will understand the following: 1) Regulated limits placed on pile driving operations measured at structures are very conservative and well below the limits that could possibly cause cracking in structures. 2) The use of seismographs deployed by qualified vibration specialists to record ground and structures motions coupled with a site attenuation model is essential to defend pile driving operations and meet construction schedules.

Dr. Catherine Aimone Martin has more than 40 years experience as an applied researcher in vibration monitoring and structure response for the blasting and construction industries. She has developed specialized instrument systems to measure structure vibrations and environmental influences on structures to develop reasonable project specifications and limits that allow construction to be conducted in sensitive and otherwise restricted environments.

Notable projects include the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, Panama Canal Third Set of Locks, 2nd Avenue Subway in Manhattan, Folsom Dam Spillway, removal of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge piers, demolition of the Lock and Dam 53 gantry crane and Kosciuszko Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens, and pile driving for the Port of Juneau Cruise Ship Berths.

Dr. Aimone-Martin is the author of over 92 publications and conducts training courses for blaster certification in 11 states. She is a Qualified Blasting Consultant for Departments of Transportation in several states and hold a New York City E10 Blaster license.

Click Here to obtain this FREE industry resource.

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A Pile of News - September 2021
A Pile of News:
September 2021
A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors, associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers that comprise the PDCA.
By Matt Bisbee, PDCA
Originally sent Sept. 1, 2021
From the Association & Chapters
Several PDCA Members have been impacted by Hurricane Ida. PDCA extends its gratitude to those in the region who are assisting in storm mitigation and clean-up efforts. Also, PDCA offers the best in recovery to those businesses who have sustained equipment and/or property damages. And we send our deepest condolences to the families in the region who have lost a loved one.

Industry Events
Act now - September 15 is the deadline to update your entry in The 2022 PDCA Membership Directory.

A soiree in South Texas it's nothing fancy, but join us for the PDCA 2021 Houston Social on September 23 from 5:30 7:30 PM CDT at True Anomaly Brewing in Houston, TX. The event is open to the regional pile driving industry (non-PDCA members welcome); REGISTER TODAY for this free happy hour and informational event. Sponsorships are requested and space is limited.

Coming October 5, the PDCA 2021 Education Webinar Series continues. Join us for Vibratory Pile Driving: An Installation Method with a Large Impact, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT, Gerald Verbeek, presenting. The virtual event is FREE to PDCA members, $100 for others.

Chapter and Regional Events
  • PDCA Northeast Chapter to host the TopGolf Meet & Greet on October 6 from 6-9 PM (EDT) in Edison, NJ. Register today.
  • PDCA of South Carolina hosted a dinner and program, SCDOT Low Country Projects of Interest, in August in Charleston. Next, the Chapter will award the Nigels Scholarship on November 11.
  • The Gulf Coast Chapter of PDCA gathered at L'Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge in August for a quarterly meeting. PHOTOS. Next dinner meeting is November 18 in Kenner.
  • PDCA hosted a luncheon in the Northeast Florida region in St. Augustine. It featured Contractor Wayne Waters of EWS Consulting, PDCA President Kevin Gourgues and PDCA Board Member Buck Darling sharing industry perspectives. PHOTOS. Additionally, PDCA visited member offices in South and Central Florida, and attended the FTBA Conference to support mutual members.

Congrats winners of The 2021 PDCA Project of the Year Awards as revealed in the latest PileDriver magazine; read in depth on each construction feat. Here's is the CliffsNotes version of winners:
  • Land: Less than $5 Million Ralph L. Wadsworth
  • Land: Greater than $5 Million AND Marine: Less than $5 Million Foundation Constructors, Inc.
  • Marine: Greater than $5 Million Pacific Pile & Marine
  • Earth Retention: Richard Goettle, Inc.
  • Associate/Engineering Affiliate Category: ICE-International Construction Equipment, Inc.
What current projects you're working on and might enter in 2022?
Giken America, you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of September to claim your prize!
News from PDCA Companies
Anniversary:
Jordan Pile Driving celebrates 75 YEARS in business! They share a notable job story about a repeat customer: in the 1960s, Jordan drove pile to support a coal power plant at Alabama's Lowman Energy Center. Today, Project Manager Charles Ernest III and crew have installed an 1100 steel HP foundation for a new, gas-fired power generator at the same site that retired the black gold. We were fortunate to visit President Don Jordan Jr., CEO Curtis Johnson (in his 44th year), office manager Stephanie Baugh (a newlywed, BTW), Charles and others at Jordan; congratulations to a great team!

Parker Marine Contracting Corp. gets a nod for reaching 70 YEARS in pile driving! Owner Kent Parker says his dad Tommy founded the company in 1951 and established what he considers its most enduring quality - the "family" culture that still exists. He says, "the average length of service from our employees is 25 years;" that's a data point that helps enable longevity and success. Oh, and we hear they're hiring!

Acquisitions & Expansions:
On the job:
APC Construction lands new contracts; an $8.9M award for steel and concrete pile at a Louisiana port and from Fuji Oil for civil and concrete foundation work at IMTT, also in Louisiana.

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure wins contract for Harkers Island bridge replacement in North Carolina, also part of JV to deliver new courts facility in Winston-Salem.

Cajun Industries installs temporary shoring with Giken Silent Piler, credits steel rep April Bennett of Samuel Roll Form Group for coordination. Test and production piles to come for Fort Myers, FL, project.

McCarthy updates progress on Port Freeport project in Texas. See dramatic images of the precast scope led by Mike Williams, using concrete from new member Heldenfels Enterprises.

Hawaiian Dredging and Construction Company is part of JV winning two Navy contracts: a $33.5M award to build a fire station and a $546M contract for enlisted residential development.

Keller installed a Nucor Skyline steel foundation for One Chicago, a transformational development in the River North neighborhood; condo construction is expected to complete in 2022.

Logan Marine, LLC shares drone video of a summer project; completed docking in Salters Haven, NC.

Morris-Shea Bridge Company completes installation of 400 DeWaal piles for the Alexa Two residential building in Corpus Christi, TX; they completed Alexa One last year.

R. Kremer & Son Marine Contractors builds residential bulkhead with 16' tidewall, 50 vinyl sheets in Brick, N.J. The project is enhanced by new partnership with Mystic Safety to ensure OSHA compliance.

Scott Bridge Company works in Jupiter, FL, to install the steel foundation for a rail bridge replacement. Geoquip's HPSI Model 800 vibro is used in this caisson placement.

ESC Steel LLC supplies H-pile, steel sheeting in construction of quay wall in the United Arab Emirates.

Flexicore of Texas produced PS 20" diameter concrete piling (hurricane strength, corrosion resistant) for the re-build of Port Aransas, TX, Coast Guard Station expected online in 2022.

Dewberry is on the roster for a JV that NYSDOT selected to improve capacity on the Van Wyck Expressway; the high profile project also improves access to JFK Airport in New York City.

EXP provides services in ongoing work on a $414M cruise ship terminal at PortMiami.

Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering is the lead design firm for a JV in South Carolina tasked with reconfiguring 14 miles of the I-20/26/126 corridor, AKA, 'Malfunction Junction' in the Midlands.

Peirce Engineering designed the 21.42' high sheeting wall which held the 700' tall tower crane used in 'topping out' The Laurel Rittenhouse Square condo development in Philadelphia.

Premier Geotech and Testing contributes significant inspection, monitoring and testing in development of new, 'cutting- edge' residential community in Baton Rouge.

Governmental relations:
Recognitions:
  • Balfour Beatty Infrastructure earns annual safety award in North Carolina.
  • Cajun Industries, GROUP Industries named to Baton Rouge Business Report list of Top 100 Private Companies. (h/t Scott Callaway) 
  • Kiewit Infrastructure South wins two Best in Construction 2021 awards from FTBA.

Giving back:
Socially Conscious Organization Tackling Transmissions  Scott Bridge is on offense in the fight against COVID-19. Through September 6, it is providing employees a $500 incentive with proof of vaccination. Additionally, it opted to extend out of pocket, the leave payment benefit from the now-expired, Federal CARES Act, to any employee who gets sick or quarantines. SVP Mike Terrell says the latest Delta variant surge has significantly impacted their Alabama region.
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Dermot Fallon named new President/CEO at Foundation Constructors, Inc., also Osama Martel elevates to VP at award-winning California contracting firm.
  • Bryan Binda, BSc joins Midwest regional sales team at Hammer & Steel.
  • Jimmi Sue Smith named successor to retiring CFO Mike Zugay at Koppers, effective January.
  • Allison Moran, PE, Eddie McIntosh, both promoted in ECS Limited, Greenville, SC, office.
  • Frank Gioscio, PE, formerly of NCDOT, joins ESP Associates as CEI manager in North Carolina.
  • Chad Ortolano, Michael Whipkey earn promotions at Eustis Engineering in New Orleans.
  • Joe Aldridge, Deb Landi, Ammar Alkhatatbih join team at GeoEngineers.
  • Amy Cook, PE departs SCDOT to become CEI Project Manager at S&ME in Columbia.

Recognitions:
Congratulations!
  • Rickey Ingram at GeoQuip (FL) and his family welcomed baby daughter Raya Grace in August.
  • Tim Patchen of Atlas Foundation Company and a competitive racer, notched his second Feature win on the dirt track this season.
  • Matthew Morales intern at Cajun Deep Foundations, is part of LSU race team that competed in a Michigan Formula race event and earned its best showing to date.

In Memoriam
Gene Merlino, a former PDCA Board of Directors member (2009-2011), unexpectedly passed this summer.
Notes from the Field
Which guest of Obama's broke the cables? Mere hours following the 60th birthday party for former President Barack Obama in August, an emergency repair crew from Caldwell Marine International arrived at Martha's Vineyard to fix broken cabling that supplies power to the Massachusetts island.

The mountain GOAT? GZA GeoEnvironmental staffers go hiking/camping annually in New Hampshire's high country. You might hear debate in sports about who is the Greatest of All Time or G.O.A.T., but his colleagues at GZA say Richard Higginbotham, P.E. is the mountain GOAT. That's complimentary, right?

Are they getting royalties? When we lift news from your social media for this publication, we see Members re-post past work as 'Throwback Thursday' items. John Peirce of Peirce Engineering shared such a note about his work on the Pleasantville (NJ) Toll Plaza (ca. 2006). This prompts us to question the motivation of the construction team which continues promoting this job because tolls aren't very popular with the general public.
Media Hits!
The Gambit, a weekly publication in Louisiana, writes on Boh Bros. Construction which apparently was the subject of a reader question to a columnist. Learn more about staple of New Orleans construction.

Mainebiz chronicles multiyear upgrade of waterfront concert venue in Bangor. H.B. Fleming, which installed sheet piling for the facility, is among the constructors involved.

Engineers Quarterly carries a feature co-authored by PND Engineers President Jim Campbell about the firm's patented Open Cell technology they're using in a South American bulkhead project.

Interview with a Survivor (DFI) features Billy Camp who details his legal defense experience when employer S&ME was sued because of a South Carolina sheet pile wall claim; (Lucky Nagarajan, of Giken, co-hosts the podcast). Also Civil Engineering Magazine (excerpt) quotes Kelly Farabee of S&ME in Tampa for an ongoing series considering community needs and civil rights in infrastructure projects.

Rail Group on Air podcast explores the impacts of California's Mondo mud spring on railroading; Shannon & Wilson professionals Travis Deane and Dean Francuch from the Seattle engineering firm discuss their infrastructure protection work.

Earth Sciences Resources interviews Estela Leon Aguilar, MS, PE of Universal Engineering Sciences; she discusses geotechnics, shares advice for students pursuing careers.
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