A Pile of News - December 2022

A Pile of News: December 2022
A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors,
associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers
who comprise PDCA.
By Matt Bisbee, PDCA

Originally sent Dec. 1, 2022
From the Association & Chapters
Was it the power of incumbency? The votes are tallied, and we share with you, the elected industry leaders who will serve as the 2023 PDCA Officers and Board of Directors. You will notice many (if not all) familiar faces from the 2022 slate; that's because none drew an opponent, none has yet met the term limits threshold as outlined in the PDCA by-laws, AND each has chosen to commit to another year of service. Thank you, BOD!

Mark your calendars!
Dec. 8: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series, 2-3 PM EST. Join this virtual education event for a presentation on Steel Durability in Marine Construction. FREE to members, $50 for non-members.

Jan. 3 - May 5:
The PDCA Project of the Year Awards will be open for entries. Start considering your submissions for completed 2022 jobs; entry link is coming in January.

Jan. 20: South Carolina Chapter Oyster Roast
This can't miss annual event is open to the industry thanks to valued sponsors. Festivities take place at Palmetto Pile Driving in Charleston.

Feb. 7 - 9: PDCA 24th Annual Conference, San Diego Mission Bay Resort
, Golf at Torrey Pines! Early registration, open for attendees until Dec. 16. Exhibitors can secure space now.

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
Gulf Coast Chapter elects 2023 officers, with Dylan André at the helm, Tony Sepulvado, Jr. as VP, Brent Guthrie as treasurer and Heath Stevens as secretary. The chapter also heard a technical presentation at its fourth quarter dinner meeting in November.

South Carolina Chapter
presents Cadet Mary Coastal Watkins of The Citadel with prestigious "Mac" Nigels Scholarship; several PDCA past presidents were in attendance. PHOTOS

Pacific Coast Chapter
partnered with JD Fields & Company for two technical seminars; around 30 attendees each joined the Seattle and Huntington Beach events.


Texas Chapter
held a November lunch & learn in Houston, providing attendees with a four-part technical program.

Palm Trees and Pile Driving
brought a cross-section of South Florida's driven pile market together in November for a happy hour reception and industry update. PHOTOS

Industry News
NCCCO reminds the deep foundation industry that testing for operating dedicated pile driving rigs goes ONLINE beginning Jan. 1.
Congratulations, Service Steel Warehouse Co., L.P, you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of the month to claim your prize!
News from PDCA Companies
Giving back:
Baker GCI supported Gulf region charities by participating in the Hargrove Foundation Baton Rouge Fishing Rodeo; staff member Brandon earned second place in the In-Shore Bull Red category.

Clark Construction
named a Top Corporate Philanthropist for 2022 by Washington Business Journal.


Conti Civil
helps Share the Table raise more than $20K at a recent golf fundraiser.

Kokosing
hosts an internal auction among its locations each year, all proceeds raised are donated to ensure families in need can enjoy the holiday season. Zachary Jones, an engineer for the company, created a unique woodcraft sign that he is donating for the charity auction.

McCarthy
raised funds to support Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist and We'll Get This Foundation through the annual charity golf tournament at The Clubs at Houston Oaks.

Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction
helps Utah's West Bountiful Police Department restart its K-9 program; unit member Goose participates in a photo op with officers and Wadsworth team.

Atlas Tube
and its travelling "grill of steel" was spotted at a November fundraiser in Birmingham, participating in the 26th Annual Pig Iron BBQ Tailgate. The event supports Children's Harbor.

Lodge Lumber
sponsored the 12th annual charity golf tournament benefitting Houston's Combat Marine Outdoors organization; it provides unique rehabilitation to combat veterans.

Recognitions:
Keller tops the 2022 ENR list, named number one firm for Excavation and Foundation.

Canal Barge Company, Inc.
can add to its service line, "facilitates missions to the moon." NASA's November launch of Artemis I, an initiative to reestablish a human presence on the moon, got an assist from the New Orleans mariners who provided transport of the spacecraft.

GRL Engineers, Inc.
 is part of the team that earned an ACEC-FL Honor Award for a major reconfiguration of the Central Florida Expressway. Hop on a plane, train or automobile and take the fam to Disney this project had many major stakeholders from the air, rail and highway sectors.

Nucor Skyline
parent company joins the UN 24/7 Carbon Free Energy Compact. President & CEO Leon Topalian announced Nucor is the first major industrial manufacturing company to do so.

ECS Southeast
earns ENR Firm of the Year; Wes Jacques, Raul Peralta accept honor in Atlanta.

Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, PLLC
shares that the SC-DOT US 21 Over Harbor River Bridge Replacement has won again. Those paying attention know this project won a PDCA Project of the Year Award in 2021 as entered by ICE® International Construction Equipment.

The Citadel Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
is one of seven programs around the country to win a $10K NCEES Engineering Education Award.


Governmental relations:
Bowen Engineering Corp. begins construction on a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge, TN; among dignitaries who addressed the ceremonial groundbreaking was U.S. Rep. Fleischmann.

Mason Construction
's VP Le Short was at a November Legislative Update in Southeast Texas; Speaker Phelan of the Texas House of Representatives gave perspectives on current issues.

McCarthy Building Co.
, Tolunay-Wong Engineers were among sponsors for the Gulf Coast Industry Forum this fall in Pasadena, TX. Gov. Abbott, former Gov./U.S. Energy Secretary Perry addressed the topic Global Geopolitical Energy Landscape and Texas.

Sealevel Construction Inc.
is the GC for a new $96M pump station at Bayou Lafourche near Donaldson, LA. Gov. Edwards and U.S. Reps. Carter and Graves helped break the ground for the project, which will protect the drinking water supply for four nearby parishes.

Koppers
leadership joined with the American Chemistry Council to host U.S. Rep. Miller for a tour of the company's rail joints facility in Huntington, WV.

Nucor
lauded for transparency in governmental/political affairs; it is one of 89 companies in the S&P 500 designated as Trendsetter in political disclosure and accountability for 2022.

ECS Limited, S&ME, Inc.
participate in annual ACEC Capitol Hill reception with members of the North Carolina congressional delegation.

Terracon
is geotech of record on the I-26 widening project in South Carolina; Gov. McMaster and other elected officials attended an October groundbreaking to start construction.

Acquisitions & expansions:
Russell Marine, LLC announces expansion into Texas Coastal Bend Region through acquisition of marine branch at JM Davidson, Inc.

Bull Moose Tube
updates social media followers on construction of its new mill in Sinton, TX.

CPS Houston
adds field splicing capability to its service line; the new double-joint, welding rack system can splice pipe pile 175 feet and longer, points/shoes, full length connectors at a job site.

John Lawrie Tubulars
becomes a U.S.-based steel supplier, rather than a U.K.-based operation, following the November acquisition of the company by Center Rock Capital Partners, LP.

Thomas & Hutton
arrives in North Carolina's Research Triangle market with the purchase of CJT, P.A., Preston Royster, P.E. is named principal/civil manager for the office.
People on the Move
Transitions:
Michael Blaylock named new project engineer at Dissen & Juhn Company in Stevensville, MD.

Matthew Knight
rejoins Aggregate Technologies, Inc. Formerly an estimator with the company, he has been appointed VP business development for the A-team.

Hollie Miles
joins the sales team at Flores Automation & Machine Control; she will serve clientele in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia.

Audrey Gilbert
 appointed strategic advisor and corporate secretary at GILBERT Products. The Quebec-based supplier also names Frank Gilbert as CEO.

Nam Nguyen
onboards at JD Fields & Company as new regional manager in Pacific Northwest.

Recognitions:
Mike Hiatt wraps up a 41-year career with Bowen Engineering Corp. Calling him a "legend" who contributed to the Indianapolis company's evolution into a major, self-performing GC, colleagues past and present celebrated Mike and sent him off for hunting season.

Jason Cardenosa
of J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. served as a panelist at a forum at Rowan College of South Jersey that explored aligning education and workforce preparation.

Kimberly Martin, Ph.D., P.E.
of Keller named ENR Top Young Professional and Top 20 Under 40.

Paul Giroux
, a senior manager at Kiewit, elected to the National Academy of Construction.

Melissa Benitez
started as an apprentice at McCarthy; now project safety coordinator, she recalled her experience on a panel at the Women in Apprenticeship Summit in Houston.

Steven Mathers
of Interpipe, Inc. becomes new VP Eastern Region at NASPD in 2023; the Ontario-based pile supplier north of Buffalo was in the region that endured a massive November snowstorm and said of the winter blast, "But you can still drive piles until it's below 23°!"

Abigail Haneke
from Haley & Aldrich in Hawaii was tapped to lead the National Society of Professional Engineers Maui Chapter. STEM education support is a priority of the group.

Louis Greco, P.E.
from Tectonic competed in the NYC Marathon; he raised charitable funds for Comfort Zone Camp and his employer matched all inner-office donations up to $5K.

In sympathy:
Brian Rogers, the longtime piling division manager at Consolidated Pipe & Supply, has passed away in Birmingham, AL. PDCA sends heartfelt condolences to the friends, colleagues and family of Brian, who has been a consummate industry professional and supporter.
On the Job
Blue Iron Foundation and Shoring completed the Huntington Beach repair project, which involved installation of a new, 16K+ foot seawall on the California coast. Smith Welsh starred in the promo video that shows action footage of the team using Giken equipment to install 3,700 AZ 52-700 series sheets.

Bowen Engineering Corp. drives 60-foot sheets for a new lift station, an initiative of Evansville Water & Sewer Utility in Indiana. Spotted on the job is an ICE®  International Construction Equipment vibro.

Clark Construction finishes its scope for Southwestern Washington, DC's Waterfront Station II, a 420,000 square foot, mixed-use development. Early on, driven concrete piles were installed for the support of excavation phase in what is now a new 12-story structure with two levels of below-grade parking.

Foundation Constructors, Inc. crews installed more than 2,000 piles for a wastewater treatment plant in San Mateo City, CA; an asst. professor uses timelapse video of this job as an educational resource.

George Harms Construction Co. is GC for the Raritan River Bridge Replacement; the New Jersey job received federal funding as a resiliency project. Nucor provides sheet piling and other steel, and Dan Brown and Associates is on the consulting roster for the replacement, expected to be complete in 2024.

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. replaced two spans of the historic Kapaa Steam Bridge on Kauai.

Pacific Pile and Marine, SPOTTED driving 30-inch steel pipe piles from JD Fields with PACO equipment on Seattle's festive waterfront.

Parker Marine Contracting treks down I-95 to Savannah, GA to install piling in a historic district with a Junttan PM 23.

R.J. Gorman Marine Construction will rebuild Panama City's Sun Harbor Marina; the job includes a full redesign and doubled boat slip capacity. Hurricane Michael in 2018 imposed significant facility damage.

Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction is a top contractor in Utah and other mountain states, and a repeat winner of the PDCA Project of the Year Award. Its crew on a bridge replacement had difficulty placing the 1,300-ton precast span, so they used an unlikely tool dish soap! See the "slick" video.

SJ Hamill Construction, LLC has its crane, Geoquip/HPSI hammer and other equipment on the barge to install 14" x 55' concrete piles as it constructs a pier on John's Island, SC.

Trevcon Construction updates its project for the New York Ferry System; crews continue working to build the new Homeport II location in Atlantic Basin, which will increase capacity at the growing facility.

Triad Metals supplies the USACE seven miles of Gerdau PZC steel sheet piling to integrate into coastal storm risk management improvements on the Rockaway peninsula in New York City.
Media Hits
The New York Times quotes Paul Armstrong, owner of South Shore Pile Driving in Marshfield, MA, in a November story about a growing national trend in waterfront house-moving, due to persistent beach erosion. Paul installed house piles for a home at Cape Cod National Seashore in 2015; it was the lone surviving structure there, after a massive January 2022 storm. It has since been relocated (again).

Paper City Magazine, covering Texas culture, calls Jay Fields and his wife Allie "adorable" in a story about a successful, charity pickleball tournament the couple and their company JD Fields sponsored in Houston. The event attracted nearly 100 participants who raised money for A Shelter for Cancer Families.

YouTube: DFI's Rumble proves it's not the critic who counts, when two professionals deemed legends go head-to-head. Greg Canivan of S&ME, Inc. and Paul Axtell of Dan Brown & Associates debate Dynamic Pile Testing: Fiction or Reality. Lucky Nagarajan of Giken hosts and Sebastian Lobo-Guererro referees.
Notes from the Field
It wasn't rainin' fire in the sky the day the Keller pile driving crew from North Carolina was photographed on a Colorado job site, but the mast on their Junttan rig was Rocky Mountain High while driving the steel.

Oh, the places you will go it was interesting to see the sister company of Smart Structures on a residential job site next to historic Mar-a-Lago in Florida; Mike Muchard, P.E. proclaimed that his team was there '"making static load testing great again."

Equally Committed and Adventurous is the takeaway from David Crawford's LinkedIn post about a post-BAUMA 2022 challenge he and ECA colleagues Greg Barta and Rob Likens accomplished before leaving Germany. They hiked up Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak. Did Rob wear his trusty Crocs?

Coffee is for closers digital marketing lead Marissa Charles at Kiewit HQ got the message in her coffee that the in Omaha, NE, powerhouse has a big closing soon as it welcomes Weeks Marine into the fold.

If you ain't first, you're last Look, if your company president goes on camera as Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, you'll be a Note from the Field. Period. We applaud Darren Sparks of Bigfoot Pipe & Piling, who, in costume, strolled the company yard on Halloween and gave tips for trick-or-treaters.

Call him DANta Claus We knew Dan Collins is chief swagmaster at APE while on the trade show circuit. But, he doesn't limit gift-giving to industry events, as noted by this grateful logo-hat recipient.

As 2022 wraps up, many of you will be getting away from the job site, yard, office, home office or wherever you conduct your important work in the deep foundations industry. This reminded us about a social media post from Robert Griggs, president at Trinity Products, with two timely suggestions: 1) have some fun at work, and 2) occasionally go into "low power mode." The second suggestion indicates it's okay to power yourself down and rip away from your business tethers so you can enjoy family, friends and celebration! When he encourages you to have fun, go ahead and attend that office holiday party...but you don't want to be that person who has too much fun! 😉

We wish you a happy holiday season and will see you back here in 2023!
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Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

Early Bird Pricing Ends this Month for 2023 Annual Conference

A Friendly Reminder:


There are sixteen days left until YOU'RE OUT of time to secure Early Bird Pricing for the 2023 PDCA Annual Conference, coming February 7-9 to the Mission Bay Resort in beautiful San Diego, California.  

PDCA members are encouraged to act now and receive a $200.00 discount on registration, providing you access to the Annual Conference for just $1150.00. This offer ends on December 16th. Non-members also enjoy a registration savings when you act by the same deadline, CLICK HERE to learn about the pricing options. 

In addition to individual attendees, registration is open for exhibitors. The list of commitments is growing by the day so you should secure your booth space now to ensure your company gets optimal placement. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, we have opportunities for you as well.

Perhaps we have mentioned it before, but you should be reminded that the annual golf tournament that accompanies this conference will take place at famed, local course, Torrey Pines. And once your round completes, head over to the world-class Mission Bay Resort to participate in two full days of events which include PDCA committee meetings, keynote presentations, substantive courses, an active exhibit hall, annual Association Awards, receptions and meals, and a special recognition ceremony honoring the 2022 PDCA Project of the Year Awards winners. This is just a sample of what you will get at the PDCA Annual Conference. So, don't be a chicken and register today so you can take a slightly fatter wallet to enhance your time in San Diego!

The Results Are In: Meet the 2023 PDCA Officers/Board Elected to Serve You


Thank you for exercising your Association duty and casting your vote in the November election for the 2023 PDCA leadership team which includes the executive officers and the board of directors. So, how did they do it? Was it the power of the incumbency? Now that all the votes are tallied, we want to share with you the following roster of elected industry leaders who will serve as the 2023 PDCA Officers and Board of Directors. You will notice many (if not all) familiar faces from the 2022 slate; that's because none drew an opponent, none has yet met the term limits threshold as outlined by the PDCA by-laws, AND each has chosen to commit to serving you for another year. Thank you BOD, and welcome back - we look forward to your leadership in 2023!


PDCA 2023 Officers
 




 


President
Brian Heck
Richard Goettle, Inc.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Vice President

Kustaa Mansfield
Pacific Pile and Marine
Seattle, Washington
Secretary

Herbert "Buck" Darling
Herbert F. Darling, Inc.
Tonawanda, New York
Treasurer

Scott Webster
GRL Engineers, Inc.
Harrisburg, North Carolina
Past President

Kevin Gourgues
Patriot Construction and Industrial,LLC
Port Allen, Louisiana
 
PDCA 2023 Board of Directors
Director

Harold Baur
Boh Bros. Construction Company, LLC
New Orleans, Louisiana
Director

Greg Canivan
S&ME, Inc.
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Director

James Dempsey
Blakeslee, Arpaia, Chapman, Inc.
Branford, CT
Director

Diane Fischer
Pile Dynamics, Inc.
Cleveland, Ohio
Director

Mike Juneau
Premier Geotech and Testing, LLC
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Director

Doug Keller
Richard Goettle, Inc.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Director

Randy Kelly
Koppers Utility and Industrial Products, Inc.
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Director

Bruce Langan
Equipment Corporation of America
Brielle, New Jersey
Director

David Price
Linde-Griffith Construction Company
Newark, New Jersey
 

Gulf Coast Chapter Names 2023 Leadership Team


The PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter has new leadership, ready to hit the ground running, as the driven pile industry prepares for 2023. During its 4th Quarter Dinner Meeting held at Messina's in Kenner, LA on November 17th, Chapter Members elected the following team to serve as the voluntary, 2023 Chapter Board of Directors:
  • President: Dylan Andrè of Patriot Construction and Industrial, LLC
  • Vice President: Anthony "Tony" Sepulvado, Jr. of Boh Bros. Construction Co., LLC
  • Treasurer: Brent Guthrie of Cajun Industries, LLC
  • Secretary: Heath Stevens of Gulf Coast Pre-Stress Partners, LLC
President Andrè tells us that Members can expect some of the familiar Chapter activity, but there will also be some adjustments to the annual schedule; "We're trying to spice things up," he noted. "As in the past, we will have four, quarterly meetings, but we are working now to change one of the traditional locations. An announcement will be coming soon. Also, we are aiming to offer the skeet shoot on an annual basis - so that's another event we want people to look forward to attending in the new year."

In addition to the election of officers, the Chapter hosted time for networking, dinner and drinks, and covered an agenda to discuss its aspirations for growth, expansion of educational opportunities, and other matters brought to the floor. 

Chapter Members also heard a presentation from Meeting Sponsor JD Fields & Company, Inc. Representatives Alwyn McDowell and Joe Tridico spent some time updating attendees about steel pipe and steel sheet pile in the current marketplace. Following prepared remarks, they engaged the membership with Question and Answer time.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter thanked its sponsor for underwriting the event and its membership for its ongoing participation in the local pile driving industry.


Special thanks to our guest photographer
 
PDCA thanks volunteer photographer Derek Brodnax of Service Steel Warehouse for providing some 'scenes' from The PDCA Gulf Coast Chapter's 4th Quarter Dinner Meeting. Derek is SPOTTED in the mirror reflection, in the photo to the left. A recent addition to the PDCA Communications Committee, he was agreeable to helping bring you coverage of this important event for the pile driving industry in the Gulf Coast region. Thanks Derek! The Communications Committee has openings if you too, are interested in helping collect content from Chapter meetings and other events, for eventual use in PDCA Publications.

Posted in Chapter News.

Top California Course Torrey Pines Secured for '23 PDCA Golf Tourney


(L-R): Vipul Joshi of Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction and Josh Epps representing Hammer & Steel participate in the golf tournament at the 2023 PDCA Annual Conference

Back in 2008, it was the scene of the U.S. Open where Tiger Woods won a sudden-death, 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate to claim his third and final U.S. Open Championship in thrilling fashion. Fast forward 15 years, San Diego's Torrey Pines continues to be regarded as one of America's top public golf courses and will be the venue for the 11th Annual PDCA Golf Tournament that begins the 2023 Annual Conference taking place at nearby Mission Bay Resort. Are you interested in playing this famed track? If so, here is what you need to know:
  • DATE: February 7, 2023, 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM
  • COURSE: Torrey Pines North Course, San Diego, CA
  • FORMAT: The format will be a modified shotgun.
  • SCHEDULE: Registration check-in at Mission Bay Resort to get your goodie bag. Golfers will board shuttle to Torrey Pines at 6:30am and will have access to the driving range and putting greens at 7:00 a.m. Shotgun start begins at 8:00 a.m.
  • PRIZES: Various prizes will be available in multiple categories, including:
    1. Team Low Net: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams
    2. Closest-to-the-Pin
    3. Longest Drives (1-Man & 1-Woman)

*** Please note that the tournament fee does not include a contribution to the PDCA Education Fund. Contributions can be made separately by contacting the PDCA Office.  


CLICK HERE to register for the 2023 Annual Conference and secure your entry in the Golf Tournament at Torrey Pines, TODAY!


Scenes from the 10th Annual PDCA Golf Tournament held at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix, AZ, part of the PDCA Annual Conference in February 2022

Watkins Awarded SC/Nigels Scholarship; Webinar Team Was On-Location

 
Charleston, SC (November 10, 2022): The South Carolina Chapter of PDCA names Cadet Mary Coastal Watkins as 2022 recipient of the prestigious "Mac" Nigels Scholarship. A Junior at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, she currently carries a 3.77 GPA as a Civil Engineering Major and expects to graduate in Spring 2024. After graduation, she aspires to pursue a Master's degree in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture. Ms. Watkins is a native of Goat Island, a sea island within the Charleston, SC metro area; she adds the Nigel's Scholarship to a growing list of recognitions she has received, including Dean's List, SC Life Scholarship and Citadel Distinguished Scholars Program.

Ms. Watkins attended the quarterly meeting of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter, she was accompanied by her father, grandparents and an aunt. During a special segment of the final 2022 meeting for the organization, Chapter board member Scott Nigels and son of the late McLeod "Mac" Creighton Nigels introduced Mary Coastal to attendees and presented her the award consisting of a commemorative plaque and a $2000 monetary gift. The annual scholarship dates back to 2007 and is presented in the name of "Mac" Nigels who was a highly respected civil engineer in Charleston following his 1955 graduation from The Citadel.


Also on hand for the annual presentation of the Nigel's Scholarship were several past presidents of PDCA and the South Carolina Chapter. Among them were John King, Dave Chapman, Buck Darling, Jason Moore and current President Brian Heck. Harry Robbins also attended and addressed the group as founder and past president of the Chapter, a distinction also held by Moore and current President King. Scott Webster, Diane Fischer, and Greg Canivan all presently serve on the Board for the national organization and were in attendance at the Chapter meeting, as well. Following the scholarship presentation, PDCA Executive Director Frank Peters provided attendees with an update on resources currently available through the organization, a preview of an active 2023 beginning in just weeks, and encouragement to get involved in PDCA. 
 

Value Driven Webinar Series, On-Location in South Carolina
 

Prior to the PDCA South Carolina quarterly dinner meeting, the November installment of the Value Driven PDCA Webinar Series was delivered live and on-location from the Town and Country Inn & Suites facility in Charleston, SC. Readers might recall that the August webinar was broadcast from Chesapeake, VA. Executive Director Frank Peters and Events and Education Manager Kathy Harper moderated the monthly, virtual resource made available to members and other interested parties. Joining Frank and Kathy was special guest and November presenter John Davagian (pictured)Managing Partner at Davagian Grillo & Semple, LLP in Sudbury, Mass., who gave a program on legal contracts. Mr. Davagian focused his presentation on Gotcha Clauses and liquidated damages.

The final installment of the Webinar Series is coming to you on December 8th and will feature a program on Steel Durability in Marine Construction. 


Posted in Chapter News.

Pacific Coast Chapter Partners to Bring Two November Seminars


Contractors and engineers on the West Coast gained up to 3.5 PDH in November, thanks to a pair of technical seminars on which the PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter partnered to deliver. JD Fields & Company organized events in Huntington Beach, CA and Seattle, WA and filled each 4-hour time slot with a series of technical presentations from pile drivers and engineers who addressed various geotechnical challenges. Among the presenters were Blue Iron Foundation & ShoringGeo Engineers, Inc., Fields, and others.

Dean Abbondanza (pictured, presenting), is Director of Engineering at JD Fields & Co. said that around 30 attendees participated in each, no-cost seminar. He continued that such events have been productive this year and that the steel manufacturer plans to continue offering regional seminars in 2023.

Posted in Chapter News.

Dozens Attend TX Chapter Lunch and Learn; Guajardo Honored


The PDCA Texas Chapter hosted a Lunch and Learn on November 1st at the Hilton Medical Center in Houston; dozens of pile driving contractors, civil engineers, and industry suppliers attended the midday event that ran from 11 AM to 2:30 PM, and featured four presentations, lunch and networking.

In addition to an introduction and greeting from the Chapter leadership team, President Brandon Bicknell, VP Condon Verble, and Treasurer Arjin Dogan, PDCA Executive Director Frank Peters briefly addressed the group to provide an update about the national organization. Following this segment, attendees heard a presentation from Walter Van Zuthem or JD Fields & Co. who shared pertinent information from the steel manufacturer. Later, Dave Winslett of APE-American Piledriving Equipment gave a perspective from the piling equipment sector. Finally, Josh Martinez of Moffat Nichol provided a technical presentation.

This sizable, successful event was made possible by several sponsors. Those included, Table Sponsors: PileCo, Inc., Pipe and Tube Supplies, Inc., Robishaw Engineering, Inc., and APE-American Piledriving Equipment. General Sponsors: John Lawrie Tubulars, CPS Houston, Lodge Lumber, J&G Sales, Inc. 
 

Armando Guajardo, Jr.
July 7, 1980 - October 22, 2022

 
During introductory remarks, PDCA Texas Chapter leadership asked attendees to observe a moment of silence in honor Armando Guajardo, Jr., one of the four individuals in the Houston piling industry who helped launch the Texas Chapter in late 2021. 

In it's November 2022 publication, the PDCA e-newsletter, 'A Pile of News,' remembered Guarjardo this way: 

Armando Guarjardo, Jr. (42) was a treasured employee of BRC International LLC and a gifted coalition-builder who deserves significant credit for revitalizing the PDCA Texas Chapter in 2021. He was instrumental in advancing BRC's presence in the market for high-quality OCTG and line pipe on five continents; he also organized a successful charitable fishing tournament for the clientele. PDCA salutes our friend Armando, who served as secretary of the Texas Chapter, at the time of his October passing. RIP.

Palm Trees and Pile Driving (Contractors) Gather in South Florida

Action photo of an ASAP Group selfie, which includes representatives from Spain-based parent company, Terratest.

The ASAP Group partnered with PDCA to host the Palm Trees and Pile Driving reception in South Florida on November 3rd. Other event sponsors included Ebsary Foundation, Junttan USA, M.T. Kaye Steel, Triad Metals Piling, and Big Steel. Several pile driving contractors from PDCA member and non-member companies attended along with area geotechnical engineers and equipment and material suppliers, to gain new insight on the driven pile industry and to network in the significant Miami market.

Attendees met with PDCA President Brian Heck who travelled from his Cincinnati office at Richard Goette, Inc. He held individual discussions with many participants about the driven pile industry, PDCA membership​​​​, and even sports. Frank Peters, PDCA Executive Director, delivered a presentation to the group that gave an overview of the organization's mission and the many, valuable benefits available through membership. Additionally, he shared PDCA's vision of growing a Chapter presence in concentrated pile driving markets around the country and specifically in South Florida. Throughout the evening, an appetizer buffet and open bar were available to attendees, thanks to great service from the team at event venue, Bokamper's Sports Bar & Grill, Miramar, FL location.

PDCA thanks all event sponsors and attendees who came from near and far (including Spain!) to participate. Scroll through the following event photos to see who was SPOTTED at Palm Trees and Pile Driving:


Marin & Marin Marine Construction

Baker Concrete Construction, Jones Benitez Corp.

Ebsary Foundation, Universal Engineering Sciences

ASAP Group and Terratest
Triad Metals Piling
Brian Heck, Frank Peters with Junttan
 
 
 

PDCA President Brian Heck visits with several representatives of ASAP Group

Meever's Jaquillard Wins October #PDCADriven Contest

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