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A Pile of News: April 2026

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 April 1, 2026

Top of the pile:

No Foolin' Q1 new members get the first shout-out! Welcome, and thank you...

• Contractors: Shimmick Construction Co., San Francisco Bay area; TRIDENT, Upstate NY; ENTACT, Chicagoland; ICOP, Northern VA; Piling Pros, Miami;    

.KT Waterfront Construction, Kingsland, TX; and J.B. Coxwell Contracting, Jacksonville, FL

• Associates: Mustang CAT, Houston; EPAcoat, Inc., Richmond, VA; Bay Machinery Corp., Richmond, CA; and CAPE Holland, Houston, TX
• Engineering Affiliate: Original Survey Solutions Inc., Modesto, CA
• Government Employees: Jess Thurman, Kristy Smith of LA-DOTD; and Amanda Cook of Joint Base Charleston
• Academic Employees: Miguel Pando, Matias Frediani, Juan Zamora, Drexel
• Retired: Wayne Waters, Jacksonville, FL; Michael Terrell, Auburn, AL; Perry Brumm, Milwaukee, David Jack, Zephyr Cove, NV
• Students: Michael Bennett, VA Tech; Preston Prater, Carolina Triboni, Auburn; Dylan Fabre, Liberty; Maamoon Nassar, Baton Rouge CC; Amz Hamid
• Add your company name to this space next quarter JOIN PDCA today!

The Old Gray Lady of PDCA read the latest PileDriver magazine in digital format.

Ten days left to enter the Project of the Year Awards program. (The 2026 winners will be announced in the August PileDriver magazine, and awarded at IFCEE 2027.) Send us an electronic file that contains a completed 1) entry form, 2) a publish-ready project narrative and 3) four to six high-resolution project photos by COB on April 10.

From the Association & Chapters

Mark your calendars:

• April 9: Value Driven Webinar Series, 2 PM ET. Greg Belpomme explains civil constructors achieve stability through retention, workforce development.
• April 10: DUE DATE for 2026 PDCA Project of the Year Awards; send entries by close of business (your time) submit via e-file for consideration.
• April 17: Pacific Coast Chapter Scholarship Shoot, Birds Landing, CA, 8AM. Registration is open for the annual fundraiser. Great raffle items, prizes, and steak lunch. Sponsorships & raffle tickets available when you sign up.
• April 21: TX Chapter Networking Reception, Houston Marriott West Loop. The evening chapter social coincides with the EDPI welcome reception.
• April 2122: Engineers Driven Pile Institute, Houston Marriott West Loop. Up to 15 PDH available. Course instructs and prepares mid-level engineers to recommend, design and specify/inspect driven pile foundations.
• May 6: Florida Chapter Lunch & Learn, The Castle Hotel, Orlando.
• May 13: Northeast Chapter Red Bull NY vs. Columbus Crew Soccer outing.
• May 14: South Carolina Chapter Quarterly Dinner, Charleston, 6:30 PM.
• May 21: TX Chapter Facility Tour Mustang CAT, Houston. Save the date!
• July 79: PDCA Annual Conference & Expo, Orlando, FL: Registration and exhibit space is open, get your room at the Four Seasons Disney World Resort.

From the PDCA Blog:

• Help for higher ed Students may apply for the Pacific Coast Chapter scholarship, designed to support the future of the deep foundation industry.
• Test on testing If you missed the March DFDTA in Orlando the seminar, workshop and exam on dynamic testing from a Pile Dynamics, Inc. and PDCA partnership repeats Oct. 1921 in Cleveland.
• Crustaceans and vibrations A crawfish boil kicked off the Gulf Coast Chapter Engineering Conference, which had six technical courses, including a talk on structural responses to pile driving vibrations by Cathy Martin, PhD.
• Spike T. Bulldog the South Carolina Chapter Driven Pile Technical Seminar took place at The Citadel Alumni Center in Charleston. Nearly 90 attendees heard five presentations. Proceeds benefit chapter scholarship fund.
• Utah Maw PDCA is a Cooperating Organization with the Geo-Institute (G-I) for Geo-Congress, an annual conference for geotechnical professionals. Ryan Maw from PDCA member Gerhart Cole co-chaired the Salt Lake City event.
• The A's are next Repeatedly overheard at CONEXPO in Las Vegas: 'I forgot this is where the Raiders play now.' We didn't see any NFL players, but we did see impressive piling equipment and great PDCA members.

Congratulations, Mark Hunter with THI Pipe & Piling, you are this month's WINNER! Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of April to claim your prize!

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Acquisitions & expansions:

• Cajun Industries, LLC purchased an engineering office in Tyler, TX, expanding the Baton Rouge-based contractor's competencies/reach in the Gulf region.
• Linde-Griffith Construction adds two full-service mechanic trucks to enable on-site repair work for heavy construction. Pres. David Price says they reflect a "commitment to projects and timelines." One was "Certified Sexy" at CONEXPO.

Governmental relations:

• Beaty Construction joined Indianapolis Mayor Hogsett and Fishers Mayor Fadness to open the Nickel Plate Bridge, part of a regional biking trail.
• CIANBRO was on Capitol Hill in March, meeting with Maine lawmakers to discuss hydropower and a Western Maine infrastructure project.
• MEB and Schnabel Engineering joined officials from Chesterfield County, VA, government to formally break ground for the new Proctors Creek WWTP.
• Richard Goettle, Inc. will build a new bridge to replace the Fourth St. Bridge connecting Newport and Covington, KY. Gov. Beshear and state officials detonated explosives on the old structure, as broadcasted on local television.
• R.E. Pierson Construction crews fortified piers of the Delaware Memorial Bridge using ICE machinery to drive Nucor Skyline steel for a collision protection system. Work completed last fall; the Delaware and New Jersey legislatures are scheduling a spring ribbon-cutting.

Recognitions:

• Baker Gulf Coast Industrial lands four top construction rankings, a mere six years after launching in Baton Rouge; trade and specialty honors included.
• ENTACT earns 18th consecutive National Safety Council Occupational Excellence award. Notably, they mark four straight years of no lost-time cases.
• Sargent and CIANBRO are among winners of 2026 Build Maine Awards.
• The Great Lakes Construction Co. brought home two Don Conaway Partnering Awards that celebrate its collaboration on Ohio DOT projects.
• Dewberry won the Grand Award from ACEC Virginia for its contributions to the James River Crossing project. Another project won the Pinnacle Award.
• Eustis Engineering supported Boh Bros. Construction in the award-winning College Drive restoration and repair project in Baton Rouge.

Giving back:

• GROUP Contractors cooks won third place for Best Cajun in the Red Stick Roux Rally Gumbo Cook-Off, a Baton Rouge fundraiser supporting veterans.
• Kokosing made a philanthropic commitment to THE Ohio State University, which named the Kokosing Construction Management Program in appreciation.
• Mason Construction is lead sponsor for the American Heroes Gala, May 7 in Port Arthur, TX; it will benefit OATH, Inc. and honor vets/first responders.
• MEB held a junior externship for students in Norfolk, VA. Professionals exposed them to construction job sites, career paths and industry tools/technologies.
• Standard Concrete Products, Inc. opened its Atlanta plant to engineering students from Georgia Tech, to tour and learn about PSC production.
• S&ME gave a program on workplace inclusion to a Raleigh, NC, audience. Field tech Noah Watts explained his path to a job with the firm, despite his disability.
• Thomas & Hutton staff in Charleston, SC, participated in the United Way Read Across America Day, and read books with elementary students.

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Transitions:

• Steve Henderson aims to "exceed client expectations" at Forgen, where he recently earned promotion to SVP and GM for Industrial/Heavy Civil.
• Taylor Dalling, P.E., joins Norwalk Marine Contractors in Connecticut.
• Luisana DeSousa is the new estimating manager and Jessica Daza is the new engineering manager at Piling Pros in Miramar, FL.
• Trent Cullinan elevates to project manager in western Maine at Sargent.
• Tim Curvers of Bull Moose Tube in Birmingham rises to director of sales.
• Kyle Condon is the new VP, Sales & Operations, at Junttan. He spoke during the company's 50th anniversary party at CONEXPO. Henry Cornell becomes rental and account manager.
• Kaylee Roznovsky moves in-house to marketing & logistics at Kingdom Pipe & Steel in Brenham, TX; she previously was marketing coordinator.
• Misty Jones is the newest member of the team at Lodge Lumber in Houston.
• Cooper Rosiak is a new sales rep for the East Coast at Meever USA.
• Dave Sumoski retired as COO from Nucor. CFO and EVP Steve Laxton elevates to president and COO. Jack Sullivan is new CFO and treasurer.
• Matt Williams joins Conroe, TX-based PILECO, Inc. as a new sales rep.
• Amine Bourahli is the new global technical market mgr. at Pile Dynamics.
• Casey Lowe joins PVE Equipment USA in Gulf Coast Division Sales.
• Indralal Subedi is a new staff engineer at Cleveland HQ for GRL Engineers.
• Jong Choi, PhD, P.E., Matthew Ruehle, P.E., become MRCE senior associates in New York; Hamed Keshmiri, P.E.-CA, Greg Lucking, P.E., rise to associate.
• Catrina Reynolds named BDM at Original Survey Solutions in Modesto, CA; Dean Jurado, PLS, becomes a director for the firm.
• Sean Baski, P.E. named new senior engineer in Alaska at PND Engineers, Inc.
• Max Laracuente, PhD, joins Tolunay-Wong Engineers from USACE to lead the Beaumont, TX, geotechnical dept. Also, Samah Mahgoup, PhD, Ayush Kumar, EIT, and Nadun Wijeweera, P.E., onboard as Houston-based geotechs.

Recognitions:

• Ryan Pepper, P.E., and Joe Brown, P.E., DBIA, from Canton, OH-based Beaver Excavating, coached the Youngstown State University student team to 2nd place at the Ohio Contractors Association Estimating Competition. Also, Samantha Rogers was celebrated for helping launch Akron-Canton Builds.
• Joanna Lopez, Michaela Chavera and Cecia Saenz from McCarthy are 2026 Construction Champions in Construction Dive magazine.
• Mike Mortensen from ARG Industrial finished five-years on the IDCO Board, two of which he chaired for the rubber-buying co-op.
• Erica Parker of JD Fields & Co. and PDCA TX Chapter treasurer, is co-chair of Houston charity Sky High for Kids, which supports pediatric cancer research.
• Brian Maas, VP at ECS Southeast, participated in a Adopt-A-Street cleanup in Greensboro, NC; in just one mile, he filled 20 trash bags.
• Pinn Winyoopongphun, EIT, and Rebecca Maloney, P.E., from SGH led their Oakland, CA, colleagues in an initiative to spread Valentine's cheer.

In sympathy:

• Jordan Thomas (25), of Columbus, OH, was killed in a work zone hit-and-run in February. The valued Kokosing Construction Co. employee leaves behind a large, loving family. Kokosing and Central Ohio Crimestoppers offer a $100K reward for information that leads to an arrest.

Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring used a Giken Silent Piler to install 1,600 LF of JD Fields & Co. steel sheet piling for a drainage system at a new Orlando housing development. UES performed geotechnical exploration on the site.

Jordan Pile Driving installs Service Steel Warehouse pipe piles with an APE vibro and a company-owned diesel impact hammer, in Daphne, AL. PM Charles Ernest says they are installing the foundation for the Bayfront Park amphitheater.

McCarthy Building Cos. is finishing a USACE project to enable a wider ship channel at Houston's Port. Work required building a 3,578 sf. combi-wall with 930 total piles from JD Fields & Co. Crews used company-owned ICE diesels and an APE vibro. Another rented vibro came from GeoQuip for 60-inch pipes. Terracon was the GOR.

Shimmick Corporation secured $256M in new contracts; including, stormwater improvement and flood protection in California, and an expanded WWTP in Texas.

SJ Hamill Construction is replacing a bulkhead for the Colleton River Club in Bluffton, SC. Crews will install Nucor Skyline sheet piling with a company-owned ICE hammer.

Taplin won a $14.5M contract from the Grand Rapids, MI, to restore the Grand River rapids and reshape the city's riverfront, which will involve limited sheet piling work. Mayor LaGrand told media the project has taken nearly two decades to secure.

Vecellio & Grogan won a $20M contract for capital improvement in historic St. Augustine, FL, to replace the downtown seawall and modernize adjacent hardscapes.

Walsh Construction won the Rhode Island DOT award to build new westbound lanes of the Washington Bridge (I-195) in Providence. Construction staging will involve use of the American Equipment & Fabricating yard, which sits at the foot of the structure.

Anchor QEA performed engineering design and other services for a major shipbuilder's new floating dry dock in San Diego. Shortly after opening, the USS America, the Navy's amphibious assault ship, christened the new structure.

The Citadel announces a new online MS in Civil Engineering program for working professionals. A specialty option available focuses on AI applications.

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Notes from the Field

Hoosier Daddy? First, Indiana won a natty. Then, a chance to legally re-home the Chicago Bears. Now, INDOT has driven the largest-diameter pile in its history. Tom Dame from Hercules Machinery Corp. says crews used an HMC-162 and ICE lead to drive two 48-inch x 65-foot steel pipe piles for an I-65 bridge in southern Indianapolis.

Gotta wear shades Free stuff gets the attention of college students. When Orion recruiters visit college campuses to engage with potential interns, they bring free socks and packages of company-branded ramen noodle soup. Students who envision a bright future with the marine constructor can also take home new sunglasses.

If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail, said 1972 U.S. Olympian and gold medalist swimmer Mark Spitz. The Summer Games return to Los Angeles in 2028, and Shannon & Wilson contributed geotechnical input and design reports to builders updating LAX Terminal 5, and preparing it to handle heavy international traffic.

Chess on ice Did you catch coverage of curling during the 2026 Winter Olympics? Its popularity has exploded since it became an Olympic sport in 1998. Some PDCA members are playing; a curling team from Orion won gold in Utah, and young professionals at AET in Minnesota attended a beginner's course in the sport.

Thanks for reading! We will see you back here on May 1.