Ziadie of APE Wins February #PDCADriven Contest






Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - March 2024

A Pile of News: March 2024
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 March 1, 2024
Top of the Pile

Lainey said it best: YOU know a few things a man oughtta know - wishing you a happy Women in Construction Week, March 3 - 9 

March Madness is more than NCAA basketball in 2024; PDCA Chapters offer a variety of March professional development events

Join PDCA this month; 2024 dues are prorated for 10 months, AND you can still enter Project of the Year Awards. Call today! (904) 215-4771

Going to IFCEE? Register by March 31st to secure early bird pricing for the LANDMARK event
 
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
  1. Today - April 5: The PDCA Project of the Year Awards program entry period closes in about a month. Submit your Land, Marine, Earth Retention, Associate/Engineer, International pile driving project(s) completed by 12/31/23 to PDCA through electronic file share.
  2. March 4 - 6: Deep Foundations Dynamic Testing & Analysis Seminar and Workshop educational collaboration with Pile Dynamics, Inc. gets new central Florida location, Lake Nona Wave Hotel Orlando. It's a one-day seminar, two-day workshop, with optional proficiency test at the end.
  3. March 6: Northeast Chapter Professional Development Course, 8A - 4P annual education event at sponsor George Harms Construction in Howell, NJ. Clydesdale Steel to host a Meet & Greet nearby at The Cabin, following the technical presentations.
  4. March 14: Gulf Coast Chapter Engineers Conference, L'Auberge Casino & Hotel, Baton Rouge biennial event features up to seven PDHs, kicks off with a Crawfish Boil on March 13 at Pointe Marie.
  5. March 14: South Carolina Chapter Driven Pile Technical Seminar, 9A - 3:30P The Citadel, Holliday Alumni Center, Charleston. Breakfast, lunch, PDH included.
  6. March 19: Texas Chapter Lunch & Learn, Hyatt Regency Baytown, 10:30A - 1:30P education event near Houston open to the industry, lunch is $50. Jody Singletary of Dunham Price and Gerry McShane of Service Steel Warehouse presenting. 
  7. April 18 - 20: Geoprofessional Business Assn Annual Conference, JW Marriott Anaheim Resort PDCA is a cooperating organization. Registration is now open.
  8. April 26: Pacific Coast Chapter Scholarship Shoot, Birds Landing, CA, 8A-2P Watch for details!
  9. May 7 - 10: International Foundations Congress & Equipment Expo (IFCEE) March 31 is the deadline for early bird registration. The event brought to you by PDCA, ADSC, DFI and G-I is at Hyatt Regency Downtown Dallas. Don't miss insightful professional development, valuable industry networking, a HUGE indoor/outdoor trade show, and more.
  10. May 10: Ceremony, 2023 Project of the Year Award winners, Hyatt Regency Dallas, 12:30P

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
Congratulations Bill Ziadie, you are this month's winner!
Congratulations, Bill Ziadie, 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:
  • CNT Foundations installed piling for the Emanuel Nine Memorial in Charleston, SC, the location of deadly racial violence in 2015. It honors the nine slain church clergy members. A non-profit is developing the remembrance facility for education and healing. Other PDCA members on the job are Balfour Beatty which donated construction services and Thomas & Hutton which assisted the design team. 
  •  
  • JD Fields and Co. sponsors the Sky High For Kids, Better in Boots fundraiser for pediatric cancer research; event is a clay shoot and gala in Houston, March 7-8. Erica Ferens is co-chair. 
  •  
  • Nucor reports that the severely wounded U.S. Army veteran it sponsored has now moved into his 'forever home,' made possible through company support of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Government Relations:
  • Orion Marine was presented a plaque from U.S. Rep. Carter as an official welcome to New Orleans, a city where the contractor has worked since 1906, and has opened its newest office.
Welcome to New Orleans, Orion Marine

Recognitions:
Acquisitions & Expansions:
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Jonathan Schmaltz elevates to director, southern region yard at McCarthy Building Co.
  •  
  • Pete Adams is the new director of operations at Palmetto Pile Driving. Also, Kelsy Nigels joins as office manager. She's granddaughter of the late Charleston civil engineering legend, Mac Nigels.
  •  
  • Caleb Michael earns promotion to field engineer at Charleston, SC-based SJ Hamill Construction.
  •  
  • David Jansinski is named new director of engineering at ESC Steel LLC.
  • Jill Bramblett joins the sales team in the northeastern U.S. for John Lawrie Tubulars.
  •  
  • Craig Bradshaw is a new addition to inside sales at Kahn Steel Co. in Kansas City, MO.
  •  
  • Edward Clark, EI, is named lead engineer at Houston-based Mammoth Carbon Products.
  •  
  • Allan Korte returns to northeast Florida to become equipment manager at Meever USA.
  •  
  • Frank Celli takes a sales position in the Gulf Coast region for Service Steel Warehouse while 30-year industry veteran Jimbo McKnight has been promoted to oversee the Midwest region.
  •  
  • Amr Sallam, PhD, PE, a recognized expert in wind turbine foundations and adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida, becomes a new principal at Ardaman & Associates.
  •  
  • Joon Park, Jay Dave named new geotechnical staff scientists at GeoEngineers, Inc., elsewhere, Chad Kean is the new health and safety manager.
  •  
  • James Tantalla, Srinivas Yenamandra and Renzo Verastegui, all elevate to associate principals at Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in New York City. New senior associates are Andrew Klaetsch, Sung Kong, Coleen Liddy, Adam Dyer and Alex Ciamei.
  •  
  • Stephen Diem, Kristen Freiburger, Oliver Hoopes, Jason Buenker, PhD, PE, are promoted to senior associates at Shannon & Wilson; moving into associate roles at the firm are Ryan Collins, Shoshana Howard, PE, James Walters.
  •  
  • Carlos Ramirez is a new CMT in New Orleans for Southern Earth Sciences, and Dylan Sauce onboards in that position in the Mobile, AL, office. Jaren Cook is a new engineer in Mobile.

Recognitions:
  • Tina Wolff, business development engineer at Kokosing, guest lectured graduate students at Notre Dame, examining Indiana codes and project communication.
  •  
  • Belin Wills, a former teacher, returned to the classroom with Ronnie Wills where the Aggregate Technologies team presented to Auburn University students in the American Concrete Institute.
  •  
  • Mark Gwynn retires from American Spiralweld Pipe after 37 years; Missy Hicks in inside sales assumes his PDCA membership.
  •  
  • Amy Cristiani from THI Pipe and Piling completed the 13.1 mile, Katy Half Marathon in Texas.
  •  
  • Rai Mehdiratta, PhD, celebrated 50 years at Fugro in its new Houston office, during Engineers Week; Richard Shea of Morris-Shea was among the well-wishers at the gathering.
  •  
  • Russell Nipper marked 40 years at Southern Earth Sciences in Mobile, AL, and Dennis Mitchell in Tampa, FL, secured licensure as Professional Engineer.
  •  
  • Rich Anderson, Rod Kern, Anthony Sciortino and Gordian Ulrich, all of Equipment Corporation of America get a Pile of special recognition. They showered, put on clean clothes (fancy ones, at that), combed their hair, and shined their work boots. Meet the new glitteratti!
  •  
  • Lloyd Engineering in Houston tells ECA, hold my beer. Staff stood for a photo with shiny boots on Go Texan Day, a local tradition that kicks off the Houston Rodeo. It's the glitterati, Texas style!
On the Job
Black River Solar shows a jobsite with a high number of installed piles (1,200) and LOW temperatures on a Danville, IL, winter day. The frigid solar farm is reportedly a project for the green crypto industry.
 
Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring installed a sheet pile shoring system with a PVE Equipment vibro for the emergency stabilization of a rail line along a segment of a public canal in San Diego, CA.
 
Farrell Brothers Marine Construction notched a couple 'firsts.' See photos of its new dock built in Ponte Vedra, FL; its first with a submerged bulkhead around the slip, and the first in a hammock.
 
Herbert F. Darling, Inc. has begun steel sheet pile installation for a new fire station coming to Ithaca, NY. Crews operate ICE, Inc. equipment to drive the sheets from both Nucor Skyline and Triad Metals.
 
Island Piling, Inc. teams up with UES to develop the foundation for a new custom home in SW Florida.
 
R. Kremer & Son Marine Contractors was in the minority of New Jersey residents to be found on a local golf course this winter; their crew installed an old wood style bulkhead at Manasquan River Golf Club.
 
Sealevel Construction built a railcar scale blending silo at a Garyville, LA, industrial facility. The project included the installation of a sheeted cofferdam and concrete and timber pilings.
 
Trevcon Construction wins a contract to drive piles for an initiative of the NYC EDC; crews will build the first and largest phase of the proposed Manhattan Greenway along the Harlem River.
 
Weeks Marine, Inc. lands two new projects in New York; crews will be mobilizing for the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the Hudson River Ground Stabilization.
 
Junttan supplied a flying leader and hydraulic hammer for installation of PSC piling for components in the construction of a marine oil terminal in the San Francisco Bay Area.
 
Geo-Technology Associates preps the jobsite for a future, five-building warehouse complex in York County, PA. The 220-acre parcel reportedly lies atop limestone bedrock, hard quartzite, phyllite and schist.
 
PACO Ventures supplies the new, No Shock Vibration Dampener from Antaeus. We noticed that the marketing sent in February subtly pays homage to the late Toby Keith, who country music lost last month. #RedSoloCup.
PACO Ventures No Shock Vibration Dampener from Antaeus
In the News
Engineering News Record tells the story about a surprise crews encountered in the construction of a new dock at the Port of Beaumont (TX). McCarthy Building Cos. senior project manager Robert Wood is quoted in an article about how the crew managed removal of two old docks in the way of the new build.
 
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce publishes an aerial photo of progress at the city's Pier 58 where Pacific Pile & Marine has installed decking, part of its scope as it constructs the new waterfront park.
 
Industry Notes:
Notes from the Field Sports Edition
Leading Off New to PDCA in 2023, Kingdom Pipe & Steel named Blake Brannon president for the Texas-based piling supplier. He has an impressive resume including Entrepreneur of the Year and 40 Under 40 honors. Digging deeper, you learn he played baseball for the L.A. Dodgers who you can watch on Opening Day (March 20), when they play the Padres in MLB's first-ever game in South Korea.
 
Not an international incident Favorite team day is fun in a workplace. Interpipe, Inc.-Canada staff took a day to wear their sports team gear, and they weren't all hockey or Canadian. Yes, the Maple Leafs, Capitals and Blue Jays were there, but the NBA's LA Lakers and Super Bowl champion KC Chiefs also made the cut. 

Speaking of the NFL social media delivered reminders that several PDCA members have a connection to Allegiant Stadium, the Las Vegas venue for the city's first Super Bowl which pitted the Chiefs against the 49ers. For instance, Kiewit crews have been there reworking the roads to the stadium for NDOT. Also, McCarthy was in the JV that built Allegiant Stadium, which opened in 2020. They also constructed a neighboring solar installation, which now powers the arena with renewable energy. 
 
You might remember we covered the college career of Rashee Rice, who just finished his rookie season for the champs from Kansas City. The former SMU Mustang (a past NIL partner of J.D. Fields & Co.) proved to be one of many offensive weapons in the OT victory; he had six receptions and two carries, to total 44 yards.
 
Teamwork is a key to victory Both Texas NFL teams bowed out in the playoffs, still the state produced a great story about teamwork featuring two PDCA members which worked together to serve a mutual client. Let's give a nod to Mason Construction and American Piledriving Equipment
 
Strange bedfellows March brings basketball fans the NCAA men's and women's tournaments. If you pick brackets, you often cheer for a team you may not like, but need the 'wins'. Strange things like this happen in pile driving, too. Charleston, SC, contractor Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc. issued public appreciation to crosstown competitor Pile Drivers, Inc. for assisting on a PSC installation job. In this case, the customer and the driven pile got the win.
 
And there's more friendly adversaries John King of Pile Drivers and Jason Moore of Palmetto Pile Driving were spotted in the arena for a February basketball game between powerhouse NCAA women's teams, No. 1 South Carolina and (then) No. 11 UCONN, teams with a combined 13 national championships. For those wondering, the home team Gamecocks kept the perfect season going that day.
Palmetto Pile Driving watching the Gamecocks stay perfect
If you plan to follow the Big Dance this month, we would love to hear from you. Send us your Final Four picks before the end of the month, and if you correctly pick ANY of the contenders, we will give you a special shout-out in the April 1 A Pile of News. Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting PDCA.
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Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - February 2024

View in web browser
A Pile of News: February 2024
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 Feb. 1, 2024
Top of the Pile
BREAKING NEWS: In 2024, PDCA is revolutionizing your member experience. Details coming soon.
 
And the winner is: A special award ceremony and lunch after IFCEE concludes on May 10 will honor 2023 PDCA Project of the Year Awardees. Registration is required, watch for details.  BTW, April 5 is the deadline to enter this year's contest!
 
Thanks for the social media shout-out! PDCA received an endorsement from Leo Keegan of Professional Service Industries, Inc., after he saw his photo in PileDriver magazine last year. Fortuitously, PSI appears again, this time in a profile in 2024's first issue. Hot off the presses, READ PileDriver magazine, Issue #1 2024.
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
  • The 18th Annual Oyster Roast, courtesy of the PDCA South Carolina Chapter and its generous sponsors, was a big success on a cold January night. See who was SPOTTED.
  •  
  • Board sets 2024 priorities In its annual strategic planning meeting, returning pres. Brian Heck gaveled-in proceedings where PDCA leadership established organizational priorities for the new year ranging from financial, educational and growth. All "signs" pointed to achievable success!
  •  
  • Libations With Leadership on Jan. 10 was the first FREE PDCA regional reception in 2024, a networking event for area industry members and PDCA board members. Who was SPOTTED?
  •  
  • Attention civil engineering undergrads Industry staffing firm and PDCA member Heron Wolf has launched a new scholarship opportunity, good for $1,000. Apply by April 15.
Congratulations Rick Sadler, you win!
Congratulations, Rick Sadler, you are this month's winner! Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of the month to claim your prize!
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Tyler Henson, Lucas Salzano are new additions in quality control at C.J. Mahan Construction in Grove City, OH.
  •  
  • Billy Naylor will implement the national safety program in his new role as SVP, National Safety at McCarthy Building Co. Also, Scott Lawrence moves up to SVP operations Southern Region. 
  •  
  • Cameron Toups, a 10-year veteran in the Gulf Coast piling industry, has been elevated to VP operations at Houston-based Russell Marine, LLC.
  •  
  • Michelle Aseltine joins business development at Aggregate Technologies, Inc. in Houston. The new lead for hydro-demolition at ATI, she was previously a membership director for ABC.
  •  
  • Brian Mondello has been named Florida office manager for GRL Engineers, Inc. The 20-plus year veteran in deep foundation testing is based in Orlando.
  •  
  • Phil Thompson, P.E., was appointed office manager at H&H in Hamilton, NJ. Elsewhere, Sean Oroho, P.E., S.E., returns to the firm as a principal associate and West District manager.
  •  
  • Chad Bruorton, P.E., Nate Buffum, P.E., Jarod Ford, Julie Robertson, PG, and Joe Young, P.E., have been promoted to VP at S&ME, Inc. Elsewhere, Adrian Jones, MBA, BSCE, PMP, joins the Memphis office as principal, contributing 23 years of experience in municipal construction.
  •  
  • James Thomas, P.E., Brian Riley rise to civil group leaders at Thomas & Hutton in Charleston, SC.
  •  
  • Rick Kalson, a PDCA committee chair and periodic contributing legal author to PileDriver magazine, was tapped to build a NYC-based construction law practice at Cozen O'Connor.
Recognitions:
  • Dex Falgoust from Cajun Industries' Deep Foundations team bested his colleagues in an ugly sweater contest. Per the group photo, his coworker Brent Guthrie didn't bother risking his GQ reputation.
  •  
  • Andy Murdock, a field mechanic, was honored by his employer Cianbro for his action during a traffic pileup. His service truck was rammed by a driver whose door became wedged shut. Andy pried open the door and let the driver into his warm truck to wait for the scene to get cleared.
  •  
  • Chelsey Rodrigue completed a professional development class and earned a public "congratulations" from her employer, Baton Rouge-based GROUP Contractors.
  •  
  • David Price, CEO at Linde-Griffith Construction Co. in New Jersey, celebrated a unique New Year's Eve to ring in 2024. He and his wife Kristin hosted the marriage celebration for their daughter Sarah Price, who wedded Justin Strickland.
  •  
  • Cody Starr won a $100 gift card and public shout-out from his employer Morris-Shea Bridge Co. for helping a stranded motorist change a "tricky" flat tire.
  •  
  • Kent Parker, of Parker Marine Contracting in Charleston, SC, found his inner Mark Twain, adopted a penname (Julius Parker) and published an historical novel chronicling the journey of a young woman who discovers generations of ancestral secrets. Pre-order Beneath the Draper Moon.
  •  
  • Marvin Dilks (pictured) took a job with Richard E. Pierson Construction in 1980, becoming its first employee. Now in 2024, the new retiree gets a warm farewell from his longtime Pilesgrove, NJ-based employer
Marvin Dilks
  • Allie Brady, a PM/estimator in the foundations division at Veit, won election to the board of the Minnesota Builders Exchange where she will serve a three-year term.
  •  
  • Dan Hickmott reaches 37 years with Atlas Tube in Harrow, ON. Other notable milestones from the facility are Murray Brimner at 32 years, and Steve Shaw and Jarrod Bonyai at 30 years.
  •  
  • John Devine, Dave Johnston, Ben Riches and Al Ellerington are celebrated as inaugural winners of Sales Excellence Awards, an initiative for employees of Equipment Corporation of America.
  •  
  • David Lee, PLS, from ESP Associates spoke to NC State students on engineering project surveys.
  •  
  • Gwen Sanders, president at Eustis Engineering, supports the engineering department at University of New Orleans, her alma mater. She mentored students on an assigned geotechnical project report
  •  
  • John DeMuth, P.E., S.E., is a VP at PND Engineers and reaches 35 years, becoming the firm's second longest tenured employee. The Alaska principal has a robust resume in pile construction design.

Sending sympathies:
News from PDCA Companies
Giving back:
Recognitions:
Acquisitions & expansions:
  • DFI Piling announces market growth through its purchase of Alberta-based Carter's Piling Ltd.
  •  
  • Foundation Constructors, Inc. of Stockton, CA, updated its digital presence with a new website and domain, striving to give visitors a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Check it out!
  •  
  • Kokosing formed Kokosing Solar after acquiring assets from a 22-year-old Ohio solar installation company. Brady Phillips leads the new division from Westerville, OH.
  •  
  • Parker Marine Contracting has expanded and reorganized operations. Central offices moved within Charleston, SC, there's new pile manufacturing in Summerville, and yard in Hollywood.
  •  
  • Bull Moose Tube won California DOT certification for steel piling made at its new mill in Texas. It credits Michael Bernitt, Richard Morales, and the team, which completed the Caltrans audit.
  •  
  • Haley & Aldrich announces a second location in Montana; geotechnical engineering is among the services provided at the new Helena office, led by principal Dustin Wasley, PE.

Government relations:
  • Gerdau pursues greater knowledge and influence on global issues impacting the steel industry. In January, CEO Gustavo Werneck attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the world's largest conclave of political and business leaders. It was their first appearance.
  •  
  • Nucor hosted prominent policymakers at various mills around the U.S. In Columbia, SC, Congressional Steel Caucus member, U.S. Rep. Fry toured a manufacturing facility. In Arkansas, Gov. Sanders visited one mill, and a legislative committee met with company leaders at another.
  •  
  • Schnabel Engineering partnered in the delivery of the Cooper Lake Dam, enhancing water management and its supply resiliency, for the city of Kingston, NY. Stakeholders in the project, including Kingston Mayor Noble, gathered for a winter ribbon cutting ceremony.
  •  
  • Tolunay-Wong Engineers provided geotechnical and testing services for the recently completed St. Francis Parkway Extension for the City of Gonzales, LA. Mayor Arceneaux joined representatives of all project partners to formally open the new piece of infrastructure.

Anniversaries:
  • Boh Bros. Construction, a heavy civil contractor in New Orleans since 1909, is in its third generation of family owners. Robert and Stephen Boh begin a 115th year of continuous operation. Notable, PDCA BOD member Harold Baur and Gulf Coast Chapter pres. Tony Sepulvado are employees.
  •  
  • PND Engineers recalls trademarking a development that "revolutionized pile construction techniques" 40 years ago. Read a short history about the SPIN FIN.
In the News
Balfour Beatty finished ahead of schedule in an NCDOT replacement of the Harker's Island Bridge. Construction Equipment Guide updates a PileDriver story about the span built with carbon fiber strand.
 
Clark is featured in a cover story in the winter edition of Building Washington magazine. 
 
CS Marine Constructors is spotted in a State of California Facebook video. The Vallejo-based contractor had equipment visible in an informercial about a BAFF it installed in the Sacramento River.
 
Hoffman Equipment has a demo machine that appeared on News12 New Jersey. Video footage shows it pulling off the roof of Karma in Seaside Heights. Karma was a club made famous on MTV's Jersey Shore.
 
GTR provides design, testing and instrumentation services for replacing the $1B Walk Bridge in Norwalk, CT. Cianbro is in a JV on the rebuild. The Hour recaps the span's history.
 
Industry notes:
Jason Moore at Palmetto Pile Driving in Charleston, SC, suggests a refresher on completing OSHA logs
 
Flexifloat shares news projecting global marine/port construction to reach a $45.74B market size
On the Job
Foundation Constructors Inc. installed 369 total, 16 inch octagonal precast piles produced by an area Kiewit subsidiary, as part of the construction for a new TopGolf coming to Burlingame, CA, by year's end.

Lynnhaven Marine and Dock has a crew in Virginia Beach using a Pileco D8 from GeoQuip to install timber piling for the long-awaited Foxfire Trail, a VDOT grant funded, regional attraction.

Sealevel Construction completes dock repair at the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District. Within the scope for the Louisiana contractor was installation of 300 linear feet of sheet pile and 122 concrete piles.

Trevcon won a design-build job from NYC for construction/development at Throgs Neck Bridge. With the design, it will deliver security fencing, fender systems, mooring platforms and more.
 
DuroTerra supplied 114 ductile iron piles for a 1.5-day foundation installation. After load testing, the work was done in three days. The Sioux Falls, SD, project will become Jacobson Plaza at Falls Park.
 
Foundation Equipment Services drives 60-foot, 14-inch PSC in coastal Georgia for Georgia Pacific with a Junttan.
 
Hammer & Steel has a VDH MP 70, its newest piling rig, and a Junttan rig at the Santee Cooper power station in South Carolina. See regional manager Steve Snyder's photos. Parker Marine Contracting uses the equipment to install 2,500 HP from Nucor Skyline. Meantime, S&ME, Inc. is the geotech on record.
 
OTTO Farbricators, LLC owner George Cerda continues growing the south Texas piling industry supplier. He reports having manufactured 1,500 feet of leads U32"- U26", during the last six months of 2023.
Notes from the Field
It doesn't snow in South Florida, but Island Piling and Naples area customers were inconvenienced by a snowstorm in January. They patiently waited for a crane to depart Iowa in a blizzard. We learned that it arrived late and weathered.
 
Can you ice fish in there, too? That's the first thing that comes to mind when envisioning the custom "huts" Clydesdale Steel uses for its welders to stay highly productive during extreme cold.
 
Yoga pants are in aisle 2, next to the HSS For one shopper, the local Lululemon store appeared to offer more than just yoga pants, when branded structural steel was spotted on the sales floor. A photo shows a steel beam from Atlas Tube in full display. Put the retailer's visual marketers on the payroll!
 
Imitation is the highest form of flattery Music fans may know Wu Tang Clan, a NYC-based hip hop group, cofounded by Gary Grice in the 1990s. Grice, also known as GZA, does solo work, too. His branding on solo albums adopts the Boston-based GZA GeoEnvironmental logo.
 
NASCAR looms large in North Carolina culture can hockey follow its lead? There's a NASCAR Hall of Fame, legends' hometowns and big race events full of corporate branding. Hockey culture is more prevalent up north, but the NHL has adopted a NASCAR staple of uniform sponsorships. New this season, the Carolina Hurricanes are the 11th team to make those available, and are now brought to you by Nucor
The Carolina Hurricanes
Don't skate past the deadline! Several members are already preparing submissions for the 2024 PDCA Project of the Year Awards program. All entries are due to PDCA no later than close of business on April 5. This is one month sooner than previous years. Entries must be provided to PDCA by electronic file share, if you need one, email matt@piledrivers.org.

A Project of the Year Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a PDCA member. For that reason, and because of the significant levels of interest the program has received in recent years, PDCA is excited to hold a special awards ceremony after IFCEE in May to honor last year's winners. If you are going to IFCEE, and you should, plan to stick around on the closing day (May 10) to help us celebrate the 2023 winners.

Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - January 2024

View in web browser
A Pile of News: January 2024
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 Jan. 2, 2024
Top of the Pile Happy new year! We wish you success, prosperity, health, safety, professional development, market growth and security in 2024. Let's start with a few reminders:
  • Members: Please remit your annual dues today. If you didn't get an invoice, contact PDCA.
  •  
  • ICYMI: The latest PileDriver magazine dropped in December. If you missed it, you missed a lot...
  •  
  • Readers of PDCA publications who are not PDCA members, consider enrolling as a member to support the driven pile industry. Your dues fund collective efforts to promote the pile driving industry; when everyone pitches in a little, everyone benefits. JOIN PDCA TODAY.
  •  
  • New in 2024 Qualified government employees and academics are eligible to join PDCA at no cost. Consider lending your important perspectives to PDCA as a new member. 
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
You Win
News from PDCA Companies
Giving back:
Recognitions:
Acquisitions & expansions:

Anniversaries:
  • Canal Barge Company, Inc. celebrates 90 years as a family-owned, independent marine transportation company based in New Orleans. Since its 1933 founding by Joseph Merrick Jones, it has grown from one barge acquired for $10K during the Great Depression, to an international marine service provider offering over 800 tank, hopper and deck barges and 43 towboats. President Merritt Lane pledges that its people will continue to make the difference at CBC into the future.
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Ronnie Hobgood joins the Louisiana team at Omega Foundation Services as a new driver.
  •  
  • David Fasci, Scott Langford, Colby Smith have all been elevated to assistant project managers at Houston-based Russell Marine LLC.
  •  
  • Daren Franks is promoted to regional sales manager North America at Lodge Lumber Co., where he has served in sales for nearly 23
  • years.
  •  
  • Justin Miller rejoins American Engineering Testing as manager of the geotech group, charged with leading the group's growth in size, depth and expertise. Also, a realignment makes president David Rettner, P.E. chief growth officer and CFO Kate Marcotte chief operations officer.
  •  
  • Shana Carroll, P.E. is the new president at D.W. Kozera, Inc. in Baltimore. With 21 years of industry experience, she expects "continued success as an MDOT DBE/MBE/SBE certified firm."
  •  
  • Sam Filisko joins the ECS Limited Midwest Division, Paul Hernandez, P.E. in Chesapeake, VA, Jeff Yates, P.E. as geotech manager in Moorestown, NJ, and Michael Crouse in Roanoake, VA.
Recognitions:
  • Tyler Fane from C.D. Perry & Sons, Inc. in Troy, NY, shares news of his third child. Named for his grandfathers, baby Warren Patrick was born Dec. 3, weighing 7 lbs., 1 oz. and 20 inches long.
  •  
  • Emily Lucas, safety manager at Clark Construction, is a Virginia Young Professional of the Year.
  •  
  • Zachary Latka, a civil engineer at New Hampshire-based NSI Contracting, received the Heroism Award, a national honor from the Boy Scouts of America. He is credited with protecting Scouts from a large bear. Click here to read an account of his experience.
  •  
  • John Miles is the consummate sales professional at PileCo, Inc. However, until next March, he'll be moonlighting as a political campaign manager. He was spotted in rural Waller County, TX, placing campaign signs for Sandy Miles, candidate for County Constable, and his wife.
Sandy Miles for Waller County

Sending sympathies:
  • Kevin Lee Kern (66) began as a carpenter in 1981 at Corman, worked all the way up to VP, made the transition to Kokosing, retired in 2021 due to illness and passed away in November. Kevin is credited with leading a Richmond, VA, project that inspired the contractor's southern branch. He leaves behind decades worth of industry friends and protégés to carry on his rich legacy.
  •  
  • Charles Williams, Sr., a second generation operator at Mason Construction, spent 36 years with the Beaumont contractor. A stroke cut his career short, but his influence remains at Mason with third and fourth generation Williamses employed today. He passed in December and staff celebrated his life, remembering him as a top civil superintendent and elite equipment operator.
In the News
Beard Construction Group gets profiled in the Baton Rouge-based 10/12 Business Report.

Trinity Products appeared on the cable TV show Manufacturing Marvels. It highlights the St. Louis steel manufacturer's new technologies and past projects like Boston's Big Dig and the World Trade Center.

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. is part of a grant-funded team performing flood mitigation work in Conway, MA. Read about their work in the Greenfield Recorder.
On the Job
APC Construction is in Denham Springs, LA, where they built a circular cofferdam for a water treatment plant expansion. Supt. Scott West led the crews, which drove 35-foot sheets adjacent to a neighborhood.
 
Bechtel is the latest PDCA member enabling more space travel. It's contracted with NASA to build a new mobile launcher to interface with existing infrastructure at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Notable, crews access the job site using the new NASA Causeway Bridge for which GRL Engineers performed testing and pile recommendations and Orion Marine teams continue the phased construction.
 
Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring completed an emergency piling job last March to protect Foothill Road in Sunol, CA, which was compromised when storms washed out the adjacent bank. Crews installed spliced, 60-foot NZ66 steel sheets from Nucor Skyline underneath overhead lines.
 
Boh Bros. Construction mobilizes for a New Orleans development, where it will install all infrastructure. The River District Neighborhood will be home to Shell's Gulf operations, TopGolf and much more.
 
CIANBRO is building a new concrete-capped, sheet pile wall in the Santee Basin at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. It's part of an upgrade initiative to protect the campus from rising waters.
 
Clark shares insights on two of its high-profile projects in its latest publication, Superstructure. Read about its delivery of the coveted Amazon H2Q in Arlington, VA, that stands on driven piling. Also, learn about its meticulous work and preservation efforts for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum remodel.
 
Foundation Constructors crews install 20-inch pipe piles to modernize the 106-year-old Sacramento Weir, part of a $350+M USACE initiative, in conjunction with local and state flood authorities.
 
Kokosing will drive vinyl sheets to fortify a failing bulkhead at Sleepy Hole Golf Course in Suffolk, VA.
 
Poseidon Dredge & Marine used vinyl sheet pile secured by steel tie-back rods to a continuous concrete footer to deliver a homeowner in West Palm Beach, FL, a brand-new seawall for Christmas!
 
Russell Marine LLC won a TX-DOT job to reshape the Port Aransas waterfront through updates to six landing slips and other infrastructure. Crews will install 45K SF of sheet pile and 8K SF of combi-wall.
 
Scott Bridge Co. crews in Savannah, GA, are installing a rail bridge over the Dundee Canal, part of a $120M connector project that will ease access from I-516 to the Port. International Construction Equipment diesel and vibro hammers are used to drive 90-foot HP and 12,810 LF of PS concrete.

Liebherr's 470 EC-B 16 tower crane has arrived in the U.S. Kiewit assembled the first stateside unit for the Omaha, NE, library project. Also, the Switzerland-based crane manufacturer made the LRB23 that GeoStructures got for Christmas. 
 
Hammer & Steel sent Tom Maxa to consult an installation contractor in Superior, WI, on using an ABI Long Reach to drive a 2,525 ft. sheet pile wall in the relocation of a shipping terminal from Duluth, MN.
 
Haley & Aldrich performed engineering, design and monitoring services for a newly opened, 10-mile stretch of I-95 near Fredericksburg, VA, a VDOT initiative. It increased peak traffic capacity by 66%.

Industry resources:
Notes from the Field
An exclusive beer creation honors GZA GeoEnvironmental founding partners Donald Goldberg and William Zoino. Founders Finest is the 5th annual Holiday offering to firm clients and friends who received a limited shipment in December. The unique label has the likeness of the co-founders in Mad Men-style imagery. Brad Roberts, Justin Zarrella and the GZA brew crew released the company tribute in advance of its 60th anniversary.
 
The '23 holiday season is over and the music it brings is done until Thanksgiving. But we enthusiastically recommend adding the new Christmas jingle from GROUP Contractors to your 2024 holiday playlist.
 
Highway to Hell Might describe your daily commute, depending on where you live. But no classic AC/DC song can capture the commute experience Timothy Vaillancourt of Tadano America made for a recent project. The Nashville-based support tech visited South Africa, en route to Antarctica to help with a crawler crane working at the South Pole, before heading home for Christmas. Amazing pics!
 
The UGA Dawgs don't get a chance to three-peat ... but a famous bridge in their flagship city is being celebrated by the geotech community. S&ME performed a subsurface investigation of the foundation under a famous railroad trestle, now part of an Athens, GA, Rails to Trails attraction. The project won an ACEC award. R.E.M. fans recall this bridge from its picture on the band's debut album, Murmur.
 
You don't pay taxes, they take taxes, said Chris Rock. It's time to start preparing your 2023 taxes to file in April. Junttan reminds you that if you bought that new rig, or any other piece of equipment for your piling business last year, make sure to file for the IRS Tax Code Section 179 deduction.
 
What smartphone filter did they use for this photo? As the story goes, Manson Construction Co. founder Peter Manson used gold nuggets that were buried in his backyard to buy his first pile driver. Check out the vintage photo of his first rig, taken in 1905, standing tall at a marine job site in Dockton, WA.
Vintage photo of his first rig, taken in 1905
You've come a long way, baby Geotechnical instrumentation from GEOKON offers cutting-edge technology. Engineer Jeff Barrett from the New Hampshire manufacture visited Krakow, Poland, to observe its products in extreme conditions. Later, he visited a nearby salt mine to see old school monitoring techniques from the 13th century.
 
Y'all come back now, ya hear? A visit to Atlanta put us in front of a composite sheet piling supplier considering PDCA membership. We hope they join! They told us that Atlanta is nicknamed "Y'allywood" due to its growing role in movie and TV production. That checks out because Civil Engineering Magazine covered a UES project that contributes to Atlanta's place in the entertainment industry.

Thanks for reading the first 'A Pile of News' of 2024, we are happy to have you. Spread the word to your coworkers and industry colleagues who might like this content; all are welcome to subscribe at piledrivers.org by entering your email address in the prompt at the bottom of the homepage. Send us your news and we will work it in to future publications. Happy 2024!

Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - December 2023

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A Pile of News: December 2023
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, 2023
Top of the Pile
New PDCA members in Q4  Dozens of new members have joined PDCA in 2023, something we enthusiastically recognize quarterly in this space. While there is still one more month to go, as this is our last publication of 2023, we will begin the December Pile of News with a warm welcome to the following new and returning members:
  • Contractors: Cianbro Corp. in Baltimore, MD; Emeca SPE/USA in Laurel, DE; Kiewit in Omaha, NE; Semper Diving & Marine Corp. in Charlestown, MA; Wren Works in Poplar, WI
  •  
  • Associates: Energy Materials Company in Humble, TX; Foundation Equipment Services in Jacksonville, FL; Kingdom Pipe & Steel in Brenham, TX
  •  
  • Engineering Affiliates: Omega Trestle, LLC in Clearwater, FL; Professional Service Industries in Jefferson, LA
  •  
  • Students: N. Kalsariya of University of South Carolina and S. Biswas of Lamar University
  •  
  • Government: Jesse G. Rauser, P.E. of Louisiana Dept. of Transportation & Development
New member Wren Works LLC
Welcome new member Wren Works, LLC, CEO/Owner Sandy Benes pictured
The PDCA Board of Directors moved to make the organization more accessible to the governmental and academic sectors to encourage their participation and unique perspectives in PDCA committees, publications, and educational offerings. Beginning Jan. 1, an Individual Membership for qualifying personnel from academia or government employment, is available at no cost. 

Congratulations to the 2024 officers and BOD members who were elected to PDCA leadership.

IFCEE 2024 registration opens today! Secure your spot at the preeminent, triennial industry event with a large equipment show, coming to Dallas, May 710, 2024, with PDCA, ADSC, DFI and GeoInstitute.
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
  • Dec. 14: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series, FREE to members, 2 - 3 PM EST: An interactive presentation from Rick Marshall entitled Safe Working Platforms & Driven Pile Projects.
  •  
  • Jan. 2: The PDCA Project of the Year Awards Program opens for entries. Complete and return the entry (coming soon) form by April 5, 2024, for your project(s) in up to 9 categories: Land (3 levels), Marine (2 levels), Earth Retention (2 levels), Associate/Engineering Affiliate (1 level) and International (1 level).
  •  
  • Jan. 10: PDCA Libations with Leadership at Rosen Centre in Orlando, FL, 5:30 - 7:30 PM. The first regional reception of 2024, held in conjunction with the PDCA Board's annual strategic planning. The FREE event is open to members and non-members, sponsorships are available.
  •  
  • Jan. 19: PDCA South Carolina Chapter Oyster Roast in Charleston, SC. It's a celebrated tradition for East Coast pile drivers, but all industry practitioners are encouraged to attend this FREE family event at Palmetto Pile Driving. Fresh, steamed oysters prepared on site, other food options, spirits, a bonfire, indoor/outdoor accommodations, fellowship and more, thanks to wonderful sponsors.

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
  • The PDCA Maryland Mixer elicits sentiments about "the band getting back together." Attendees recall the days of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter during a generously sponsored reception in Odenton.
  •  
  • The Texas Chapter picks Condon Verble as 2024 president; Mickey Thatcher succeeds Verble as VP. Members discussed developing quality educational initiatives in the final 2023 meeting.
  •  
  • The PDCA Engineers Driven Pile Institute assembled deep foundations professionals in Baltimore to gain insights from renowned veterans Jerry DiMaggio, Pat Hannigan and Van Komurka.
  •  
  • The South Carolina Chapter gathers to celebrate scholarship winner Cadet Leckelt from The Citadel, recognize other awardees, hear a technical program, and elect new president Kent Parker and 2024 leadership. 
  •  
  • The Gulf Coast Chapter hosts final 2023 meeting at Golden Nugget Casino in Biloxi, MS. Members pick 2024 officers, Tony Sepulvado, Scott Williams, Tyler Roberts and Beau Haydel.
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  • The Northeast Chapter had their final meeting of 2023. Members and guests enjoyed networking, dinner and a tech presentation, followed by a casino night with no-cash gaming.
  •  
  • PDCA members played prominent roles in the DFI Annual Conference in Seattle. In addition to attendees, presenters and exhibitors, Katherine Petek was technical co-chair and Greg Canivan and Seth Hamblin chaired the Driven Pile Committee meeting.
  •  
  • The PDCA Communications Committee updates PDCA social media protocols to enhance the organization's presence on LinkedIn. Chair Jason Moore and committee member Amy Christiani led efforts to establish a Style Guide and Submission Guidelines.
Contest winner with #PDCADriven hashtag
Congratulations, Greg B., 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
Acquisitions & expansions:
  • Russell Marine, LLC expands to the U.S. East Coast, with a new North Charleston, SC-based office. From there, senior project manager Sean Vandedrinck will lead on delivery of marine, upland piling and rail projects from Norfolk, VA, down to Tampa, FL, to include strategic jobs in the Upper Caribbean.
  •  
  • Foundation Constructors is strategically marketing piling and other services to grow business in Arizona and Nevada; the California contractor launched a great looking new website to help.
  •  
  • Seismic Surveys, LLC continues transition to a new partnership with Sauls Seismic. President Patrick Hastings, Jr. updates social media users about their growing Texas presence.

Giving back:

Recognitions:

Governmental relations:
  • Nucor has broken ground for the anticipated new steel sheet mill in Apple Grove, WV. Learn about the ceremonial event, which brought political heavyweights Gov. Justice, U.S. Sens. Manchin and Capito, and other high-profile parties.
  •  
  • Shannon & Wilson, Inc. performed subsurface exploration at an old mine and associate Matthew Grizzell was invited by the State of Colorado to contribute in a technical briefing to U.S. Interior Sec. Haaland and U.S. Rep. Peterson
  •  
  • Tectonic crews built a new bridge traffic system on I-95 in Westport, CT; after a news conference unveiling it, company president Don Benvie, SVP Jeffrey Scala and Brian Mercure, P.E., stood for a photo with Gov. Lamont.
  •  
  • TRC Companies, Inc. is part of a USDOE-chosen consortium working to establish a new clean hydrogen hub in Appalachia. Company VP Denise Brinley attended a Morgantown, WV, event featuring U.S. Energy Sec. Granholm and U.S. Sen. Manchinto celebrate the community's selection as a hub.
  •  
  • Clydesdale Steel joined a small group of participants in the New Jersey capital to discuss needs and concerns in the burgeoning offshore wind industry with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and other stakeholders.

Anniversaries
  • Bechtel Corporation celebrates a big anniversary this year. However, company leadership is focused on imagining the next 125 years! Check out the company's Impact Report, a publication featuring chair/CEO Brendan Bechtel and president/COO Craig Albert, which gives an overview of the impact the global builder has made on our society, while always keeping an eye on the future.
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Will resumes his role as training and safety manager at Baker GCI in Baton Rouge, following a one-year sabbatical to Africa where he assisted native communities in developing trades programs.
  •  
  • Cameron Sunseri is the new sales rep for Associated Pile & Fitting, replacing the recently retired Judy Pomo. He started in June this year and splits time between the Carolinas and New Jersey.
  •  
  • Christine Fournier, a past contributor to PileDriver, joins CZM Foundation Equipment marketing.
  •  
  • Vivian Makar is a new piling sales rep at Service Steel Warehouse, serving the U.S. West Coast.
  •  
  • Ashleigh Hales, P.E., named new civil engineering manager at ESP Associates in Raleigh, NC.
  •  
  • Cameron Nations, P.E., was appointed VP of special projects at Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, PLLC.

Recognitions:
In the News

Industry resources:
  • Construction Superintendent published an October article entitled "Construction Employment Rises in 43 States & D.C." Thanks to Belin Wills at Aggregate Technologies, Inc. for the share.
On the Job
APC Construction, LLC successfully installed 12"x 55' pipes for a new Caesars hotel in downtown NOLA, completing Phase 1. The work continues in 2024, but it's unclear if it'll be before or after Mardi Gras.

Blue Iron Foundation & Shoring uses a PVE Equipment USA vibro for cofferdam sheet pile removal. The partnership between PDCA members also appeared when the contractor announced the first job for its new 170K lb., 1K+ HP, long-reach pile driving rig featuring a PVE Equipment hammer attachment.

CS Marine Constructors, Inc. has taken on a role in the Marine Improvement Project at the Port of Los Angeles. It'll bring barges and cranes to help remove and repair timber and PS concrete piling.

Dissen & Juhn and its crew replaced a bulkhead and installed a floating dock for Annapolis, MD, and earned a kind endorsement of their job site etiquette from the waterfront neighbors.

Island Piling, Inc. receives a powerful endorsement from a Ft. Myers Beach, FL, homebuilder, for its work installing piling, complete with an on-site seismologist, for a new residential development.

Omega Foundation Services wins a $2.7M sheet piling project near Boutte, LA. Teams will also perform clearing, grubbing and bank stabilization for the Primrose Canal.

PRECO-MSE partnered with Kiewit to finish an important phase of the Ottawa Light Rail Transit improvement in the Canadian capital. Fittingly, the project team celebrated at a Senators hockey game. One social media user says a T-shirt produced for the event is "The best piling shirt I've seen!!!"
Special pile driving t-shirts












Special pile driving t-shirts commemorating PRECO-MSE/Kiewit job in Ottawa, QC

SUS crews work on Sparrows Point, MD, job, where their ICE-International Construction Equipment hammer stays busy, driving and pulling. See video of their crane barge passing under the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge as it is departs for another day on the waterfront job.

GeoQuip provided the HPSI hammer used to install JD Fields & Co. steel sheet pile for a 1,400-foot seawall at the Carbide Dock port facility in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.

Tadano marketing guru Patrick Snow is supposed to make company cranes look good. He delivered in a recent LinkedIn campaign for the crawler crane, where he shows machines on job sites using mounted American Piledriving Equipment, HPSI and ICE hammers!

ESP Associates, Inc. joined City of Charleston, SC, officials to break ground on the $72.6M Ashley River Crossing Project. The highly unique initiative features a 4,100-foot-long bridge helping connect Florida to Maine, in the East Coast Greenway. All of that is beyond its significant impact on local infrastructure.

GRL Engineers, Inc. is on the construction roster for the Downtown Tampa Interchange Project in Florida. The contractor shares photos of an ICE-International Construction Equipment hammer installing H-pile from JD Fields & Co.
Planes, Trains, Automobiles...Drones and Horses?
If a visit to the world-famous Flora-Bama is a holiday tradition in your family, your future holds a new and improved drive across the State Route 161 bridge in Orange Beach. Through a contract with ALDOT, Scott Bridge Co. will begin rebuilding the bridge once it is through the procurement process.

London Calling  Drone imagery is valuable to construction. Dawson Construction Plant in the UK shares an aerial view of its Milton Keynes factory. The drone pilot avoids flying 54 miles southeast, and clear of Buckingham Palace airspace because Dave Brown doesn't want an angry call from King Charles.

Razing Arizona  Haley & Aldrich will lead a big clean-up under the tarmac at Arizona's Kingman Municipal Airport. It involves evacuating 40,000 cubic yards of hazardous waste consisting of smelted airplanes that were decommissioned after aerial combat in WWII. H&A promises updates on this job. 

Can this train take you to where the puck is going to be? The City of Edmonton has a new option for transportation to Oilers games. Bechtel president Darren Mort says a new transit system it built through a partnership "rivals other world-class cities." The new development is worthy of a celly!

Let's go bowling! AAC leader SMU plays tomorrow for a conference title and awaits its bowl game assignment. The Mustangs have dominated behind stars like JD Fields-sponsored WR Roderick Daniels, Jr.

Thanks for reading the final installment of A Pile of News for 2023, we will be back with more musings about members in January. Remember, keep sharing your news with us! We appreciate your support and participation in PDCA. Until January 2, 2024, we wish you a happy and safe Holiday Season.
 

Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - November 2023

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A Pile of News: November 2023
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 Nov. 1, 2023
Top of the Pile PileDriver magazine, Issue 5 2023 dropped in October. C.J. Mahan Construction Co. graces the cover for a story about a job in Brandenburg, KY, where they installed nearly 84K linear feet of driven piles to found a new steel mill for Nucor. Last month, leadership at the steel giant hosted Gov. Beshear, State Sen. Meredith, and many others to formally open the new facility.

Voting opens today for the 2024 PDCA Board of Directors. Ballots are en route to eligible members' inboxes, and due back to PDCA by Nov. 30.

IFCEE 2024 is May 7 - 10, and sponsors/exhibitors may secure space now; attendee registration opens Dec. 1.
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
Nov. 8: Northeast Chapter Dinner, Casino Night at Campino Restaurant, Newark, NJ, 6 PM Event includes a piling technology presentation by Matt Eastburn of Junttan USA, then non-cash gambling.

Nov. 9: Gulf Coast Chapter Q4 Meeting, Golden Nugget Casino, Biloxi, MS, 5:45 - 8 PM Chapter members hold a networking reception, then meet to elect the leadership team for 2024.

Nov. 9: South Carolina Chapter Q4 Dinner Meeting, Town & Country, Charleston, 6 PM Be there for the annual 'Mac' Nigels Scholarship presentation to a worthy student at The Citadel.

Nov. 15 - 16: Engineers Driven Pile Institute (EDPI), Hilton Baltimore (MD) Airport This two-day program strives to enhance pile driving education for mid-level engineers. 15.5 PDH available.

Nov. 16: The Maryland Mixer PDCA reception, Crooked Crab Brewing, Odenton, MD, 5:30 - 7:30 PM  A FREE industry event for PDCA members, non-members, with networking, food, drink and a short program. EDPI attendees welcome, so are pregamers for Ravens v. Bengals TNF!

Nov. 16: Texas Chapter Q4 Meeting, Spindletap Brewery, Houston, 4 PM Agenda to include officer elections, chapter updates, sharing in success of inaugural golf tournament.

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
New chair takes the reins to the PDCA Technical Committee: Mohamad Hussein of GRL Engineers, Inc. aspires to lead the panel "with state-of-the-art technical work to help advance the state of the practice."

Dynamic Testing & Analysis Taught in Cleveland: The Biannual DFDTA took place Oct. 11 - 13 at the offices of Pile Dynamics, Inc. in Cleveland, PDCA's partner in this repeating educational seminar and workshopIf you missed it, watch your inbox for spring and fall dates in 2024.

Cheers! To New England Pile Drivers (PHOTOS) was a lively and productive PDCA reception in Massachusetts. Brad Roberts of GZA GeoEnvironmental said at the night's end, "That was so good, how do I join again?" A non-profit should be able to make this happen, right?
#PileDriven winner
Congratulations, Keith Meitzler, 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
Acquisitions & expansions:
Sealevel Construction Inc. enhances its marine practice with the addition of 265 acres of waterfront property along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Bourg, LA, south of Thibodaux.

South Shore Pile Driving grows out of its existing Marshfield, MA, HQ and is building a new facility nearby on a 1.5-acre lot with a 60 x 120 shop and yard space for pile stock.

Equipment Corporation of America now serves the Midwest from a new Sturtevant, WI, shop, between Chicago and Milwaukee, off West I-94. Mgr. John Devine could use "a tech or two."

Junttan enters partnership with Leica Geosystems to advance digitization of piling construction.

Schnabel Engineering grows its tunnel engineering practice by acquiring Boston-based JCK Underground.

Shannon & Wilson opens in Denver; City of Wheat Ridge leadership helps cut the ribbon.

Thomas & Hutton opens a new office in Summerville, SC its second Charleston-area facility.

Giving back:
Bowen Engineering golf event nears $500K in funds raised over eight years. The Evansville, IN, office hosted the charitable tourney for the local CASA, the haul for 2023 was an impressive $86K.

C.J. Mahan Construction Company sent a foursome and sponsored the Hole-In-One contest at a Chillicothe, OH, golf outing, benefitting a local youth drug prevention program.

Scott Bridge Company recalls a tragedy that employee Erica and her family experienced in 2019, when an EF-4 tornado ripped through their Central Alabama home. While no one was hurt, their lives were upended. WATCH Erica describe the support from her employer during the tragedy.

Veit contributed to Children's Minnesota by sponsoring Minnesota Contractors Association Day. The event educated kids and families about the construction industry with hands-on activities.

BAUER Equipment America assembled a group of staff from its Conroe, TX, facility to compete in the YMCA Dragon Boat Challenge, an event that raised more than $95K for Y programming.

ESP Associates, Geosyntec are among supporters of Catawba Lands Conservancy in Charlotte.

S&ME, Inc. brought a strong contingency of staff, their families and their pups out to the Triangle Heart Walk in Raleigh, NC, raising more than $9K for the American Heart Association.

Recognitions:
Cajun Industries lands on the 2023 list of America's Safest Companies as compiled by EHS Today. The Baton Rouge-based contractor prioritizes its people and public trust.

McCarthy Building Companies, Aggregate Technologies, Inc. among the Houston area PDCA members to win safety commendation as Zero Lost Time Awardees from a local industry group.

Orion brought home the Company Award when a coalition of dredging and marine constructors gathered in Washington, DC for the annual Leadership in Safety Awards Dinner (CDMCS).

Nucor Skyline and Service Steel Warehouse were among many companies involved in the emergency rebuild of Florida's Sanibel Causeway, following regional devastation from 2022's Hurricane Ian. This is one of several projects up for a national award being presented Nov. 16.

Governmental relations:
GROUP Contractors visited Capitol Hill with a Louisiana construction delegation to brief lawmakers on issues facing Bayou State builders. They met with Members of Congress including Sen. Cassidy and Reps. Graves and Letlow. They also met LA Rep. Johnson, who unexpectedly catapulted to the position of Speaker of the House, shortly after this visit.

And that's just one instance of newly-minted Speaker Johnson's connection to the pile driving industry. We learned that he and PDCA past president Scott Callaway of Cajun Industries are both Shreveport, LA natives and were groomsmen together in a wedding 25 years ago. We have the exclusive photo, below:
Future PDCA President and Future Speaker of the U.S. House
Veit earns municipal proclamation from Rogers, MN. Mayor Ihli presents corporate counsel Peter Williams recognition of Veit's 42 years of "contributions" to the Minneapolis-area town.

Meever USA
manager Dawn Kieffer was spotted at a re-election event for Clerk Green, a Florida court official. She wasn't seeking to influence the justice system, just supporting a friend.😉

Anniversaries
Walters Marine Construction reaches 35 years in business, driving piles in southern New Jersey; the Ocean View, NJ-based team has completed numerous seaside and other waterfront projects.
People on the Move
Transitions:
Jean Luc Sebudandi has joined Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman Inc. in Branford, CT, as a project EIT.

Ty Akin onboards with the C.J. Mahan safety team; he's a spring '23 grad from Murray State.

Courtney Fournet appointed new corporate counsel at Cajun Industries in Baton Rouge.

Edgar Romo is a new senior PM at Forefront Deep Foundations in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Kelly Blythe, P.E. named new project sponsor at Manson Construction Co. in California.

Ben Eccles joins the team at Mason Construction as a new BDM for Beaumont, TX contractor.

Sean Vandedrinck is a new senior PM at Houston-based Russell Marine; with high profile international and U.S. experience, he assumes operational leadership for Russell's East Coast endeavors.

Jim Gould, steel sales veteran, joins the team at JD Fields & Co.

Michael Leal elevates to regional sales manager Gulf Coast at Lodge Lumber.

Mohamad Hussein, P.E., named executive director of global industry relations at Pile Dynamics, Inc. and GRL Engineers, Inc.

Austin Dabbs of Anchorage-based CRW Engineering Group earned his P.E. license. 

Jordan Patterson, a geotech staff PM at ECS Limited in Roanoke, VA, obtained his EIT.

Benjamin Stephens, P.E., a PM at Geo-Technology Associates in Maryland, has earned his P.E.

Recognitions:
David Mueller, P.E. from event host Richard Goettle, Inc. and Daniel Woeste, P.E. from Geosyntec Consultants presented to a Cincinnati gathering of geotechs.

Tenari Tauvao of Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, and his wife Melanie, joined thousands of disaster workers to help victims of Hawaiian wildfires; read their firsthand report from Maui.

Mark Johnson, Cameron Toups, Zachary Pelton represented their employer Russell Marine, which was awarded for safety practices in the Texas Gulf region.

John Wysockey of Thatcher Foundations gave the keynote address at a Chicago ASCE event.

Allie Brady, a PM at Veit, is a social media influencer for her LinkedIn demonstration of the five critical pieces of PPE. This online celebrity attended PDCA's April networking event in Chicago.

Chris Allen from Aggregate Technologies, Inc. was part of the foursome to win a Houston-area competitive clay shoot. The winners each received an attractive belt buckle trophy.

Matt Scerbak, manager at Associated Pile & Fitting in Clifton, NJ, begins year 44 at the company. Congrats to Matt, also a longtime volunteer in leadership at the PDCA Northeast Chapter.

Kevin Gooch reaches 40 years at Bull Moose Tube in MO; staff celebrated him with BBQ and cake.

Graham Wogan of Canal Barge Co. "inspired" and presented "pearls of wisdom" to students at the University of New Orleans supply chain, operations, and logistics class.

Leon Topalian, CEO at Nucorelected chair of the World Steel Association Board for 2023/24. 

Ben Cody, P.E. of Eustis Engineering in New Orleans was celebrated as Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year during the Louisiana Engineering Conference. Firm president Gwen Sanders, P.E. moderated a session and Patrick Thurmond, P.E. and James Williams, P.E. were presenters.

Sam McCachern, Thomas & Hutton CEO, inducted into Junior Achievement Georgia Hall of Fame.

Aneesh Goly explores AI, IoT and other issues found at the intersection of construction and technology. The Smart Structures president publishes Smart Infrastructure Hub weekly.

Mark Wilson (35 years) and David Barwick (32 years) reach significant employment anniversaries at Southern Earth Sciences, Inc.; both gentlemen hail from the Tallahassee, FL, office.

Newsmakers:
Marty Brodnax, the Baton Rouge-based Baker GCI president, shares his perspectives with ENR: A Commitment to Quality.

Robert Moser, CEO at Clark Construction, spoke with The Washington Business Journal, where he discussed filling an industry-wide, labor shortage. A key, he says, is supplier diversity.

Chia Wang, president at Gerdau North America, participates in a steel industry CEO Huddle and projects "optimism for economic resiliency" when asked to comment on a potential recession.

Jay Fields, CEO at JD Fields & Co., which hosted PDCA for a September on-location webinar broadcast from his office, was selected as a Houston Man of Style in October's Modern Luxury magazine.

Bethanne Mashburn owns steel piling processor The Loren Group in Birmingham, but the serial entrepreneur has other interests, like an Alabama bowling center. Her creativity there caught the notice of a bowling industry magazine, BCM, which put Mashburn on the October cover.

Berk Turkel, Ph.D. from Geosyntec Consultants coauthored a paper published by ASCE entitled Semiempirical Model of Vibration-Induced Ground Deformation Due to Impact Pile Driving.

Industry resources for government contractors:
Wendy Salazar, Trey Camet at Baker GCI co-author a resource to guide owners who seek full tax benefits for clean energy projects, available from the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Ed Bisono at ASAP Group shares an article analyzing state allotments in federal infrastructure law funds; READ: $61B for Roads, Bridges Released See How Much Your State Gets.
On the Job
Blue Iron Foundation & Shoring forms a cofferdam with steel sheet piling, part of a new wastewater control facility for the City of Stockton, CA, utility authority.

GROUP Contractors has a full plate to close out 2023; it reports 15 projects between East Texas and Western Mississippi, five of which involve the deep foundations team.

Hal Jones Contractor has a crew at St. Augustine Beach, FL, installing steel sheets from Nucor Skyline with an ABI from Hammer & Steel to form a new bulkhead in an area that battles beach erosion.

R. Kremer & Son Marine Contractors shows off its latest bulkhead in Brick Township, NJ, which is constructed using 475 flat panel vinyl sheets.

Richard E. Pierson Construction Co. Inc. preps the job site where they will construct new bridges on concrete piling for a bypass coming soon to Millboro, DE.

SJ Hamill Construction keeps the schedule installing a public combi-wall for the City of Savannah with a GeoQuip, Inc. hammer and JD Fields & Co. steel. 

Equipment Corporation of America sent a GeoQuip HPSI 300 XL to a North Wildwood, NJ, beachfront lifeguard station where a crew installed an emergency pile wall to prep for Tropical Storm Ophelia.

JD Fields & Company offers two free tech seminars, both offer 3.5 PDH. Click the links to register:
ESC Steel LLC was on island time to show its marine piling fenders at the Dipolog Port in the Philippines. The company also provided Type IV SY295 sheet piles in 12- and six-meter lengths for this job.

Jinnings Equipment, also on island time, was spotted driving spun concrete piles in St. Thomas USVI.

Pileco shows off a D70 driving steel pipe from Nucor Skyline at Galveston's Cruise Terminal in Texas.
Notes from the Field
East Coast rappers, the next generation It's mad rhymes and timber pile installation for Connecticut-based Norwalk Marine Contractors; notice America's first Junttan rig on site, dropping the beat. #IYKYK.

Parental discretion advised Consumers of media know that warnings can exist for content they find on television, online and elsewhere. As we scoured the interwebs in October for news from PDCA members for this publication, we noticed a highly unusual warning. In a post about its new website congrats! Southern Earth Sciences cautions browsers about "traces of excessive engineering charisma."

Picture to burn Skip this if you're exhausted by ubiquitous reporting on the love life of power couple Swelce. Like it or not, it gets attention, and one PDCA member company recognizes that. The new social media campaign for intern recruitment at GeoEngineers, Inc. used the power of Taylor Swift's picture, cheering from the suite at a Chiefs game, to get the attention of prospective Swifties...er, interns.

Be true to your school Two current PDCA members were Yellowjackets in high school. BOD member Mike Juneau of Premier Geotech and Testing and Courtney Stricklin of Omega Foundation Services went to Denham Springs High by Baton Rouge where they were known as the Denham Jackets. Get it?

You look like fine unpstandin' young men  When your staff is at at a gun range in rural Sumpter County, FL, you might consider adopting an alternative name like, say, Equipment Corporation of 'Murica😉 Sending regards to John HayesRob Likens and Matt Shelley from ECA for supporting the Construction Angels charity.
Equipment Corporation of America sign and four men
As Americans pause this month for the annual observance of Veterans Day, we are reminded of the sacrifices that the men and women in uniform have put forth for the past 247 years. This reflective day falls this year on Saturday, Nov. 11. In wartime and peacetime, the U.S. Armed Forces have been a consistent shield against rogue actors seeking to cause the nation harm, strip its freedoms, or breach in any way, the uniquely American way of life. PDCA thanks our Veterans.
 
Each month, we compile this publication by gleaning relevant news items from PDCA member web and social sites. Not a month goes by where we don't encounter a member's salute to America's military, whether it is a Veterans' cause, support for those on active duty, helping Vets who are disabled or facing dire circumstances, and even providing support to military-adjacent families. A recent example, Orion Marine sponsored the Virginia Beach Seabee golf event for youth education initiatives. We make a point to highlight some of these instances each month. And in November, we send our sincerest appreciation to those of you who have sacrificed a portion of your life for your country.

Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - September 2023

A Pile of News: September 2023
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 Sept. 1, 2023
Top of the Pile PileDriver magazine reveals winners of Project of the Year Awards. Click to read about each project. Meantime, congratulations to these winning entrants who persevered in stiff competition:

Forefront Deep Foundations (Land: Less than $1M) 
Texas Pile (Land: $1M-$5M) 
R.E. Pierson Construction Co. (Land: Over $5M)  

Cape Romain Contractors, Inc. (Marine: Less than $5M) 
Pacific Pile & Marine (Marine: Over $5M)
Richard Goettle, Inc. (Earth Retention: Less than $5M) 
ASAP Group (Earth Retention: Over $5M) 
Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, Inc. (Associate/Engineering Affiliate) 
 
Looking ahead your pile driving project completed by Dec. 31, 2023, is eligible for entry in the 2024 program; the submission period will open in January. Start thinking about it! 
 
Speaking of 2024 check your PDCA account at piledrivers.org and make necessary changes to your personnel, contact information, etc. We want your entry in the 2024 PDCA Membership Directory to be accurate.
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars:
Sept. 12: Texas Chapter Golf Tourney, Hermann Park Golf Course, 8:00 AM As a kickoff to DICEP in Houston, join the Texas Chapter for a morning of golf. SOLD OUT.

Sept. 1213: DICEP 2023 The annual technical conference is at the Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria. Hear from industry experts and earn up to 8.5 PDHs at the 1.5-day event.

Sept. 14: Value Driven Webinar Series, 23 PM EDT  a presentation from JD Fields & Co. and Gerdau entitled Heavy Highway/Bridge Infrastructure Webinar DOT Piles.

Sept. 28: Cheers! to New England Pile Drivers, Waltham, MA, 5:307:30 pm A FREE networking happy hour at Cooper House Tavern, open to the pile driving industry. Sponsorships available.

Oct. 1113: DFDTA in partnership with Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI) at PDI Cleveland offices.

Nov. 1516: Engineers Driven Pile Institute (EDPI) at the Hilton Baltimore Airport, registration is OPEN!

To see a list of upcoming events, including PDCA committee meetings, visit the Events Calendar.

Immediate Need: volunteers for the Board at Pacific Coast Chapter: interested parties in the pile driving industry in the western U.S. are encouraged to Contact Chapter Pres. Dermot Fallon. Board members assist in annual, successful clay shoot, scholarship program, and more.

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
PDCA on the Road Louisiana: see a collection of photos and observations from member visits.

Gulf Coast Chapter Clay Shoot Hot temps, hotter competition; who won and who was there?

South Carolina Chapter honors Andrea Edwards; assembles under VP Pete Adams.

Northeast Chapter raises educational funds during annual sporting clays event.
Congratulations, Greg B., 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
Acquisitions & expansions:
HF Darling Inc. expands marketing and launches its new website. The octogenarian piling and shoring company in Tonawanda, NY, is also on LinkedIn with plenty of company news and job site photos.

Lodge Lumber grows product line, now distributes JP Specialties Earth Shield Waterstop.

Trinity Products announces its third expansion of the distribution division. The new facility at 2200 Cabot Drive in Lisle, IL, doubles existing office space and other capacity.

Giving back:
Bowen Engineering Corp. donates a Day of Service to the local community through participation in the restoration of a non-profit community center serving children and families in Indianapolis.

C.D. Perry & Sons sponsored Ride With Mike, a fundraiser for an Albany, NY, cancer foundation. Mike is a two-time lymphoma survivor, construction superintendent and car enthusiast.

DFI Piling provided The Warming Tent and sugar cookies for a ball hockey tournament in Edmonton, AB, a fundraiser for mobile mammography operations at an area hospital.

Veit partnered with local labor to host 41 high schoolers from the Minnesota Trades Academy; the students toured the facilities, engaged in career panels and watched equipment in action.

Recognitions:
GROUP Contractors awarded nationally and in Louisiana for Dow Plaquemine Eagleray project.

Canal Barge Company makes the Times-Picayune list of Top Places to Work in New Orleans.

EMC Engineering Services, Inc. makes two 2023 top business lists from the Zweig Group.

Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering is a Best Place to Work in South Carolina.

Governmental relations:
Richard E. Pierson Const. crew members on the Carsonia Ave. job site in Pennsylvania were paid a visit by Sec. Carroll, State Sen. Schwank and other supporters of the Lower Alsace restoration.

Eustis Engineering provided geotechnical services for the most ambitious environmental restoration project in Louisiana; company reps joined Gov. Edwards at the groundbreaking.

GZA GeoEnvironmental staff was on hand, along with Gov. Healy, U.S. Rep. Neal and other lawmakers, for a ceremonial groundbreaking of expanded facilities for the Holyoke Veterans Home in Massachusetts; the firm is retained for geotechnical and permitting services.

Race Coastal Engineering is in a Connecticut consortium that met with Gov. Lamont and area legislators at Mystic Shipyard to discuss marine industry issues; the event earned TV coverage.

Shannon & Wilson reports that VP Michael Harney won appointment from Gov. Inslee to the State of Washington Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

Apex Steel Pipe & Piling hosts speakers who share various professional experiences with the interns. July's segment was Uvalde Mayor McLauglin, who disparaged complacency.

Anniversaries:
Tolunay-Wong Engineers marks 30 years in business in 2023 see a festive anniversary video. Founded in Houston in 1993 by Dr. Daniel Wong, who subsequently served under two Texas governors as chairman of the Board of Professional Engineers, the firm has grown to 12 offices sprinkled throughout Texas and Louisiana and has amassed a wide range of industry awards.
People on the Move
Transitions:
Daniel Sprunk elevates to senior project manager/estimator at Cajun Industries, Baton Rouge. One more: Rachel Bache, a new admin in the deep foundations offices, set a record at the August Gulf Coast Chapter clay shoot.

Gerard Chenevert assumes a new role as estimating manager at GROUP Contractors.

Alex Flynn onboards as new superintendent with HF Darling Inc.

Justin Bright onboards at Lynnhaven Marine and Dock as new field ops superintendent.

Chelsey Ullrich rises to business development coordinator for Houston, Austin at McCarthy.

Brendan Fitzpatrick promoted to president at DuroTerra, LLC.

Trip Story named new, Atlanta-based account manager for Equipment Corporation of America.

Ric Anderson, P.E., S.E. takes 15 years' experience in steel to Gerdau North America to become a new product line manager. This contributor to PDCA's CFI program in 2022 also serves in leadership at the South Carolina Chapter.

Mike Roberts returns to Jinnings Equipment as sales rep servicing Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for the Fort Wayne, IN, piling machinery dealer.

Glenn Buckley named VP/GM at Pinnacle Drilling Products, will oversee U.S. and Canadian operations.

David Schoenwolf starts a new chapter with Haley & Aldrich as senior vice president.

Jackson Vogel, Darlene Bush join Southern Earth Sciences in New Orleans and Destin, FL.

Kristen Lanier is new client development manager at the Charleston offices of Terracon.

Recognitions:
Andrew Abate, supt. at J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, coached daughter Ava's softball squad to third place in the Babe Ruth World Series! The contractor sponsored the Vineland, NJ, 12U team.

Henry Massman, CEO/pres. at Massman Construction, was elected chair of the Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT). Gayle Packer, P.E. of Terracon is one of the board members at CIRT.

Amory Scott adheres to the mission at the family business, Scott Bridge Company Inc., which is proudly Building to Serve. The VP for the contracting firm also oversees its charitable foundation. Last month, she was named to the Auburn Alumni Association 20 Under 40.

Anthony Sciortino, who leads the Boston office at Equipment Corporation of America, and his wife Kai welcome their third child; daughter Emilia June arrived July 22.

Larry and William, servicemen at Gilbert Products, win contest at lumber industry competition.

Andy Walters, a senior engineer and regional manager for American Engineering Testing, wins distinguished service award from ASCE.

Brandon Ivanowicz competed in the Juneau, AK, Aukeman Triathlon; the PND Engineers staffer finished sixth against 38 rivals. More news, Todd Belsick, P.E., VP, reaches 25 years at the firm.

Ryan Wakeford garnered royal designation and a BBQ lunch, courtesy of his Terracon colleagues in Charleston, SC, following his passage of the P.E. exam.

Dagmar Pena, Sean Leatherbuery, Regan Swift of Universal Engineering Sciences were all honored for their inspection work on a Florida roadway project.

Ryan Maloney, construction law contributor to PileDriver magazine, and three of his partners at Jimerson Birr make the cut on the annual Best Lawyers in America list.

Anthony LaPlaca made the legal list, too, along with dozens of his Seyfarth Shaw colleagues.

In Sympathy:
William S. "Bill" Zoino, P.E., co-founder of GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., passed away in July at age 91. The widely respected geotechnical engineer and dam builder was a dual grad of MIT, a Navy vet and family man. He maintained active industry involvement. GZA's CEO recalls Mr. Zoino's simple business philosophy: "Professional quality, service, family first."
On the Job
Blue Iron Foundation & Shoring brought mood lighting for nighttime pile driving on a CalTrans freeway.

Cajun Industries, LLC updates progress on a 450-pile installation for a new facility nearing 20K square feet that will become expanded space for Equipment services in Port Allen, LA.

Commerce Construction Corporation shares imagery from a waterfront improvement project it is performing in Gloucester County, NJ. Features include twelve 48-inch diameter piles and three walkway pile caps.

H.B. Fleming, Inc. installs a foundation for a subcontract on a Portland, ME, project that will become a new cold storage facility. Crews drive 550 H-piles, 180 feet, at a capacity of 1,100 kips.

Kokosing is half of the JV selected to build the Brent Spence Bridge spanning the Ohio River between Cincinnati to Covington, KY. The DOTs picked the design/builders for a $3.1B infrastructure investment.

Orion Marine updates from waterfront Tampa; it says Phase 1 of the developing Westshore Marina District is done. The job included installation of steel pipe piles to support an aluminum dock system.

Sealevel Construction is among the contractors on the front lines of Louisiana flood mitigation; its crews are making progress on the critical Bayou Lafourche pump station installation in Donaldsonville.

SJ Hamill Construction needs a pile driver foreman and other staff. Also, the Charleston, SC, contractor reminds you that it has a "big hammer," but didn't need it for crane work at the South Carolina Aquarium.

Clydesdale Steel services Meever USA with waler fabrication, exemplifying PDCA member collaboration.

JD Fields & Co. steel was installed and GeoQuip, Inc. hammers were used by crews working for the parent company of Hal Jones Contractor, on the new North Causeway Bridge in Ft. Pierce, FL.

ESP Associates, Inc. testing and inspection services team, led by Tracey Turner, finished work on a new band addition at Wando High School, just in time for the new school year.

GeoEngineers Inc. continues growing its Boston practice. Two new staff geotechs, Lisa Pavan and John McCabe, are reportedly on site at two neighboring Greystar developments near Revere Beach Parkway.

Haley & Aldrich strives to interest students in AEC jobs through their teachers. It hosted Boston Public Schools faculty for an externship, toured them on local projects and highlighted engineering roles.

UBC Pile Drivers and Divers ED Mark Benacquisto and colleagues were boat guests of clean energy proponents in New England; they visited developing offshore wind installations in the Atlantic.

Janice Graziosi of USI Insurance shares executive guidance on OSHA compliance, because, depending on your latitude, September can still bring dangerous heat and outside working conditions.
Media Hits
ENR (PAYWALL) covers the rebuild of the Port of Beaumont Terminal 1, where McCarthy replaces a critical piece of East Texas infrastructure. Robert Wood and Ryan Everette are quoted.

The Wall Street Journal (PAYWALL) reports on challenges the U.S. faces in Arctic glacial melt. Photos and video that show a Coast Guard icebreaker berthed at Juneau Cruise Ship Berths an installation PND Engineers, Inc. designed and for which the company subsequently won a 2017 PDCA Project of the Year Award.

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo gets perspectives on the steel industry during interview with Atlas Tube CEO Barry Zekelman. Among the topics: consolidation, IRA, trade, economy and more.

INC. magazine publishes a piece on succession planning; among actualities in the article is Trinity Products founder and chairman Robert Griggs, who shares his philosophy of "open book management."

Q Magazine carries a story by Tyler Swanson, intern at TRC Companies, that examines mounting tensions among stakeholders in converting traditional farmland to solar harvesting fields. Learn about Agrivoltaics, an emerging land-use technique striving for common ground among competing factions.

Ground Engineering enlightens readers on the iconic Crooked House in Britain. Renowned for its unique foundation that continues to mitigate the effects of 19th century mining. ECS Limited geotech David Wilshaw was educated nearby and recalls the pub as a hangout among his peers.

Birmingham's Talk 99.5 FM aired an interview with Richard Shea of Morris Shea Bridge Company about his founding, management and support of the Birmingham Thunderbolts Softball national youth team.
Notes from the Field
Uber for antique airplanes might be a new side-hustle for Weeks Marine. For the second time this century, it relocated The Concorde, a supersonic jet known for the fastest-ever New York to London flight (in 1996, it completed the trip in 2:52:59). Now a museum piece in NYC, it needs offsite maintenance, and Weeks' crane/barge move was the only option. The contractor also moved the iconic aircraft in 2008.

Cue up the "back when I was in school" sob stories "Ten feet of snow" never has been and never will be a challenge for Miami kids walking to school, but when the FIU students go back to their apartments after class, some will be enjoying luxurious South Florida living in this Balfour Beatty US showpiece.

At least nobody had a viral jumbotron moment An office party for the Portland, OR, staff at Shannon & Wilson, Inc. took place at the MLS game between the local Thorns FC and San Diego. Their attendance was broadcast to the stadium on the big screen scoreboard, the crowd went wild!

Clean "dad" jokes, as told by staff at TRC Companies, Inc., which apparently manages a "Dadabase."

It's not a joke that vibration data is valuable to PDCA Share scientific findings with the industry. For the uncomfortable dad humor: We can also learn from your unscientific findings; for instance how ICE International Construction Equipment, Inc. equipment pro Rick Sadler gathers data in his truck. Meet "Iwanna Leia."

As we sign off and wish you a happy and safe Labor Day weekend, we remind you that the relentless battle cry at PDCA is "A driven pile...is a tested pile." You know this, you communicate this and you practice this. At the same time, you are aware of outside forces that may attempt to diminish this long-understood reality. At PDCA, the paramount objective is to advocate for the driven pile as the preferred method of deep foundation construction. This can only be effective when we all participate and contribute to the cause. If you're not currently a PDCA member, consider supporting the only organization that elevates your voice and your passion for pile driving. Join PDCA today!
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Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

Interpipe, Inc. Wins July #PDCADriven Contest




Posted in A Pile of News PDCA Monthly e-newsletter.

A Pile of News - August 2023

A Pile of News: August 2023
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 Aug. 1, 2023
Top of the August Pile the PDCA Project of the Year Awards Program winners will be revealed in mere days. The program drew the most entries in recorded history; thanks to each of this year's entrants for your participation. Competition was fierce and you can be assured that winners in eight different categories truly represent the crème de la crème in driven pile-based deep foundations and earth retention systems. Watch your inbox for the digital edition of PileDriver magazine, coming soon. Shortly thereafter, your friendly, local mail carrier will deliver your hard copy magazine.

And on with this month's news:
From the Association & Chapters
Mark your calendars!
Aug. 10: Value Driven Webinar Series, 2 - 3 PM EDT Aaron Budge, Ph.D., P.E., of Minnesota State University presents "Fundamentals of Driven Pile Design Principles," FREE to PDCA members

Aug. 10: South Carolina Chapter dinner meeting, 6 - 9 PM EDT
at the Town and Country Inn & Suites in Charleston, SC; Jonathan Tremmier presents on a new, low overhead attachment from Pile Hammer Equipment for use on forklifts, excavators


Aug. 11: Northeast Chapter Annual Sporting Clays Fundraiser, 8 - 3 EDT
at Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays in Coplay, PA


Aug. 25: Gulf Coast Chapter meeting and clay shoot, 8 - 1 PM CDT
at Bridgeview Gun Club in Port Allan, LA. Bring shotguns, shells and your appetite, lunch and membership meeting after shoot.

Sept. 12: Texas Chapter Inaugural Golf Outing, 6:30 AM - NOON
, takes place the morning before DICEP begins nearby at noon. Regional piling industry, DICEP attendees invited to participate at Hermann Park Golf Course.


Sept. 12 - 13: DICEP 2023
 at the Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria.


Sept. 28: SAVE THE DATE
  Cheers to New England Pile Drivers, a FREE networking happy hour open to the industry, taking place at Copper House Tavern, Waltham, MA 


Oct. 11 - 13:
DFDTA in partnership with Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI) at PDI Cleveland offices


Nov. 15 - 16:
Engineers Driven Pile Institute (EDPI), a new program designed for mid-level engineers to enhance and supplement professional education as it relates specifically to driven pile foundations, Hilton Baltimore Airport


To see a list of upcoming events, including PDCA committee meetings, visit the
events calendar

News and PHOTOS from the PDCA Blog:
As we do each quarter, the Pile of News welcomes the new and returning PDCA members to recently (re)join. We gave 'em another shout-out on the PDCA blog because we value all members!

The association world thrives on relationships, and PDCA enthusiastically develops industry connections. We were proud to sponsor the Foundation & Marine Contractors Association of New England's 88th Annual Golf Outing on July 17, 2023, in Framingham, MA. Members SPOTTED.

Industry news:
National Center for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) expands testing options with the introduction of test center testing

Have you heard of the 85% rule? At face value, this may NOT be something employers advocate, but it's an interesting argument.
Congratulations, Interpipe Inc Canada, 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
Recognitions:
ASAP Group is among winners of a Florida Transportation Builders Association Safety Award.

Cajun Industries earns Houston Safety Excellence Award Silver Medal. Safety manager Seth Wilkins and PM Aaron Spaugh attended the May ceremony.

CS Marine Constructors gathered for lunch to celebrate winning the 2022 AEU Safety Award.

Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction and Terracon were both on the roster for the construction of a Utah bridge; the UDOT project earned an "excellence" award.

Canal Barge Company, Inc. named by the Times-Picayune as a Top Workplace in New Orleans.

Dewberry achieves NSF/ANSI 391.1 certification, enabling the firm to evaluate various aspects of professional services providers.

Giving back:

Balfour Beatty US facilitated a segway tour of Washington, DC, for its "monumental" Mid-Atlantic interns. They got a street view of job sites and famous landmarks.

Mason Construction repeats as a major benefactor for OATH Inc.'s Denim & Diamonds Gala, an annual event supporting veterans. This year's new location is in Richmond, TX.

McCarthy Building Companies lends its name to the new and innovative Construction Safety Lab at Collin College in McKinney, TX. Heralded as the "first of its kind in the country," the facility prepares students to excel in construction safety through hands-on learning.

J. Fletcher Creamer supports ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) research through a New Jersey golf outing; dock builder foreman Ryan Sprengel participated in the event.

Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. (GTA) supports Saucon Valley High athletes in Pennsylvania through sponsorship of a regional golf outing; see event photos of GTA's Quakertown staff.

GZA GeoEnvironmenal dispatched a volunteer team to Hampton Beach in Massachusetts, where they collected nearly 600 articles of trash as part of an annual Earth Day observance.

Acquisitions & expansions:

DFI Piling is the new corporate brand for the installer and supplier of piling products in North America, Australia and beyond. Formerly known as DFI, the Edmonton, AB-based company has adopted the brand and label change along with the tagline, "Driving Innovation."

Atlas Tube is rolling 145-foot steel pipes at its jumbo mill, reducing the need for field splicing.

ECA Canada announces the acquisition of Calgary-based Ridgeline Equipment, an aftermarket parts and service provider for heavy equipment.

Liebherr grows in Europe, announces a plan for a new production site in France.

Hoffman Equipment expands its Marlboro, NY, location through an upgraded showroom. Local ops manager Dan Shafer appreciates walk-in customers, wants visits to be a great experience.

Universal Engineering Sciences (UES) grows footprint in northern Alabama through addition of Huntsville-based GEO Solutions, LLC.
 
Governmental relations:
PND Engineers, Inc. sent EIT Alexander Li to Washington, DC, where he met Alaska U.S. Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Peltola. According to Li, "Engineers are agents of the public...and know the needs of the community," through report, design and inspection work.

UBC Pile Drivers and Divers representative Olaf Olson attended a New Jersey bill signing where Gov. Murphy bolstered regional job creation through offshore wind.
 
People on the Move
Transitions:
Denise Tullier promoted to lead the human resources and recruiting team at Baker GCI.

Laura Sesack, PE is new area manager serving Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia at GeoStructures, Inc.

Verdean Colburn, Gavin Zamora, Jose Naranjo, Kyle Apuya are among some of the newest faces at Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company.

Michael Cook, Mitch Sumstad, both promoted to SVP Civil Construction at Veit.

Charlie Rudderow named new safety manager at Richard E. Pierson Construction in New Jersey.

Billy Burrow transitions to regulatory compliance at Weeks Marine in Louisiana.

Rich Anderson elevates to VP at Equipment Corporation of America; the PDCA Membership Committee chair and past PDCA board member continues as Philadelphia branch manager for ECA. Also at ECA, Dave Schell becomes account manager Mid-Atlantic, Joel Ross is director of parts and service and Jason Church is BAUER Equipment products manager.

John Schwartz onboards as an inside sales rep at Bull Moose Tube in St. Louis.

Rick Kalson, PDCA Contracts & Risk Committee Chair and Partner at Benesch Law, has moved to the firm's Manhattan, NY office.

Recognitions:

Adrian De La Cruz is a project coordinator at the Houston office of Cajun Industries; he and his wife Cierra welcome new, 9 lb., 2.4 oz baby Jovie Blake.

D.A. Collins Family of Companies applauds work anniversaries; including David Elliott, William Hayes and Kyle Perkins who all reach the quarter-century mark.

Austen Parker, CFO at Parker Marine Contracting, began pursuit of a specialized Master of Laws in intellectual property at Cardozo Law School in New York, to supplement his J.D.

Ed Cloud wraps us 26 years at Scott Bridge Company, Inc. The longtime operator was celebrated at a company luncheon.

Leon Topalian, CEO and president at Nucor, honored with steel industry's highest award.

Dan Brown, Ph.D., of Dan Brown and Associates presented "the art and science of hole digging" at the annual dinner for the Canadian Geotechnical Society Southern Ontario Section.

Nick D'Aiuto of ICE of Carolinas named Young Professional of the Year in North Carolina.

Alexandra Weidemann Holland, a marketing practice leader at S&ME, Inc., starts a new and challenging job she becomes a working mom! Congratulations from PDCA...cute baby! More from the firm, Chuck Black who leads client development, named prez for ACEC-South Carolina.

Mindy Sayres, principal at GZA GeoEnvironmental, honors her best friend (also Mindy) by participating as a rider/fundraiser in the New England Parkinson's Ride.

Rick Kushner, P.E. reaches "dirty thirty;" Universal Engineering Sciences Florida team gathered on business but took time to celebrate the North Florida region president on three decades.

Pat DiCerbo of Northwestern Mutual finished the Happy Valley Half Ironman last month; admittedly "a little undertrained," he tells us he earned some "fans!"
On the Job
Arthur R. Henry, Inc. contributed to the new Cape May Substation Reliability project for Atlantic City Electric in New Jersey. Elsewhere in the state, its crews drove sheeting and bulkhead piles for a project supporting growth in the area's wind energy sector.

Baker GCI sees the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel in Geismar, LA, where it is completing site development, civil construction and piling for Chevron's expanded renewable diesel facility.

Bowen Engineering Corp. was limited in space when it was tasked with installing 21 H-piles for a steam valve replacement near a downtown Indianapolis hospital. Crews successfully navigated around area utilities while driving the 45-foot-long piles.

McCarthy crew members in coastal Texas recognize a milestone in their work at the Port of Beaumont  the last pile for the future Main Street Terminal was DRIVEN!

PRECO-MSE drove 550 feet of sheet pile, with an additional 336 driven piles on a complex Quebec project.
  • (Readers in the South who may have the notion that Canada is perpetually cold ahem, Mr. PDCA Communications Committee Chair note that job site reports say oppressive heat burdens the province and crews are commended for their perseverance. As your safety directors preach, take precaution in excessive heat.)

Richard Goettle, Inc. was awarded a contract to participate in the stabilization of the Irishtown Bend hillside, a vital project for the Port of Cleveland and the city's economic development. 

GeoQuip, Inc. vibro equipment is SPOTTED driving sheets for a bulkhead on Florida's Daytona Beach.

Lloyd Engineering, Inc. was part of the team to successfully complete offshore sediment sampling for the USACE Galveston District. The work is prerequisite to a potential, unnamed offshore placement.
Media Hits
ABC 30/KFSN-TV, Fresno reports on fortification of vulnerable CA power infrastructure in danger of snowmelt flooding. Foundation Constructors crews are installing sheet pile walls to surround the Alpaugh, Corcoran and Angiola power substations. News video shows an active Angiola job site, where a Liebherr loader assists the team.

The Florida Times-Union reports Weeks Marine will perform beach renourishment on the Atlantic coast; the Feds will fully fund $20.2M for USACE erosion repair work near Ponte Vedra Beach. (Paywall)

North America Outlook magazine interviews Richard Shea in a wide-ranging story touching on the history of Morris Shea Bridge Company, its deep foundations projects and other notable aspects.

Marine Construction magazine publishes a feature story on the one and only Bill Ziadie, a seasoned piling professional from American Piledriving Equipment, Inc. (APE). Vintage pics included!

KMOX Radio determined the sports crew could take a break from continuous coverage of the 2023 cellar dwelling St. Louis Cardinals, for which it serves as the flagship station, and diversify its content. They originated a show called Shift Disturbers, at McCarthy headquarters, where employee-owners appeared and educated listeners about its work, its craftsmen and its influence on the city skyline.

The Seattle Times covered a King County, WA, project that should reduce the risk of flooding and enhance salmon habitats throughout 52 acres. Shannon & Wilson, Inc. engineers Brian Reznick, P.E., Genevieve S., Stephanie Wanderer and Eric Scott provided geotechnical support to the county. (Paywall) Wait! There's more!   Anchorage Daily News reports on modern attributes in the construction of the Southcentral Power Project. This time, Shannon & Wilson, Inc. performed geotechnical design and observation. (Paywall)
Notes from the Field
The 2023 FBS college football season commences in just over three weeks and members are using social media to support their teams with shirts, hats, battle cries and more. ASAP Group sent a message showing their favorite, but it was subtle since they're based in the shadows of Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, home of The U. Nice job injecting a sneaky "Go Gators" into a post about a project, Ed Bisono!

As the Tide Rolls  Dale Miller, P.E., from the Shannon & Wilson St. Louis office, was spotted using a Crimson Tide hat to provide sun relief while fishing with colleagues in Wisconsin. Like it or not, 'Bama's got marketshare!

Yes, the B1G is relevant this season And we were thrilled to see Jeff Barlow at Weeks Marine proudly display his black and gold hat and give a "Go Hawks" in a company post from a job site. The equipment and yards manager has done unique work at Weeks, such as transporting the Space Shuttle and more.

Will this be the season of the Terps?  In its 131-year history, the University of Maryland football program boasts one National Championship (1953); does that mean they are due? Nationally-ranked RB Roman Hemby is getting hyped this preseason, though the team sits in the middle of the pack. Underrated? Meantime, the local UM fanbase will be warmed-up for tailgating festivities, the GeoTechnology Associates, Inc. Abingdon, MD office held a competitive cornhole tournament.

And if football doesn't work out, there's excitement in the College Park basketball offices. Clark Construction joined school officials, mascot Testudo, ESPN celebrity and UM grad Scott Van Pelt to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art basketball performance center, coming in 2025.

The Dawgs are looking to 3-peat  Maybe you remember the old Alan Jackson song called Chattahoochee; refresher, it was a '90's country music hit which popularized the lyric 'a burger and a grape snow cone.' Many Atlanta-area Georgia fans will need to cross that river to attend home games in nearby Athens. Of note, Thomas & Hutton consulted on the rebuild of a new bridge over the Chattahoochee River, the inspiration for the song. Building partners participated in a July ribbon-cutting ceremony on the 308-foot structure.

The few and proud If you and/or a loved one was in Bluffton, SC, or at the nearby Parris Island U.S. Marine base on July 4, chances are you got to see (or at least hear) fireworks originating from an O'Quinn Marine Construction barge. Duncan O'Quinn has put on this annual show the last 15 years.

Before we shut the door on the August Pile of News, we give a nod to creative crafters Darron, Witt and Walter of D.A. Collins Companies. The trio repurposed an antique door dating back to the 1880s that was in the Glen Falls, NY, office of Jointa Lime, a present-day Collins subsidiary that provides paving mixes. It now serves as an ornate stately desk, constructed from various components of the door and frame.

As listed above in the events section, there are a lot of opportunities for PDCA participation through chapter activity around the country. Gulf Coast and Northeast will be showing off their marksman skills and South Carolina will convene for a quarterly dinner meeting. It doesn't slow down in September as the national DICEP conference debuts in Houston, kicking off with an inaugural golf outing courtesy of the Texas Chapter. To our non-member readers, you can and should support the driven pile industry through membership in PDCA; when everybody pitches in a little, we thrive as an industry. Thanks for reading!
 
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