| A Pile of News: April 2022 |
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A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors, associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers who comprise the PDCA.
by Matt Bisbee, PDCA
Originally sent April 1, 2022 |
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| If you haven't secured your spot, it's too late to attend the sold-out 2022 PDCA Contractors Foundation Institute: The Driven Pile Academy opening Monday (4/4) in Duson, LA. The four-day program features industry-leading equipment professionals providing classroom and practical instruction on equipment use. See progress photos of site prep and set-up. If you missed the 2022 event, watch for future event announcements...then register early! Non-members should join PDCA for discounted registrations. |
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| From the Association & Chapters |
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Welcome to new and returning members that joined in the first quarter of 2022!
Contractors: Blue Iron Foundation & Shoring, Bowen Engineering Corporation, Coastal Construction & Engineering, Mohawk Northeast and RJ Gorman Contracting
Associates: Bottom Line Equipment, Clydesdale Steel, Contractor's Steel Co., Hercules Machinery Corporation and OMS Vibro Ozkanlar Grup Makina AS
Engineering Affiliates: Soil and Materials Engineering, Terracon VA and Thomas & Hutton
Mark your calendars!
- April 14, 2 - 3 PM EDT: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series Safe Working Platforms, What Can They Do For You? This monthly education program is FREE to members, $50 for non-members.
- April 21, 5:45 - 8 PM CDT: Gulf Coast Chapter Quarterly Meeting at L'Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge, LA.
- April 29, 8 AM - 3 PM PDT: Pacific Coast Chapter: Scholarship Shoot at Bird's Landing Hunting Preserve, CA. Sponsorships available; raffle prizes and lunch provided.
- May 6: Deadline to enter the PDCA 2022 Project of the Year Awards, which honor land, marine, earth retention and engineering/associate projects completed in 2021.
See photos and coverage of recent events:
The geo-congressional record:
- Proud to be a cooperating organization with the Geo-Institute, PDCA participated in the 2022 Geo-Congress event in Charlotte, NC. Several PDCA members attended; see who we spotted.
- Van Komurka, PE., D.GE, F.ASCE is a senior engineer at GRL Engineers who has a long record of guiding PDCA technical activity through his committee work, technical writings and live presentations. As we announced in an earlier edition, Komurka earned the 2022 Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award, which was presented at Geo-Congress. Another technical leader at PDCA, William M. Camp, III, P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE of S&ME, Inc. served as the congress chair.
News items of interest:
- Site Selection Magazine shares new data depicting top U.S. cities' construction investment. Measured growth reveals a surging Rust Belt/Middle America, reversing recent trends.
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Timothy Dutton of Junttan USA Inc., you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of April to claim your prize! |
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Acquisitions & expansions:
Governmental relations:
- The Nucor steel mills in Utah, Texas, Florida and Missouri were destinations for elected officials in March; U.S. Sen. Romney, U.S. Reps. Sessions and Foxx and Lt. Gov. Kehoe met with Nucor personnel and toured facilities in those states.
Recognitions:
Giving back:
Anniversary:
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Transitions:
- Leonard Braud retires as project superintendent at GROUP Contractors after 20 years with the Baton Rouge-based company, and more than 40 in the industry.
- Jim Frias to retire in June as CFO/EVP at Nucor; Steve Laxton named successor in March.
- Blake Burley joins the team at APC Construction, LLC as senior project manager.
- Tyler Scott has begun as a Denver-based senior engineering recruiter for Kiewit.
- Jacob Chaparro joins Weeks Marine in the rotational accelerated development program.
- Kelsey Gunter departs her marketing post serving Bauer/ECA; best of luck on new challenges!
- Nick Darlage named new director of projects at Engineered Rigging.
- Sarah Marshman elevates to service manager at Equipment Corporation of America in Boston.
- Chris Barberi, Noel Gibbings move into sales roles at Flexicore of Texas following industry departure of long-time sales rep Cary Hazard.
- Stephen Geraci, P.E., CHMM elevates to SVP, subsidiary manager at ECS Limited in the Southwest.
- AJ Davis, Jr., Brian Awckland, Randy Daub (PA offices) and Matthew Hartman (Laurel, MD office) promoted to associates at Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.
- Danny Hines reaches 21 years at Southern Earth Sciences in Mobile; Brad Bertucci rejoins the firm in New Orleans.
Recognitions:
- Katie Semach, P.E. presented the Diamond Award from Orion Marine Group for technical engineering accomplishments in Southeastern U.S. and Caribbean in the past year.
- Brian Maas, ECS Southeast VP, joins the North Carolina Leukemia & Lymphoma Society leadership council.
- David Lee, PLS of ESP Associate, Inc., selected as 2022 president-elect of North Carolina Society of Surveyors.
- James Massey, a technician at Junttan USA, earns international honor for his craft.
- Alexandra West Jeffries, a senior engineer at PND Engineers earns a slew of honors, including 40 Under 40 distinction from a major news publication in Alaska. She's even won a patent.
Congratulations!
In memoriam:
- Tim McGowan, a transformational figure in deep foundation construction and a past member of the PDCA Pacific Coast Chapter, passed away in January. He leaves a giant footprint of recognizable work on an international level; click here to learn about his impressive life.
- David Pierce, P.E., S.E., was a veteran engineer and mentor to colleagues throughout the Pacific Northwest. A past president at PND Engineers, he lost a year-long cancer battle in February.
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ASAP Group installs sheet piling from Samuel Roll Form Group for the Miami International Airport Taxiway Apron; notably, an American Airlines employee recorded video of ASAP's vibro at work!
Boh Bros. Construction conducts an assembly line at their waterfront yard to fabricate a dock for a Mississippi River industrial facility. See video of the assembly process.
Caldwell Marine International is among several contractors in the North Atlantic that have become involved in the burgeoning offshore wind industry. Here, they work with other stakeholders to transport cabling.
Orion Marine Group wins largest contract ever ($125M) in the Tampa division for demolition and replacement of two bascule bridges spanning the NASA Causeway in Titusville, FL. The new construction will include installation of 113,000 linear feet of 30-inch prestressed high moment capacity concrete piles.
Pile Drivers, Inc. completed the Legacy Apartments in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Many PDCA members assisted: Parker Marine; Palmetto Pile Driving; Essve Tech; S&ME, Inc.; Lodge Lumber; APE; ICE; and Junttan.
Poseidon Dredge & Marine Inc. continues shaping the infrastructure in Florida's coastal communities; the team recently completed a driven sheet pile installation for the Jacksonville Port.
PRECO-MSE has a team on a northern Quebec waterway installing H-pile for a hydroelectric line between the Micoua and Saguenay stations. Pile depths exceed 30 meters.
Weeks Marine has a crew in New York City replacing bridge fenders at the Spuyten Duyvil over the Harlem River. A Junttan hammer is among the equipment on the job. FYI the railroad bridge's name is Dutch for "in spite of the devil;" not to be confused with Mötley Crüe's 1983 metal hit, "Shout at the Devil."
Equipment Corporation of America (ECA) shows a Pile Master 36-5000 performing installation of timber pilings, part of a dock replacement in Philadelphia.
ICE-International Construction Equipment supplied various pieces of deep foundation machinery to assist a contractor in Puerto Rico to control future flooding at the Rio De La Plata in the territory.
Pileco Inc. recently opened the doors to its new Conroe, TX headquarters; rightfully proud of the facility, the team hosted a crew from the Coast Guard for annual diesel hammer training.
Dewberry secures fifth consecutive contract with UVA where it has been the on-call engineering and design firm for 25 years. We note Dewberry branding favors team colors at Va-Tech. |
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The Herald-Dispatch serving the Huntington, W.V. region tags along with U.S. Rep Carol Miller and John Musgrave of the local Economic Development Authority during a site visit to the future Nucor Corp. steel mill in Apple Grove. The story shares expected positive developments the area could realize.
North America Outlook magazine profiles Engineered Rigging president Christopher Cox.
Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal recognizes ECS Limited as Best of 2021 Engineering Winner for designing the replacement of a Maryland elementary school.
The Nashville Business Journal talked to local engineers about new development opportunities materializing in the growing city. Among them was Alicia Sellers, a geotech at GeoEngineers, Inc. |
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Because we can't get enough basketball We take a minute to share an update from Dallas; Kendric Davis is the college hoops standout that J.D. Fields Company signed to an NIL deal this season. The SMU point guard finished the regular season as top scorer in the AAC with 19.5 points per game!
When you have 10,000 lakes and it's winter why not host an ice fishing expedition? Atlas Foundation Company in Osseo, MN did just that; it was an employee appreciation event.
Crawfish, cornhole and canned beverages Canal Barge Company kicked off the Vessel's Officer Workshop, a key business meeting, with an evening employee/family social.
Louisiana members get plenty of attention for Cajun cooking but Geotechnology Associates in Maryland brings chili to the "Pile of Food." Alex won a gold medal at the staff cookoff; his venison/bacon recipe secured it.
With potential foreign conflict on American minds a Fun Fact Friday social media post from Alexandra Cormier of Flores Automation & Machine Control may bring nostalgic comfort. FAMC provides Leica products that can help a pile driver understand subterranean conditions. Leica is also responsible for the photography equipment used to capture the famous WWII-era photo of the V-J Day celebrations in Times Square.
Despite what your calendar might say, nothing noted above is a joke in the spirit of April Fool's Day; at least as far as we know. We appreciate you taking a few moments to browse through this month's Pile of News and look forward to bringing you another one in May. Please share your company news with us if you would like for it to appear in this publication. And many thanks to our growing list of advertisers! If you are interested in advertising, please contact PDCA today. |
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