A Pile of News: December 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 Dec. 2, 2024

Top of the Pile

Black tie ball for Buck? Votes are counted and new PDCA leadership will guide the organization next year; welcome 2025 Executive Committee and Board members:

• President: Buck Darling (Pres. and Dr. Inger Darling pictured below)
• Vice President: Chris Normand
• Secretary: Doug Keller
• Treasurer: Rich Anderson
• Past President: Brian Heck
• Board members: Harold Baur, Greg Canivan, Jim Dempsey, Diane Fischer, Mike Juneau, Randy Kelly, David Price, Brad Roberts, Condon Verble

Snow won't delay digital delivery  The newest issue of PileDriver magazine has just dropped in digital format. Read Issue #6-2024. Your hard copy is in the mail. ATTN Canucks: The ongoing Canada Post strike may delay your hard copy of PileDriver. Enjoy the digital edition in the meantime, and mailing to Canadian addresses will resume once the strike is over.

We're glad to have you! Welcome new members from Q4, to date:

• Associate: Alfred Miller Companies of Lake Charles, LA; Big Bear Pipe & Steel of Hesperia, CA; Empire Crane Company of North Syracuse, NY; Locke Solutions of Houston, TX; and SyteHawk of Metarie, LA.
• Engineering Affiliate: DRW Associates, Inc. from Twinsburg, OH; Soil & Materials Engineering, Inc., of Windsor, ON.
• Retired: Paul Bailey; Jim Cooke

From the Association & Chapters

Mark your calendars:

• Dec. 12: Value Driven Webinar Series, 2 PM EDT: Hear subject matter experts, including Justin Yard of Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, present Introduction to Precast/Prestressed Concrete Piles. FREE to members.
• Dec. 19: Pacific Coast Chapter Holiday Luncheon, Richmond, CA, 12; the popular, annual gathering for the season returns to the Biancoverde in the newly renovated Hotel Mac. Registration required, $100/person.
• Dec. 25-Jan. 1: Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season!
• Jan. 8: Board & Brews, Hilton Clearwater Resort, Clearwater, FL, 5:307:30 PM:The first FREE PDCA networking reception of 2025. PDCA board members will attend, mix with regional industry. PDCA membership NOT required.
• Jan. 17, 2025: South Carolina Chapter Oyster Roast, Charleston, SC, 6 PM  This annual social event is a Lowcountry favorite that has grown to attract attendees from throughout the east coast. Thanks to the generous sponsors, the family-friendly gathering is FREE to the industry at Palmetto Pile Driving.
• Feb. 4-6: PDCA Annual Conference & Expo, San Antonio, TX  It's the signature event for the driven pile industry, coming to the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort. Impactful programs, a trade show, networking receptions, awards, PDCA committee meetings, optional golf and more. Register now!
• Feb. 13: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series, 23 PM EST. Topic TBD. This bi-monthly program is FREE to PDCA members, others pay nominal registration.
• Feb. 13: South Carolina Chapter dinner meeting, Town and Country Inn & Suites, 69 PM, Charleston. More info coming to your inbox, soon.
• Feb. 27: Networking in Norfolk, Part Deux:  Details coming soon.

From the piledrivers.org blog:

• New president at PDCA Gulf Coast: Scott Williams will helm the chapter in 2025. Beau Haydel is VP, Scott Gros is secretary, and Tyler Roberts is treasurer. Elections took place on Nov. 22, after the annual clay shoot.
• Safety First: Have you utilized the FREE resources developed by the PDCA Safety and Environmental Committee? Download Toolbox Talks.
• Chapter awards student: PDCA South Carolina met in November to celebrate Citadel Cadet Grady Meeks, winner of annual Mac Nigels Scholarship. Presenter Scott Nigels (son of Mac), was honored for his years of service. The agenda included the 2025 leadership election, and a case study presentation.
• Women win leadership posts: Texas Chapter got together last month to elect new treasurer Erica Ferens and secretary Jene Adler. Their predecessors, Derek Brodnax and Mike Leal, are chapter-founding members who completed two-year terms. Matthew Knight and John Burns fill new, appointed roles.
• Vote early and often is an infamous phrase popularized last century in Chicago. Also rooted in Chicago, the team at Thatcher Foundations provided PDCA a photo of its staff sporting their 2024 I Voted stickers. The image was a key piece of PDCA GOTV efforts for the November election of 2025 leadership.

News from PDCA Companies

Acquisitions & expansions:

• JD Fields & Company has formalized a marketing and distribution agreement with Kubota Corporation. The steel manufacturer gains access to exclusively offer their Laqnican Mechanical Splice Joint technology in North America.
• Schnabel Engineering opens in Gladstone, MI (UP). The new midwest location offers geotechnical and other services. Matt Wachholz is principal. Elsewhere, the firm expands its New York metro office to include Jersey City.
• Tectonic Engineering Consultants, Geologists & Land Surveyors announces a strategic investment from Good Springs Capital. The Mountainville, NY firm, founded in 1986, expects continued growth and expansion.

Giving back:

• Bechtel Corporation donated tools and supplies to vocational education programs in the Sabine Pass and Port Arthur, Texas school districts. Their contributions will enhance programs that teach welding, millwrighting and more.
• D.A. Collins Construction awards scholarships to eight students of employees.
• GROUP Contractors supports emergency operations at Baton Rouge General Hospital; it served as title sponsor at the Foundation's annual TopGolf fundraiser.
• Sargent hosted University of Maine students in FIN 350; senior staff discussed business finance and ESOPs, held a lively Q&A and gave them a tour.
• Weeks Marine, Inc. resumed participation in Veterans Build Week by installing windows and sheathing for home builds in Perth Amboy, NJ. It is an initiative of Habitat for Humanity, which helps families in need in the community.

Recognitions:

• Locke Solutions is named by the Houston Chronicle as a top place to work.
• Geo-Technology Associates brought home the Wavemaker Award from the Urban Land Institute for its retrofit of Baltimore row houses into a unique apartment complex. The firm performed geotechnical engineering and testing.
• PND Engineers contributed to a new housing development at the U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak. The work won a project of excellence award from the Society of American Military Engineers Seattle & Mount Tacoma Post.

Governmental relations:

• Beard Construction Group business development rep Travis Frederic often circulates in Louisiana business and industry groups. He heard a presentation from U.S. Sen. Cassidy at a recent West Baton Rouge Chamber lunch.
• Power Engineering Construction overcame unforeseen challenges while driving 92 square concrete piles as part of its scope for the "significant" India Basin Waterfront Park in San Francisco. Outgoing Mayor Breed and area officials attended the grand opening for the $200M public park investment.
• Nucor leadership recognized outgoing U.S. Sen. Manchin with the Man of Steel Award. The West Virginia lawmaker was lauded for steadfast commitment to American manufacturing and work on the company's new mill in his state. Related: U.S. Rep Miller, also helpful with the mill, toured the developing site.
• Gerhart Cole principal engineer Ryan Maw served as a panelist alongside Utah State Rep. Christofferson and other stakeholders in Beehive State transportation matters. ACEC organized the Utah Transportation Conference.

Anniversaries:

• Liebherr reaches 75 years in business; the crane-maker proclaims that "innovation and reliability drive us." PDCA can relate. Congratulations!

People on the Move

Transitions:

• Brady Williams graduates Ohio State this month in civil engineering and has secured employment as an engineer at C.J. Mahan Construction.
• Matt Gibson onboards as a new safety specialist at Sargent, where he will coordinate with the construction crews in southern Maine and New Hampshire.
• MiKayla Beals has accepted a job with The Walsh Group, following her upcoming graduation from Purdue. Fortuitously, company co-chair Dan Walsh recently visited the West Lafayette, IN-based school to guest lecture a PM class, appear on a podcast, and personally welcome MiKayla to the team.
• Coleman Kitchens is new sales engineer at John Lawrie Tububulars. The Auburn grad brings four years of geotech experience to the Houston supplier.
• Barry Jenkins retires as an engineering technician at Thomas & Hutton, the Savannah, GA-based firm where he spent 39 years of his career.

Recognitions:

• Andi Vigue, CEO and chair at CIANBRO, credited the company's 3,500 employees for the successes for which he was honored during his induction into the Junior Achievement of Maine Business Hall of Fame.
• Cayden Isaiah Lee, son of Omar Lee, an operator at Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring, graduated USMC boot camp at Camp Pendleton.
• Dan Fowler, VP at J. Fletcher Creamer & Son in New Jersey, visited his daughter's class for STEAM career week, where he engaged students in a discussion about how AEC careers impact the modern, built environment.
• Eric Wong from Jacksonville, FL, led all Manson Construction colleagues from five U.S. offices in "total steps" for November. The company held the Move for Movember Step Challenge to inspire staying active and supporting men's health.
• Ryan Cullen, Mike Cyr, Carter Patterson, Brandon Powell and Hunter Proffitt from Sargent graduated a course on fundamentals for construction supervision offered through a Virginia industry organization.
• Jerry Outlaw from Ardaman & Associates is honored by the WTS Greater Baton Rouge Chapter as the 2024 Honorable Ray LaHood Man of the Year.

Sending sympathies:

• Mark Guin (19552024) is remembered as an "extraordinary individual" who bolstered the "reputation of reliability and quality" of Scott Bridge Company, where he served as VP of equipment. After passing unexpectedly, he was laid to rest on Nov. 22, in Opelika, AL. He leaves behind wife Kay and two daughters.

On the Job

DFI Piling, Inc. hosted Demo Day at its Conroe, TX yard. The lunch and learn event attracted more than 35 professionals from Texas and Louisiana. Attendees got to see action from their custom hammers and cranes, manufacturing operations and more.

Manson Construction is involved in a Myrtle Beach, SC, project, where crews are fortifying the waterfront to better mitigate imminent storm surges. And at an adjacent job site, we've learned that GeoQuip, Inc. hammers were used for a pier rebuild.

Orion secures more than $100M in new contracts expected to start in 2025. The marine group will install PSC piling at the Port of Charleston, SC, for one project, and through a subcontract, it will build a pedestrian bridge in downtown Tampa, FL.

R. Kremer & Son Marine Contractors, LLC can't help you avoid the water hazard, but they have improved the aesthetics of the shoreline with the wood bulkhead they built on hole #7 at Metedeconk National Golf Club in Jackson, NJ.

Reagan Marine Construction completed the first of multiple bulkheads it is building for the U.S. Navy in Newport, RI. Crews installed steel sheets from Nucor Skyline with an International Construction Equipment 44B. Work has begun on the second wall.

SJ Hamil Construction has a crew in Savannah, GA, performing maintenance and remodeling of waterfront installations at the Kinder Morgan Southern LNG facility.

JD Fields & Co. supplied materials for the HZ-M combi-wall system that construction crews in Forestville, QC, installed using ICE, Inc. machinery. It will become part of the revitalized municipal wharf at the regional transportation and business hub.

Trinity Products is secured as the supplier for OD pipe to create 946 king piles, which will be installed to construct a cofferdam for a new dredged material management facility for various public entities at Milwaukee's harbor.

Peirce Engineering provided critical analysis on slope stability at the Indian River Inlet in Delaware, which, upon USACE approval, allowed a contractor to install sheet piling.

Thomas & Hutton is part of the development of the South Atlantic Logistic Terminal near the SC/GA border. It provided civil engineering for the complex. Michael Roach, Jim Collins, Brad Rife were at the groundbreaking, which made local TV.



Industry news:

• Atlas Tube parent sues Mexico for dishonest trade practices, alleging tariff avoidance through fraudulently stamping Chinese and Indian steel.
• Giken is part of the Space Construction Innovation Project in Japan. The manufacturer has conducted scientific tests like simple SLTs on its foundation equipment and findings suggest that Press-In piling technology is optimal for foundations on the moon. This is part of that giant step for mankind.

Notes from the Field

Full cylone  Bowen PM Mark Cvetkovich was in Ames, IA, with colleague Jay Watts, recruiting students to the building company. Mark recruited Jay there, 10 years ago. Chances are it was a more lively campus this year since Cyclone football is at the top of the Big 12 with a chance for a Natty. In 2014, not so much.

Dark horse  who would've thought a decade ago that Dallas-based SMU would be in, and would be the team to beat, in the Atlantic Coast Conference? A big part of the Mustangs' success as a P5 league-leader has been JD Fields & Co.'s NIL partner, junior wide receiver Roderick Daniels Jr., whom the Dallas Morning News featured for his clutch play and on-field versatility.

The 13th Man  Football fans can agree that the renewed rivalry game between Texas and Texas A&M is good. NCAA conference realignments enabled the resumption of the storied Lone Star Showdown this year. The Horns and Aggies met Saturday in College Station for their first meeting since 2011. Fun fact, a sister company of Kingdom Pipe & Steel handles waste management at Kyle Field; they earned their money yesterday!

This bet is a Locke  Through a new partnership, Houston-based, international supplier of precast concrete products, Locke Solutions is an official 2024 sponsor of Houston Rockets basketball.

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season: PDCA is thankful to the driven pile industry for supporting this organization as a member, participant, content contributor or even just a reader of A Pile of News. We are closing out another year, however, PDCA is excited for 2025, which will bring you a variety of impactful programming, unique opportunities and continued advocacy for the driven pile. Don't miss out!

Holiday-themed observations from the social sphere to close out 2024: At Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction, company swag matters; marketing graphics can double as Christmas cards. Lally Pipe & Tube resurrects a neo-traditional Christmas theme with a new claymation-like marketing series, sans Rudolph. Veit could've been in the North Pole, AK, rather than Duluth, MN, when it participated in the Christmas City of the North Parade. From where we sit (the south), there doesn't appear to be much difference. Have a happy and safe holiday season, y'all!

RLW marketer Kelsee Bishop and family sport RLW gear. This could be a holiday card!