A Pile of News - February 2022

A Pile of News: February 2022
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 Feb. 1, 2022
From the Association & Chapters
It's here! The PDCA 23rd Annual International Conference & Expo begins next week and runs Feb. 1012 at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa in Phoenix. We look forward to delivering unique educational and professional development programming, 33 trade show exhibits and ample industry networking. Also, help celebrate pile driving at the Project of the Year Awards ceremony and bring your mobile hammers for some driving at the spectacular golf outing. There's still time to register!

Open for entries The PDCA 2022 Project of the Year Awards program is now taking entries for land, marine, earth retention and engineering/associate projects completed in 2021; submit by May 6.

Read: PileDriver magazine, Issue #6-2021, for a special, in-depth look at pile driving in Canada.

Don't mess with 'em! The PDCA Board of Directors unanimously approved affiliation with the new PDCA of Texas Chapter; we extend them a warm welcome! Meet the new officers and consider joining the regional industry group.

Upcoming association events:
  • March 79: DFDTA-Orlando is a collaboration between PDCA and Pile Dynamics, Inc. The three-day program includes a seminar and a dynamic testing proficiency exam.
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  • April 47: PDCA Contractors Foundation Institute: The Driven Pile Academy is a NEW and innovative program including both an in-classroom and outdoor interactive experience. Industry leading equipment professionals are retained to teach participants real-world applications.

Chapter events:
   
South Carolina Chapter  Feb. 17, 6:30 PM EST; First quarter meeting in Charleston  Chapter news:
  • South Carolina Chapter Who was SPOTTED at the 2022 Oyster Roast?
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  • Pacific Coast Chapter 2021 Scholarship winners [PHOTOS]: Sophie Robinson, Zhixiang Jesse Chen, Karen Siqueiros, Erick Medina, Andrew Ballinger. Application for '22 award now open!

Industry notes:
  • NCCCO revises mobile crane operator written exam fee structure, LEARN MORE
Jason Moore of Palmetto Pile Driving, Inc., you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of February to claim your prize!
News from PDCA Companies
Governmental relations:
  • ICE-International Construction Equipment, Inc. shares interactive, online resource from USDOT Federal Highway Administration detailing a state-by-state formula for new bridge spending through the recently passed, federal infrastructure law.
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  • Dr. Sergio Guerra of Braun Intertec Corp. earns appointment from Gov. Polis to Colorado Air Quality Control Commission.
Giving back:
Acquisitions & expansions:
  • Forefront Deep Foundations of Newport Beach, CA, awarded as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the US-DOT, a competitive distinction.
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  • Kokosing Construction Company, Inc. is the re-branded name for the six wholly-owned subsidiaries serving the Midwest and East Coast; the former Corman Kokosing among them.
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  • Eustis Engineering introduces sUAS or drone services into its portfolio.
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  • Geo-Technology Associates moves Nashville office to downtown Trademark Business Center II; VP Dan Terranova, P.E., manages the larger office and serves clients in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.
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  • Terracon introduces new branding to signify integrity, curiosity and service excellence.
Anniversaries: If your company is celebrating 40 years or more in business (on the 5s 45, 50, 55, 60 and up), please drop us a note at matt@piledrivers.org. We will recognize you in this space.
On the Job
H.B. Fleming, Inc. pulls and re-installs sheet piling to facilitate construction of new underground tanks; part of an improvement project at the scenic Back Cove Trail recreation area in Portland, ME.

McCarthy helps the City of Houston add 320 million gallons-per-day, clean drinking water through construction of a new water plant. This award-winning project involved installation of 193 pipe piles; Braun Intertec did field testing for piles, averaging 120 inches in diameter and 30 feet long.

Pacific Pile & Marine performs a pier installation in Antarctica for the National Science Foundation.

Poseidon Dredge & Marine installed steel sheet pile supplied by Nucor in the construction of a new bulkhead in Highland Beach, FL.

Russell Marine completed work on the FEMA-funded reconstruction of the hurricane damaged Lighthouse Beach Pier in Port Lavaca, TX; city leaders held a grand reopening in January.

Orion Marine wins a $28.3M DOD contract to repair and update a Navy installation in the Bahamas; also it is awarded a private contract for $4.4M to rehabilitate an existing barge dock in coastal Texas.

Forefront Deep Foundations won a public bid to drive steel pipe and sheeting for a vehicular bridge over the All-American Canal at the U.S./Mexico border crossing in Calexico, CA.

Foundation Constructors, Inc. installs ZZ-14-77 sheet piling supplied by J.D. Fields & Co. for a City of Temecula (CA) installation that will mitigate flooding-caused erosion impacting a local park.

Island Piling, Inc. does a lot of residential construction in Southwest Florida; they provide a PSA by sharing statistics from local media warning of a spike in jobsite theft.

American Piledriving Equipment provided diesel and vibro hammers for construction at the Merchant's Bridge in St. Louis; service tech Rob Gordon gets a nod for facilitating the equipment.

Giken press-in piling technology is utilized in a private, Brazilian barrier wall installation designed to safeguard the City of Itabira from potential disasters.

ICE, Inc. is spotted in Nebraska; a 508 vibro is used to drive steel sheets for a temporary cofferdam in Lake Ogallala as part of a dam repair on behalf of the Public Power District.

Junttan USA shows action shots of a PM23 at Saw Mill River Parkway in Westchester County, NY as timber and steel sheet pile driving continues.

Nucor NZ 38 steel coordinated by Tomas Cabrera replaces a tattered seawall at St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands; the National Park Service commissioned the project to protect an historic landmark.

Samuel Roll Form Group supplied all foundational steel for the County Road 119 bridge over the Canisteo River in Cameron, NY.

GZA GeoEnvironmental provides dynamic pile testing, automated vibration and settlement monitoring for a NJ housing development; it involves more than 270 ea. 9.625-inch closed-end pipes with 80-ton capacity and up to 120-foot depth.

Universal Engineering Sciences, along with new hire Mahmoud Algaznli, provides PDA, other consultation on new Tampa Bay bridge; photos depict installation of 1,000th PC/PS concrete pile.
People on the Move
Transitions:
  • Eric Droof named president and successor to retiring James Hind at Keller North America.
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  • Loretta Murrell CSP, CHST concludes a 24-year career at Manson Construction.
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  • Peyton Parker is a new project engineer at McCarthy after her December graduation from Purdue.
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  • Asa Weise named new Tulsa-based, U.S. sales rep for Copier, Inc.
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  • Jennah Price appointed regional sales rep (AZ, NM) for Flores Automation & Machine Control.
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  • Pasi Poranen to pursue new challenges after eight years as CEO at Junttan; he's credited with exceptional growth, establishment of the international brand.
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  • Alex Burt appointed new UK sales manager for foundation equipment at Liebherr.
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  • John Weber, 40-year construction industry veteran, is a new account manager at Lodge Lumber.
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  • Jason B. Lloyd, Ph.D., P.E. joins Nucor, Tabitha Stine promoted to general manager.
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  • Dan Hannan, CSP, a construction health & safety vet, joins American Engineering Testing.
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  • Nathan McKinney, P.E., Julie Moore named to Board of Directors for Braun Intertec.
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  • Adam Blazejowski and Frank Russell join Knoxville, TN office of Dan Brown and Associates.
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  • Walter Clark, PMP, P.E. brought on at EXP as New York-based VP of infrastructure.
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  • Daniel Schwicht onboards in Seattle office, Farhad Ali in Boston for GeoEngineers, Inc.
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  • Shawn Sullivan promoted to vice president at Geo-Technology Associates, Inc.
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  • Aaron Goldberg, Bethanie Meek, (geotechs), Kelly Simons (comms) and five others promoted to VP at S&ME, Inc. Albert Neumann named practice leader, Eric Lang joins Nashville office.
Congratulations!
In memoriam
  • Sending comfort to family, friends and Parker Marine staff in Charleston, SC as they begin a new year without George Roper, considered "a legend," embodiment of a "true gentleman."
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  • Ted Pennington, Jr. was a dedicated and loyal employee who spent a 20+ year career doing many tasks, but became a very good crane operator at Piling, Inc. in Texas City, TX. The longtime resident of nearby Alvin, passed away in Fall 2021.
Media Hits
Hawai'I Today magazine features a story about how Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. donated $10K toward a scholarship program for students in Honolulu Community College's Apprenticeship and Journey Worker Training after one of their projects reached a milestone.

WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge reports on a new industrial training initiative, free to qualifying students through the local community college. Cajun Industries is listed as a program benefactor.

Industry Era profiles Joel Showalter, CPA as a Top 10 Influential CFO of 2021. Citing a "steel strong" work ethic, the article examines his pivotal role at growing/diversifying JD Fields & Company. Also, Houston Business Journal publishes Fields' announcement of new engineer, Arjin Dogan; she was also recently named treasurer of PDCA Texas Chapter.

The State publishes op-ed by Melvin Williams of Terracon, in which he articulates benefits to South Carolina infrastructure because of federal investment in the Port of Charleston and other projects.

Geotechnical Engineering Podcast features Keller's Hannah Iezzoni, P.E.

ENR MidAtlantic does a deep dive into the developing, Amazon's H2Q in Washington, DC. Learn about the P.R. campaign at the onset of the project; also EC reductions, logistics and subcontractors involved.

Sealevel Construction had two 2021 projects highlighted as "accomplishments" in a news release from The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Notes from the Field
Don't get touched by your opponents' balls" is clearly stated in the official dodgeball rules. Apparently, Hunter Landry, Travis Parker, Chris Normand, Jordan Romero, Daniel Sprunk, Tommy Trussell and Brent Guthrie, who constituted the Deep Foundations Unit team for Cajun Industries, avoided enough ball contact to win a company dodgeball tourney. This team building initiative [VIDEO] was hosted in January by Cajun's young professional's group.

The story of the Duke's dory Salvagers at Orion Marine dispatched on a unique job in 2021. The final charter for the Norwester, once a WWII patrol boat and later John Wayne's yacht, sunk last April. Orion provided crane and barge support as authorities deemed the vessel a loss. Read a brief history from the Washington state's San Juan Islands where maritime operations meet pop culture.

Jurassic geotechs The Today Show aired The Dinosaur Cowboy, which introduces a rancher who found bones of a T-rex and a triceratops that were possibly dueling when they died, then were frozen in time for 67 million years. S&ME, Inc. provides testing/inspection for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, which features these remains in a forthcoming exhibit called Dueling Dinosaurs.

Our eyes are on March The NIL partner that JD Fields engaged earlier this basketball season stands out for the SMU Mustangs, but Kendric Davis is also gaining national notice for his impact on college hoops.

You've reached the end of the February '22 'A Pile of News,' thanks for allowing us to share this content from PDCA and its members. We are pleased to report that the January '22 edition was the most-read distribution of this publication, to-date (and by a good margin). So, you want to be included in upcoming newsletters? Members are encouraged to make company news available on social media or send it directly to PDCA. Non-member readers, first you need to JOIN PDCA, then follow the instructions to the members. We thank you for this opportunity to help inform the pile driving industry about the matters that are pertinent to your role in deep foundation construction.
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