A Pile of News: May 2025

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 May 1, 2025

Top of the Pile

Test data is readily available for most piling elements, but tapered steel friction piles (TSFP), which have been installed in high-profile foundation projects at JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York City and several New Jersey DOT bridges, lack in modern scientific data. In April, PDCA members The Loren Group, Browning Enterprise Inc., Jordan Pile Driving with its APE diesel hammer, and geotechnical and foundation experts (pictured below) descended on an ALDOT property in Mobile, AL, to scientifically test TSFP.

Pile driving is the winner  A new record was set for the number of submissions in the PDCA Project of the Year Awards this year. That means stiff category competitions are imminent! An esteemed panel of industry veterans serving as volunteer judges are considering all Land, Marine, Earth Retention and Associate/Engineering Affiliate entries. The August PileDriver magazine will reveal the winners.

From the Association & Chapters

Mark your calendars:

• May 8: South Carolina Chapter Dinner Meeting, Charleston, 6:308:30 PM Members to meet for a May dinner at the Town & Country Inn; event includes networking and a program about cathodic protections solutions for PSC piling.
• May 15: Florida Chapter Membership Social, FREE! Tampa, 58 PM PDCA's newest chapter has been growing since its January inception, but efforts kick into overdrive with this FREE reception at World of Beer in Tampa.
• May 28: Northeast Chapter TopGolf Meet & Greet, New Member Outreach, Edison, NJ, 69 PM  It features food, networking and simulated golf. Members, non-members welcome, bring a business associate who's thinking of joining.
• June 12: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series, Virtual, 23 PM EDT
• June 18-20: DFI SuperPile, Hilton Cleveland Downtown, Cleveland, OH. Among the program highlights is the Hal Hunt Lecture featuring Mohamad Hussein, P.E., of GRL Engineers, Inc., who will discuss dynamic testing. PDCA is a cooperating organization.
• July TBD: PDCA Networking Reception, The Seattle Social. Plans are underway to hold the next FREE regional networking event in The Emerald City. Watch your inbox for more info about the date and venue!

From the piledrivers.org blog:

• Pacific Coast Chapter continues a tradition  Members generously donated to the 14th Annual Scholarship Shootto support local students pursuing construction/engineering careers.
• Texas Chapter Opens New Scholarship Program  During April Lunch & Learn, leadership announced the new initiative to assist students pursuing construction careers. Entries are due by Aug. 1. Attendees also heard presentations from CPS Houston, GRL Engineers. See full event coverage.
• In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus  Our social media trolls found photos of PDCA members at BAUMA in Germany last month. Who was SPOTTED?
• Gulf Coast Chapter raises student scholarship funds through an April golf tournament. The event attracted dozen of golfers and other benefactors.
• Technical Committee rewrites Best Management Practices Guide; the updated publication is FREE for members to download in The PDCA Store.

Congratulations, Sealevel Construction, you are this month's winner! Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of May to claim your prize!

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News from PDCA Companies

Acquisitions & expansions:

• Baker GCI opened a new Baton Rouge office; see pics from April 17 event.
• Blue Iron Foundation & Shoringadds a presence in Slidell, LA;the facility will include an equipment service center, overhead cranes and storage.
• Orion has a new office in Honolulu to support increasing work in America's 50th state. A traditional Hawaiian ceremony was part of the grand opening.
• Southern Earth Sciences investigates substructures on Mobile Bay, with its new amphibious exploration capabilities. The locally based firm is on the roster of construction professionals retained for the Mobile Bay Bridge project.
• Terracon further diversifies its portfolio with the addition of Transtec, and its Austin, TX, and Harrisburg, PA, offices. It's a pavement engineer.
• Thomas & Hutton plants a flag in a new southeastern state. In acquiring Florida Engineering Group, the Georgia-based firm now has an Orlando office.
• UES continues North American growth. The Orlando-based company moves into Midlothian, VA, through the purchase of full-service, Stevenson Consulting.

Giving back:

• Kokosing is partnering with Henrico County Schools in Virginia, where professionals will mentor students on a construction initiative. In addition to the hands-on support, the company has donated $25K plus PPE for students.
• Sargent contributes to efforts to educate younger generations about construction careers. Glenn Adams, P.E., and Supt. Scott Blanchard hosted University of Maine students at its I-395/Route 9 Connector Project job site, where H.B. Fleming was subcontracted for pile cap placement.
• Gonzo Logistics is based near Houston, but the trucking firm prioritizes the Padres over the Astros  they became sponsors of the local youth baseball team.
• United Rentals Trench Safety personnel presented construction safety to staff at Mason Construction, upon their request. It addressed OSHA standards for shoring and more. Also, it explained how engineering can enhance safety.
• SGH staff in Waltham, MA, donated personal necessities for distribution at a regional women's shelter, which serves 12K per people each year.

Recognitions:

• CIANBRO crews are expected to complete enhancements of the seawall around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, by next spring. The structure protects the National Park famous for historical monuments and cherry blossom trees. PM John Garlandinterviews with WUSA9 News about the high-profile job.
• Ralph L. Wadsworth Constructionwon a first place national safety award.
• Ardamann & Associates, with offices in Florida, Louisiana and Texas, proudly celebrates three separate safety awards it received from a longtime client.

Governmental relations:

• CZM-US Foundation Equipment hosted U.S. Consulate General Miller at its BAUMA exhibit in Munich. Dr. Miller serves the U.S. State Dept. in Germany.
• Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering principal William McGrew, part of a coalition advocating on The Hill for Florida airports, met with U.S. Reps. Soto and Webster during an April visitto Washington, DC.

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People on the Move

Transitions:

• Sam Sternberg III, P.E., BC. GE is a new senior engineer with Kiewit in its Lone Tree Permanent Structures division. He spent the last 7 years at Dan Brown and Associates.
• Ryan Sawall, P.E., elevates to Central Region CEO at McCarthy. First hired as a project engineer 20 years ago, he now leads company operations in 28 states.
• Justin Sutton is the new product manager for Associated Pile & Fitting.
• Phillip Masser and Eric Bosch join the team at Corpac as new business development managers in Houston.
• David Toups is the new president at Houston-based Pipe & Tube Supplies, effective March 1. He succeeds Charley Jewett, who retired in February.
• Patrick Sullivan, who recently retired as a municipal executive director for the City of Springfield, MA, joins GZA GeoEnvironmental as senior consultant.
• Thomas Moore, P.E., rises to branch leader in Blacksburg, VA, for Schnabel Engineering; Thomas Pallua, PG, is a new senior associate in Seattle.
• William Bruin from Simpson Gumpertz & Hegar (SGH) is the new structural engineering head, West; Rune Iverson fills Bill's former role in San Francisco.

Recognitions:

• Brannon Patin from Cajun Industries earned accolades from company execs and safety advocates for his actions taken to avoid a potential accident.
• Justin Bright, a foreman at CIANBRO, earned certification for completing the Fall Protection Trainer Course from the Chesapeake Region Safety Council.
• Henry Schorr, VP at Manson Construction in Jacksonville, FL, marks 25 years on the job. Colleagues and the company chair celebrated him with a luncheon.
• Aimee Bell and Savannah Short, both on staff at Mason Construction in Beaumont, are certified trainers for the American Heart Association. Together, they administered their first classfor colleagues and their family members.
• Jeannie Prykowski celebrates new hardware. The safety mgr. at R.E. Pierson Construction in Pennsylvania was awarded by the Mid-Atlantic Safety Council.
• Alex Costedio studied ROI on his employer's strategic growth plan, and Kyle Salley sought to alleviate financial burdens of childcare. The initiatives led the Sargent foremen to graduation from a Maine Young Professionals program.
• Colette Nelson, an engineer at AET, participated in STEM outreach to St. Paul, MN, students. She used books to show weight-bearing capacity of bridges. Meantime, company CEO Daniel Larson, P.E., celebrated 35 years at the firm.
• Gwen Saunders, P.E., pres. at Eustis Engineering, has been awarded Woman of the Yearby a New Orleans industry group. Matthew Morales, P.E., won a project award and Travis Richard, P.E., earned Ray LaHood Man of the Year.
• David McGough earns hardware from ASCE in Mobile for  Outstanding Engineer of the Year. Also, his colleague Curran Nicholas at Southern Earth Sciences, passed the PE exam.

In sympathy:

• Mark Alan Bell, Sr. (19642025) leaves a large footprint of impressive driven pile work in the southeastern U.S. and offshore. His decades-long career was sadly and unexpectedly cut short in February. Orion colleagues remember him as a "legend" in marine construction and "a great team leader." He was poignantly honored with his initials displayed on the last pile Orion drove for a recent pile driving project in the Bahamas. Days prior to his passing, PDCA presented Mark an industry award for a 2024 Orion project that he led. A coworker recalled him saying that the award signified to him that their project team had "made it."

On the Job

Blue Iron Foundation & Shoring crews mitigate a challenging shoreline cliffin Oregon as they work to halt erosion at an active Coast Guard base. Using a Giken Silent Piler, they installed 85 pairs of PZC28 sheets from JD Fields & Co.

CNT Foundations and Keller installed foundation elements for the Emanuel Nine Memorial in Charleston, SC, remembering the victims of the 2015 church massacre.

East Coast Marine Construction & Designrepaired a sheet pile wall at a Central Florida lakefront park. The contractor credits Meever USA for locating 32, 70-foot x 8-inch x 1-inch pipes to brace the sheets. Equipment Corporation of America supplied the right hammer to drive the pipes to grade. See who gets name-dropped!

McCarthy crews expect to complete an upgrade to Port access in Savannah, GA. After previously driving 131 H-pile, crews are pouring concrete decks for the Georgia Ports and GDOT project, designed to ease local travel and support inbound Port loads.

Scott Bridge Companyinstalled 24-inch PSC pile footings and intermediate bents for the replacement bridge over coastal marshlands in Savannah, GA. The Alabama contractor was part of a larger GDOT effort to improve connectivity to the busy Port.

Russell Marine LLCenhances water management and protects downtown Houston from flooding, through their scope in the I-45 North Houston highway project. Crews are installing nearly 170 LF of steel sheets from JD Fields & Co., using machinery from APE and PVE Equipment, for infrastructure installations by the roadway.

DuroTerra provided ductile iron piles for a complex installation as the foundation for a new canopy at the entrance of Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, AR.

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Notes from the Field

If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way mom told you in the beginning  Mother's Day is May 11, don't blame us if you forget. Leo Keegan from Intertek PSI in New Orleans won't forget, he celebrates mom no matter the date. Did you catch the social media tribute he posted about her work in March when he championed her creation of a St. Joseph's Alter for St. Agnes Church in Jefferson, LA? Wow!

Can you hear me now? Verizon customers won't say that if they call mom from the May 9th Kendrick Lamar concert at MetLife Stadium or from a Jets or Giants football game at the venue this fall. A J. Fletcher Creamer & Son crew installed new antennas to enhance the cell service during events. While it's the opposite of a foundation job, the top of the famous structure was a nice spot for a photo opp.

You Got a Fast Car  Maybe NASCAR is mom's choice for Mother's Day this year. If so, head over to the Kansas Speedway on May 11 to catch the race where you're likely to see wins leader Christopher Bell driving the Dewalt car, which features a logo for The Walsh Group on hood.

Before you say 'May the Fourth Be With You,' to an engineer friend, before you eat burritos and proclaim Feliz Cinco de Mayo!, before you host brunch for mom or take an extended weekend for Memorial Day, please remit your 2025 PDCA dues. There are a few of you who haven't paid annual dues, and have been terminated as members in the accounting system. But you can easily reinstate through a call to Marian at PDCA at (904) 215-4771. Thank you for supporting PDCA and the driven pile industry.

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