Top of the Pile

Welcome new PDCA members! Thanks to the following for joining PDCA in Q3:

• Contractors: Baker Pile Driving & Site Work from Madisonville, LA; Beaty Construction, Inc. from Boggstown, IN; Forgen in Baton Rouge, LA
• Associate: Ashton Sawing & Drilling LLC of Conroe, TX
• Engineering Affiliate: Foundation Testing and Consulting of Overland Park, KS; HighSpans Engineering of Ft. Myers, FL; GeoEngineers of Redmond, WA
• Government Employees: Brandon Corder and Benjamin Shannon from Mississippi DOT, Davidge Turley from Florida DOT, Umesh Neupane from North Carolina DOT, Fernando Bermudez, Sudhir Sheth, Sunny Lee, Chiwing Tsao, all from Port Authority NY-NJ
• Academic Employee: Firouz Rosti from McNeese State University (LA)
• Student: Anilkumar Chindam from University of New Haven (CT)

DEADLINE: OCT. 17  Update your PDCA account so it appears accurately in the 2026 PDCA Membership Directory. Contact PDCA for help: 904-215-4771 or marian@piledrivers.org.

It's just 41 days until the PDCA Driven Pile Academy begins in Port Bienville, MS, Running Nov. 1013, you don't want to miss the opportunity to participate in the only hands-on field training event for pile drivers. Equipment and materials experts host stations for attendees to see, touch and learn in a multitude of mock job sites. Since its debut in 2022, demand for the unique program is high, so space is filling up.

Need more substance in your PDCA media? Read the newest PileDriver magazine!

From the Association & Chapters

Mark your calendars:

• Oct. 9: PDCA Value Driven Webinar Series, virtual learning, 2PM. Hear Orion VP Lina Garcia Martin showcase the Project of the Year Award-winning Port Everglades Turning Notch Expansion. Non-members pay registration fee.
• Oct. 1517: DFDTA Course, Proficiency Exam, Cleveland, OH: It's the final Dynamic Testing & Analysis Seminar for 2025. The program is available through a PDCA partnership with Pile Dynamics, Inc., which will host the event.
• Oct. 16: CREW Baltimore Construction Angels BINGO, Baltimore, 58PM. PDCA sponsors event aiding fallen workers' families at Checkerspot Brewing,
• Oct. 2023: DFI Annual Conference, Nashville: PDCA is a cooperating organization for DFI's 50th annual conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort.
• Oct. 23: TX Chapter Facility Tour PILECO, Inc., Conroe, TX 5:307:30PM. A FREE networking event, plus an exclusive look at pile hammer manufacturing.
• Nov. 1013: PDCA Driven Pile Academy, Port Bienville, MS. The only hands-on field training event for pile drivers only happens every three years. Be there!
• Nov. 13: South Carolina Chapter Dinner Meeting, Charleston Attend for networking, dinner and program; see Citadel Cadet win Nigels Scholarship.
• Nov. 21 Gulf Coast Chapter Clay Shoot, Covey Rise Lodge, Husser, LA. Individuals and teams welcome. Consider sponsoring this competitive event.

From The PDCA Blog:

• Mingling on the links with drinks, a lunch, awards and student achievement were among many highlights at the 3rd annual Texas Chapter golf tournament.
• Practice makes perfect  Station sponsors like PVE Equipment USA and CMI Limited are preparing their learning station for the Nov. 1013 PDCA Driven Pile Academy. Hal Jones Contractor observed their trial run in Jacksonville, FL.
• Higher learning  Presenters, attendees, exhibitors and sponsors gathered for a successful PDCA DICEP Conference in Orlando. See event coverage.
• Rain is a good thing  Weather suspended the Florida Chapter golf tournament, but an impromptu shelter party didn't dampen spirits!
• Going Big in Biloxi  Read coverage of the August meeting of the Gulf Coast Chapter when members established a bold new goal.

News From PDCA Companies

Acquisitions & expansions:

• JD Fields & Co. will open a 200K sq. ft. mill on the East Coast, creating 150 new manufacturing jobs at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore. It marks the return of steel pipe fabrication to the region. (More in Governmental Relations, below.)
• Cajun Industries, LLC expects operations to begin at its new Module Assembly Yard at Louisiana's Port of Iberia this month. Crews have prepared the site by building a new pile-reinforced bulkhead, among other retrofits.
• McCarthy Building Companies adds a new equipment operations hub to its portfolio. This one is in the St. Louis metro, home to the contractor's HQ.
• Orion opens its fourth new office in 20 months  the newest is in Tempe, AZ.
• Dark Horse Metals near Austin engages new asset-based lending facility.
• GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. has purchased NYC-based Siefert Associates, a construction engineering firm with a national footprint.

Governmental relations:

• Richard E. Pierson Construction built and cut the ribbon for the new DelDOT Millsboro Bypass. Then, Gov. Meyer and Sec. Hastings biked across the span.
• JD Fields & Co. joined Maryland Gov. Moore at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore to formally announce its new steel pipe fabrication facility. Fields representatives who attended the high profile announcement: Joel Showalter, Walter Van Zunthem, Muzaffer Colak, Chris Gillum, Erica Parker and Mark Sullivan.
• Premier Geotech and Testing attended a Louisiana Chamber dinner where APM Kelly Pittman was recognized for community leadership and U.S. Sen. Cassidy was the keynote speaker.

Recognitions:

• CIANBRO appears in New England Construction for the MaineDOT, $52.8M Ticonic Bridge replacement, expected to be a 100-year asset for Central Maine.
• Pacific Pile & Marine installs Nucor Skyline steel piling for the Seattle Pier 55 replacement; the job site is pictured in the the Daily Journal of Commerce.
• D.W. Kozera, Inc. employed interns Lizzie Mills and Andrew Tillman in 2025; both won scholarships from the Construction Angels charity.
• Alfred Miller Companies was named a winner of the Bechtel Supply Chain Excellence Award. Representatives will attend an Oct. 20 ceremony.
• United Rentals Trench Safety gets visibility through a Compact Equipment article about its parent company. The company introduced two new tools it says can simplify rental decisions and boost job site productivity.

Giving back:

• ASAP Group staff in its Orlando office stepped away from pile installation for a day to paint a new Habitat for Humanity home to benefit local families.
• Bowen staff dispatched regional offices one September weekend, to support philanthropic efforts in their respective communities. In Nashville, they ran in the Wounded Warrior 5K; in Indianapolis, they supported the American Diabetes Association; and in Evansville, they worked building the House of Hope.
• Bell Lumber and Pole generously purchased and distributed hundreds of brand new, high-quality bath towels to Minneapolis-St. Paul homeless shelters  among them was People Helping People.
• Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. hosted engineering students from University of Delaware at its nearby, Newark, DE, office for a tour and Q&A. Meantime, the firm reaches 40 years in operation this year. Representatives in many of its 27 offices around the country are celebrating, like the team in Alliance, OH.
• Thomas & Hutton sponsored the annual hard hat ceremony for Clemson civil engineering students. CEO Sam McCachern spoke to the assembly. And check out a media feature on "influential Georgian" Mr. McCachern in Georgia Trend.

On the Job

Commerce Construction performs sheet pile installation using ICE machinery, and to specs from Peirce Engineering, Inc., to repair a Gloucester County, NJ dike.

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company shares an update and aerial images from its construction of a new dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

PRECO-MSE crews have installed structural piling with their Junttan PM-23 rig, for a Mirabel, QC, condo complex. Reports indicate construction is ahead of schedule.

The Walsh Group is half the JV preparing to build the $1.4B Ohio River Bridge and connect Evansville, IN, to Henderson, KY, via I-69. ENR published a story about work that is underway, including pile design. S&ME is working on seismic modeling since the bridge is within the New Madrid Fault. Project completion is expected in 2031.

Foundation Equipment Services completed an electrical overhaul on a specialized pile driving machine for ASAP Group, allowing for its prompt return to the job site.

H&H launched a video series to feature big projects around the country. The latest showcases the Jupiter Federal Bridge for the Florida DOT; firm representatives Steve Hedge, P.E., and Michael Sileno, P.E., explain on camera. Also watch for a glimpse of the PILECO D100-13 used for pile installation.

GeoEngineers, Inc. is at the weather-damaged San Diego Ocean Beach Pier, where it is performing geotechnical sampling on the structure. A new build is coming soon.

PND Engineers, Inc. performed design services for the USACE in Phase 1 of the Port of Nome in western Alaska. The firm will stay on the job to provide construction services; Kiewit won the $399M contract to build the 1,200-foot causeway expansion.

Notes from the Field

Important Reminder: The 2026 PDCA Membership Directory goes to production this month. Oct.17 is the deadline for members to update your account to ensure your listing will be accurate. Non-members who want to be listed, you must JOIN PDCA by that date to appear in this critical industry resource book. Contact PDCA for help: call 904-215-4771 or email marian@piledrivers.org.

Be like Temi Kusemiju (pictured) at Lloyd Engineering, Inc. and update your company listing in the PDCA Membership Directory by Oct. 17!

"Being inside a black-and-white photo" is how Eustis Engineering pres. Gwen Sanders recalls the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated their home city of New Orleans 20 years ago. Staff gathered for a day of remembrance and shared experiences in a short, inspirational video. They honor the lives lost and embrace the regional spirit of resilience that pulled the community through disaster.

It's all true, we read it on the Internet  In September, Baltimore's Key Bridge rebuild appeared in dueling headlines. THI Pipe & Piling Maryland rep. Rich Northfield shared regional news detailing the test piling that has begun for the eventual Kiewit reconstruction. Meantime, news from Washington, D.C., reflected a growing discomfort in the Administration about federal funding for the new structure.

Politicians, power brokers and pompoms gathered on the 50-yard line at Jerry World in late August to debut Y'all Street. The NYSE Texas Exchange officially opened; ORION is among the 49 founding members. Gov. Abbott rang the opening bell with Jerry Jones, ORION VP Barrett Gilley, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and many other dignitaries in attendance.

Thanks for reading  we will be back in your inbox on Nov. 3.