A Pile of News - May 2021

A Pile of News: May 2021
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
From the Association & Chapters
DEADLINE IS FRIDAY to enter the 2021 Project of the Year Program. Submissions in land, marine, earth retention, engineering/associate, international categories are all welcome. Issue 4 2021 of PileDriver magazine will announce winners. Entry is FREE for PDCA members; non-members JOIN PDCA and submit!

Industry Events IFCEE is here!
  • IFCEE/International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo, May 1014 in Dallas, TX
    • The triennial collaboration of the deep foundations partner organizations ADSC, DFI, Geo-Institute and PDCA; includes technical conference, equipment show
    • Don't miss the following IFCEE programs for pile drivers and PDCA members:
      • LIVE meetings of ALL standing committees
      • Short courses on May 11 "Working Platforms" and "Deep Foundations QA/QC for Engineers, Contractors and Inspectors"
      • E.A.L. Smith Award Lecture honoring Dr. Frank Rausche May 12 at 10 a.m.
      • PDCA member reception, meeting on May 12 from 5:00-6:30 p.m., see you there!
      • Invited Session "Vibrations" by subject matter expert, Dr. Cathy Aimone-Martin on May 13 at 10:30 a.m.
      • Visit PDCA's booth in the Exhibit Hall, we recognize all exhibiting members!
  • The Design and Installation of Cost-Efficient Piles (DICEP) conference returns as a LIVE event in 2021; it happens in New Orleans, Sept. 1517 details and registration coming soon

The PDCA Store offers many new logo clothing items; ask us how to get 40% off when you shop today.

PileDriver magazine, Issue 2 2021 is now available, full IFCEE preview within; click for the e-mag.

PDCA of South Carolina Chapter will be meeting on May 20; details coming soon.
American Piledriving Equipment Inc., you are this month's winner!
Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of May to claim your prize!
News from PDCA Companies
Acquisitions & expansions:
On the job:
ASAP Group drives JD Fields sheeting to expand a stormwater treatment in South Florida; nearby, their crew used a PVE vibro to put in temporary shoring for the Port Everglades Parking Garage project.

Balfour Beatty breaks ground on Icon Marina Village, a South Florida luxury development.

Cajun Industries, LLC installed 4,423 concrete piles, then the crew posed for a photo before finishing the job with the "money pile" at Valero's new Port Arthur, TX renewable diesel facility.

Foundation Constructors Inc. dedicated two crews for 55 straight hours to complete the safe installation of 25 CISS piles for a San Raphael, CA road improvement.

The Great Lakes Construction Company installed GRL Engineers-tested H-pile from Trinity Products for a new bridge in Cleveland. See video from Cleveland.com showing cranes placing 75 tons of arches.

Hal Jones Contractor puts in Jacksonville, FL floating dock; a hammer from ICE-International Construction Equipment drives the H-pile.

Massman Construction is among the contractors on the Belle Chasse Bridge and Tunnel Replacement, the first public-private project of the Louisiana DOT. WATCH the virtual ground-breaking.

H.B. Fleming installs the foundation for 60 Penhallow at Brick Market, the forthcoming "greatest public access location" in Portsmouth, NH. The owner is excited for the steel; she likens it to "bling."

Linde Griffith drives 118 H-piles for what will become the third tallest tower in Newark, NJ 33 stories!

Parker Marine gave an aerial assist to Insight Group by moving their adoringly named CPT during construction of the The Cooper waterfront hotel in Charleston, SC.

Poseidon Dredge & Marine installs Nucor sheeting with PVE hammer power as it works to fix a bridge that services the Port and Carnival Cruise line in Jacksonville, FL.

Richard Goettle Inc. uses an American Piledriving Equipment (APE) vibro to drive permanent casings from Trinity Products in the reconfiguration of the McCluggage Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria.

Duroterra supplied the ductile iron piles which replaced the micropiles (1:1), originally slated for use in the Beekman Avenue Bridge project in historic Sleepy Hollow, NY.

APE has a vibro offshore and fully submerged driving anchor piles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hammer and Steel, Inc. provided a self-performing owner with Junttan power to install closed bottom pipe for reconstruction of an active rail car bridge in Memphis.

Pile Master developed a new air hammer, the 18-650; distributor Equipment Corporation of America shares action video from the Green Cove Springs, FL HQ.

Nucor Skyline sheet piling fortifies the boardwalk at New Jersey's Point Pleasant Beach; which is still recovering from a 2012 hurricane. Elsewhere, the steel maker produced 4K tons of foundation piling for transmission towers across Maryland's Patapsco River.

ECS Limited consults on the conversion of suburban D.C. golf course into a residential community.

Doing business...better:
Explore new markets  As U.S. demand for renewables increases, wind and solar energy sources need pile driving. Black River Solar in Missouri converts grain farms to solar "It's a growing trend in Middle America," says owner Jason Balesa Brownfield News report concurs. In Massachusetts, South Shore Pile Driving sets "hundreds of piles along canals," essentially creating canopies among the cranberries at Eldredge Bogs; owner Paul Armstrong says a "huge solar job" is next that requires 4,000 Koppers timbers
Protect the bottom line A PDCA member law firm in Florida shares the educational presentation Critical Construction Contract Provisions: What Subcontractors Should Know to Protect Bottom Line. Jimmerson Birr partner and PileDriver legal author Ryan Maloney is among the presenters.

Collaboration is critical An enduring theme at DICEP: "Contractors should be involved early and often in foundation construction." PDCA board member Buck Darling says this ENR story reinforces the message.

Incorporate sensible technologies Pile Dynamics, Inc. offers new pile driving simulation software and Samuel Roll Form Group aids estimators with industry's first online quoting tool for rental steel.

Follow market fluctuations Lodge Lumber Co. launches a new Monday Market Report by sales mgr. Andrew Harris; in its first distribution, he analyzes rising prices on lumber products.

Keep marketing fresh APC Construction unveiled a new website. Its pile driving section opens with a photo of their crew on the New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor job using an ICE hammer to drive pipe.

Governmental relations:
Recognitions:
Giving back:
Anniversaries:
Soil is older! Soil Consultants, Inc. is a new septuagenarian; the 70-year-old engineer firm in Charleston, SC also had a significant role in a big new addition to the city's port. SCI has performed various testing services at the new Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal since 2013; the first vessel arrived last month.
 
 
People on the Move
The monthly round-up:
  • Tony Rontella, Daniel Deer, Ryan O'Rourke become new superintendents at HF Darling
  • Stephen Chang joins east coast operations as engineer at Manson Construction
  • Antonya Williams, Pat Devero, Steve Miller earn promotions at McCarthy Building Co.
  • Barton Folse named to business development team at Canal Barge Company in Houston
  • Chris Gabuzda becomes new geostructural product manager at JD Fields in Houston
  • Wes GibsonJosh Jenkins join CZM Foundation Equipment
  • Luke Karr, Justin Salter join Junttan USA; Henry Cornell, James Massey earn promotions
  • Jeff Wojtala, CHMM named to ECS Mid-Atlantic environmental department
  • Philips Aby, M.Eng. begins new role with Golder geotech team in Canada
  • Bennett Dulaney, P.E. moves to S&ME in AL, Bradley Hedgecock joins firm in N.C.

Congratulations!
Henry Gerrets concludes an "incredible 24-year career" with Canal Barge. The customary, cake, cards and staff party accompanied his send-off. But you gotta read his farewell letter (get a tissue). It's an enviable endorsement of his cherished, now former employer.

Recognitions:
In memoriam:
Sending sympathies to the family and former ICE, Inc. colleagues of Richard Sadler, a longtime sales manager. He is remembered as a friend, mentor and colleague to many in the industry.

Heartbreaking news from Caldwell Marine/JAG Companies which has displayed a wreath and her PPE in memory of valued "co-worker and company ambassador" Liz who was victim to violent crime.
 
Notes from the Field
Can you perceive depth? It's unclear by the photo if the Thatcher Foundations' crew getting Chicago's Burnham Harbor "ready for boating season" means an aesthetic overhaul, complete with removal of the controversial spaceship addition to Soldier Field. The crane appears poised to begin the lift. If so, it would signify a notable reversal by the contractor, which drove 2K+ piles as part of the 2003 renovation.

A Boat Named Sue A shipwright, in his own right, John Spring of C. D. Perry unveiled his latest creation at company HQ its the Sweet Sue. Check out the red, white and blue (and company yellow) steel crew boat honoring Sue Martin, the widely cherished and longest-serving employee.

Can we call it a P3? We hear a lot about public-private partnerships, or P3s, but Manson Construction expands the idea through an ongoing, safety-inspired relationship with the Seattle Fire Dept.

Here's a P2, Playoff Putt-off Baker GCI's golf team Garrett Sheehan, Lance Arvel, Shane Wilkenson, Steve Fleury posed with green jackets and trophies as if it were Augusta, but it's Louisiana. Congrats to the winners of a sudden death putt-off at the golf event for the Construction Industry Advisory Council supporting the LSU Dept. of Construction Management. * h/t Cajun Industries, board member for CIAC.

Is it a free drop from the ZZ hazard? JD Fields was at Denver Country Club where its sheeting was used for a golf course modification. The ranger stood by the crew to ensure proper divot repairs.

Apparently Oscar viewership was LOW... so would you believe that Patrick Snow of Tadano won for Best Creative Marketing on Social Media?
Look Who Made the News!
Albany Business Review quotes Tyler Fane of C.D. Perry about a proposed increase to construction spending in the New York state budget; he says there's "reason to be optimistic." [PAYWALL]

Columbia Daily Tribune reports on Missouri DOT progress in selecting builders for a new I-70 bridge over the Missouri River near Rocheport. Three of the four construction teams competing for an RFP include PDCA members. Good luck Dan Brown & Associates, Massman Construction and Terracon!

Construction Equipment Guide covers an ongoing, major New Jersey bridge reconstruction; George Harms Construction among contractors singled out in updates on project phases.

ENR has a feature on a completed a NYC park improvement involving Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers; (headline writer cleverly alliterates "Pilings" in title). Great pics of the unique, river-side park.

Maui Now carries an update of ongoing infrastructure improvements on the island, Hawaiian Dredging and Construction is finishing prep work in Stage 1 of the new municipal parking structure.

Resident News describes a new floating dock expected to provide "quality of life" and expand accessibility to riverside communities near downtown Jacksonville, FL. Hal Jones Contractor, a division of Vecillio & Grogran, has secured the construction contract and could start later in 2021.

The Houston Chronicle profiles The Fields Companies, formerly JD Fields. A vertical integration and rebrand are underway for the family-owned company in Texas; the article notes the aspirational infrastructure investment and the U.S. political climate compliment the changes. *Learn more about this corporate reorganization and grab a beer on Jay D. Fields himself at their IFCEE booth.
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