Hanson Pipe & Precast has broken ground on a 171,000 sq. ft. plant at a 91-acre site in Winter Haven, Fla. Billed as one of the largest automated pipe plants in the U.S., the Hawkeye Group-equipped facility will feature extensive robotics and touch-screen controls on two production lines. It is scheduled for a fall 2007 start up with two shifts and a payroll of about 50. The $45 million facility is strategic to Orlando and Tampa, but sited to serve markets up and down Florida and become the Hanson Pipe & Precast Southeast Region production flagship. Region President Joan Blecha, who is also 2005-2006 National Precast Concrete Association chair, will remain based at a Green Cove Springs, Fla., operation near Jacksonville.