St. Louis is the latest target in a plant upgrade program for Independent Concrete Pipe Co. (ICPC). The company's Missouri Division has commissioned new precast and pipe lines, built in a 1960s-era enclosure at an 37-acre site on the southwestern edge of St. Louis. Completed last fall, the upgrade saw installation of Betodan and Pedershaab casting and product handling machinery. Added kiln capacity and automated product handling stations required construction of an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of building enclosure.

Staff from Atlanta-based Pedershaab USA Inc. worked with ICPC to reconfigure old moving floors to operate at and below ground level for efficiency and safety. Machinery of earlier generation Pedershaab VIHY design was retooled for 12 in. to 48 in. diameter pipe — conventional and, as market opportunities develop, non-reinforced. Complementing those offerings are box culverts (up to 12 × 12 ft.), large bore pipe (up to 144 in. diameter) and irregular shape product cast in twin pits served by Betodan machines.

The overhaul coincides with stepped up Missouri Department of Transportation highway work and major expansion of Lambert International Airport, plus what ICPC/ Missouri management sees as stable residential and commercial building. Events earlier in the month pre-empted a September 25, 2001, open house — a make up date for which will likely be this spring. In addition to Missouri, ICPC has six pipe and precast plants in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio under three other divisions. An Indianapolis plant rebuilt in 1999 is hosting American Concrete Pipe Association and National Precast Concrete Association tours timed with the 2002 Short Course School and MCX/NPCA Convention, January 30-February 3.