ORGANIZATIONS – April 2023

Texas-based Inland Pipe Rehabilitation has rebranded as Premier Underground Renewal Infrastructure Solutions or PURIS after recently joining forces with Inliner Solutions and Murphy Pipeline Contractors. A portfolio business of New York investor J.F. Lehman & Co., PURIS is a leading provider of turnkey water infrastructure solutions, specializing in environmentally sustainable trenchless pipeline rehabilitation. It operates throughout North America and provides innovative solutions to the sanitary, storm, and potable water markets. 

Leveraging decades of experience, PURIS delivers proven solutions using an unrivaled portfolio of infrastructure renewal services, such as thermal and ultraviolet cured in place pipe (CIPP), pipe bursting, geopolymer lining systems, and CompressionFit HDPE lining. Clients also benefit from PURIS’s in-house inspection and liner manufacturing capabilities.

“At PURIS, we engineer solutions that extend the life of infrastructure and create sustainability within our communities,” says CEO Mick Fegan. “We have the resources, expertise, and scale to ensure our projects are completed on time and within budget, all with best in class execution. By having strong control over our supply chain, manufacturing our own materials, and offering single-source accountability, we deliver a complete solution to revitalize critical infrastructure throughout North American communities.”

“For over 50 years, clients have trusted the PURIS companies to manage their most complex infrastructure projects,” adds Chairman and J.F. Lehman Partner Glenn Shor. “Our trenchless technologies and non-disruptive service delivery model protects vital infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, and boulevards from having to be replaced before their planned lifecycle, while keeping concrete, asphalt, and legacy piping out of landfills. To date, PURIS has diverted millions of linear feet of legacy pipe from landfills while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”

An affiliate of New York investor Turnspire Capital Partners LLC has acquired USG Water Solutions, LLC from Veolia North America, and appointed John Flaugher as president and chief executive officer of the Georgia-based business. With a payroll of 450-plus, USG provides asset management services for small and medium public water utilities across 47 states. Its offerings include maintenance services for water storage tanks, pipe networks, and concrete structures in water and wastewater plants. The company also provides turnkey smart metering programs and a wide selection of water quality technologies. 

NEx: An ACI Center of Excellence for Nonmetallic Building Materials has announced its latest Bonze Supporting Member: Dextra Group, including Partner Industrial Control Solutions Company (ICSC). The company will work alongside a growing list of other members to support NEx’s mission to collaborate globally on the use of nonmetallic building materials driving research, education, awareness, and adoption. 

Dextra Group is known for its ability to provide comprehensive solutions, with expertise in the design and reinforcement of concrete structures using glass fiber-reinforced polymer rebar, and closely collaborates with ICSC, an FRP manufacturer with a new facility in Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1983 by French expatriate entrepreneurs, Dextra Group has established itself as a world-renowned manufacturer of engineered steel and fiber-reinforced polymer construction products. For the past 25 years, it has been a leading figure in the composite industry, producing fiber-reinforced polymer solutions for major infrastructure projects. Beyond GFRP rebar, Dextra Group manufactures other non-metallic solutions like ground anchors and rock-bolts for geotechnical applications, plus electrical insulators for overhead power lines.

“We strive to collaborate with individuals and communities who share our passion for progress,” says Dextra Group Geotechnical Product Line General Manager Pierre Hofmann. “The NEx platform provides a valuable opportunity for us to showcase our products and solutions, engage in discourse about the future of engineering and construction, explore new ideas and develop sustainable solutions.”

Euclid Chemical, Cleveland, has received two Fiber Reinforced Concrete Association Innovative Fiber Project of the Year Awards. They recognize distinguished work involving the specification and/or use of fiber-reinforced concrete by a contractor, architect, engineer, facility owner or precast concrete producer. Evaluated by a panel of industry experts based on their innovative use of FRC and its value to advancing FRC within the concrete industry, the projects are assigned across five categories: Micro-synthetic, Macro-synthetic, Steel, Glass and Natural fibers. In the Macrofiber category, Euclid Chemical won a first-place award for supplying its Tuf-Strand SF synthetic macrofiber to the Tesla Gigafactory 5 project in Austin, Texas. In the Microfiber category, Euclid Chemical won a second-place IFPY Award for supplying its new PSI

Fiberstrand Repreve 225 synthetic microfiber to a Tractor Supply Co. project in Olive Branch, Miss. Used to mitigate plastic shrinkage cracks, PSI Fiberstrand Repreve 225 is manufactured from plastic bottles.

The American Society of Concrete Contractors, St. Louis, has scheduled the following events for 2023: Concrete Executive Leadership Forum, Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Colo., July 20-23; Annual Conference, Amway Grand Plaza, Grand Rapids, Mich., September 27-30; and, Safety Summit, St. Louis, November 8-9, in partnership with the Tilt-up Concrete Association and the American Concrete Pumping Association.

Separately, ASCC has named Chris Klemaske of Sundek National Accounts, Grand Prairie, Texas, as 2023-24 president. Elected vice presidents are Paul Albanelli of Albanelli Cement Contractors; Anthony DeCarlo, Jr. of TWC Concrete LLC; Cory Lee of Martin Concrete; and, Maizer Ouijdani of Conco. Aaron Gregory of Gregory Construction has been re-elected treasurer, while Ray Merlo of Merlo Construction Co. and David Somero of S&S Concrete Floors continue as directors. Newly elected directors are Jeff Coleman of Coleman & Erickson LLC and Matt Poppoff of Poppoff Inc.

The ASCC Decorative Concrete Council has elected Euclid Chemical’s Rich Cofoid as director and Michael Campbell of Trademark Concrete as director-elect. Jeff Keyes of Solomon Colors, Victor Klemaske of T.B. Penick & Sons, Ronaldo Traballo of Bomanite Southeast Asia and Jeremy Wilkerson of Structural Services Inc. continue as directors and are joined on the board by the newly elected Diedre Dann of Sundek National Accounts and Rob Sousa of Modern Concrete.

The ASCC Safety & Risk Management Council elected Heather Baines of North Coast Concrete, Cleveland, as 2023-24 director and John Messing of Joseph J. Albanese Inc. as director-elect. Jason Anglin of Christman Constructors, Joe Garza of DPR Construction, Joe Rock of Concrete Strategies, Willie Seiler of Keystone Structural Concrete, and Jason Sisk of Wayne Bros. Cos. continue as directors and are joined by newly elected Greg Miller of Webcor Concrete.

Also, ASCC has named Michael Hernandez, P.E., DBIA, as Technical Division director. He will oversee all division related activities, including serving as the authoritative voice for ASCC in verbal and written communication; providing technical support for the members and the organization, and, developing programming and resources to benefit the concrete contractor.

Hernandez holds an MBA from the University of Florida, an MSCE and BENVD from the University of Colorado, and was a Mechanical Engineering major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to this position, he worked as a project engineer for M. A. Mortenson, held several roles for Baker Concrete Construction, was a senior project manager for Parsons Construction Group, and most recently was a project manager for All Phase Concrete.

The Lowe’s Foundation, Mooresville, N.C. has committed $50 million over the next five years to prepare 50,000 people for skilled trades careers through grants to community and technical colleges and community-based nonprofits. The new strategic focus addresses one of the most critical worker shortages currently facing the U.S. economy, Foundation officials note, as 85 percent of contractors report trouble finding skilled workers, while an estimated 546,000 new skilled tradespeople will be needed to meet near-term demand.

“With the skilled trades industry facing a labor crisis, the Lowe’s Foundation is now poised to help train tens of thousands of qualified skilled tradespeople, giving each of them the opportunity to build a rewarding career and make lasting impacts in communities across the country,” says Lowe’s Vice President of Human Resources and Foundation Chair Janice Dupré. 

“We are bringing our network, expertise and resources to address this critical need and help ensure that the next generation of builders has the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the demands of our modern world.”

“Community colleges are uniquely qualified to provide the skills education necessary to fill the workforce pipeline,” notes American Association of Community Colleges CEO Walter Bumphus. “The commitment to skilled trades education in our community colleges by the Lowe’s Foundation will help thousands of hard-working individuals access and enter stable, fulfilling careers. There are more than 10 million students—almost half of all U.S. undergraduates—enrolled in the associate-degree granting institutions we represent. These institutions are deeply ingrained in their communities and well-placed to drive an increased interest in skilled trades training.”

The national Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grants program will accept applications for two-year grants to help build a sustainable infrastructure of innovative training programs to cultivate more job-ready tradespeople and address the skilled trades labor shortage throughout the U.S. The program will also aim to increase the number of young and diverse tradespeople.

Tom O’Malley of Brundage Bone Concrete Pumping has entered the American Concrete Pumping Association Hall of Fame, honoring individuals who joined the industry after its pioneering days and have made significant contributions to advancing the profession. A graduate of Indiana University, O’Malley began his construction career in 1985 with Rotec Industries, a concrete placing equipment specialist based near Chicago. He spent his early years operating conveyor systems for bridge deck and specialty concrete placing applications before transitioning to sales. 

After 12 years at Rotec, O’Malley joined Schwing America as Midwest regional manager, overseeing truck-mounted boom and line pump sales in a 12-state territory. In 2001, he relocated to Minnesota to assume the newly created position of marketing manager, proceeding over the next two decades to a series of senior management appointments at the manufacturer’s headquarters. Concurrent with the Schwing America tenure, he has been active in the Concrete Pump Manufacturers Association and ACPA, chairing or co-chairing the latter group’s Equipment Safety Applications and Communications Committees, while playing a central role in developing the ACPA Education Conference.