Plastics Pipe Institute Announces Industry Winners: Projects Benefiting Environment

Projects Benefitting Environment: Common Thread; Members of the Year Also Named 

IRVING, TX – The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) has announced the winners of its Projects and Members of the Year.  The award-winning 2024 projects included the tallest building in Texas, the largest bridge in Florida and a massive under-the-bay force main pipeline. 

“We had many innovative, first-of-their-kind projects nominated this year,” stated PPI President, David M. Fink.  “And the common thread is that they all had an environmental benefit.  This wide range of winners included a building, a bridge, an under-the-river pipeline, rehab of an oil production water supply plus a turnpike.  This proves that plastic pipe in a myriad of applications can provide an economical, long-life, sustainable solution for nearly any project.  Our congratulations to all the winners, plus the environment and our infrastructure which will greatly benefit from each of these projects.” 

The awards were presented during the group’s annual worldwide meeting held in Indian Wells, Calif. May 12–15, 2025.  PPI is the major North American trade association representing the plastic pipe industry.  Each year the PPI membership reviews and votes on Project of the Year and a Member of the Year for each of the five PPI divisions – Building & Construction, Drainage, Energy Piping Systems, Municipal & Industrial, and Power & Communications.  The PPI Member of the Year Award is for an individual’s outstanding support and contributions to the association and the industry.   

PPI winning projects and members are: 

PPI Building & Construction Division Project of the Year 

• The Waterline Complex, Austin, Texas 

• PPI Member Company:  GF Building Flow Solutions LLC, Apple Valley, MN    

The tallest building in Texas, at 74 stories, the Waterline is a mixed-use complex that will be qualified to achieve LEED® Gold certification due to the use of sustainable features and products including an energy-efficient PEX-based radiant heating and cooling system along with a corrosion-resistant, hybrid PEX and CPVC domestic water system.  These systems were installed using 1,841 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ PEX-a pipe for radiant heating and cooling in the hotel lobby plus ½ to 1½-inch diameter Uponor AquaPEX® PEX-a pipe for unit piping in the hotel and residences along with 2 to 8-inch diameter Uponor ChlorFIT® Schedule 80 Corzan® CPVC for mains, risers, and mechanical room.  Both Uponor and Wirsbo are part of GF Building Flow Solutions, which received the Project of the Year Award from the Building and Construction Division of the Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. 

PPI Drainage Division Project of the Year 

• Howard Frankland Bridge, Tampa, FL 

• PPI Member Company:  Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS), Hilliard, OH 

The new Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa is the largest in Florida with more than 2.6 million square feet of bridge deck area, and costing $875 million. 

Originally built as a single, four-lane, three-mile span in 1960 as part of I-275 connecting Tampa to St. Petersburg, the new bridge will have two separate roadways with each having four general purpose lanes and two express lanes. 

Use of polypropylene pipe provided the project with a drainage system that would prevent erosion of the low-lying areas leading up to the Causeways.  The strength and stiffness of the pipe, also provided the required premium joint performance.  Slotted high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe was used to handle runoff, and mitigate hydroplaning.  Both types of pipe needed to be resilient to saltwater and not corrode in this aggressive environment.  Nearly 10,000 feet of ADS HP Storm polypropylene pipe plus more than 7,000 feet of 12-inch diameter ADS HDPE slotted surface trench drain were used, winning the Project of the Year Award for Advanced Drainage Systems from the PPI Drainage Division.  

PPI Energy Piping Systems Division Project of the Year    

• Upgrading Canadian Oil Producer Pipeline 

• PPI Member Company:  FlexSteel USA, LLC        

A major Canadian oil producer had to rehabilitate an old NPS 14 carbon steel pipeline constructed in the 1980s that supplied freshwater from two wells to a bitumen recovery facility. 

Several buildings and other pipelines, however, were in the way.  Plus, sections of the old line were under up to 25 feet of soil, and the terrain along the right-of-way included muskeg.  The swampy bog along with the burial depth plus the need for expediency led to pulling 4,000 feet of FlexSteel spoolable 10-inch 1500 psi pipe through the old, buried pipeline.  This pipe-in-pipe installation minimized both the amount of excavation and disruption above ground.  The new pipe was pulled through the old in just five days, and the entire 4000-ft. line was restored to production a short time later.  FlexSteel received the Project of the Year Award for the Energy Piping Systems Division of PPI.   

PPI Municipal & Industrial Division Project of the Year 

• Boat Harbor, James River Crossing, Treatment Plant, Newport News, VA 

• PPI Member Companies: 
  High Country Fusion, Fairfield, ID 
  Performance Pipe, Plano, TX 
  AGRU America, Georgetown, SC 
  
• HDPE Users:
  Garney Construction, Kansas City, MO 
  Dewberry Engineering, Fairfax, VA 

Running more than a mile of new 42-inch diameter pipe in less than 24 hours for a new force main 100 feet under the James River along with nearly 20,000 feet of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe won the Project of the Year Award from the Municipal & Industrial Division of the Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI).  Association-member companies Performance Pipe and AGRU provided the pipe in diameters ranging from 42 to 54 inches for the new pipeline that takes raw wastewater underneath the James River to the Nansemond Treatment Plant in Suffolk, Virgina that processes an average of 30 million gallons of wastewater a day.  The HDPE pipe was selected because it is flexible, resilient, can be installed using horizontal directional drilling (HDD), would not be affected by corrosive salt water and would be leak-free, protecting the environment.  The award was presented to PPI member companies High Country Fusion, which provided the pipe, fittings, fusion equipment and led the off-shore team, plus pipe manufacturers Performance Pipe, a division of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company and AGRU America, along with Garney Construction (Kansas City, MO) and Dewberry Engineering (Fairfax, VA). 

PPI Power & Communications Division Project of the Year   

• Pennsylvania Turnpike Micro-Trenching Project 

• PPI Member Company:  Dura-Line, Knoxville, TN 

More than 500 miles of Dura-Line micro duct was used to build the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s automated collection system that also connects highway condition monitoring units and other devices supporting traffic management.  Additionally, the system features other conduit pathways for additional fiber cable installations for the turnpike, and to provide for extending broadband reach to underserved communities.  Dura-Line received the Power & Communications Division’s Project of the Year award for the use of its FuturePath, 8-way 16/12 mm micro duct.  

PPI Members of the Year 

PPI Building & Construction Division Member of the Year 

• Daniel Pierce 
  Dewberry Engineering, Fairfax, VA 

Pierce serves as Chair of the PPI Emerging Professionals Group and was the founding member of the group in 2024. He was a TG member for ten BCD projects that have been completed successfully, also serves as Chair  for the third edition of the PEX Plumbing Design Guide and is a member on ten other division R&D projects.  

PPI Drainage Division Member of the Year 

• Dan Figola 
  Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., Hilliard, OH 

Figola’s contributions to the PPI Drainage Division, particularly in the areas related to sustainability and resiliency included assisting in developing and highlighting the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on the use of plastic recycled materials in infrastructure, in which corrugated HDPE pipe is prominently featured and favorably profiled for its technical, economical, and environmental viability.  He also worked on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report comparing the reuse of plastic recycled material in durable goods (i.e. pipe) vs. single-use products (i.e. bottles), which documented the reduced environmental footprint (GHG, water) for plastic pipe.  Figola has shared the outcomes from the NAS and NIST reports to ASTI, PPI and other organizations.  He also serves as a Committee Chair within     ASTM E60 on Sustainability.  In his role as PPI Sustainability Vice Chair, he led the development of sustainability definitions for PPI and assisted with PPI’s positions on PFAS and microplastics.  He continues to serve PPI as the Sustainability Committee Chair. 

PPI Municipal & Industrial Division Member of the Year 

• Gerry Groen, P. Eng. 
  Infra Pipe Solutions, Ltd., Ontario, Canada 

Groen’s leadership, technical expertise, and tireless support for multiple projects continued to be extremely valuable to the division and the industry.  This included being the task group chair for multiple projects such as fabricated fittings, thrust restraint, and many more.  A participating member of PPI for more than 20 years, he was awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership in PPI in 2018, and named the division’s Member of the Year for 2022. 

PPI Power & Communications Division Member of the Year 

• Andrew Nause 
  IPEX USA, LLC, Pineville, NC 

 In 2024, Nause became the marketing chair for the PCD management committee and chaired the conduit joining task group and was heavily involved in the formation work of the Codes  and Standards Committee.  He is the Innovation Manager at IPEX and volunteers as the Chair of the PCD Communications Committee, and sits on the PCD Management Committee.  Nause led the development of the recently published Technical Note on Joining of Conduit and has participated in numerous other PCD projects and committees, including the Division’s Strategic Plan for 2025-2028. 

More information can be found at www.plasticpipe.org.