PPI awards Projects and Members of the Year

Texas A&M Chilled and Hot Water Line Systems

Irving, Texas — The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI), announced the winners of its yearly Members and Projects of the Year Awards Program.  At its annual meeting, which was held in May at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho, the PPI membership recognized five projects and five PPI members for exceptional contributions to the industry.  Submissions in each of the association’s five divisions are reviewed, evaluated and voted upon by PPI members.  PPI is the major North American trade association representing all segments of the plastic pipe industry.

“Once again, we had unprecedented attendance at our meeting,” said PPI President Tony Radoszewski, CAE.  “One reason is our annual awards ceremony, and another is that this is an exciting time in our association and in the various industries our members serve.

“This year, we received excellent participation from our members and saw an increase in the number of nominations for this program.  We continue to see more and more different uses of plastic pipe.  This was evident in our Projects of the Year that included two installations that used plastic pipe in rather unique ways, and also with other winning projects that used miles of the pipe to speed installation and for cost efficiencies.

“So far this year we have added 16 new members and established more task groups within each of our five divisions to support the increasing use of plastic pipe across many industries.  This continued growth is an indicator of the success of PPI projects and programs that provide technical and engineering assistance in the development and design of plastic pipe systems.”

Radoszewski announced the following PPI winning projects:

PPI Building & Construction Division Project of the Year

Wilshire Grand Center, Los Angeles; PPI Member Company: Uponor, Inc., Apple Valley, Minn. — More than 20 miles of Uponor’s 3/4-inch PEX tubing was intertwined throughout the rebar in the concrete base for the Wilshire Grand Center in order to keep the slab at an even temperature to prevent cracking in the 21,200-cubic-yard foundation that was poured in less than 19 hours.  To properly cure the massive, 82 million pounds of concrete for the base of the Wilshire structure, the engineer specified a hydronic cooling system that used the Uponor PEX tubing to keep an even temperature in the slab to ensure it wouldn’t crack.

PPI Corrugated Plastic Pipe Division Project of the Year

South Carolina Department of Transportation Gateway Storm Water Drainage System; PPI Member Company:  Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS) — To construct the new stormwater drainage system during the rebuilding of the third busiest interchange in South Carolina, more than 41,000 feet of ADS corrugated HDPE pipe was used.  The large diameter, watertight pipe was selected for this design-build project because it met AASHTO M294 requirements, has a long projected life and could be delivered on a just-in-time basis to the jobsite.

The project involves creating a new interchange within the general footprint of the current interchange by staging construction of the new lanes, ramps, and bridges while maintaining traffic.  Ten new bridges including two flyovers, rehabilitation of two existing bridge structures, and modifications to the substructure of one existing bridge are also part of this new interchange system, called South Carolina’s largest transportation infrastructure project in more than 10 years.  New stormwater drainage will be installed throughout the Gateway Project that is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

PPI Energy Piping Systems Division Project of the Year

Texas A&M Chilled and Hot Water Line Systems; PPI Member Companies ISCO Industries and Performance Pipe — Replacing the college’s network of carbon steel pipe with HDPE pipe for chilled water lines and PE-RT pipe for heating hot water lines stopped water loss of 40 to 50 gallons of water a minute.  Texas A&M has become a leader with other universities inquiring about its system and how they can also change their systems.

PPI Municipal & Industrial Division Project of the Year

Water Delivery Pipeline to Rural Amish Community; PPI Member Companies:  Core & Main and WL Plastics — When Intercourse, Pa.’s water source became contaminated, Core & Main, along with pipe manufacturer WL Plastics, joined a team of contractors and engineers to provide a modern, durable infrastructure for this community of 380 customers.  To tap into the nearest municipal water system, more than 52,000 feet of HDPE pipe was used.

PPI Power & Communications Division Project of the Year

Illinois Tollway; PPI Member Company: Blue Diamond Industries, LLC — The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority embarked upon a $12 billion capital program starting in 2012 to provide northeastern Illinois with a state-of-the-art transportation system designed to relieve congestion, improve mobility and reduce pollution across the Midwest.  To link the electronics and power systems, more than a million feet of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit from Blue Diamond was used to protect fiber optic command/control and power cables for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).

Radoszewski announced the following PPI Member of the Year winners:

• David Nickelson, REHAU
• Tony Kime, Bluewater Pipe, Inc.
• Dustin Langston, WL Plastics
• Jeff Wright, GF Central
• Thomas Stewart, Dura-Line

In addition, in recognition of extraordinary service to the Plastics Pipe Institute and to the industry, PPI Honorary Lifetime Membership was bestowed upon Harvey Svetlik.