Van E. Komurka, P.E. D.GE, received the Presidential Award for Distin- guished Service from the Pile Driv- ing Contractors Association (PDCA). Komurka, president of Wagner Komurka Geo- technical Group, Inc., is nationally recognized as a driven-pile design specialist, known for his contributions to the industry by pioneering new approaches to the design of cost- effective driven-pile foundation systems. He is a leader in training design profes- sionals, construction managers, university students and professors, and government staff in the niche science and fine art of driven-pile design, testing, and installation. APE (American Piledriving Equipment) opened a new branch at 9004 Yellowhead Trail, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2013. The location is led by APE 20-year veteran Larry Mulanax, previously APE’s equipment manager in its Kent headquarters, and 26-year mining industry veteran, Colin Grindle. Service, sales and rental of APE equipment for western Canada are served from the Edmonton location, as well as operation for the APE drilling program. The full-service shop is staffed with journeymen and apprentice mech- anics, equipped with overhead cranes and welding and fabrication stations. Professor Ikuo Towhata (University of Tokyo) was elected as the president of the Japanese Geotechnical Society until June 2016, succeeding Dr. Toru Sueoka (Taisei Corporation). The society’s Fifteenth Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering - 15ARC, will be held in Fukuoka in November 9-13, 2015. For more information visit www.15arc.org. BAUER Pileco Inc. will move its offices from Houston, Texas, to the BAUER Manufacturing Facility at 100 North FM 3083 East, Conroe, Texas on October 1. The move will strengthen and improve North American operations by having sales, service, parts and manufacturing in one location. Having both facilities work as one business unit will also provide better customer service. Atlas Copco introduced the next generation in its Secoroc COP line of down-the-hole hammers. The COP 66 is shorter, lighter and easier to operate than its predecessors and penetrates 15% faster. With fewer parts, reduced air consumption and a 30% shorter and lighter hammer than previous models, the COP 66 offers drillers a considerably longer service lifespan. It is ideal for use on the Atlas Copco Smart- ROC and FlexiROC drill rigs. Atlas Copco has also been ranked seventh by Newsweek Green Rankings, one of the world’s foremost corporate environmental rankings of the 500 largest publicly-traded, global companies by market capitalization. A total of 809 qualified companies were scored against eight key performance indicators based on the companies’ publically available data. Indicators include total energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste generation and recycling, reputation and sustainability incentives for senior management. Hayward Baker Inc. announced the promo- tion of Ken Kniss from project manager to engi- neer at the company’s regional office in Balti- more, Md. Kniss earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University and his M.S. in Civil Engineering with a focus in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Hayward Baker constructed a temporary earth retention system to accommodate the construction of a permanent concrete retaining wall when a century-old stone block retaining wall failure occurred in late April after heavy rain passed through Baltimore, Md. Part of East 26th Street and the sidewalk – along with eight parked cars, light poles and tons of soil – slid approximately 40 ft (12 m) down, covering the adjacent train tracks below with debris. Due to the time sensitivity of this project, HB worked seven days per week until the 26th Street residents were able to move back into their homes. Hayward Baker began work on a $9.1 mil- lion ground improvement contract for the K-10 South Lawrence Trafficway Project located in Lawrence, Kan., as a subcon- tractor to Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc. The project provides a significantly improved transportation infrastructure for the state, making it a top priority for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). Kleinfelder announced that it has acquired Hood Engineering & Technical Services, an Alberta-based, privately-owned organiza- tion providing engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) ser- vices to clients primarily in oil and gas, petrochemical and manufacturing indus- tries. The combination of Kleinfelder and Hood Group brings together complemen- tary strengths to create a unique, full- service engineering, architecture and environmental-consulting firm with extensive EPCM capabilities. 110 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • SEPT/OCT 2014
