LAKE ZURICH, IL, March 12, 2007 -- STI/SPFA has announced the winners of its "Tank of the Year", "Fabricated Product of the Year" and "New Product of the Year" Awards for 2006. "The winning products exemplify innovation and excellence in the design and erection of steel structures," said Wayne Geyer, Executive Vice President of STI/SPFA. "When safety is paramount, steel is the answer, and these peer-reviewed award winning designs are the best of the best".
A new award was introduced this year, to recognize suppliers for an innovation deemed the most helpful new product for use by steel plate fabricators. The first New Product of the Year Award was presented to Morrison Bros. Co. of Dubuque, IA, for a Test Mechanism for AST Overfill Prevention Valves. "The Test Mechanism enables the operator to verify that the overfill prevention valve is functioning as designed from the ground," said John Freund, Vice President of Manufacturing, "eliminating the need to climb on top of the tank, and improving safety for all concerned."
Earning a Steel Tank of the Year Award in the Reservoir category, BMT-Northwest LLC was honored for a six million gallon water tank in Lynden, WA. The low profile tank was designed, fabricated, erected and painted to blend into the landscape. Tnemec Company, Inc. supplied the paint for this local eye-catcher, as well as the award winning tanks in Monroe Township, NJ, and Gig Harbor, WA.
The second largest fluted column water tank in the United States, a 3.4 million gallon tank in Monroe Township, earned the Steel Tank of the Year Award in the Elevated Tank category. Built by CBI Services, Inc. of Plainfield, IL, the tank is 175' tall and 125' wide, with a mammoth 111' diameter column. "The weight of the water is so great that a special center support column was required," said William Coogan, P.E., Project Manager, "which runs the entire height of the tank and utilized 2.2 million pounds of steel plate."
T Bailey, Inc. of Anacortes, WA, won the Steel Tank of the Year Award in the Standpipe category for a 2.5 million gallon tank in Gig Harbor. The 160' tall, 53' diameter structure was built of 1.25" thick steel. "The site was extremely tight and restricted access to the backside of the tank, and was subjected to extreme wind and rain throughout construction," said Gene Tanaka, President of T. Bailey. "To resist overturning in a seismic event, the 800,000 pound tank (excluding weight of the water) is anchored in a foundation 80' in diameter and 8' thick with almost 335,000 pounds of embedded reinforcing steel and 60,000 pounds of anchor bolts".
The winner of the Pipeline of the Year Award is Ameron International, Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The winning pipeline stretches from Lake Skinner to Temecula in Riverside County, and is part of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The project included 38,000 feet of 120" diameter welded steel pipeline, with field lap-welded joints every 40'. The interior was cement-mortar coated in the shop, and cement-mortar lined in the field. "Because there was no room to stage sections of pipeline prior to installation, pipe sections were trucked approximately 90 miles from the plant for immediate installation," said Henry Bardakjian, Chief Engineer for Ameron. "The delivery had to be carefully coordinated with up to 20 truck loads a day delivered 'just-in-time' on-site."
Hanson Pipe & Precast in Grand Prairie, TX, won the Pipeline Fabrication Project of the Year Award. The winning project is an installation of ten 96" diameter pump cans at the North Texas Municipal Water District's East Fork Raw Water Supply Project in Kaufman County. "The 62' pump cans are built in two 31' sections, assembled in the field and lined per AWWA standard requirements," said Jeff Mason, Marketing Director for Hanson. "The cans are designed to treat river water, which is diverted approximately 40 miles to a lake serving as the area's primary water supply."
STI/SPFA is an association serving companies fabricating steel tanks, piping and pressure vessels for use in the petroleum, food, water and chemical processing industries. STI/SPFA provides certification and training courses for steel tanks and piping, performs quality assurance inspections, develops industry standards and specifications, produces safety booklets, and serves as a liaison to regulatory and code authorities. Web: www.steeltank.com
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