The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) recently announced the winners of its Projects and Members of the Year. The award winners were recognized during the group’s annual worldwide meeting in Indian Wells, Calif., May 12–15.
“We had many innovative, first-of-their-kind projects nominated this year,” said 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.”
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.
In PPI’s Municipal & Industrial Division, the Project of the Year winner was the Boat Harbor, James River Crossing, Treatment Plant in Newport News, VA. The project saw the installation of more than a mile of new 42-in. diameter pipe in less than 24 hours for a new force main 100 ft under the James River along with nearly 20,000 ft of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. Association-member companies Performance Pipe and AGRU provided the pipe in diameters ranging from 42 to 54 in. for the new pipeline that takes raw wastewater underneath the James River to the Nansemond Treatment Plant in Suffolk, Virginia, that processes an average of 30 million gallons of wastewater a day.
The HDPE pipe was selected for its flexible and resilient properties, ability to be installed via 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).
Also in PPI’s Municipal & Industrial Division, the Member of the Year award went to Gerry Groen, P. Eng., of 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.
More information on this year’s award winners can be found at plasticpipe.org.
The Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) is the major North American trade association representing the plastic pipe industry and is dedicated to promoting plastic as the materials of choice for pipe and conduit applications.
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