At its recent annual membership meeting with record-setting attendance, the Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) honored four individual members and five member company projects. Winners were recognized for exceptional service and significant achievements involving the use of polyethylene (PE) pipe. PPI is the major trade association representing all segments of the plastic pipe industry.
Presented during the May 5-8 meeting in St. Pete Beach, Fla., the award winners from each division of PPI were:
Building and Construction Division: Uponor, Inc., Apple Valley, Minn.
Awarded Project:? Pier 15 Exploratorium
San Francisco?s new Pier 15 Exploratorium will host more than 1 million visitors annually as a cultural and science learning center. The recent renovation included a PEX-based radiant heating and cooling system. It is now a net-zero energy and a net-zero carbon, 330,000-sq-ft facility with LEED-Gold certification. ?
Conduit Division: Endot Industries, Inc., Rockaway, N.J.
Awarded Project:? Beebe Wind Farm Project
One of the newest wind power operations, the Beebe Wind Farm in Breckenridge, Mich. has 34 turbines operational with another 16 coming on-stream in 2013. Use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit pipe to house the power cables is speeding the installation process, achieving significant cost savings and providing long life without the need for cathodic protection. Installation is being done by both cut-and-cover and horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
Corrugated Plastic Pipe Division: Prinsco, Inc., Willmar, Minn.
Awarded Project:? Hillcrest Knoll Park Project
More than 2,500 ft of 60-in. diameter corrugated HDPE pipe was used to construct a retention system capable of storing 85,000 cubic ft of water in order to convert a swampy flooded area into a park and public green space. The Hillcrest Knoll Park in St. Paul, Minn. is a now a benchmark for drainage retention best management practices.
Energy Piping Systems Division: FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies, Inc., Houston, Texas
Awarded Project: High Pressure Water Transfer Line
Steel-reinforced, flexible polyethylene, 8 in. diameter, was used for a 17,000-ft run to bring water to a drilling site in north central Pennsylvania. Operating pressure was 1,500 psi. Typically, steel pipe would have been specified. The pipe ? using PE 4710 for the internal liner and external sheath ? came in 600-ft coils, which was not possible with steel pipe. This greatly increased the integrity of the pipeline, reduced installation cost and was installed in minimally-wide trenches at a rate of one-third the time of steel pipe.
Municipal and Industrial Division: Performance Pipe, a division of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Plano, Texas and ISCO Industries, Louisville, Ky.
Awarded Project:? San Antonio Water System
Originally designed to use steel and ductile iron pipe, this water pipeline extension for the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) used 328 truckloads of PE 4710 pipe that totaled some 11 million lbs. There was 122,000 ft of pipe, making it the largest HDPE water pipe project in North America. This new pipeline is bringing water from an aquifer to the SAWS potable water distribution system.
The PPI Members of the Year are:
Brian Chestnut, Lane Enterprises, Inc., Camp Hill, Pa., PPI CPPA Division
Dane Chang, Dow Chemical Company, Freeport, Texas, PPI EPS Division
Wes Long, Performance Pipe, Inc.? a division of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Plano, Texas, PPI M&I Division
George Zagorski, Blue Diamond Industries, LLC, Lexington, Ky., PPI B&C Division
?We had 316 attending from our membership roster, which is a record for our 60-year-old organization,? stated Tony Radoszewski,
executive director of the PPI. ?Attendance has been growing steadily during the past five years for both our spring and fall meetings. This can be attributed to many factors, the key ones being the growth in use of plastic pipe, our agenda and guest speakers plus the technical sessions conducted by each division.
?The award program is also one of the highlights because it is the recognition of one?s peers.? Each nominated member and project is reviewed and voted upon by each division management committee. That is why it is so significant to receive either the Project of the Year or Member of the Year award.?
For more information, visit the Plastics Pipe Institute website:? www.plasticpipe.org.
