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Your First Stop for Piledriving Technology News

The world’s largest vibratory pile driver is now complete. I want to send a personal thank you to everybody who helped make the Octakong a reality.  From the engineering, machining, fabrication, purchasing, assembly, testing, packing, shipping, and re-assembly in China. All of APE China thanks you!  I know that many of you worked many long hours to make the Octakong come to life and I want to let you know that you should be proud.  The equipment to drive the world’s largest bridge piles will be done with American made equipment.  I am proud of APE and all of our vendors for working so hard with us.  First Harbor Marine Group of China, which is the largest marine based construction group in China, was very impressed with APE’s quality, professionalism, and speed in which we made these 8 hammers.  With Chuck, Daniel, Jerry, Pavel, Mike, Yang, and Steve along side a team of 50 people were able to assemble the Octakong in 12 days. This was no easy task and the eyes of the pile driving world are upon us as we now await to drive our first test pile on May 5th 2011.  If the 72 foot diameter (22 meter) pile can be driven successfully, then it will change the way many other projects around the world can be done.  The Octakong will save nearly 2 years of time compared to using sheet piles.

It’s time to visit Las Vegas for one of worlds largest gatherings for the construction industry, CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The APE booth is currently in full swing on Silver Lot 4, number S-19122. Stop by and grab some drinks and information while checking out our equipment displays. For this years show we brought along some diesel hammers, vibratory driver extractors, drill, power unit and some of our attachment offerings as well as our D1 impact hammer for giving live demonstrations of diesel hammers in action. We are also giving away some APE hats and shirts so be sure to ask if you are interested. When you make the trip to the Grand Lobby be sure to take a look on the big screen for our advertisement for an upcoming reality series on APE Piledrivers. Besides hanging out with us at the APE booth Conexpo offers plenty for visitors to see and do this year:

• Over 2,000 exhibitors
• A comprehensive education program during the five-day exposition with sessions emphasizing industry issues and trends, management and applied technology
• Product concentration areas making it easy for visitors to locate specific products, services and exhibitors of interest to them including hundreds of new products and technologies

See New Products and Technologies

Get close and size up the newest equipment and technology in the construction industry. Bring yourself up to speed on new systems and instrumentation. See all the latest innovations making our industry greener, safer and more precise.

Meet Today’s Technical Experts

Tap the smartest minds in construction for applicable ideas useful to your business now and in the future.

New Focus on Education

CONEXPO-CON/AGG has a comprehensive schedule planned—a total of 126 sessions—covering an expansive range of topics, including:

• Equipment manager exams
• Crane operator certification programs
• Site development
• Asset management
• Sustainability
• Workforce development

New International Mixer Drive Championship

Sponsored and conducted by NRMCA, this LIVE competition recognizes the most talented individuals worldwide in delivering one of the world’s most versatile building materials.

As many of you may know APE is in the process of completing the largest pile driving setup in the world. The Chinese government will be driving the largest piles the planet has ever seen for the construction of one of the world’s longest bridges. APE was selected to build the hammer for the job, it has been hailed as the Octakong! The complexities, deadlines and cultural complications make this project the largest challenge APE has faced for a single customer.

Plans for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge have been in the works for several years (link here) , it will connect three major cities of southern China. Congressman Dave Reichert recently visited our facility to show his support for the stimulation of the local economy through the monetary scope and physical size of this project (link here). With is article are 3D renderings by our engineers of the finished Octakong. We won’t be able to see it fully assembled until it hits China.

APE wanted to take a moment to let our vendors know how much we appreciate our partnerships. We also would like to broaden the understanding for our “need for speed” in terms of the parts needed to assemble the Octakong. Together we are making this project a reality whether some of us realize or not. The world is watching and we are positive we can show the world that APE, with our network of vendors, was able to meet the Chinese demands and do the job right and on time. The ship dates for the Octakong are approaching, and time is important, the folks here at APE appreciate all the help we have had from all of our partners in meeting our extreme deadlines for this project.

At the DFI Annual Conference in Los Angeles, California, Franki Segura presented the idea to the DFI Committee to host a Super Pile in Mexico.

The idea was well received by both the DFI Organization Committee and the President of Mexico’s Geo-Technical Engineering Society (www.smig.org.mx)

As a result of this meeting, Walter Paniagua President of  SMIG invited Franki Segura and Theresa Rapaport to participated in the XXV Annual Reunion of the Geo-Technical Society in Acapulco, Mexico.

More than 400 industry experts were present at the show where APE had a booth and plenty of traffic.

As a result of the show, a new strategic alliance between APE and an important Mexican Foundation Equipment Distributor is about to take place.

Also, at this meeting APE, DFI, and SMIG continued planning Mexico’s Super Pile Event expected to happen November 2011.

Mexico is starting to feel the presence of APE.

David Vo had the great idea idea of starting up an Indoor Soccer Team and signed up the team for a soccer tournament here in Kent, Washington.

Some of the Superstars playing on the team are: Poncho, Ben, David, Evan, Josh, Dan, Jacob, and Franki.

Although they did not win the first two games, the team is growing stronger by gaining confidence, technique, and experience on every game.

All the other teams have lots of experience and APE’s team is already putting up a tough fight.

Soon enough the APE team will be taking home some trophies.

Keep it up fellows…

West Coast Contractors has chosen APE/J&M equipment to assist in their assault in driving 16 inch and 24 inch precast concrete pile. The task of driving concrete piles with a diesel hammer is enhanced, maximizing production by using hydraulic trips and variable hydraulic throttles. APE/J&M is the largest consumer of vegetable based hydraulic oil “Terresolve” in North America, and with available alternatives such as vegetable based fuels and lubes instead of fossil based consumables, the use of APE/J&M equipment can change any jobsite as green and environmentally friendly as possible. Contact your local APE/J&M office to find out how our team can enhance your profitability and lower your jobsite environmental footprint.

The International Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo 2009 will be held at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel and Spa in Orlando, Florida this year. Starting March 15th through March 19th in the outdoor exhibits you can find the APE crew at booths 1036, 1037, 1038, 1039 and 1040.

APE will be exhibiting a full range of deep foundation construction equipment from rigs to vibros.

We are looking forward to visiting with you and presenting to you why APE/J&M is the World’s Leading Foundation Equipment Manufacturer.

APE/J&M “We Build The World’s Foundations”.

APE will be attending along with two other representatives from Russia. Vladimir Nifontov with SFS will be hosting Dave Yingling from the APE/J&M Kent, WA Factory and Martijn Kleine with APE Holland in The Netherlands.

We are proud to have the opportunity to present our individual and combined abilities to enhance your profits with the most cutting edge technology available in the deep foundation market.

Come visit us at booth number 10532