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Your First Stop for Piledriving Technology News

Ebsary Foundation Company of Miami, FL installed the first test pile for the US Army Corps of Engineers Herbert Hoover Dike Culvert 1 & 1A Rehabilitation project along Lake Okeechobee in Moore Haven, FL this past week.  Ebsary purchased the drill late last year with a new 765 HP APE Power unit and a new APE Model 300 Vibratory Driver / Extractor.  The demonstration, reaction and test piles were all 24? diameter and ranged in length from 88 – 9 3 ft.  The piles took approximately 14 cubic yards of high strength grout with average drilling and pump time of 25-35 minutes. This was the first time Ebsary used their new APE / J&M 110K Drill and it ran perfectly with no problems of any kind.  ?APE/J&M continues to provide Ebsary with durable, reliable drills and vibratory hammers.  Their equipment capabilities and dependable service have allowed Ebsary to confidently pursue larger foundation and marine w ork? says President Scott Alfele.

We at APE / J&M are proud to be the Main Supplier of Foundation Equipment for Ebsary Foundation Company and look forward to many more years of helping them stay at the top of the Foundation Industry in Florida with 24 / 7 Service and the best products available.

APE / J&M has a new 110,000 ft. lb. drill in stock for immediate delivery, for information concerning the Purchase or Rental of the new APE / J&M 110,000 ft. lb. Drill please call Jim Casavant @ 1-863-660-8716 or email Jim at jimc@apevibro.com.

Penny Sisson, Office Manager and Wally Brumsey, Southeast Sales Representative worked with Mark Guin with Scott Bridge regarding the CSXT Mobile River Bridge project in Alabama. The APE Service team, especially Felton Wells,  spent a good amount of time installing and starting up the equipment with the customer. Here we have some pictures and good words from Mark Guin in regards to the APE equipment Scott Bridge used on the job:

Here is the Kong getting ready. The second picture is the entire bridge that was built and stored on the pilings we were trying to get out. Look at the size of the crane next to the new bridge and it puts it in perspective. The third picture is an aerial of the same. The fourth pic is the original turning type bridge between the towers that are going to raise up and down vertically the new bridge. The fifth is the old bridge turned to allow river traffic. The last picture is the new bridge put in place. The two locations are 6 miles apart.  At any rate thanks for all your help. It is great to work with folks like yourself and Wally.

A big thanks to the APE team down in Florida and Mark Guin for providing the pictures and commentary, we hope to do more business with Scott Bridge in the future. Wally Brumsey sends a special thanks to Mike Cribbs and Felton Wells for a job well done.

Costa Fortuna has taken delivery of  new APE 200T with a 700 HP Power unit for use in the town of Almerim, Brazil on the Amazon River. Our long time Customer is driving 800 and 1200 mm Pipe Pile for Electric Transmission Tower bases, the overall height of the Towers will be 280 meters.

The Pipe Pile are 48 meters long and are driven to 150 ton capacity with some Pile testing over 360 tons. The Pile are started with the APE 200T / 700 and finished with a APE D50-42 Diesel Hammer, in some cases the pile are taken almost to grade and then set checked with the D50-42 to prove Bearing Capacity.

Michele Corda the Equipment Manager for Costa Fortuna was very impressed with the patented APE  two – stage suppressor Housing and it’s ability to dampen Vibration back to their new Liebherr Crane. While using their much older Foster 4150 Vibro the Crane computer would shut down due to the excessive Vibration from the old style Suppressor, not only did that shut down problem stop with the APE 200T but it also outdrove the heavier 4150 with ease at much lower fuel use.

Savia Peru has taken delivery of their new APE D128 with APE / SEMW Offshore Leader system, this Hammer will be used to Drive Oil Platform legs 300 ft long or more off the Coast of Peru. With the fine Crew from Savia Peru doing excellent work the Hammer and Leader where put together and tested on a Batter pile of similar rake as the Oil Platform legs in 2 days. The Hammer and Leader system weighed in at 68 tons and is rated for up to an 8.5 degree batter. APE and SEMW have many options for Offshore systems and can fit any need.

Costa  Fortuna in Sao Paulo, Brazil has purchased a new 200T Vibro and 700 Power unit with an 8 ft Caisson Beam and (2) 200 Caisson clamps and a 200 Sheet clamp. This Equipment will be used in Belem, Brazil on a Massive Power line Project. Costa Fortuna is a repeat APE customer and we wish them all the best in the future. For Sales in the Caribbean, Central or South America please contact:

Jim Casavant 1-863-660-8716 Cell 24/7 or jimc@apevibro.com

Three APE hammers have been putting in hours for the I-595 Widening, in Broward County, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area). The APE 150, 200 and J&M 28-35 Vibratory Driver Extractors have made quick work of 3 miles of sheet pile seawall, a half mile of sheet pile for MSE wall,  18″ and 24″ square pre-stressed concrete piles for bridge construction, 5 and 12 each sealed cofferdams for micro-tunneling launching and receiving shafts. The General Contractor on the Job is Dragados USA, the information about the job along with photos has been provided to APE by Scott Alfele, President of Ebsary Foundation Company.

The following contractors have been involved in project:

• Dragados USA – 3 miles of sheet pile for seawall and ½ mile of sheet pile for MSE wall support
• Dragados Baker JV – 18” sq. pre-stressed concrete piles for bridges
• GLF Construction Corp. – 18” and 24” sq. pre-stressed concrete piles for bridges
• Bradshaw Construction Corp. – 12 ea. sealed cofferdams for microtunneling launching and receiving shafts
• GlobTec Construction Co. – 5 ea. sealed cofferdams for microtunneling launching and receiving shafts

Vice Construction had a job with Alabama Power where pulling in a crane on the job site with a vibratory hammer wouldn’t be possible. So APE teamed up with Erickson Air Crane to come up with a solution that has worked in the past, a Flying APE 150 Vibratory Hammer! The location was a tough squeeze and there were times the team was driving the cans within a hundred feet from peoples homes. The helicopter had to work at a “higher” than normal altitude due to the fact that the clearing tract for the job was not wide enough for the helicopter to work in, so needless to say the air crane had to remain above the tree line.

You can imagine the pilot had his work cut out for him; the longer the line, the more difficult it will be to maneuver. The piles were 48 inch (3/8 wall) and up to 48 feet long. Piles were driven the week after thanksgiving. On Monday, November 29th the job site had some of the worst weather of the year. Tornado warnings, storms, wind, rain, we were not able  fly unfortunately. The APE 150 finished its job Friday. Once we found the groove, things went smooth (As smooth as one can go with a 9000 h.p. helicopter overhead churning up 100 m.p.h. winds below).

GLF Construction recently purchased a Used APE 300 Vibro with a 630 Power unit and a APE Model 50 Drill with a APE 350 Power unit for the Port Galeota project in Trinidad. This is the second purchase by GLF for their continuing business in Trinidad. Project Manager Andy Sosa and Construction Manager Rick Alexander are looking forward to getting started after a year delay. I will be going down for the start up when the Barge arrives.
Good luck GLF and thank you for purchasing APE equipment.

Jim Casavant

American Piledriving Equipment
Regional Sales Manager

1-863-660-8716 cell anytime
1-863-815-5543 fax anytime

jimc@apevibro.com
jcasavant@earthlink.net

The APE southeastern operation has moved to its new facility at Mulberry, Florida. The new 5 acre facility will give APE the largest and most efficient yard in the industry. Also on site is a huge 100,000 square foot building equipped with overhead cranes This large space will permit all weather servicing of APE equipment.
Part of the facility will be equipped for use in manufacturing APE power units and assembling APE vibros. This will be the first APE manufacturing facility in the eastern US and will greatly ease service and shipment to the Caribbean and South American markets.

The yard will be serviced by two cranes, a 150 ton Bucyrus Erie and a smaller American 5299.

The APE Southeast management and crew wish to thank all of the customers who have believed in us and made this progress possible. We look forward to servicing your requirements from the new facility and extend an open invitation to visit us anytime.

Lane Construction has been chosen as the design/build contractor for a new bridge over the Indian River in Titusville, Florida. The new bridge is named The Maxwell Brewer Bridge, construction began on June 1.
This 3100-ft long, 4-lane bridge will replace a 2-lane drawbridge which is over 50 years old. The new bridge will eliminate traffic congestion; while speeding hurricane evacuation of the nearby Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding areas including the nudist colony at nearby Canaveral Beach.
The foundations for the bridge and approaches include 64 – 36” square piles over 200 feet long each. There are also 84 – 30” square piles of the same length and 118 – 24” piles. The 36” and the 30” piles are all spliced piles. A spliced pile is usually more difficult to drive correctly because the permitted stress specifications are reduced by approximately 50%. To prevent overstressing the pile, the energy going into the pile from the hammer must be strictly controlled. Lane has chosen an APE D-125 diesel hammer for the 36” piles and an APE D-100 diesel hammer for the 30”. An APE D-62 will drive the 24” piles.
The diesel hammers feature the hydraulic start mechanism and the APE hydraulic fuel system. This system permits finite stroke height control which translates into excellent pile stress reduction.
In addition to the diesel hammers, the project will employ APE vibros for the sheet piling and pile template construction. An APE Model 75 hydraulic earth auger will be used to pre-drill for the 24” piles under the approach slabs.
Lane’s bridge superintendent, Paul Roux states: “ We look to APE to assist us with our pile driving. APE equipment arrives at the jobsite properly prepared, performs flawlessly and, if a problem comes up, APE service technicians always provide prompt and effective product support at the jobsite. Project downtime is minimized.”
Pile installation will continue for the balance of 2009 and should be completed by the end of the year. APE will be there to offer support if needed.