Jacobs Associates has a new business division dedicated to its construc- tion management (CM) practice: Jacobs Asso- ciates Const ruct ion Managers (JACM). Through this new division Jacobs Associates will continue to focus on heavy civil and underground construction projects, providing special- ized services from staff with training and certifications specific to CM. JACM is led by Rafael Castro, a principal with Jacobs Associates. Two new hires have joined the new division. John Kaplin, LEED AP, joined the Boston office as a senior associate. He has more than 25 years of con- struction management, construction man- agement at risk, lump sum bidding, and design-build projects. Judy Cochran, PMP, joined the Seattle office as a lead associate. She has 25 years of construction management experience, primarily on large waste-water projects. Her experience includes, review of contractor claims and differing site conditions, and negotiations and dispute resolution. She holds an M.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Strata Systems, Inc., a Glen Raven company and manufacturer and marketer of soil reinforcement products, acquired 50% of the equity in Geo Solucões Ltd. of Brazil. With offices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Geo Solucões Ltd. is a Brazilian geotechnical solutions company that designs and builds advanced soil reinforcement structures including retaining walls, soil nailing, slope protection and foundation piling systems. Ultimately, the venture will offer a full range of Strata-branded geosynthetics for distribution throughout Brazil. Strata will also explore opportunities to introduce other Glen Raven products into South America. The venture continues Strata’s growth and the success of its other joint venture company, Strata Geosystems India, Pvt. Ltd., located in Mumbai, India. The new affiliation is reflected in the name of the Brazil-based company, now named Geo Solucões, a Strata Company. Atlas Copco, a provider of sustainable productivity solutions, acquired Pneumatic Holdings Inc., a U.S. maker of pneumatic light construction tools. Pneumatic Holdings, based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., provides light pneumatic construction tools includ- ing paving breakers, chipping hammers, rivet busters and rock drills. The new legal owner is Atlas Copco Construction Mining Technique USA, LLC. Pneumatic Holdings’ main customer segments are contractors and rental companies in the construction industry. The company becomes part of the Construction Tools division in Atlas Copco’s Construction Technique business area. Atlas Copco also purchased the operational assets of Archer Underbalanced Services, a leading service provider of down-the-hole hammers, drill bits and compressed air packages to U.S. land-based oil and gas drilling companies. Archer Underbalanced is part of Archer Well Services. The acquired assets include five service locations near major oil and gas reserves, and a drill bit manufacturing facility in Carlsbad, New Mexico. A total of 75 Archer Underbalanced employees is expected to transition to Atlas Copco. The acquired business will become part of Atlas Copco’s Mining and Rock Excavation Technique business area. Soilmec agent Champion Equipment Sales, LLC (CES) announced a partnership with Paco Construction Equipment Company (PACO) to sell, lease, and service the Soilmec SM line of microdrilling rigs in the western U.S., and in British Columbia and Alberta Canada. The SM line features drilling rigs for tie-back, micropile and limited access projects. CES and PACO have each served the foundation construction industry for more than 50 years, with combined experience of more than 100 years between them. The partnership adds two new service centers: one in Seattle, Wash., (PACO headquarters) and one in Calgary, Alberta. This enhances the existing CES service network in Salt Lake City, Utah; Paramount, Calif.; and Nisku, Alberta. Professor Jean-Louis Briaud, Ph.D., P.E., Texas A&M University, has published a new book, Geotechnical Engineering: Unsaturated and Saturated Soils. The book is 1,000 pages long with 1,300 illustrations and 400 problems with solutions next to the problems at the end of each chapter. If you order before February 28, 2014 you can use a special code (BRI13) to get 30% off the list price of $165. For more information or to purchase the book visit www.wiley.com/buy/9780470948569. If you are a professor or instructor and are interested in contacting your local Wiley sales representative to discuss adopting the book and get an evaluation copy, visit http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Wiley Title/productCd-0470948566.html. West Coast Contractors (WCC) announced the arrival of Superintendent Ken Almberg to the team. WCC of Coos Bay, Ore., has taken on challenging construction projects across the North- west. Almberg brings his extensive project experience to head the Lower Granite Dam project that will build a dock and mooring dolphin at the dam for regional fish con- servation barges. WCC is partnering with Garco Construction and Total Site Services for new construction work as part of the Juvenile Fish Relocation Program along the Snake River. The program was developed by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the aquatic life that the river supports. The dam, roughly 20 miles northwest of Lewiston, Idaho, is the uppermost in a series of 15 major dams used to control and harness the energy of the river. Almberg has 22 years of heavy construction experience including many marine projects. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering are available at http://7icchge.mst.edu/proceedings/.These proceedings contain two special sessions: Symposium in Honor of Clyde N. Baker and the Special Session to Honor the Legacy of Ralph B. Peck. The proceedings also contain 315 papers from 58 countries, 11 state of the art, 38 invited and 266 contributed papers from 49 countries, and a CD-ROM and abstract volume. For more information, contact Shamsher Prakash, Ph.D., P.E., Dist. M ASCE, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering Missouri University of Science and Technology at [email protected]. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2014 • 89
