PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Take Your Favorite Supplier to Lunch! T his probably sounds backwards, doesn’t it? Don’t suppliers take their clients to lunch? Usually. But, what would the deep foundations industry be like without our suppliers of machinery, steel, aggregates and cement? We owe a lot of our successes to the innovative products provided by these folks. Bigger, better drills with very long masts and more torque, lighter ground pressures and new safety features. They provide us with bigger and better pumps. We now have multiple grades of high- strength steel with new cor ros ion prot e c t ion coatings and state-of-the-art stressing jack assemblies. We can measure how our projects are performing with new types of instrumentation that include vibrating wires and lasers. Wow, real Star Wars stuff. These are the people who make our events possible by religiously participating in sponsorships and stepping up with contributions for meals and giveaways. We all see them, bringing their wares to exhibit at booths year after year. Without their participation, our seminars and meetings would not be economically feasible. And our record production outputs for deep foundations, including size and speed of installation, add immensely to our ability to provide our services for prices that owners can afford. We are also fortunate to have suppliers that are passionate about industry advancement and participate in research projects in specific areas of interest. Many donate their time, equipment and materials as in-kind contributions to the Committee Project Funds. Others offer goods and services on a typical jobsite to go the extra mile. They will humor the engineer and contractor who want to take a load test to DFI is working to provide increased value to both manufacturers and suppliers. failure or contribute additional instrumentation to an excavation support system. All of this increases our body of knowledge about deep foundations and pro- vides the data necessary to write technical papers and complete research endeavors. Suppliers are key parti- cipants in DFI’s Technical Committee meetings. They help to broaden the topics that are discussed and can represent the voice of reason when addressing changes to ASTM standards, safety regulations, codes and other guidelines. They can help keep the folks writing technical manuals on track with practical suggestions and knowledge of what works in the field. DFI is exploring ways to expand the technical roles of these members in DFI activities and identify opportunities that increase their exposure, contacts, networking and showcasing of products, services and technical expertise. At the Annual Conferences in Phoenix and Atlanta, manufacturer and supplier roundtables John Wolosick President [email protected] were held to discuss this possibility. From these meetings a new committee has emerged to support this goal. DFI is working to provide increased value to these important members and compete successfully with other organizations that vie for their support. When I joined the deep foundations industry around 1980, I remember that we were selling 50 ft (15 m) long tieback anchors for about $2,500 each. In the ensuing 35 years, those prices have not changed that much. In those days, we were using homemade, converted blast drills or air-track machines with 5,000 lb-ft of torque for installations. Our modern, high torque hydraulic machines, with rod carousels and almost infinite adjustability have made us much more productive. Thanks to all of our suppliers for making DFI viable and successful. Here’s to another 35 years of innovations and pro- ductive, safe, deep foundation installations with the help of our suppliers! (Appro- priate beverage chugged at this time!) DFI’s Distinguished Service Award Nominate a peer or a colleague for DFI’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award (DSA). The award recognizes individuals who have made exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. Nominations Are Due April 15, 2015. For more information visit: www.dfi.org/awardslectures.asp DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAR/APR 2015 • 7
