City Skyway cable-stayed bridge in Toledo, Ohio, and on the Four Bears Bridge in North Dakota. According to Felice, Faust is a “true asset to our deep foundations industry,” and an example to young engineers as the relationship between engineers and contractors becomes increasingly closer on more complex projects. Norm Kirk met Faust on the same bridge in Ohio. The project was a joint-venture with Fru-Con, a Bilfinger Berger subsidiary, and Kirk worked with Faust, becoming his mentor, helping him adjust to how business is conducted on major infrastructure works in this country. Kirk says the European construction culture is quite different than that in the U.S. Kirk helped with bidding procedures and similar matters. Faust, according to Kirk, is very strong technically, knows how to build and knows about cost- engineering. On site, he is personable and “manages others well.” Love at First Sight: Boulder, Colorado Faust was not enamored with the U.S. at first, saying that after one year on the Toledo project, he wanted to go back to Germany, but Fru-Con asked him to go to North Dakota for the Four Bears Bridge job instead. Soon, things changed dramatically. Kirk’s boss, Peter Sanderson, decided to move their part of the Fru-Con work on the Toledo bridge to Boulder, Colo. That venue turned out to be love at first sight. Faust most emphatically wanted to stay in the U.S, preferably in some place like Boulder. Dan Brown, Dan Brown and Associates, Business Trends Faust also comments on the trend toward design-build. “Everyone in the public and private sector wants innovation, and public- private partnerships are increasing,” he says. Specialty sub- constructing firms such as Malcolm can capitalize, he thinks, on this trend — adding value by being innovative. He thinks the U.S. construction industry will see a fast-growing market for design- build and public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Faust says of DFI, “such an organization is the best vehicle to represent its members and speak with one voice to keep the industry evolving in an ever more challenging environment.” To help, he serves on three DFI committees: Augered Cast-in-Place Pile, Drilled Shaft, and Slurry Wall. He is also helping DFI to develop a best practice guide for tremie concrete together with the European Federation of Foundation Contractors (EFFC). Looking back at his career choice, Faust says he has one regret. “Faust is not only a highly qualified engineer, he is also an excellent collaborator and hard worker.” Sequatchie, Tenn., is another Faust fan. Brown has worked on many projects with Malcolm Drilling, especially with brainstorming alternative strategies for foundation projects. He says Faust “thinks like a contractor regarding efficiency and can see things like an engineer.” He sees the critical design issues and “opportunities” for innovation. Brown says he doesn’t wish to stereotype Germans, but that Faust has those qualities of “competency and thoroughness” often attributed to Germans. Speaking of stereotyping, Brown adds that Faust has been “Americanized to be pretty loose and fun-loving.” DFI was instrumental in Faust’s next career step. At one point, Faust talked to a man in a bar at a DFI meeting in Atlanta. That man was John Malcolm, who predicted to Faust that he would “eventually” work at Malcolm’s company. Three years later, Faust joined the firm in San Francisco. Faust says moving from Bilfinger Berger, a publicly-traded firm with around 50,000 employees, to a 50-year-old family-run firm, was a radical one. Malcolm works with European equipment, so Faust was at home. Malcolm has a “family feel,” says Faust, and he is focusing on our “young team, which is like a family.” He continues to admire bridges because they are beautiful, and their beauty can be seen. This is not so with piles and most foundation work. But he still prefers to be down in the mud. On a more intellectual level, he says, the “uncertainty and the mystery of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering intrigue me.” Virginia Fairweather 74 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • SEPT/OCT 2015
