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TCA Selects Recipients of 2012 Professional Achievement Awards

MT. VERNON, IOWA (Feb. 27, 2012) – The Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) – a non-profit international organization that serves to expand and improve the use of site-cast Tilt-Up as the preferred construction method – has announced the recipients of four professional achievement awards presented at TCA’s annual meeting held on Thursday, Jan. 26 in conjunction with the World of Concrete.

The award recipients for 2012, selected by the Association’s Board of Directors after nomination by the general membership and recommendation by the TCA’s Awards Committee, are:

  • Jim Churchman, posthumously of Butler Hardwall and the Hardwall Design Structures for the Peter Courtois Memorial Award
  • Shawn Hickey of SiteCast, Inc. for the Murray Parker Memorial Award
  • Jeffrey Needham of Needham and Associates for the David L. Kelly Engineering Award
  • Tiltwerks by Tilt-Up Design Systems for the Robert Aiken Innovation Award

Peter Courtois Memorial Award

This award honors Peter Courtois, who died in 1992 after serving as senior vice president of engineering for Dayton Superior Concrete Accessories (formerly Dayton-Richmond Corporation). Courtois, an employee of Dayton Superior for 32 years, immeasurably contributed to the Tilt-Up industry through his tireless effort and dedication to several industry associations. He served on seven American Concrete Institute (ACI) committees, most notably the ACI-551 Tilt-Up Construction Committee where the concept for the TCA was spawned. Courtois played a lead role in the formation of the TCA in those early days providing much of the energy to form an entity responsible for the promotion of Tilt-Up as well as the technical advancement of Tilt-Up. He served as the initial president of TCA, for which he was made an honorary member in 1991. Past recipients include: Robert Tobin, Dave Kelly, Dr. Koladi Kripanarayanan, Bill Lockwood, Sam Hodges, Bill Simpson, Murray Parker, Bob Truitt, Jesse Wyatt, Don Musser, Tom Collins, Hugh Brooks, Malcolm Davis, Gerry Miller, Bob Foley and Sherman D. Balch.

An active member of the ACI 551 committee for several years, Jim Churchman was instrumental in the effort to combine Tilt-Up construction with the pre-engineered steel building industry through his many years at Butler Hardwall. He was one of the main developers of the Butler Delta Joist roof framing system, which was created mainly to accommodate hard wall systems such as Tilt-Up with pre-engineered steel framing. His efforts to produce viable solutions to upgrade buildings for a company known for pre-engineered metal buildings established another network of Tilt-Up professionals during a critical growth period for the industry.

“Jim was emphatic that Tilt-Up was the future for building types where steel deck and joist systems were being implemented,” states Jim Baty, Technical Director for the TCA.  “Early in my career, he was particularly vocal on the advantages he saw in Tilt-Up and how many opportunities there were for contractors to increase the work on projects they held responsibility on rather than hiring masonry sub-contractors to deliver durable buildings.”

“Jim was an extremely talented structural engineer,” said Joe Steinbicker founder and president of Tilt-Up Design Systems. “He never hesitated to question why something couldn’t be done a new or better way. This search for new solutions is what led him to develop a system at Butler Manufacturing to use Tilt-Up effectively in combination with their pre-engineered steel buildings, expanding the market for the Tilt-Up industry.”

Murray Parker Memorial Award

Named in honor of Murray Parker who died in 2000, this award was created to recognize a contractor who has significantly contributed to the Tilt-Up industry. Parker was regarded for his development and promotion of Tilt-Up throughout the industry, especially in the Atlantic Provinces region of Canada. As General Manager/Vice President of B.D. Stevens, Ltd. in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Parker is credited with introducing Tilt-Up to an area of the world where many thought it was impossible to use the medium. His contributions and commitment to excellence helped the method gain credibility in the area and paved the way for future Tilt-Up projects. Past recipients include Tilt-Up Systems (S. Africa), Balch Enterprises, L.D. Clark, Citadel Contractors, Hughes General Contractors, Seretta Construction, Steve Miers and Frank Adames.

A tireless promoter of the site cast Tilt-Up construction method, Shawn Hickey has been instrumental in certification for the industry and training for contractors throughout the world. He has continued his pioneering spirit through involvement in western Africa and the Middle East. He has worked with the Canadian government to expand their knowledge on the use of Tilt-Up in their worldwide development for security and durability. At one time, Tilt-Up was not well known in Ontario, throughout the design and construction community. SiteCast was able to remedy the situation by marketing and promoting Tilt-Up throughout the Province and by performing high quality industry groundbreaking techniques. As SiteCast has expanded their operations globally, they have become a leader in the transfer of technology and knowledge.

“I have been fortunate to present the Tilt-Up process to an international audience,” said Hickey. “In all cases, not only have we taught a new skillset to an unskilled worker, they have taught me their social values. In Ontario, the acceptance towards Tilt-Up is overwhelming, which is a statement that our programs are working.”

David L. Kelly Engineering Award

The TCA’s Distinguished Engineer Award was renamed in 2008 to honor the career-long commitment by David Kelly of Meadow Burke to the Tilt-Up industry. Kelly retired from Meadow Burke as Vice President and Chief Engineer and continues in private practice to solve unique Tilt-Up challenges. He was a longtime board member and past president of the TCA. His innovative and creative engineering ideas led to the construction of hundreds of Tilt-Up projects. Previous winners of this award include Johnson Structural Group, BBM Structural Engineers, John Lawson, Jeff Griffin, Alan Reay Consultants, Gerry Weiler and Philip Kopf.

This year’s recipient, Jeffrey Needham, P.E., has been instrumental to several efforts undertaken by the TCA in the past year. A founding member of the TCA, Needham donated and oversaw his staff’s time as the engineering lead on the Korean War Memorial for Kansas City.  Perhaps even more significantly, Needham served as the chair of the TCA’s appointed Natural Disaster Task Force that investigated the collapse of a Home Depot in Joplin, Mo. after taking a direct hit from an EF-5 tornado. Needham’s leadership on the task group led to a comprehensive report that investigated the cause of the collapse and identified five general recommendations that focus on increasing building safety in catastrophic storms through enhanced building performance and/or use of shelters. The recommendations also stress the inherent strength and durability of Tilt-Up construction and recommends the TCA develop responses that take advantage of this performance.

“The award is especially significant to me,” said Needham. “Dave Kelly was a mentor to me early in my career and I hope that in some sense this award recognizes how the TCA has served to develop the people in the industry. I hope I can in turn help the next generation of engineers and leaders move the TCA forward.”

Robert Aiken Innovation Award

This award honors Robert Aiken – a founding father of Tilt-Up construction. Known for initiating a more architectural direction for Tilt-Up, Aiken is credited with the concept of casting panels face-up to provide a medium for developing craftsmanship in the construction method. Past recipients include: Accubrace Shoring, Elmer Payne (Dayton Richmond), Composite Technologies (Thermomass), Scott System, Victory Bear, Tilt-Con, Textured Coatings of America, Inc. and Somero Enterprises, Inc.

In any system, there is always room for improving the quality and efficiency. Today, more than ever, technology is a key component of this process. Tilt-Up Design Systems, LLC develops integrated project design and construction technology solutions which do just that for the tilt-up concrete industry.  Tilt-Werks®, their online software application, provides a workflow for Tilt-Up that integrates 3-D building modeling, design of Tilt-Up concrete wall panels and automatic generation of drawings and material quantity take-offs. The knowledge base behind their technology comes from the team’s extensive experience in the industry. Tilt-Werks® has been utilized in the design of more than 400 buildings just as a proprietary application. Bringing this technology to market enables the industry as a whole to utilize a system that has been created through more than 10 years of user experience and more than 30,000,000 square feet of building construction. The system boasts a sophisticated user interface to link all of the parties involved in Tilt-Up construction, allowing for faster communication about project details and transfer of material lists to potential suppliers, thus expediting the project construction. Tilt-Up Design Systems is working with other leading design software companies to provide a total building solution for Tilt-Up design and construction.

”Tilt-Up Design Systems, LLC is proud to be a member of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association,” said Joe Steinbicker, founder and president of Tilt-Up Design Systems. “We are especially honored to receive this award and to be recognized by its members for our innovative solution for the Tilt-Up industry, Tilt-Werks®. Tilt-Up Design Systems will continue to play a part in expanding the use of Tilt-Up with our collaborative technology for streamlining the process of design and construction.”

About the TCA

TCA was founded in 1986 to improve the quality and acceptance of site-cast Tilt-Up construction, a method in which concrete wall panels are cast on-site and tilted into place. Tilt-Up construction is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, combining the advantages of reasonable cost with low maintenance, durability, speed of construction and minimal capital investment. At least 10,000 buildings, enclosing more than 650 million square feet, are constructed each year using this construction method. For more information, visit www.tilt-up.org or contact TCA at 319-895-6911.


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TILT-UP TODAY, a publication of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, is THE source for Tilt-Up industry news, market intelligence, business strategies, technical solutions, product information, and other resources for professionals in the Tilt-Up industry. A subscription to TILT-UP TODAY is included in a TCA membership. Subscriptions for potential TCA members are also available. If you would like to receive a complimentary subscription to the publication, please contact the TCA.