Scott Powerline & Utility Equipment opens Atlanta facility

Scott Powerline & Utility Equipment LLC of Monroe has signed a lease agreement on a facility for a new regional office near Atlanta, Ga.

Located at 1365 Forest Parkway in Lake City, Ga., the regional office will primarily stock equipment for rentals and sales and provide area customers with field service and shop repairs.

Jeff Johnson, manager of operations in Monroe, said "We currently have many customers in the southeast and the new location will allow us to serve them better. We can offer a faster response to their needs with less cost by having a central location in the area."

In addition to providing equipment rentals, sales and services, Scott Powerline & Utility Equipment is now the authorized dealer for Mantis Cranes in the southeast. Negotiations for other distributorships and plans to staff the new Georgia office with a full-time account manager and technicians are in progress.

Scott Powerline & Utility Equipment provides equipment and services to power line construction contractors and electrical contractors throughout the United States, with a heavy concentration in the southeast and south-central part of the country.

Pike Electric acquires Red Simpson

Pike Electric of Mt. Airy, N.C., has acquired Red Simpson Inc. of Alexandria. The acquisition brings together two of the country's most successful transmission and distribution utility contractors.

Pike Electric services investor owned utilities, EMC's and electrical cooperatives through the southeast and the mid-Atlantic sections of the country. RSI serves the same customer base in the south-central and southwestern portions of the country.

The two companies serve only four mutual customers out of a base of more than 150 customers. The acquisition immediately opens new markets to Pike Electric in states outside the company's current footprint.

John Simpson of RSI was the second generation leader of the company founded by his father in 1963. Red Simpson founded RSI in his home territory and has expanded from one crew in 1963 to currently employ more than 1,500 people.

Air Products hydrogen plant to supply Motiva and Marathon refineries

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. announced recently that it would construct a facility in Louisiana to supply hydrogen to the Motiva Enterprises LLC and Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP) refineries and also provide hydrogen to its Mississippi River corridor pipeline system.

Producing 110 million standard-cu.-ft.-per-day (MMSCFD), the hydrogen facility will be owned and operated by Air Products and is expected to be on-stream in November 2005.

The hydrogen facility, a natural gas-based steam methane reformer, will help both Motiva's Convent 225,000 barrel-per-day refinery and MAP's Garyville 255,000 barrel-per-day refinery to produce cleaner transportation fuels and other petroleum products from heavier, sour crude feedstocks.

The Air Products facility will be located at the Motiva refinery and supply hydrogen by pipeline to MAP, as well as other customers along a 90-mi. pipeline network from Baton Rouge to Norco.

Air Products has an additional hydrogen pipeline in Louisiana east of New Orleans and nearly 150 miles of hydrogen pipeline reaching from Texas and the Houston Ship Channel to Lake Charles.

"This kind of economic development will make Air Products' presence in Louisiana stronger," Scott Sherman, Air Products' vice president and general manager for Energy and Process Industries worldwide.

Shreve Land Construction signs $56 million in apartment contracts

Shreve Land Construction was awarded four apartment construction contracts in the second quarter of 2004.

The contracts value totaled $56 million.

The future communities are garden-style apartments and include The Village at Fountain Lake in Gonzales, with 240 units; Hickory Point at Brentwood in Nashville, Tenn., with 298 units; Addison Park Apartments in Arlington, Texas, with 224 units; and Wildflower Villas in Temple, Texas, with 220 units.

The Village at Fountain Lake is owned by Tuscany Apartments LLC and designed by The Architectural Studio. The development features a clubhouse leasing office, pool, garages and carports with a pond located on the property.

The apartments will be available for leasing in late summer 2005.

Located in the mountains of Tennessee, Hickory Point at Brentwood will feature tuck-under garages and stone siding to enhance a natural appearance. The owners are Park Nashville Partners LLC and the design architect is James Harwick & Partners.

Construction is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2005.

Arlington Partners L.P. is the owner of Addison Park Apartments. The development was designed by Humphreys & Partners and includes a clubhouse, pool, management office and mail kiosk. The completion is scheduled for spring 2005.

Wildflower Villas is owned by Wildflower Villas Ltd. and designed by Womack Hampton Architects. The amenities included in the development are a clubhouse, leasing office, mail kiosk, pool, storage units, 57 detached garages and 110 carports.

Construction is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2005.

Shreve Land Construction is a commercial general contractor with offices in Shreveport and Dallas. For more than 37 years, the company has been engaged in both new construction and renovation of commercial buildings, including educational, retail, office, industrial, medical, distribution, multi-family housing, student housing, retirement communities and manufacturing facilities.