New construction company locates in Iberville Parish

Beard Construction Group LLC of Rosedale recently began construction operations targeting the Gulf Coast private industrial and environmental markets.

Located in Iberville Parish, BCG provides construction services to private industry, the solid waste industry and governmental entities such as the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers and Department of Defense. BCG specializes in earthwork, site development, landfill construction and other civil related construction activities.

Principals and managers of the company include James A. Beard, president; Keith B. Coleman, operations manager; L. Grant Witty III, senior project manager; Matthew L. Milton, senior project manager, and Liz Wimberley, director of marketing and sales. The management team has more than 75 years combined construction experience.

The company has successfully completed two contracts with seven projects currently under construction. States targeted within the geographical service area include Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Shaw sells companies to Siemens

The Shaw Group recently sold all assets of Shaw Power Technologies and Shaw Power Technologies International, the company's consulting engineering companies, to Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Inc for $14.5 million. The sale was effective Dec. 31.

The Baton Rouge-based consulting company provides technical analysis and analytical software programs for generation, transmission, electricity distribution and industrial plants. Siemens said the acquisition is an important extension of its power transmission and distribution company into the U.S. market.

The sale was in line with Shaw's strategic decision last year to get rid of non-core business units. "In this transaction, we realized significant immediate value for a non-core business unit. We will redeploy this capital into our core businesses,'' said J.M. Bernhard, Shaw's chairman and CEO.

By Mary B. Powers, Engineering-News Record

AIA Honor Awards recognize Louisiana architects

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced the 2005 recipients of the AIA Honor Awards, the profession's highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design.

Thirty-five recipients selected from more than 630 total submissions will be honored in May at the AIA 2005 National Convention and Design Expo in Las Vegas.

An Honor Award for Outstanding Architecture will be presented to Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge for the Holy Rosary Catholic Church Complex in St. Amant.

An Honor Award for Outstanding Interiors will be presented to Eskew + Dumez + Ripple of New Orleans for the Paul & Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Blanco dedicates new dry dock in New Orleans

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco recently dedicated a new dry dock at Bollinger Gulf Repair in New Orleans. The dry dock will service new shipbuilding and repair projects along the Industrial Canal in New Orleans East and completes the first phase of a two-phase cooperative agreement between the state and Bollinger Shipyards Inc. of Lockport.

In the first phase, the state invested $10 million to construct the dry dock. Bollinger has committed to adding 500 new shipbuilding and repair jobs at their yards throughout Louisiana the year and is currently hiring at two New Orleans-area facilities.

Bollinger will use the dry dock for vessel repair, maintenance and conversion. The dock has a capacity of 10,600 tons and measures more than 35 ft. long and 136 ft. wide. The wing wall height of the dry dock above the pontoon deck is 32 ft., 1 in. The distance between wing walls is 116 ft., 2 in.

Bollinger has 14 shipyards, all located between New Orleans and Houston with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a total of 45 dry docks in Louisiana and Texas.

Turner Industries announces name change

Turner Industries Holding Company LLC recently announced a change in its name to Turner Industries Group LLC. Turner Industries Group LLC will be led by the same management team.

The name change will result in improved communication with clients and a clearer corporate identity. Turner Industries will continue to provide construction, maintenance, pipe fabrication, turnaround and specialty services to its clients, now all under one Turner name.

FB&D named one of safest companies

Ford, Bacon & Davis has been named one of "America's Safest Companies," according to Occupational Hazards Magazine, a publication of safety, health and loss prevention issues.

FB&D was presented the award along with 15 other companies at the National Safety Congress in New Orleans in September. Other recognized companies included Smurfit-Stone, Monsanto and Anheuser-Busch.

FB&D also recently celebrated 110 years as a supplier of consulting, engineering, construction and support services to its clients in the United States. FB&D serves the chemical, refining, pulp & paper, power, manufacturing and fabrication industries.

FB&D's business enterprise encompasses four offices located in Baton Rouge and Monroe, Houston, Texas, and Greenville, S. C.

Insulations Inc. receives third national CISE award

The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) recently announced its annual Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) Awards at its National Construction Conference in Palm Springs, Calif.

Insulations Inc. of New Orleans received the CISE Award for the Construction Specialty Trades category, the third time the company was presented this prestigious national award.

David Branton, president, received the award on behalf of Insulations Inc.

"It is truly an honor that Insulations Inc. has been recognized for the third time as a company with a world class safety program," Branton said. "This award represents the achievement of the entire Insulations Inc. work force. We have made a major commitment, both financially and in manpower, to pursue the goal of excellence in safety. I am very proud to receive this award on behalf of our all of our people."

Insulations Inc. is a specialty trades contractor with offices in Texas and Louisiana and works both in the United States and internationally. The company installs and supplies insulation, fireproofing, heat tracing and refractory and applies coatings in the marine, power, paper, refinery and chemical industries.

The Construction Users Roundtable is an association of leading corporations in the United States dedicated to promoting cost-effective construction methods. The members, as major consumers of construction services across the country, foster improved construction safety performance by recognizing excellence and promoting effective work practices.

"These awards, given annually, seek to highlight the achievement of companies that have created world class construction site safety programs and have shown a dedication to the concept of promoting zero injury construction," said Dr. Ron G. Pritchard of Arcanum Consulting and Chairman of the CISE Awards Committee.

Port of Greater Baton Rouge named winner of annual award

The Planning Commission of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge has named the Port of Greater Baton Rouge as the 2004 recipient of the Annual Lead Agency Horizon Plan Award. Troy Bunch, city-parish planning director, presented the award to the port at the Horizon Plan Lead Agency meeting in December.

The Horizon Plan is a 20-year land use and development plan for the city and parish. Local and state government and nonprofit organizations function as "Lead Agencies" to implement the Horizon Plan. The annual award recognizes agencies for exceeding the standards to accomplish assigned strategies, or "Action Items," necessary to implement the Horizon Plan.

The port is the fourth recipient of the Annual Lead Agency Horizon Plan Award, created in 2001.

Twenty-nine Lead Agencies are assigned action items according to the plan's seven elements, which include land use, transportation and housing. The port is responsible for two of the 275 action items distributed among the Lead Agencies.

"During the past five years, the port has undergone a substantial transformation and has developed and built facilities to improve and expand freight movements and provide added flexibility and increased transportation options for local shippers," Bunch said.