Volvo sells Nashville, Memphis markets to Scott Construction Equipment

In order to divest the territories and assets of its former dealer, L. B. Smith Inc., Volvo Construction Equipment has sold its Nashville and Memphis market areas to its Louisiana dealer, Scott Construction Equipment Co. of Baton Rouge.

The company will serve the market areas from current L. B. Smith branch facilities in Nashville and Memphis. In conjunction with this appointment, Scott Equipment has also been named the Volvo CE dealer for most of Mississippi.

Volvo CE purchased the assets associated with the Volvo CE distribution business of L. B. Smith - its dealer for most of the East Coast - in May 2003.

Since then, Volvo CE has continued operations at the 31 locations under the name L. B. Smith. At the time of the acquisition, Volvo CE announced its intention to divest the business over time.

GNOIEC recognizes Turner Companies

The Greater New Orleans Industrial Educational Council recognized Turner Industries during its annual awards banquet in May. The council honored Turner Company LLC and International Maintenance Company LLC for safety performance in 2003.

Awards were presented for:

• Turner Company - no injuries in 2003 at Shell Chemical Company, Norco
• Turner Company - no injuries in 2003 at Motiva Enterprises, Norco
• International Maintenance Company - no injuries in 2003 at Cytec Industries

Turner Company at Shell/Motiva also won the 2003 Outstanding Safety Performance Award for Heavy Industrial Class, given for projects over 100,000 man-hours.

Turner Company employees worked 975,000 hours at the Norco complex on maintenance, projects and turnarounds with zero injuries. This is the second year in a row that the company has received this award for the Norco site.

This was the first year that International Maintenance Company was nominated by Cytec Industries Inc. With Cytec's support, International Maintenance Company worked 210,000 man-hours injury free.

Harmony utilizes safety technique at Rhodia to provide safe and cost efficient job

Harmony LLC of Baton Rouge recently completed concrete upgrades in the Unit Two pump tank area at Rhodia of Baton Rouge.

The project required the removal of 85 tons of existing concrete paving, foundation and soil. Harmony installed 45 tons of structural clay and limestone to provide a stable base and 70 cu. yds. of concrete was installed to encase and reinforce the existing tank and pipe support foundations, extend a drain trench and provide area paving.

The work area was inaccessible to construction equipment due to operating equipment, piping and structural steel completely surrounding the work site. The job was performed entirely by hand, thus creating safety concerns.

To improve safety, a 35-ft. aggregate belt conveyor was utilized to transport existing concrete and soil out of the work area and new clay and limestone into the unit. As a result, the project was completed under budget and on schedule with zero incidents and zero injuries.

Harmony has been a contractor for Rhodia since September 2002.

Deal finalized for St. Tammany multiplex business park

Construction is now underway at a new 53-acre Multiplex Business Park owned by Bruno Brothers Management and Development Co.

Bruno Bros. Management and Development Co. closed on deals paving the way for construction to begin on facilities for Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and Medline. HCA will construct a new 77,000-sq.-ft. service facility that will house approximately 100 employees and serve HCA-owned and operated hospitals.

The presence of HCA in the Multiplex triggered the interest of one of its suppliers, Medline, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of medical products in the nation, based in Chicago. Medline will build a 120,000-sq.-ft. warehouse to distribute directly to HCA and other customers in the area.

Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was first interested in the site, located off Interstate 12 and LA 1077 near Madisonville because it was located near other HCA hospitals in the area, facilitating distribution. HCA is one of Medline's largest customers and it made logistical sense to locate a distribution center with them.

"This project represents an $11 million investment that will provide approximately 100 jobs with a $5.2 million annual impact on the local economy," said Robert Bruno of Bruno Bros.

"The idea of cluster development worked perfectly here. We attracted HCA to the site and that sparked the interest of Medline, a companion supplier. This is Medline's first distribution facility in Louisiana and the strategy is hopefully a model for others to replicate throughout the state of Louisiana."

Together, HCA and Medline will occupy 10 acres of the 53-acre Multiplex site. Construction should be complete in 10 months, said Mike Saucier, president of Gulf States Real Estate Services, which is handling project management and sales.

The building contractor is Epstein Construction from Chicago and Byron Talbot Contractors will construct infrastructure.

NPCA re-certifies Gainey's Concrete Products

The National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) recently announced that Gainey's Concrete Products Inc. of Holden was recently re-certified its manufacturing facility. They have been certified with NPCA since 2001.

The NPCA Plant Certification Program is a challenging test of a plant's ability to produce quality precast concrete products. Administered by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., the inspection is a comprehensive look at all aspects of precast concrete production.

Precast plants that become certified must meet high standards in all areas of production, safety and information management.

SC&RA Presents Crane & Rigging Safety Awards

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) recently announced the winners of the Crane & Rigging Safety Award during its Annual Conference in Destin, Fla.

Nichols Construction Co. LLC of Baton Rouge was the only Louisiana firm to receive the award.

The SC&RA is an international trade association of nearly 1,100 members from 43 nations. Members are involved in specialized transportation, machinery moving and erecting, industrial maintenance, millwrighting and crane and rigging operations, manufacturing and rental.

SC&RA helps members run more efficient and safer businesses by monitoring and affecting pending legislation and regulatory policies at the state and national levels; researching and reporting on safety concerns and best business practices and providing four yearly forums where these and other relevant member issues can be advanced.

Harmony utilizes safety technique at Rhodia

Harmony LLC of Baton Rouge recently completed concrete upgrades in the Unit Two pump tank area at Rhodia of Baton Rouge.

The project required the removal of 85 tons of existing concrete paving, foundation and soil. Harmony installed 45 tons of structural clay and limestone to provide a stable base and 70 cu. yds. of concrete was installed to encase and reinforce the existing tank and pipe support foundations, extend a drain trench and provide area paving.

The work area was inaccessible to construction equipment due to operating equipment, piping and structural steel completely surrounding the work site. The job was performed entirely by hand, thus creating safety concerns.

To improve safety, a 35-foot aggregate belt conveyor was utilized to transport existing concrete and soil out of the work area and new clay and limestone into the unit. As a result, the project was completed under budget and on schedule with zero incidents and zero injuries.

Harmony has been a contractor for Rhodia since September 2002.