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Archive for "Mar 2011"

Come Visit APE at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011

It’s time to visit Las Vegas for one of worlds largest gatherings for the construction industry, CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The APE booth is currently in full swing on Silver Lot 4, number S-19122. Stop by and grab some drinks and information while checking out our equipment displays. For this years show we brought along some diesel hammers, vibratory driver extractors, drill, power unit and some of our attachment offerings as well as our D1 impact hammer for giving live demonstrations of diesel hammers in action. We are also giving away some APE hats and shirts so be sure to ask if you are interested. When you make the trip to the Grand Lobby be sure to take a look on the big screen for our advertisement for an upcoming reality series on APE Piledrivers. Besides hanging out with us at the APE booth Conexpo offers plenty for visitors to see and do this year:

  • Over 2,000 exhibitors
  • A comprehensive education program during the five-day exposition with sessions emphasizing industry issues and trends, management and applied technology
  • Product concentration areas making it easy for visitors to locate specific products, services and exhibitors of interest to them including hundreds of new products and technologies

See New Products and Technologies

Get close and size up the newest equipment and technology in the construction industry. Bring yourself up to speed on new systems and instrumentation. See all the latest innovations making our industry greener, safer and more precise.

Meet Today’s Technical Experts

Tap the smartest minds in construction for applicable ideas useful to your business now and in the future.

New Focus on Education

CONEXPO-CON/AGG has a comprehensive schedule planned—a total of 126 sessions—covering an expansive range of topics, including:

  • Equipment manager exams
  • Crane operator certification programs
  • Site development
  • Asset management
  • Sustainability
  • Workforce development

New International Mixer Drive Championship

Sponsored and conducted by NRMCA, this LIVE competition recognizes the most talented individuals worldwide in delivering one of the world’s most versatile building materials.

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APE Vibros Working On 3 Plus Miles of Seawall Sheeting

Three APE hammers have been putting in hours for the I-595 Widening, in Broward County, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area). The APE 150, 200 and J&M 28-35 Vibratory Driver Extractors have made quick work of 3 miles of sheet pile seawall, a half mile of sheet pile for MSE wall,  18″ and 24″ square pre-stressed concrete piles for bridge construction, 5 and 12 each sealed cofferdams for micro-tunneling launching and receiving shafts. The General Contractor on the Job is Dragados USA, the information about the job along with photos has been provided to APE by Scott Alfele, President of Ebsary Foundation Company.

The following contractors have been involved in project:

  • Dragados USA – 3 miles of sheet pile for seawall and ½ mile of sheet pile for MSE wall support
  • Dragados Baker JV – 18” sq. pre-stressed concrete piles for bridges
  • GLF Construction Corp. – 18” and 24” sq. pre-stressed concrete piles for bridges
  • Bradshaw Construction Corp. – 12 ea. sealed cofferdams for microtunneling launching and receiving shafts
  • GlobTec Construction Co. – 5 ea. sealed cofferdams for microtunneling launching and receiving shafts
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King Kong Teams Up with Kiewit and Traylor Brothers for Driving Caissons

An APE King Kong was spotted in Belle Chasse Louisiana, off Walker Road with GIC (Gulf Inter Coastal). The construction site was a joint venture with Kiewit and Traylor Brothers Construction. The King Kong (APE 400 Vibratory Driver Extractor) made quick work of pulling the 54” caissons. Each pile was 140 feet, they were part of a temporary cofferdam for the construction of the largest pumping station New Orleans. Removing the piles is no easy task but the King Kong pulled them like a champ!

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APE China Successfully Drove the World’s Largest Sheet Pile

Yesterday was a big success for APE China and APE USA.  We successfully drove the world’s largest sheet pile (shell pile wall) in 11 minutes of drive time.  The pile was 11.3 (37 feet) wide and 22m (72 feet) tall and 16mm (.62″) thick.  The pile was driven with a tandem APE 200-6 hammer (built at APE China) powered by two 1050HP Cummins engine power units (also built in APE China). The hammers were mounted to a special beam designed by Casper, Phillips and Associates.  The clamping system was also made at APE China using 4 short cassion beams and 4 APE model 200 caisson clamps.

Project Details:

These shell pile walls will be used on the Hong Kong-Macau Bridge project, currently the largest construction project in China.  The decision to use a single shell-pile-wall instead of sheet piles came about for several reasons.  The first reason being that driving sheet piles out at sea is very difficult and time consuming process.  In order to fit the time line of the bridge construction completion date they will need to complete 2 shell pile walls per day.  Driving sheet piles would be drastically slower.  The second reason to use shell-pile-walls instead of sheet piles is due to margin of error of the large diameter cassions that these shell-pile-walls will be interlocked to.  In our test situation, the interlocks that the pile was to fit into were .5m (1.64 feet) wider at the top than at the bottom.  This means that as the pile was driven into the ground it was literally being compressed by 1.64 feet, causing the pile to bulge out and create added resistance.  If this job were to use sheet piles it would be extremely difficult to custom shape each sheet pile to fit the unknown margins of error between each interlock.

The importance of the success of this project are far higher than we originally expected.  The fact of the matter is that if this shell-pile-wall pile failed than it would delay the entire Hong Kong Macau bridge project and also create engineering nightmares to think of a new design that can meet the time line given.  All of the top officials in charge of the entire bridge project were present to verify with their own eyes the success or failure of the APE tandem 200-6 system.  It is now safe to say, even in the most difficult conditions that will be given during the project, this pile can be driven with success.

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Octakong and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

As many of you may know APE is in the process of completing the largest pile driving setup in the world. The Chinese government will be driving the largest piles the planet has ever seen for the construction of one of the world’s longest bridges. APE was selected to build the hammer for the job, it has been hailed as the Octakong! The complexities, deadlines and cultural complications make this project the largest challenge APE has faced for a single customer.

Plans for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge have been in the works for several years (link here) , it will connect three major cities of southern China. Congressman Dave Reichert recently visited our facility to show his support for the stimulation of the local economy through the monetary scope and physical size of this project (link here). With is article are 3D renderings by our engineers of the finished Octakong. We won’t be able to see it fully assembled until it hits China.

APE wanted to take a moment to let our vendors know how much we appreciate our partnerships. We also would like to broaden the understanding for our “need for speed” in terms of the parts needed to assemble the Octakong. Together we are making this project a reality whether some of us realize or not. The world is watching and we are positive we can show the world that APE, with our network of vendors, was able to meet the Chinese demands and do the job right and on time. The ship dates for the Octakong are approaching, and time is important, the folks here at APE appreciate all the help we have had from all of our partners in meeting our extreme deadlines for this project.

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