Overview | Publicity for Winners | 2010 Winners | Nomination process

THE 2010 PINNACLE AWARD WINNERS
On January 22, 2011, Carolinas AGC bestowed the 2010 Pinnacle Awards - the most prestigious recognition in the Carolinas construction industry - to two companies, three projects and an individual. The presentation was made at CAGC's 90th Annual Convention in Puerto Rico. The CAGC Pinnacle Awards competition is co-sponsored by CPA firm Greer & Walker and the law firm of Johnston, Allison & Hord, both based in Charlotte.

Founded in 2002, its 50 employees work on 16 to 20 construction projects each year.
Comments from specialty contractors about working with New Atlantic:

• "I respect the way that they intentionally keep their employees involved, in the loop, with the vision, with the business. The industry needs more New Atlantics..."

• "On the preconstruction side, they have always done their part to anticipate questions and resolve conflicts ahead of time. This is particularly helpful in this market - they make everyone's chance of success better- including ours."

• "In 2010 particularly, they deserve recognition for not only their accomplishments, their vision of the future, but also their commitment to give back. They have leadership deeply involved in many professional associations, for the good of the entire construction community... They have a team approach that brings everyone together to get a job done as well as pride in the work you are doing to get it done right. I believe that those two points make New Atlantic stand head and shoulders above the competition."

• "I believe that New Atlantic employees enjoy going to work every day and that is contagious to other trades. My guys like to work on New Atlantic's jobs for these reasons. Thank you to Carolinas AGC for the job it does in giving recognition to the people that deserve something for doing more than just a job."

From an Architect:

• "A lot of what made our experience great was that New Atlantic behaved like a David rather than like a Goliath. They do not restrain a project by big-company protocol as other companies their size sometimes get bogged down in. They always found a way to work around situations and find timely solutions. And they had fun."

From an Owner:

• "New Atlantic could teach classes in construction management at risk as they truly know how to work with others - owners, architects, engineers, subcontractors, etc. ...I know that my comments are absurdly positive. I just want you to know that I would be privileged to attend the Carolinas AGC Pinnacle Awards ceremony and present them with this award. There is simply no one better in our experience."

New Atlantic is employee-owned, with 30 shareholders sharing in its success. The firm joined Carolinas AGC in 2003, just after its founding.

For more information on New Atlantic visit www.new-atlantic.net.

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Quotes from general contractor customers:

• "W. B. Moore 'sets the bar' for other subcontractors..."
• "Best in the business, from top to bottom..."
• "We actually learn from W. B. Moore- more than from any other company."
• "THE 'go-to company' for mission-critical work."

W. B. Moore prizes safety as well as quality. Any employee is empowered to shut down any job site for safety reasons, no matter their position. Individual responsibility is reinforced in the firm's everyday culture by ideas such as safety slogan contests, whose winners see their slogan printed on new tee shirts given to every employee each quarter.

All employees participate in each year's all-day Safety Fest, with health & wellness training in addition to safety topics. And each W. B. Moore employee is required to participate in 80 hours of miscellaneous training annually, at the company's expense.

W. B. Moore also cultivates future workers' interest in the electrical construction. This year's Career Day was attended by over 125 students from 12 high schools and vocational schools.

The firm's corporate headquarters in Charlotte earned the North Carolina's first LEED Platinum Designation Award for new building construction. W. B. Moore Company joined Carolinas AGC in 1992.

For more information on W. B. Moore Company visit www.wbmoore.com.

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This project required thinking way outside the box - in brainstorming, designing, restoring, and constructing the various elements. It fell primarily to Hightower, who acted as both general contractor and the steeple fabricator. Hightower credits a full-scope teamwork approach to making the project a success.

For the exterior, over 2,500 eroded or weakened stones had to be individually removed and replaced with either new brownstone or, in the most vulnerable locations, a precast stone to match. A full 27 miles worth of mortar joints were painstakingly re-pointed. The goal of this phase: to deliver a building exterior that will be virtually maintenance-free for the next 100 years.

For the steeple addition, poor soil conditions underneath the Cathedral had threatened to limit its height to a short tower, with a tall steeple being an acute concern in a hurricane-prone area such as Charleston. Thus the steeple was designed with an open lantern mid-section to allow airflow through two-thirds of the entire structure and to lighten the total weight.

In a unique marriage of contractor skills to a special challenge, Hightower applied its experience in building yachts. They suggested a cold mold method for building much of the steel frame structure. The inherent strength of the steel tied to the cold mold construction resulted in these outer archway towers deflecting only 1/8 inch over 28 feet when supported at each end only.

The entire steeple structure, including the bell tower, was built in 30 separate pieces off-site, then transported down narrow historic streets to the Cathedral. The new steeple structure doubled the height of the existing building.

The spire itself is a stainless steel tee-pee clad in copper. The use of copper cladding and cast concrete on this project beautifully melds the old and the new, topped by a 16-foot gold-gilded cross. A large crowd was on hand to witness the final crane installation of the 85-foot steeple, for which fundraising efforts had begun in the 1960's.

The team's 20,000 work hours on this project with no OSHA recordable incidents included all specialty contractors on the site. And all these work hours had to bend to a working church's daily schedule, and were performed on a high profile site facing a major downtown throughway. And yet, the project was delivered within the owner's desired time frame and at a cost substantially under budget.

For more information visit www.hightowerconstruction.com and www.stjohnthebaptistcathedralrestoration.com.

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NC DOT had specified the requirement for minimizing the construction footprint into the proposal scoring method. The Flatiron-United joint venture team responded by developing an innovative "top-down" approach - a unique overhead gantry specially designed and built for this project. It resulted in both a minimal impact to the wetlands and an accelerated construction schedule compared to conventional techniques. The gantry essentially eliminated the need for equipment and temporary access trestles and ground work in the fragile wetlands, by constructing each new span from the newly-built permanent structure.

The two self-launching 600-foot-long gantries at each end of the bridge weighed about 750 tons. The two gantries had to be capable of:
-- driving 124-foot-long precast piles,
--erecting 50-ton bent caps,
--erecting 121-foot-long precast girders, and
--supporting deck pouring operations.

In an assembly line progression, construction activities took place simultaneously in three of the four 120-foot long spans. As one span was completed, another's deck was curing, and the gantry was launched ahead to begin the pile driving on the next span. Meanwhile material was delivered over the completed structure in the fourth span. The result was a complete span in as little as seven to nine days.

The world's first application of the pile driving operation from an erection gantry (approximately four bridge spans in length) is the most unique feature of this system. This essential element truly eliminates the need for equipment and temporary access trestles and ground work in the fragile wetlands, by constructing each new span from the newly- built permanent structure.

The dramatic reduction in wetland disturbance offered by this top-down construction operation was welcomed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Carolina Division of Water Quality, NC Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Coast Guard, and other environmental agencies. Not only did the gantry system offer a safer way to build the bridge, but this award-winning project completed seven months ahead of schedule -- and, the process has since been patented.

For more information visit www.flatironcorp.com and www.uig.net.

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The project also required the complete renovation of an existing raw water pump station built in the 1950's, and modifications to an existing gate control structure.

Archer Western, working with the design engineer, executed a teamwork approach from the project's inception. They successfully negotiated the original bid cost from $105 million to $90 million - enabling the City of Raleigh to maintain its desired bond rates. This teamwork approach paid off again when, two years into construction, new LEED Certification requirements entered the picture. Again, the owner benefited greatly when Archer Western met this challenge, keeping the project in compliance with new citywide sustainability initiatives.

The process design itself delivers superior water quality, beginning with adding ozone to the raw water. A unique combination of technologies involves a two-stage filtration process in combination with a triple disinfection strategy, providing a framework for other facilities to follow. The Dempsey Benton plant is only the second facility to use ultraviolet disinfection for drinking water. Low pressure/high intensity UV light kills certain pathogens that are resistant to chlorine.

Construction challenges included major code differences between the time the project was designed and when the final certificate of occupancy and building inspections were performed. In addition, the plant's standing seam metal roof system features multiple complex curvatures and intersections.

The buildings are faced with metal wall panels, decorative architectural stone, translucent wall panels and glass storefront, combining to form a unique and beautiful facility - a comment not often heard about water treatment plants.

The Dempsey E. Benton Water Treatment Plant project was recognized for safety by NC Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry for two years running. Archer Western performed 524,000 man-hours on this project without a single lost time incident, and brought the project in seven million dollars under budget and on schedule.

For more information visit www.walshgroup.com and
www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PubUtilAdmin/Articles/DempseyEBentonWTP.html.

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Danny Shealy retired from SCDOT in August 2010 after 35 years of service to the state. Danny's role working with both the contractors and the state was one he took very seriously. In his 13 years as Director of Construction, Danny worked every day to earn his reputation of fairness.

Danny was always extremely fair. Although Danny was a friend to construction, when he didn't agree with a contractor, Danny always gave the contractor the chance to be heard, and a valid reason for his disagreement.

Danny was also a careful and thoughtful steward of SCDOT and the state's money. He took an interest not only in the projects, but also in the people working on those projects. And, and he always carried himself with dignity and humility. The contractors working in South Carolina are honored to have built with one of the best.

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