Our friends at CoatingsPro Magazine recently announced the winners of the 2022 Contractor Awards Program. Contractor groups from five categories, along with the Contractor/Crew Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and the Work It Safe award, were honored during the inaugural AMPP Annual Conference + Expo in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Chizik hosted a special event celebrating the winners, which was the first in-person ceremony since 2019. That ceremony can be viewed in its entirety on the CoatingsPro website and at the magazine’s Facebook page.
This year’s CoatingsPro Editorial Advisory Group, consisting of industry experts, along with a safety expert, and our Technical Editor Malcolm McNeil participated in the judgment of the contractor submissions that exemplified the best projects in the field of high-performance coatings. Judging was conducted in two rounds, with each project and crew scored for safety, savings, and process. Additional points were given, as warranted, for going above and beyond.
Awards for first, second, and third place were given in the Commercial Concrete, Commercial Roof, Industrial Concrete, Industrial Steel, and Specialty Project categories. One winner was awarded in each of the Work It Safe and Contractor/Crew MVP categories.
“Commercial Concrete” Category, Sponsored by Tnemec
First place for the Commercial Concrete category for 2022 went to Hardig Industrial Services for the “Elder High School Gym” project in Cincinnati, Ohio. On this job, a four-person crew worked a 15,000-square-foot (1,393.5 m2) project, including 75-year-old concrete bleachers and terrazzo.
The team had to contend with the tight time crunch of summer break and coordinating between trades, along with a material shortage. They used smaller equipment to speed up the process of prepping the small seating areas before installing a Sherwin-Williams coating system in the school’s gray and purple. Kevin Kipp, co-owner of Hardig, worked personally with the architect to develop the scope and budgeting.
Second place went to Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing for the “OU Research Parking Garage” project in Oklahoma City, Okla. This contractor worked over three months to install traffic coating and waterproofing materials that were not installed during the original construction. The 6–12 person crew dealt with high and low temperatures to install 107,000 square feet (9,940.6 m2) of pedestrian and vehicular traffic coatings to the working on-campus garage.
Finally, third place went to T.W. Hicks for “The Good Shed Hangar” project in Midland, Texas. This job featured a six-person crew working on a 33,600-square-foot (3,121.5 m2) slab at a privately owned aviation hangar. The submission stated that “This project is unique because this hangar will also double as an event space for parties or gatherings. They needed a floor that would be safe, clean, and beautiful.” The crew prepped and installed a four-coat system from Tnemec over 13 days, working around “unbearable” summer heat.
“Industrial Concrete” Category, Sponsored by Tnemec
First place in the 2022 Industrial Concrete category was won by C.A. Reed Associates for the “Horst Engineering Facility Renovation” project in East Hartford, Connecticut. The client on this job was a company producing precision-machined components for aerospace and other high-tech industries.
On this 52,000-square-foot (4,831.0 m2) project, the crew took severely soiled concrete with spalling and cracking to an epoxy-coated finish. The submission said, “In order to complete the job in 12 days, we sent an 11-person crew, our 53-foot [16.2 m] tractor trailer, along with several other trucks and redundant equipment (in case of breakdowns).”
The submission continued: “This is the first major project that we were awarded, thanks in great part to our 2019 CoatingsPro Award [for a project at Dumont Group, now better known as Pilot Precision]. We were among several contractors being considered for this substantial project, but it was the owner’s knowledge of our CP award and his visit to see that project that put us over the top.”
Second place in Industrial Concrete went to Eric Waddell and the Blastek crew for the “Sturgis Influent EQ Tank” job in Sturgis, Michigan. This 9,000-square-foot (836.1 m2) project required two months and eight crew members to repair and coat a tank. The concrete had hairline cracks and deep bugholes in the headspace, according to the submission.
The crew blasted to remove 25 mils (635.0 microns) of coal tar before profiling and applying a Tnemec coating system. They worked around confined space and potential high levels of H2S. As the submission stated, “Safety in tanks is always an issue. That, plus a demanding schedule, required critical project management to complete the project safely, on time, and according to work scope.”
Finally, third place went to the Technocreto team out of Equador for the “Saldines ABInbev” project in Guayaquil, Ecuador. On this job, an eight-person crew worked to restore highly contaminated concrete that had seen over 20 years of service, according to the submission. The high-profile client had a high demand for quality and safety, so it was important that the new flooring system in a successful manner despite confined spaces and working at heights. The crew prepped, repaired, and coated the concrete with a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and epoxy system from Setmix Products.
Technocreto is the first-ever company based in Latin America to win one of the CoatingsPro Contractor Awards.
“Industrial Steel” Category
First place for the Industrial Steel category was awarded to Jeff DeFranco and the N.Y. State Industrial Coatings crew for the “FDA Food Compliant metal decking restoration” project in Western New York. On this job, the contractor worked on assets owned by one of the largest national fruit and vegetable processing companies. The facilities had extremely compromised ferrous metal structural steel and galvanized coated decking.
To complete the 42,500-square-foot (3,948.4 m2) project, a 12- to 16-person crew prepped and coated the substrate by using a custom-designed suspended decking system and a Carboline coating system. They also used fiber mesh to keep paint chips from going into the draining system. The company collaborated with the engineering team, safety director, client, and Quality Control division to ensure a successful project.
Second place for Industrial Steel went to Dane McGraw and Thomas Industrial Coatings for the “Lock and Dam 25—Tainter and Roller Gates” project in Winfield, Missouri. The lock and dam, which opened in 1939, included three roller gates and 14 tainter gates. According to the submission, 30,000,000 tons of product is pushed through the lock system annually. To get 340,000 square feet (31,587.0 m2) of steel ready, the crew blasted before applying a Sherwin-Williams system.
“The project had all of the components of an industrial project including working over water, removing a lead coating on deck, and working from lifts and stages to access portions of the gates,” the submission reads. “Working inside of the gates provided a confined space setting, and a work platform was installed to better access different phases of the project.” The weather, potential flood water, and the wear-and-tear of the dam presented unique challenges.
Finally, third place went to the Intech Contracting crew for the “Texas Street (Long–Allen) Bridge” project in Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana. On this job, a 40-person crew worked on a 511,000-square-foot (47,473.5 m2) project. Over 14 months, the crew rehabbed a three-decades-old paint system while using an overhead work platform.
According to the submission, “The project included removal of existing paint and repainting, epoxy-urethane deck overlay, sealer on the sidewalks and carbon fiber reinforcing (CFRP) of the underside of the sidewalks, new steel pedestrian rails, steel repairs, substructure concrete patching and CFRP, and concrete coatings.” They used International Paint products to complete this rehab.
“Specialty Project” Category, Sponsored by APV Engineered Coatings
First place in this year’s Specialty Project category was awarded to Chris Incorvaia and the Stuart Dean crew for their work on the “15000 Aviation” project in Hawthorne, California. In this project, a 19-person crew worked on a striking, early example of Late Modern “High Technology” architecture. The crew completed the restoration of 40,000 square feet (3,716.1 m2) of mirrored glass “skin” over five months. The previously applied paint was degraded and had lost adhesion.
According to the submission, “The damage was so severe that portions of the underlying aluminum substrate were exposed to the elements and subsequently became corroded and pitted.” This company completed surface prep work, applied the APV Engineered Coatings primer and topcoat, and replaced 60,000 linear feet (18,288 m) of sealants.
Second place went to Apellix FX+ (Field Services + Lab) for the “City of Wooster, Ohio—Cleaning Elevated Water Tower” project. To complete this assignment, Apellix used a five-person crew to pressure wash and clean three structures using a tethered Opus X8 SW aerial robotic.
The assets were 115 feet (35.1 m) tall, and according to the submission, “This was a man vs. machine job completed in less than a day: 2.5 hours for the drone to clean half the tower, and 5 hours for the crew with a lift to clean the other half.”
Third place in the Specialty Project category was awarded to Eric Henn Murals for his work on the “Glass City River Wall” in Toledo, Ohio. Acting as a one-person show, Henn worked on 28 grain silos. He helped design the image that was painted and was the leader amongst other hired artists working on this Toledo, Ohio-based project.
With 170,000 square feet (15,794.0 m2) of concrete to coat, the award-winning muralist used multiple colors in 3,300 gallons (12,491.9 L) of Tnemec acrylic paint, hundreds of paintbrushes and rollers, and four 135-foot (41.1 m) lifts. It will be the largest mural in the country, taking the top spot in the Guinness World Records.
Additional Information
Information on winners of the remaining 2022 Contractor Awards, which included the “Work It Safe,” “Contractor/Crew MVP,” and “Commercial Roof” categories, can be read about in the May 2022 print edition (page 14) of CoatingsPro. Photos of all winning projects are also available there.
Congratulations go out to all of the winners! As for the 2023 Contractor Awards, those will be presented at the 2023 AMPP Annual Conference + Expo, to be held from March 19–23, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. More information on the conference is available at ace.ampp.org.
Submissions for the 2023 Contractor Awards cycle can be made later this summer. For more information, visit the CoatingsPro website.
Source: CoatingsPro Magazine, www.coatingspromag.com/contractor-awards