Crowder Takes Charge in Nuclear Sub Dry Dock Recapitalization

A team from Crowder Industrial Construction recently played a central role in welcoming a nuclear class submarine back into dry dock. The project, a dry dock recapitalization effort in St. Marys, GA, involved significant demolition work, the installation of all-new equipment, and piping tunnels and charging stations into the dry dock, among other tasks. And, to ensure the sub found safe harbor, the whole project unfolded with an expedited timeline, forcing the Crowder team to work day and night, often 70 hours per week. Led by Crowder Industrial Operations Manager Dion Dreher, the project encompassed a total of 150 craftspeople.

Fast Track to Success

In short, this was Crowder’s largest project in a very long time and came coupled with the complications of an expedited schedule and critical nuclear project quality control for the onsite teams.

Crowder Industrial Construction rose to the occasion, completing Phase A ahead of schedule and finishing Phase B with ample time for the submarine to safely dock.

“Due to the fast-track nature of this project, we were forced to expedite everything that we procured and installed,” comments Dreher “There was a tremendous amount of scrutiny, and we had to scramble to compensate for supply chain failures on a project with a hard-set end date. Everything had to be planned, and often we had to pivot to entirely new plans when the original idea fell through.”

A Unique Project with Extraordinary Complications

There were several aspects of this project that threw the Crowder team for a loop, not least the fact that it all took place at a highly secured naval base, requiring all team members to undergo rigorous background checks.

The fast-tracked schedule was another issue, raising concerns over employee fatigue and imprecise work. The Crowder team mitigated these concerns by cycling employees in and out, and by ensuring routine quality inspections day in and day out.

Another major complication? The lofty standards set by the US Navy, and the high level of scrutiny. Crowder responded in kind, heightening their own quality control efforts to ensure every piece of work was done properly the first time.

The Team

Senior Project Manager

Forest Woodward

Project Manager

William Robinson

Site Superintendent

Newt King

Pipe Superintendent

Jason Duke

Iron Superintendent

Clifford Willoughby

Electrical Superintendent

Jason Sessoms

Material Manager

Jimmie Koschnick

QC Manager

Peter Koontz

QC Engineers

Daniel Ossont

Raymond Soldinie

Jonathan Vaughan

Project Controls/Scheduler

Nancy Clevenger

Project Controls Engineer

Robert Kendrick

Project Engineers

Laurie Bynum

Tyler Bexley

Safety

Gary Bain

Denver Pittman

Administrative Assistant

Barbara Lester

Foremen (Process Pipe)

Jose Castaner

Christian Colon Acevedo

Jared Gravenor

Sammy Ingram

Michael Lethco

Christopher Lupo

Nicholas Otto Schott

Arthur Tart

Foremen (Structural)

Gary Brown

Robina Evans

Ian Fletcher

Lance Maddrey

Civil and Environmental Featured Crew: Greenville Utilities Commission Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 Improvements

Crowder was awarded this contract in October of 2020 as a Subcontractor to TA Loving who took the role as CMAR for this Greenville Utilities Commission’s Project. From the beginning it was a mad rush to get things purchased and onsite to expedite the schedule and keep our crews productive and wanting for nothing. Early on, Phil Pezzatta, Ann Joseph and Kevin Pietrick spent the time needed to get orders out the door, submittals in the door and approved and materials onsite early. Timely and accurate production drawings and thorough planning allowed our field operations staff to put the work in place ahead of time and in a high-quality manner.

As usual, Landon Modlin, Phil Denton, Jeremy Hill and Grant Madren did the right things in the field to safely put high quality work in place well ahead of schedule. Much care was taken to be certain that the different habits of the other Subcontractors working by our side for the CMAR didn’t rub off on us nor impact us. It is amazing to watch our folks work and do the right things effortlessly and realize how truly professional our folks are at what they do. Everyone on this project has been and is of top quality and has without a doubt made this Project a success for the Owner and the CMAR as well as for Crowder.

We are currently completing start-up of the plant’s additions and improvements. Originally scheduled for completion in late 2023 we will be completed in the first quarter of 2023. This is a Project and Team to be proud of being a part of and the work that has been put in place has been done so safely, of top quality and well ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Crew: Jesse Duty, Rolando Arellano Ramirez, Phil Denton, Michael Dowd, Landon Modlin, Pedro Tapia, Neftali Hernandez Santos Mendoza, Tommy Wolford, Kenneth Blalock, Phillip Pezzatta, Joshua Poland, Eric Avalos, Matthew Gillenwater, Willard West, Michael Bordwine, Jeremy Hill, Billy Huggins, Marc Bradley, Robert Firth, Ann Joseph, Grant Madren, Tony Nash and Kevin Pietrick

Heavy Civil Featured Crew: I-40 Wade Avenue to US1 Project

Malachi Lawrence and his crew are working hard at nights to complete the concrete slab replacements along I-40 in Wake County, NC. There are over 50EA – 12’x24’ concrete slabs that need to be replaced along Eastbound I-40. The crew has a narrow time window each night to get this work complete between 9pm and 5am, this includes set-up and removing the lane closures and a 4 hour concrete cure time period. The original plan was to complete 1EA concrete slab replacement per night. With proper planning and excellent execution, this crew has been able to complete up to 3EA concrete slab replacements in a night. They are currently 50% complete with the I-40 concrete slab replacements.

While the increase in production and quality of work are awesome, the main accomplishment this team is proudest of is their safety record. This work is very dangerous, working adjacent to live interstate traffic at night and in tight areas. Their commitment to safety has been at the forefront of their planning and efforts. They embraced innovative ideas like using Illumagear Halo lights to provide a personal, wearable lighting system to increase the visibility of the crew. They worked closely with the owner to plan out alternate traffic patterns for live traffic during work hours. They continue to demonstrate safe work procedures so that everyone goes home safely to their families at the end of each shift. This crew is truly a team that works closely together, cares about each other’s safety and embraces the values that we are proud of here at Crowder.

Thank you Malachi and crew!

The Crew: Malachi Lawrence, Jose Reyes, Jose Ramirez, Miguel Diaz, Eric ingram, Miguel Munoz, Nicheta Alvarez, Ruben Nunley, Jaime Lopez, Brandon Lafforthun, Bob Dommer, Nick Vilaret and Gary Hall

Industrial Featured Crew: Kings Bay Dry Dock Repair

Crowder’s rigging and ironworker crew has picked and installed very large and complex equipment on the Kings Bay Project. Led by Superintendent Ringo Willoughby, this crew has installed 8 cast iron sluice gates (8 foot x 8 foot), 3 duplex stainless steel roller gates (8 foot x 8 foot), three 1250 HP Motors (19,000 pounds each), 2 cooling towers, 4 chillers, 5 Vertical Turbine Pumps, as well as numerous pipe and small equipment throughout the Dry Dock and utility tunnels. The most challenging work was removing and replacing three 48 inch check valves that weighed 16,000 pounds each from the bottom of the pump station, 50 feet below ground level.

This crew worked within very tight space limitations in the pump station and water conduits under rigorous requirements of the Navy and dock personnel.

The work was planned in great detail and each specific equipment component required a separate lift plan that had to be reviewed by the Government’s safety and risk department. All of the work was completed safely with no injury incidents.

The Crew: Ringo Willoughby, Gary Brown, Ian Fletcher, Shelton Jones, Lance Maddrey, Anthony Buck, James Hunt, Travis McGinnis, William Sanderson and Chris Kellogg

New Faces

Industrial

Hayley Vierling joined the Industrial Division in the beginning of summer as the Employee Development & Talent Planning Manager and is currently working on her Master’s in Leadership & Workforce Development through LSU. Hayley lives in Greenville with her twin sister and Beagle mix, Hendrix, while her parents, older sister and two nephews are back home in Gulfport, MS. Hayley is passionate about health and fitness and enjoys working out.

Bringing 35 years of construction experience, David Love joined the Industrial Division in June as the Director of Business Development. David has an Industrial Management degree from Auburn University. David and his wife, Cheryl, have six children, Andrew, Kevin, Lukas, Kaitlyn, Alexandra, and Caroline. Of course, David enjoys Auburn football along with hunting, mountain biking, exercising and traveling with his wife.

The Industrial Division welcomed Stanley Cheng in October as a Project Engineer. Stanley earned his degree in Civil Engineering from the Heilongjiang Institute of Technology in Harbin, China, and has ten years of construction experience.

Stanley and his wife, Carol, have two daughters, Charlotte and Natalie. He is busy working on the Crisp County Turbine Replacement solar project, but in his free time he likes to go fishing, swimming, and ice skating.

Cameron Gilbert joined the Estimating Department of the Industrial Division in September, bringing a 10-year diverse background in construction.

Cameron has a Civil Engineering degree from The Citadel and an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) Certificate. He grew up in the low country but relocated to the Taylor/Greer area in South Carolina a year ago. Cameron has been married to his wife, Lauren, for seven years. He enjoys archery, hunting, working on the lawn, watching college football, being at the lake or beach, and traveling.

Crowder is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. It is the policy of Crowder to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, age, genetic information, national origin, veteran status, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

A list of our current open positions can be found here: https://www.crowderusa.com/join-our-team/jobs-listing

Gary Clark joined the Industrial Division in August as a Project Manager IV bringing 12 years of construction experience and a long list of safety certifications. He is currently working at Plant Scherer Ash Pond Dewatering project. Gary and his wife, Jennifer, have 3 children, Teven, Arly, and Amelia. Gary is a dedicated bow hunter who also enjoys fishing, football, and volleyball.

Civil & Environmental

Winston Williams joined Crowder in August 2022 as an Electrical Project Manager for the Virginia Beach location. Prior to Crowder he was an Engineer for Greenbridge; before that he was a Project Manager for SE Electrical. Winston is a graduate of Old Dominion University where he majored in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Engineering Management. He currently lives in Virginia Beach with his wonderful wife and 9-year-old son. When he is not at work, you can usually find him out on the water with his family enjoying life!

Trish Taylor joined Crowder in November 2022 as an Administrative Assistant. Trish has a 14-year-old son. She is the oldest of three girls and grew up moving around with her dad, who was in the Army for 20 years. Trish graduated high school in Mannheim Germany. She likes to cook, spend time with family and friends, and enjoys going to the beach and to the mountains.