significant.” Editor’s note: Webster’s article
appeared in the Quarter 2 2008 edition
of PDCA’s PileDriver magazine, which is
available to download from the Publications
area of www.piledrivers.org.
Timber pilings can also be used
as an economical soil-improvement
methodology, notes Kelly.
• Pile Hammers - new / refurbished
• Custom Leads - all tubular, pinned style, boom point, fair
leads, fixed / swinging, onshore / offshore
• Accessories - drive caps, cushion material, air line oilers,
air hose, replacement parts
• Sales and rentals of pile driving equipment
• Repair and service of pile driving equipment
Phone: 706-398-1178
Fax: 706-398-1188
www.vulcanhammer.com
“With a ‘timber inclusion’ pile, you can
achieve the same soil-densification and
soil-improvement goals, with the added
benefit of a driven and tested pile.”
Pressure-treated timber pilings are
produced most often, says Kelly, from
Southern Yellow Pine and Douglas Fir
trees that are harvested and replanted on
a 30 to 40-year rotating cycle. Not only is
the timber a renewable natural resource;
the wood preservation process also
provides a benefit to the environment,
notes Kelly: it sequesters – i.e., captures
and stores – carbon dioxide, thereby
reducing the amount of that harmful gas in
the atmosphere.
Among the notable projects for which
the company has provided timber pilings
are the following:
• Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
– 3,000 timber piles driven to rock
support this structure
• Half-mile-long walkway around the
Battleship North Carolina
• Seaside Heights Boardwalk,
reconstructed after Hurricane Sandy
Koppers continues to focus on research
and development of new products,
preservatives and wood-treatment
technologies to better build and support
global infrastructure in a manner consistent
with its Zero Harm culture.
Membership in PDCA
“I have been part of PDCA since the
beginning,” said Kelly. “We at Koppers Utility
& Industrial Products wholeheartedly
support PDCA’s mission to educate owners
and specifiers to the value and benefits of
driven piling. After all, ‘A Driven Pile...Is a
Tested Pile!’ as the association says. We
have to keep saying it because it matters.
“We see a lot of new drilled shaft and
soil-improvement methods taking driven
pile market share. Many of these products
base capacity on testing just a very small
percentage of the installed product. The
ground can fool you! We know driven
pressure-treated timber piles have a proven
history, reliability and safety record that is
unrivaled. Koppers’ and PDCA’s challenge
is to educate the engineering community
to the potential, value and benefits of the
driven pile.”
Kelly looks forward to getting back to
some normalcy when the pandemic is
under control.
“I greatly miss the comradery, meetings
and conversations with PDCA friends and
professionals. This past year has been very
difficult for people everywhere, personally
and economically. The pandemic has taken
a terrible toll.” t
ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Photo courtesy of Koppers Utility and Industrial Products
96 | ISSUE 2 2021 www.piledrivers.org
/www.piledrivers.org
/www.vulcanhammer.com
