Spring Iowa weather is in full

swing with all four seasons in

one day again. At least we

can all have our favorite time

of year part of the day.

Hopefully this

finds you all

in good

health and

successful in

avoiding the

thing called

“Covid”.

Times like

these make

you

appreciate

family and friend even more.

Many people have found

interesting ways to continue to

communicate, such as family

parades, zoom meetings,

skype and several others.

We as an industry have been

classified as “Essential” and

with that, a huge effort to

provide the safest working

environment for our

employees that we can. It is

obvious that everyone in the

industry has taken this very

seriously. Changes in office

structures, best practices in

the field, and the use of PPE

that has not typically been

practice. I

know I speak

for many

when I thank

our

employees for

the ownership

they have

taken in this

adventure as

it continues.

Todays

numbers are the highest of

yet, and I can only hope they

will make the way down on the

curve soon.

For any of you who are

wishing you could be home,

remember, we are all

essential employees in our

industry, and we are going to

have to keep on making the

best out of a bad situation.

Please, let’s all do our part

and keep our employees safe.

NUCA of Iowa Newsletter

May 2020 trench

es

A Message From Your

Chapter President

NUCA SURVEY: Click Here -10 Questions

In This Issue ALTORFER CAT 2

TRENCH SAFETY 3

EVENT CALENDAR 4

FROM MY DESK 5

CONTECH 6

RHINO HIT KITS 7

TRENCH SAFETY 8

NUCA SURVEY

The coronavirus economic situation is affecting

NUCA members in a number of different ways.

As a valuable NUCA member, NUCA would like

your help in answering a short online survey

about the state of your utility construction

business during this challenging season.

Thank you for your time to help NUCA and your

local NUCA chapters with this industry survey.

Your answers will help NUCA focus

Washington resources into policies that will help

you get your business back to normal

operations

LIGHT SPOT member

Altorfer Cat has a strong reputation in the Ce-

dar Rapids community. Its corporate headquar-

ters sits at 2600 6th Street SW and has since

its opening day on February 4, 1957. Founder

Ed Altorfer has established his company as a

family-oriented, reliable organization that

serves the needs of its customers. That attitude

has expanded Altorfer to an organization in 26

cities and over 1200 employees.

Dave Schmitt Construction was founded in

1964 by Dave and Lori Schmitt. Starting with

only two pieces of equipment, the company has

grown to 80 employees and a diverse equip-

ment fleet. Almost instantly, a partnership be-

tween the two companies developed and has

lasted over 50 years.

Both organizations belong to a plethora of trade

associations throughout their territory. Dave

Schmitt joined Iowa NUCA first and was a key

reason Altorfer joined in the late 1990s. The

partnerships proved to be successful because

of their strong ties to safety. All three organiza-

tions list safety as one of their core values and

use it to influence organizational decisions.

“We’re proud to be a part of such a strong or-

ganization,” general sales manager Trevor

Shanahan said. “We want to show our contin-

ued support of the customers that value NUCA

and the benefits derived from this association.”

Altorfer Cat and Dave Schmitt Construction

look forward to their continued partnership with

Iowa NUCA.

Original Contract Signing from 1957

Circa 1963

TRENCH SAFETY STAND DOWN

JUNE 15 — 19

TO ALL CONTRACTORS !!!

I am making a very BIG push this year for TSSD. I fully EXPECT

your participation !! WHY ??

1: It costs you NOTHING !! Just 15 minutes of time !!

2: The life we SAVE, could be one of your employees !!

3: We will work with your schedule and your locations !!

4: We handle all of the DOCUMENTATION !!

5: Your company WILL receive a Certificate of Participation !!

6: You can have YOUR choice of speaker. We have three

different associate members who have volunteer their services

to speak about trench safety. OR you can have me give a safety

talk to your troops..

Please !!! Make a commitment to participate in this year’s

TSSD. I will be calling all contractors and leaving messages.

FYI: With the current COVID-19 concerns, we are still

figuring out how this year’s TSSD will work. There is no

plan to cancel this event as contractors are all essential

businesses, and the safety of your employees is even

more essential.

All of NUCA events for April and May have been

cancelled or postponed. That includes the Iowa DOT

nights scheduled for April 23 & 30. The Washington

DC Summit has been rescheduled for Sept 21-23.

In June, we are hopeful the Iowa Cubs night on June

7 will still happen and the week of June 17-21 is

Trench Safety Stand Down. We hope that we can still

hold the Shooting Competition and will keep you

posted.

Thank you for your continued support in NUCA of

Iowa. I am very lucky to have a Board of Contractors

and Associate Members that are always eager to

step up and lend a hand when needed and to

continue to support each event without fail. I sure

would not have guessed this pandemic would be part

of my second year as President of NUCA of Iowa.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Andy is eager to get back out to the field and be able

to visit both members and their jobsites. If you need

anything, please give him a call and let him know

what you need help with. He has his work cut out for

him after receiving his E.D. Award at the National

Convention this year. Congrats again Andy! NUCA of

Iowa has also remained in the top 3 in the nation in

both membership retention rates over 90% and

highest rates of growth in 2020. A reminder of our

new national slogan “ONE FOR ONE”. Each of you

know a company in your area who would be a good

NUCA member. Go out and recruit that one

company, get them to our events and have them join

our chapter.

We are all in this together. Stay safe.

Jay Gallery

NUCA of Iowa President

NUCA IOWA

CALENDAR of EVENTS

NUCA @ IOWA CUBS*

Principal Park

Friday, June 7 2019

2020 Trench Safety

Stand Down

June 15—19

NUCA Golf Outing*

Amana Colonies GC

Thus, July 25, 2019

Washington Summit

Sept 21-23

Competition Shoot*

Big Springs Range

Thurs, Sept 24 2020

Fall Iowa DOT East

TBD

Fall Iowa DOT West

TBD

Annual Banquet

Prairie Meadows

Friday Feb 5, 2021

* Subject to change

President’s Message,

continued

Greetings to All,

I hope all of you are staying safe as we

struggle through COVID-19. This is truly

unprecedented times for all of us. One

can only hope, that many years from now,

when we have our grandchildren sitting

on our knees, we can tell them about this

experience, and how our industry was

considered essential.

The NUCA of Iowa 2019 Calendar of

Events is on the previous page, Please

make a point to enter these events into

your calendars. Please note that some of

the dates might change with time...

Webpage Redesign: I have taken the

opportunity to completely redo the

information provided on our web page.

My aim is to provide visitors a view of

who we are and what we do. I also have

greatly expanded the links to the National

NUCA website. This redesign work

should be completed by late spring.

Some of the redesign includes posting

the tweeter feed from National

Member Events: If your company is

having an event that you would like us to

help promote, please let me know. I can

promote events in Facebook through our

group page, on our web page or on

LinkedIn.

Facebook: If you are not part of our

group page, you are missing out. Our

Facebook group is another way to stay in

touch with other NUCA

members. Please

promote our group

page to your

employees.

Annual Banquet 2021: The annual

banquet is again being held at Prairie

Meadows Hotel and Casino, and the date

is set for Friday, February 5, 2021. The

Banquet Committee is looking to expand

into a two day event and include many

seminars and learning events. If anyone

has suggestions, please let us know.

Steven Corell Scholarship: The

scholarship is open to the all employees

of NUCA members and their dependents.

What child could not use an extra $1,000

for their college education? The 2021

application for the scholarship is available

here.

As always…those of you who find

yourselves on RT169 between Winterset

and De Soto, you are more than welcome

to turn off on 130th Street and visit me. I

am always free for some iced tea or a

cold beer to share with visitors. For the

rest of you, NUCA Iowa office has a new

landline number 515-776-9971. Please

feel free to reach out to me and let me

know your thoughts, suggestions, etc.

Regards,

Andy

FROM MY DESK….. Monthly message from your Executive Director

Culverts and storm sewers have

been getting more attention in

recent years, as municipalities

and states have taken notice of

their aging and deteriorating

conditions. Many have been

around since the advent of the

federal highway system after

World War II, while some were

constructed years before that.

Our nation’s culverts, storm and

sanitary sewer system upkeep is

critical to the overall

infrastructure systems they are a

part of.

West Chester, Ohio-based Contech Engineered

Solutions has been in business about as long as there

have been such structures, with its roots traced back

115 years ago when it was a division of the American

Rolling Mill Co. (ARMCO). The company has come a

long way from its early years, growing into a leader of

engineered solutions for general construction,

infrastructure repair, stormwater management, bridge

replacement and rehabilitation, site development, soil

stabilization, erosion control and more recently entered

the DYO engineering software sector.

Today, Contech is

a leader in providing

the products and

solutions to

rehabilitate existing

drainage and sanitary

structures, as well as

constructing new

ones. The product

portfolio includes

corrugated metal pipe

(CMP), PVC Truss

Pipe and profile wall

products, steel-

reinforced

polyethylene pipe

(SRPE), as well as

steel and aluminum structural

plate products and precast

concrete products used for

bridges, large culverts and

storm water detention.

Company History

Contech has been a

standalone business since

1986, but its foundation goes

back to 1900 with the formation

of ARMCO, the first fully

integrated steel mill in the

United States. A few years

earlier, James Watson and

Stanley Simpson had been granted a U.S. Patent for

corrugated metal pipe (CMP) as an alternative to

masonry or vitrified clay tile. By 1909, ARMCO had

developed hot-dipped galvanized steel that provided

improved resistance to corrosion and prompted the

widespread use of CMP — this grade of steel became

the industry standard for more than 40 years.

The proliferation of the automobile and development

of the national highway network after World War II

spurred demand for new and innovative products.

ARMCO Drainage &

Metal Products

responded with a

portfolio of new

products and

manufacturing

processes and

published the first

edition of the

“Handbook of

Drainage and

Construction

Products,” which was

later published by the

American Iron and

Steel Institute and is

LIGHT SPOT member

On-Site Expert Guidance with over 100-Years of Manufacturing Experience

We’re Not Just a Product | We’re a Solution

now published by the National Corrugated Steel Pipe

Association (NCSPA).

In 1931, ARMCO developed MULTI-PLATE which

allowed for larger diameter CMP (180-inches) by bolting

together sections of corrugated plates in the field. In

1960, ARMCO formed its Metal Products Division and

soon developed the highly automated HEL-COR

conversion process to manufacture CMP, replacing

conventional riveting and allowed the company to

produce large diameter storm sewer pipe. ARMCO

formed the Construction Products Division in 1980 and

continued the development of new PVC sanitary pipe

products.

Contech Construction Products Inc. was founded on

July 1, 1986 when Robert Gage led a management

buyout of ARMCOs Construction Products Division. For

the next 10 years, Contech continued to expand its

presence in the marketplace with a range of material

types including steel, aluminum and PVC plastic. The

company continued to lead the corrugated steel pipe

industry with more than a dozen acquisitions between

1986 and 1996.

Among the key acquisitions made was in 1988 with the

purchase of the Drainage Products operations of Kaiser

Aluminum and Chemical Corp., making Contech the

leading producer of aluminum corrugated pipe products,

aluminum box culverts and aluminum structural plate.

The company continued to invest in and expand its

portfolio of plastic pipe products for storm drainage and

sanitary applications in diameters up to 36 in. In 2010,

Contech acquired Plastream Pipe Technologies Pty Ltd.,

an Australian company that is the exclusive, worldwide

licensor of Plastream technology for the production of

proprietary steel reinforced HDPE pipe that is currently

marketed and used by Contech in the United States and

Canada under the DuroMaxx brand, expanding their

plastic pipe capabilities up to 120 inch diameter.

The company rebranded itself in 2012 and became

Contech Engineered Solutions to better describe what it

is all about. Although Contech provides products, their

real strength is an ability to provide engineered solutions,

as well as consult and make sure the right solution is

available for the customer. Contech believes its people

are the key to differentiating them from the other

companies.

In 2014, Contech acquired Midwestern Culvert LTD in

Ankeny, Iowa, greatly expanding their footprint in the

Iowa CMP markets.

NUCA Iowa still has Rhino Hit

Kits available for $60 each.

We can deliver them to your

job site or office

Every contractors needs an

extra hit kit…

Call or email for details.

Rhino Hit Kits — $60 each

Member Spotlight, cont

Contact Us

Give us a call for more

information about our

services and events.

NUCA of Iowa

10550 New York Ave.

Suite 200

Des Moines, IA 50322

Andy Fox

Executive Director

O: (515) 996-9971

C: (515) 802-1369

andy@nuca.com

Visit us on the web at

www.nucaofiowa.com

Jay Gallery, President Brandon Christiansen, Vice President

Dave Schmitt Construction Forterra Pipe & Precast

Jamie Crubaugh, Sec / Tres Scott Ritchie, Past President

Vanderpool Construction McCarthy Improvements Co.

EXECUTIVE

BOARD

trench

es As a reminder, NUCA Iowa has purchased the set of DVD’s on the ex-

periences of Eric Giguere. Eric was a victim of a trench collapse, and

his experiences provide a stark reminder for trench workers on why we

preach safety. These DVD’s are available to borrow for NUCA Iowa

members. They will be mailed to you, and requested that the DVD’s be

expressed mail back after use.

There are two DVD’s, one focuses on the experiences of Eric and the

other related to the experience of his co-workers as they struggled to

free and cope with his recuperation. Each video runs about 35 minutes. For more information call NUCA Iowa or email.

Trench Safety DVD’s Available to Borrow