November/December 2021 - 113

PEOPLE & COMPANIES
Dale Clyde Biggers, a
vice president of Boh
Bros. Construction and
an active DFI member
for decades, died on
October 7. He was surrounded
by his wife of 48 years, Virgene
Koehler Biggers, and his daughter, Eva
Erickson Biggers. The posthumous
recipient of DFI's highest award to an
individual (the 2021 Distinguished
Service Award), Biggers held bachelor's
degrees in mathematics and civil
engineering from Tulane University,
and was a graduate of the U.S. Coast
Guard Officer Candidate School. A
registered professional engineer, he had
been with Boh Bros. Construction for 53
years. Before becoming vice president at
Boh Bros., Biggers was manager of the
pile driving and marine construction
department. His memorable projects
include the installation of pipe piles at
the New Orleans Aquarium, and recovery
work done in New Orleans after the
catastrophic flooding from Hurricane
Katrina. Biggers devoted much time to
the industry's associations, including
serving on DFI's Driven Pile Committee,
as well as chairing the institute's 2017
national convention in New Orleans.
Biggers was also part of the American
Concrete Institute 543 Concrete Pile
Committee, and chaired the Pile Driving
Contractors of America Technical
Committee, as well as the GeoCoalition
Code Committee. He also helped the
Louisiana Transportation Research
Center and Department of Transportation
update pile-related policies and
specifications. Personally, Biggers mentored
capstone teams at the University
of New Orleans, and his family hosted
overseas youth more than a dozen
times. For his industry contributions,
Biggers' awards included the 2006
American Society of Civil Engineering
Outstanding Civil Engineer Award in
New Orleans, and the Pile Driving Contractors
of America Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2017. An October
memorial service was held at the Rayne
Memorial Methodist Church, where
Biggers was active. In lieu of flowers, a
donation may be made to the church or
to the Deutsches Haus, through which
he assisted with Oktoberfest and other
activities.
Mike Elliott, a vice president of
Equipment Corporation of America
(ECA) and a member of
the foundation construction
industry for 49
years, will retire at the
end of December. Elliott
also has been serving as
manager of ECA's Jacksonville, Florida,
branch. He began his career with
Mississippi Valley Equipment in 1972.
In 1987, Elliott teamed up with partners
Mark Rutland and Dick Nelson to buy
out MVE's Florida operations and
established Pile Equipment. When
Nelson passed away in 1997, Elliott was
named president of PEI. His skills,
knowledge and reputation in the
foundation industry grew over the years,
and the company flourished. He has
industry friends everywhere -
colleagues, suppliers, customers and
competitors alike - and was an active
contributor to professional organizations
including the Pile Driving Contractors
Association (PDCA) and DFI. Since, ECA
and PEI merged in 2015, Elliott has been
a major contributor to the company's
expansion into the Southeast, as well as
a valued leader and mentor to many.
Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero,
Ph.D., P.E., from
AGES, represented DFI
by presenting in 17
different short courses
and technical seminars
from August into December 2021. The
events were organized by local professional
societies and academic institutions
in Peru (Conaingeo Piura,
Surgemin Cusco, INGEO, MINSUP,
GeoGroup, GeoPUPC, Universidad
Catolica, Universidad Nacional),
Colombia (SIAB Cartagena), Spain
(Geotecform) and the United States
(Carnegie Mellon University, Association
of Pennsylvania Contractors).
The focus of presentations by the
conference chair for DFI 45 (and of next
year's Annual Conference) ranged from
advances in deep foundations technologies
such as drilled shafts, predrilled
piles, micropiles, and active and
passive ground anchors, to how to
become involved in DFI and the
networking, mentoring and other
benefits of doing so.
JD Fields & Company, a subsidiary of the
Fields Companies, recently acquired the
piling division of Pittsburgh-based L.B.
Foster Company in a transaction valued
at $24 million. The deal will significantly
increase capacity and production of JD
Fields as a steel piling manufacturer,
fabricator and distributor for deep
foundation and geostructural products.
The acquisition of
the majority of
Foster 's current
piling inventory
and customer backlog also significantly
expands the 36-year-old company's
reach and market share. The purchase
also transfers Foster's steel yard in
Northern California to JD Fields, as well
as its yard adjacent to the Gerdau Steel
Mill campus in Petersburg, Virginia, that
produces wide flange beams, H-piling,
and PZC sheet piling, along with Hpiling
and flat sheets at its Midlothian,
Texas, mill. The agreement will allow
the Houston-based company to offer a
wide variety of Gerdau steel products for
the domestic piling market, making JD
Fields a preferred Gerdau distributor of
PZC and PS sheet piling in the U.S. The
move also complements the addition of
the new Fields Companies subsidiary
JDF-HDM Spiralweld - a state-of-the-art
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * NOV/DEC 2021 * 113
November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2021
