Alum Bank, PA – Hurricane Sandy devastated the United States East Coast in October 2012, causing severe damage to the 2.5 mile Long Beach Boardwalk in Long Beach, New York. Creative Pultrusions, Inc. (CPI) was chosen to supply composite sheet pile and pipe piles to restore and protect the boardwalk. The SuperLoc® 1580 series sheet pile was driven in front of the new boardwalk in order to protect the structure and town from future storm surge damage. SUPERPILE® frp piling was driven into place to support several new concrete bents that had to be replaced to support the new boardwalk. Unlike steel and wood, Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) piles will not rot or corrode when exposed to the seawater.
Grace Industries, the prime contractor, and Peter Scalamandre & Sons, the pile driving sub-contractor noted that the Engineer of Record (EOR) selected FRP composite SuperLoc® and SUPERPILE® because of its long life, low maintenance and friendliness to the environment. Robert Hutzler of Peter Scalamandre & Sons states, “The Long Beach Boardwalk repair project was a fast-paced project, with a lot of scrutiny from the public in anticipation of completion. Creative Pultrusions provided the SuperLoc® 1580 sheets to spec and on time. The Creative Pultrusions staff was able to stay ahead of Peter Scalamandre & Sons, Inc., even as our production increased beyond the original projected commitments. Their ability to provide the material in a timely and balanced manner set the pace for Peter Scalamandre & Sons, Inc. and all those that followed behind on this project. Always accessible and always providing clear and accurate information, CPI is one of the best material suppliers that I have been involved with in my career.”
CPI has also been supplying products for other Superstorm Sandy recovery projects, including over 300 SUPERPILES that are being used as support piles for the newly reconstructed service dock and visitor dock on Liberty Island, site of the Statue of Liberty. The service dock was completely destroyed and the visitor dock was partially destroyed during Superstorm Sandy.
Established in 1973, Creative Pultrusions is located in Alum Bank, Pennsylvania, and is a subsidiary of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC, an international group with leading positions in the design, manufacture and supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets. It serves its customers from facilities principally in the UK, France, USA, Thailand, Sweden, Norway, India and Australia. Headquartered in the UK and quoted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: HILS.L), Hill & Smith Holdings PLC employs some 3,800 staff across 55 sites, principally in 8 countries.