Press Releases

For Immediate Release:
March 13, 1997

For more information call:
Richard Brunvand, Chair, Public Relations
Direct Phone: 517-371-1550

Four Construction Innovators Receive Prestigious NOVA Award

(Ann Arbor, Michigan) The Construction Innovation Forum (CIF) announced today that four outstanding construction innovations were honored with the CIF's prestigious NOVA Award at the CIF's Ninth Annual Innovation Celebration Banquet.

"Innovation requires a willingness to open your mind and consider doing something differently than you have been doing for decades," stated keynote speaker J. Peter Ellefson, Construction Manager of DuPont Company. Making reference to DuPont's No. 24 Winston Cup Series race car on display at the banquet, he added, "Whether it's NASCAR racing or construction, no single individual is able to do it all. For maximum success in most endeavors, teamwork is essential."

The NOVA Award, which is referred to as the "Nobel Prize" for construction, is awarded annually to revolutionary construction solutions, processes or products that improve the quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness of construction. A total of 27 NOVA Awards have been given since 1990.

This year's winners were selected from another record-setting 43 nominations coming from nine different countries and twenty-four different states. All of the nominees participate in an exhaustive four-phase competitive process before being selected by a distinguished panel of nine judges.

The four winners for 1997 include an efficient "no dig" method for replacing underground pipes, an advanced method for producing reinforced construction timbers, a revolutionary concrete hardening system, and a unified industry-wide craft training center that promotes uniform quality craft training.

The winners of the 1997 NOVA Awards are:

Development of Pipebursting Business for Sewers in the USA
This is a method of replacing underground utility pipes without disruptive and dangerous open trenching. This technology uses a pipebursting machine, or mole, that is guided through an existing pipeline while breaking it into small pieces. Simultaneously, a new plastic pipe is towed behind the machine and replaces the old pipe with one of an equal or larger size. This method was originally developed in the United Kingdom by BG plc. The pipebursting technology was nominated by James Hopwood of BG plc, Houston, TX.

FiRP - Glued Laminated Timbers Strengthened with High Strength Fiber Reinforced Plastic
This system includes both design and manufacturing of glued, laminated timbers strengthened with high-strength fiber reinforced plastics. FiRP reinforces Glulam timbers, which reduces the amount of wood required and eliminates any need for expensive, higher-grade wood. These engineered wood structural composites are used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects. The FiRP technology was nominated by Dan Tingley of the Wood Science & Technology Institute, Corvallis, OR, and Robert Leichti of Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

Sika Rapid-1 Hardening Accelerator Concrete Admixture
This concrete admixture allows early development of high strengths in concrete consisting of commonly used mix components. Unlike concrete set accelerators, it does not reduce set time or long-term strength, and it does not corrode steel reinforcing. It enables a contractor to place a typical concrete mix and then work or place a load on it after six hours. The Sika Rapid-1 technology was nominated by Todd Spindler of Sika Corporation, Lyndhurst, NJ.

National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER)
The NCCER represents a unified initiative to centralize, finance, develop, and provide state-of-the-art craft training across the United States. It conducts certification programs for various levels of craftsmen and trainers, produces standardized training materials, and helps to ensure the highest quality level of craft instruction. To date, the NCCER has brought together 14 construction associations and their memberships as partners who contribute their expertise and training materials. The center was nominated by Michael Dunbar of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Arlington, VA.

More than 640 construction industry representatives from throughout the world attended the Annual Innovation Celebration Banquet held March 13, 1997 at the Laurel Manor in Livonia, Michigan.

The Construction Innovation Forum is an international, non-profit organization established in 1987. Roger Lane of the Detroit Edison Company is the organization's Chair.

For more information about CIF, please contact:

The Construction Innovation Forum, Inc.®
350 S. Main St., Suite 350
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 48104
Phone: (734) 995-1855
Fax: (734) 995-5002
E-Mail: info@cif.org

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This page last updated 02/18/98, by lcv