TAMPA TANK INC. - FLORIDA STRUCTURAL STEEL SPARKS...

Success for Our Customers, Our Employees & Our Company2710 East 5th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605 • 813-241-4261• www.tti-fss.com

TAMPA TANK INC. - FLORIDA STRUCTURAL STEEL

SPARKS & REMARKS VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 DECEMBER 2016

TTI-FSS Port Facility

Chinese drywall, flanges, pipe, and dogfood! Oh My!

TTI-FSS recently added steel welded trusses and steel welded handrails to this extensive and ever- growing list of subpar materials and services provided by foreign competitors. We have been called in more than once in instances where major pur-chases from low-priced Chinese

steel fabricators have backfired. Just recently a major truss project rolled into to our shop. Upon the components’ arrival into the U.S., third party weld inspection revealed numerous major weld defects.

Our team cut the pipe trusses apart at the defective areas, which were specified for full penetration welded splices. This revealed not only a lack of full penetration, but weld prep work that fell woefully short of code requirements. The interior welds were nearly nonexistent. Additionally, trash was found inside the pipe; trash, not weld debris. Trash, dirt, weeds, plastic, etc. lined the interior of the pipes.

With late product delivery looming due to the non-code welds, the project opening date was in jeopardy. The rush

job required massive cranes to lift the pre-fabricated, welded trusses, but, without the luxury of proper scheduling, the cranes were soon scheduled for delivery elsewhere. The owners quickly authorized a 24/7 work schedule. The TTI-FSS team finished the project in record time, but only after finding the Chinese representative secretly recording our shop processes and office documents with GoPro cameras.

In another instance of low-priced foreign competition, a fabricator supplied a structural steel power plant project, including thousands of feet of handrail. TTI-FSS had also been awarded a contract for two identical units. Our project was to be fast-tracked and the competitor’s products were needed at a later date. We were called back to the site eight weeks after delivery, with the customer’s complaint that the entire handrail product was incorrect. Arriving at the site, we discovered thousands of feet of handrail painted to look like the galvanized handrail that was specified. This handrail was, of course, produced by the foreign competitor. The age old sayings, “You get what you pay for,” and “Buyer beware!” are truly timeless lessons.

May you and your families enjoy the holiday season. Best wishes to all for a very Happy New Year.

David HalePresident/CEO TTI-FSS

A Christmas Greeting FROM THE CEO

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Sammy Sullivan’s brief life is the inspira-tion behind a legacy of giving to spread joy to abused, abandoned and neglected chil-dren across the Tampa region and beyond. Sammy Sullivan Charities is dedicated to helping to provide safe havens for these children in their most dire time of need.

As in past years, Tampa Tank Inc. – Florida Structural Steel employees have donated

generously to this charity by collecting unwrapped toys to be distributed to these children during the Christmas holidays. We thank each of you who has touched a precious child with your generosity.

Visit www.sammysullivancharities.org to learn how you can help these special children.

TTI-FSS SUPPORTS SAMMY SULLIVAN CHARITIES

At the new Duke Energy Florida combined cycle power plant under construction in Citrus County, Florida, TTI-FSS is responsible for designing, fabricating and installing: • four stacks, each consisting of 21 steel rings 22 feet and one inch in diameter x 180 feet high; • two service/fire water A36 steel tanks 44 feet in diameter x 40 feet high with umbrella roofs; and • two 304 stainless steel tanks 35 feet in diameter x 30 feet high with umbrella roofs for demineralizing water.

The stack ring sections will be delivered in three sections which the TTI-FSS crew fit and weld together before starting the vertical erection process. The tank ring sections will be shipped in four pieces and assembled on site before welding can begin. TTI-FSS was awarded the project in July 2015. On-site erec-tion began mid-October 2016 and the project is scheduled for completion in mid-2017. At time of publication, more than 50 percent of the four tanks’ fabrication has been completed at the TTI-FSS Adamo facility.

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TTI-FSS PLAYS KEY ROLE AT NEW POWER PLANT PROJECT

One of the 84 stack rings fit and welded and ready for delivery.

Half-rings for one of the power plant stacks is prepared for welding.

Interior work nears completion inside of one of the four steel tanks TTI-FSS is fabricating for the Citrus County power plant.

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The construction of a new highway interchange designed to improve the connection capacities between the City of Panama and the area of Panama Pacifico has needed the relocation of 37,217 feet of 20-, 12- and 10-inch pipes owned by PetroAmerica Terminal SA (PATSA). TTI-FSS has completed the pipes relocation and is in the

process of connecting the new pipes with the existing ones. Despite challenging weather conditions at this time of the year in Panama and the rough terrain, the connec-tions were completed and all pipelines are now operational.

MECO has developed such civil work as the excavations and ground conditions. PATSA is in charge of draining the pipes. Carber has used their specialized equipment to hot-tap and stop the lines and TTI-FSS has performed cold cutting, accessories welding, valve installation and new pipelines connections.

Despite the rough terrain and challenging weather condi-tions in Panama this time of year, the connections have been completed and all pipelines are now operational.

The TTI-FSS project team includes Project Manager David Aldana, Site Engineer Jose Golindano, Field Superintendent Ronald Lopez, Administrator Teresa Cañas, QC Supervisor Gerson Suarez, Field Supervisors Alfredo Lopez, Edgar Herrera and Andres Hernandes and 25 local and foreign crew members.

PIPELINE PROGRESS IN PANAMA

Pipe relocation as seen from above using a drone.

Pipes on the east side of the project are connected and in service.

The TTI-FSS team installs a 20-inch F2 line stop and cold cuts a 20-inch F1 pipe at the Panama project site.

In June this year, TTI-FSS began fabrication on two Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) railway bridges for the north and south passenger train corridor between West Palm Beach and Miami, Florida. Both bridges are in Miami. The 11th Street Bridge project consists of three steel gird-ers, each 93’ 4.5” long by 10’ high, for a total of some 620,000 pounds of A709-50 steel. For the Arch Creek Bridge, TTI-FSS is fabricating four girders, each 74’ 2” long by 5’ high from 126,554 pounds of steel. The TTI-FSS Adamo facility houses the girders for welding and fitting, while the material processing and shooting the floor beams, knee braces and miscellaneous items are being done at the company’s Ybor facility. Project Manager Jessica Cleary, Adamo Welding Foremen Markus McGee and his welding crew, Ybor Receiving and Cutting Foreman Rob Green, Fitting Foreman Brad Dixon and their crews are pushing to keep the project on-time and on-budget.

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ALL ABOARD FLORIDA

The seven railway bridge girders consist of a total of 746,554 pounds of steel.

One of seven steel girders for two FDOT railway bridges fabricated at the TTI-FSS Adamo plant.

TTI-FSS fabricated the FDOT railway bridges floor beams at its Ybor facility. The beams will be installed along the bottom of the girders, just under the knee braces, to support and stabilize the bridges.

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By Jason Chattin, Corporate Weld Foreman

On November 1 at our Port facility, TTI-FSS fired up the first of several large welding manipulators running the tandem Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) process. This is a huge step for the company, because the tandem SAW process achieves more than double the deposition rate of the single wire SAW process we commonly use. What exactly does that mean? Every one pass the tandem manipulator makes, we put down as much metal as three passes in the single wire process. In addition, the penetra-tion and fusion achieved by tandem SAW equates to a much stronger and cleaner weld.

A lot of planning and hard work went into getting these ma-nipulators up and running. The maintenance department did an outstanding job of making the SAW welders fully operational. Robert Hudson is fine-tuning the machines and heading up the training program. Stephen Kirby was the first welder to be certified to use the process and now uses it proficiently on a daily basis. By the end of the year, TTI-FSS expects to have at least 10 certified tandem SAW welders and all seven of its large tandem manipulators up and running. Meanwhile, at the TTI-FSS Ybor facility, robotic welders offer a different approach to increasing production. With the use of a jig and a user-defined program, these robots are capable of welding many times what a welder can by hand. For repetitive welding projects like cross frames for girders,

for example, the robots can use the same automated program to weld the entire piece in a fraction of the time it would take to weld by hand. Additional benefits include more uniform and repair-free welds. This equipment puts the company on an even faster production track for 2017, when it plans to explore the full capabilities of the robotic welders and incorporate the tandem SAW process into all facets of production to increase capacity and broaden the range of work TTI-FSS can assimilate in the near future.

WELDING PRODUCTION INCREASES EXPONENTIALLY WITH NEW EQUIPMENT

Welder Stephen Kirby operates the tandem manipulator on one of the tower legs for the Wittpenn Bridge project in New Jersey.

TTI-FSS’ new Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) process drastically improves production capacity. A corner weld can be done five times faster with this manipulator than a man can weld with a single wire SAW.

Other benefits to employing the SAW process include more uniform and repair-free welds.

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TAMPA TANK INC. - FLORIDA STRUCTURAL STEELG L O B A L FA B R I C AT I O N A N D E R E C T I O N U N I T E D S TAT E S

Stephen Firman54 Years

David Hale38 Years

Dan Couillard33 Years

Edward Glass29 Years

John Goolsby47 Years

Dale Ison38 Years

Timothy Hendricks31 Years

Larry Merrill25 Years

James Bridges43 Years

Gary Scrivener38 Years

Victor Farris31 Years

Tim Mulligan23 Years

Calvin Reed40 Years

Jack Eckerston34 Years

Randy Allen30 Years

Anastacio Usher23 Years

Buddy Hester21 Years

William McCullen21 Years

John Niehaus21 Years

Cleveland Campbell20 Years

Miguel Ontiveros20 Years

Kevin Sigl20 Years

Ken Hardy19 Years

Vincent Kelly19 Years

John Philogene19 Years

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Salomon Falcon16 Years

Jody Evans17 Years

Monica Guirales16 Years

Juan Suarez17 Years

Marco Hernandez16 Years

Kenneth Douglas16 Years

Joey Allen15 Years

Antonio Antunez-Rodriguez15 Years

Jack Gonzalez15 Years

Jose Salazar15 Years

Michael Coffman12 Years

John Biddle15 Years

Ben Hyde15 Years

Bill Dumelle14 Years

Mary King12 Years

Louissant Cange15 Years

Billy O’Kelly15 Years

Jonathan Leach13 Years

Harvey Pickron12 Years

Jose Cisneros15 Years

Pedro Rasbot15 Years

L Love13 Years

Jose Rodriguez12 Years

Michael Abdoney11 Years

Tommy Boykin11 Years

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Brian Albert10 Years

Robert Green10 Years

Karl Brown9 Years

Cecil Campbell, Jr.10 Years

Juan Puyo10 Years

Jorge Guzman9 Years

Brian Harmening11 Years

Zachary Chapman10 Years

Oscar Rico10 Years

Bernabe Lorenzo9 Years

Chris Mora11 Years

Jose Cordero-Castro10 Years

Jeff Bertram9 Years

Gary Rajaram9 Years

Josue Salazar9 Years

Robert White9 Years

Melvin Canady8 Years

Luis Crespo8 Years

Juan Martinez8 Years

James Rhew8 Years

Frederick Riccio8 Years

Maricio Rico8 Years

David Aldana7 Years

Steve Rials9 Years

Brad Dixon7 Years


Karl Marschke7 Years

John Michaud7 Years

Michael O’Toole7 Years

Ralph Hartig7 Years

Jason Bahamonde6 Years

James Dyess6 Years

Rob Barthelemy5 Years

Joel Hernandez5 Years

Michael Ungerathen6 Years

Richard Cantu, Sr.5 Years

Jorge Huet5 Years

Jose Salazar5 Years

Joseph Willis6 Years

Karla Glass5 Years

Don Lowe5 Years

Martin Sanchez5 Years

Robert Winninger6 Years

David Hechinger5 Years

William Prescott5 Years

Paul Haack7 Years

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TAMPA TANK INC. - FLORIDA STRUCTURAL STEELG L O B A L FA B R I C AT I O N A N D E R E C T I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Crisantos Asig21 Years

Cristobal Garcia17 Years

Vinicio Pazos16 Years

Fitzgerald Peters15 Years

Freddy Tobar21 Years

Oscar Estrada17 Years

Vernon Brown15 Years

Errol Edwards15 Years

Victor Vasquez Morales21 Years

Pedro Cohn17 Years

Patrick Ignacio15 Years

Austin Shields15 Years

Ricardo Diaz y Diaz18 Years

Carlos Montenegro16 Years

Roy Noriga15 Years

Edona Tearr15 Years

Michael Augustin15 Years

Timothy Thomas15 Years

Thelmo Mendez14 Years

Lester Blanco12 Years

Eustace Suarez15 Years

Hetor Ruano14 Years

Moises Barrios12 Years

Noel Frazer28 Years

Danilo Lopez16 Years

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Edie Balanta10 Years

Ylario Salano10 Years

Roosevelt Lopez9 Years

Andres Hernandez8 Years

David Brown10 Years

Diomar Trevino10 Years

Anthony Russell9 Years

Edixon Cordero8 Years

Miguel Aponte9 Years

Victor Camacho8 Years

Rosebel Lopez10 Years

Henry Ducon9 Years

Yoitel Garcia8 Years

Jose Gollindano11 Years

Leslie Isaac Suazo12 Years

Macabeo Lima11 Years

Rosalba Torres12 Years

Herman Mendez11 Years

Rafael Franco11 Years

Vance Schmidt11 Years

Alfredo Lopez12 Years

Ricardo Garcia12 Years

Ronald Lopez10 Years

William Lopez9 Years

Oliver Rodriguez9 Years

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Hermenegildo Alonzo7 Years

Walter Aviles7 Years

Maurice Barr7 Years

Edgar Herrera7 Years

Lynden Roker7 Years

Juan Bobadilla7 Years

Jose Lemus7 Years

Jesus Santafé7 Years

Edmundo Aguilar7 Years

Juan Cloter7 Years

Luis Manyoma7 Years

Josue Turcios7 Years

Milena Rosa Angulo7 Years

Mario Garcia7 Years

Santiago Otalora7 Years

Roberto Valencia7 Years

Cesar Albisuriz6 Years

Juan Garcia Juarez6 Years

Omar Carabali8 Years

Hector Ruano8 Years

Gerson Suarez7 Years

Freddy Cabrera6 Years

Ramon Green6 Years

Stanley Groenhart6 Years

Teresa Cañas7 Years

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SPECIALTY BRIDGE FABRICATION REQUIRES TTI-FSS’ EXPERIENCE

Based on TTI-FSS’ global reputation as a specialty fabricator capable of working with very long heavy steel plates requiring scores of meticulous welds, the firm was tapped for a highly visible pedestrian bridge project in a major Midwestern city. The bridge is not only designed with particular attention to structural strength for the lengthy span, but for artistic appeal, as well. The pylon at the right in the photo is made up of very thick long plates requiring partial joint penetration welds in the corners of its full length. Casey Morey is project manager.

Nicholas Tearr5 Years

Orlando Velasquez5 Years

Carlos Cordova5 Years

Phillip Green5 Years

Franciso Leyton5 Years

David Martinez5 Years

Trevor Sands5 Years

Budley Anderson5 Years

Alvaro Catalan5 Years

Kem Ambrister5 Years

Carlos Turcios6 Years

Alex Valencia6 Years

Henry Simeone6 Years

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Don Lowe

Adam Bourgeois

Casey Morey

Karla Herrera Mary King

TTI-FSS TEAM TALKDale Ison Promoted to EVP of Technical Services

As part of TTI-FSS’ ongoing continuous improvement program, as well as adjusting to internal changes and external marketing forces, Dale Ison has been promoted to executive vice president of technical services. In this role, Dale will assist all departments to be proactively involved in the most complex areas of our business, as well as provide oversight for resolving highly technical problems, both internal and external, as our projects become more technically advanced, specifications tighter and outside inspections more critical. He will continue in his roles maintaining our steel mill relationship and shop equipment development from his earlier position as vice president of manufacturing.

Randy Allen Named Corporate Quality Manager

Randy Allen, a 30-year TTI-FSS veteran, has been named corporate quality manager. In this position, he will be responsible for ensuring safety, empowering the QC team to be proactive, inspecting quality into the process, increasing communications and standardizing processes through root cause analysis of Nonconformance Reports and quality baseline tracking. He will oversee the quality control leads at the Port, Adamo and Ybor facilities.

Randy has been a certified welding inspector (CWI) for 10 years and is certified in Level II nondestructive testing (NDT), ultrasonic testing (UT) and magnetic particle testing (MT). His proven commitment to quality perfor-mance, processes and personnel, his broad expertise and

strong relationships with TTI-FSS customers all make him uniquely qualified for this pivotal role in the TTI-FSS organization.

Jason Bahamonde Passes NASCLA Exam

Operations Coordinator Jason Bahamonde has passed the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies exam as the first step to a national general con-tractor’s license. Passing the exam allows the applicant to take only the business and law portions of the contractors exam in each of 13 states and one territory to obtain an unlimited general contractors license. This certification allows contractor mobility across jurisdictions, invaluable flexibility for TTI-FSS, which works in nearly every state of the Union.

Third Quarter Safety Awards Announced

James Hacker (l), fitter at the TTI-FSS Ybor plant, earned the third quarter Safety Star award, presented here by Nate Simpson.

Karl Brown (r), yard operator at the TTI-FSS Adamo facility, accepts the third quarter Safety Star award from EHS Shop Safety Director Nate Simpson.

VISIT TTI-FSS AT UPCOMING TRADE SHOWS

SUBSCRIBE TO SPARKS & REMARKS

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and add your name to our distribution list on our Contact page.

National Institute for Storage Tank Management (NISTM)April 18th – 20th, 2017 • Rosen Shingle Creek • Orlando, FL

International Liquid Terminal Association (ILTA) June 13th – 14th, 2017 • George R Brown Convention Center • Houston, TX

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I guess there is no better time of year to wax nostalgic than at Christmas time. Once we approach the holidays, we automatically think of Thanksgiving and Christ-mas pasts and how we enjoyed them through the years. We remember the relatives and friends with whom we shared the many holidays who are no longer with us and maybe wonder how we will be able to create new joyous memories in their absence.

The lesson I have learned over these many Christmases is that, no matter how we stress about what to get for whom, the real gift is the act of giving and not the thing in the box.

I grew up in a frame house in a small town in central Florida. We had no garage and the one car we had was parked in a dirt driveway close to the house. My bed-room was closest to the driveway, and my first Christmas memory was when I was about 6 years old. I found out then that Santa was just my parents. I remember being sent to bed early on Christmas Eve to make sure I was asleep when Santa came, but I didn’t go to sleep. Instead I listened as my mother went out the front door. I heard her open the trunk of the car and then come back into the house. I surmised then that was the real Santa. I remem-ber asking my mother if she was the one who got the presents for Santa and she admitted she was.

One of our family traditions was that all the presents from Santa be unwrapped. Only the gifts from real people were gift wrapped. That tradition followed me through the rest of my life and is continued for my daughter’s children. Santa still delivers his gifts un-wrapped and ready to use.

This tradition has cost me over the years. I remember having to put together my daughter’s doll house one Christmas eve. It had a lot of parts, and it took forever to put it all together.

I also remember putting together a bicycle on Christmas eve. It was my daughter’s first bike, and it was a generic type, where you could put it together as either a boy’s

or a girl’s bike. I got it put together after the kids were asleep and I was thinking all was good, so I went to bed. Sometime during the night,, my wife woke me and said I had put my daughter’s bike together, but forgot to lower the center bar to make it a girl’s bike. That was fun and I was fully awake. Not.

As the kids got older, some of the put-together stuff got easier, but helping with the grandkids’ Christmas got harder.

My son and I put together a ping pong table for my daughter’s family one Christmas eve. It took many hours. Nothing went together easily, but we finally finished it. Since we had to put it together at someplace other than their house, transporting the ping pong table, fully erected to their home was not easy. Nor was it without some minor damage.

Grandkids are like having your kids all over again, but easier and better. My wife and I spend every Christmas eve and Christmas morning with my daughter’s family. The morning celebration is huge with too many pres-ents for the kids, too much used wrapping paper, but so enjoyable. As the saying goes, “If I knew how much fun grandkids would be, we would have had them first.” Yes, I understand you can’t really have them first, but they are a lot of fun. They are not as much worry and stress as your own kids.

In more recent holidays, my wife and I have enjoyed all the Hallmark Christmas shows on TV. My wife had been watching the shows for some time, but Fred got me started on this and I’m sure he is still dutifully watching every Hallmark presentation. It doesn’t matter that the story line is pretty much the same from show to show, Fred still enjoys them.

Remember the Reason for the Season as you relax and get ready for the after-Christmas grind.

Merry Christmas, Everyone.By Jim Daniels, former TTI-FSS VP of Sales

TAMPA TANK INC. - FLORIDA STRUCTURAL STEEL SPARKS...

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