From humble beginnings in Germany as the “plaster master”, to a major facilitator of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project, Putzmeister America has had an eventful fifty years.
Specializing in concrete and material placing equipment for the construction industry, Putzmeister America is the North American division of one of the world's most recognized and respected heavy equipment manufacturers, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH.
Founded in 1958 in Germany by Karl Schlecht, who used his experience in his father’s plastering business to make machines to ease the physically demanding work of a plasterer, the company name was chosen to represent “plaster master.”
Fifty years on, Putzmeister now offers a broad product line including boom pumps, placing booms, trailer pumps, shotcrete equipment, mortar machines, industrial pumps, mining and tunneling equipment, pump mixers and water technology equipment, and is known and respected worldwide for quality and durability as well as pioneering technological innovation.
After initially exploring North America in the 1970s through a relationship with crane giant, American Pecco of New York, Putzmeister entered the market full on in 1982 with the acquisition of California-based Thomsen, Inc, the nation’s top boom pump manufacturer at the time.
Thomsen had roots in the mortar machine business that closely mirrored Putzmeister’s own beginnings. As Putzmeister took advantage of Thomsen’s dealer network, the two brands merged under the Putzmeister name. The growing organization also undertook sales and distribution responsibilities for the German division’s industrial pumps and tunneling machines in North America.
By 1993, customer demand and increasing market opportunities meant that Putzmeister required a larger North American facility and the company was attracted to Sturtevant in southeastern Wisconsin, for its centralized Midwest location, close proximity to suppliers and an exceptional work ethic similar to what its parent company enjoyed in Germany.
Strategic acquisitions have characterized the company’s development since then. Recognizing that its expertise in the placement of concrete could be used in the placement of other materials, Putzmeister acquired a truck-mounted telescopic belt conveyor line from Rotec Industries in 1997. Originally called Super Swingers, the brand was renamed and registered as Telebelt and a new 36,000 square foot manufacturing facility was added at the Sturtevant site in 1998. Telebelt’s success led to the acquisition of another complementary line—Clark Industries’ truck-mounted 50 foot portable/towable conveyors. Putzmeister introduced the world’s largest truck-mounted concrete boom pump, the 63Z-meter at the 2005 ConExpo/ConAGG trade show.
In July 2007, Putzmeister completed what was perhaps its most significant acquisition to date, that of Allentown Equipment, the century old Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of wet- and dry-process shotcrete equipment serving the refractory, underground, civil and mortar industries. The acquired company was then renamed Allentown Shotcrete Technology, Inc.
The Allentown company soon doubled in size after the acquisition, so the decision was made last year to relocate its manufacturing facilities to the Putzmeister America headquarters in Sturtevant. “Allentown will still operate as an independent business but with the added benefits of the production and logistics capacity here in Sturtevant,” said Dave Adams, president and CEO of Putzmeister America, at the time. “We’re celebrating our 100th anniversary and it is our goal to continue to expand Allentown worldwide so we can be influential in the next 100 years of shotcrete, mortar and concrete placing technology advancements,” said Patrick Bridger, president of Allentown, about the move. “Being located at Putzmeister America will help us achieve that goal.” The move is expected to be complete by early 2011.
Allentown’s technology was first developed in the early 1900s when its originator Carl Akeley, a hunter and professor, devised a method for spraying plaster onto a wire frame for taxidermy purposes. Using compressed air, dry material was pushed through the nozzle of a gun-like device, where it was wet with water as it was blown onto a frame. The outcome was a strong, thick plaster coating that didn’t slump from the frame or set before being fully placed.
The equipment was subsequently used to patch deteriorated concrete using a dry mixture of sand and cement. The results were excellent and the dry-process technique was used for the next 40 years, until a new process was developed in the 1950s that involved the use of pressure tanks to force stiff mortar through a hose. This new wet-process is what we now call shotcrete.
Putzmeister America has contributed to many prestigious construction projects over the last 50 years, but none more iconic than the Colorado River Bridge. US Highway 93 is a designated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) route linking Mexico and Canada, but its passage over the Hoover Dam has been a traffic bottleneck for years. With 14,000 vehicles a day using the dam to cross the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, traffic congestion became a serious economic burden, not to mention the safety issues for visitors to the dam.
The Hoover Dam Bypass Projectwas begun in early 2005—a 3.5-mile corridor beginning at approximately milepost 2.2 in Clark County, Nevada, crossing the Colorado River approximately 1,500 feet downstream of the Hoover Dam, then terminating in Mohave County, Arizona near milepost 1.7 on US 93. A joint venture of Obayashi Corporation and PSM Construction USA was given responsibility for the Colorado River Bridge—said to be the most technically challenging bridge ever built in North America.
Before starting the job, the general contractor contacted Putzmeister for help in determining how and where to mount the placing booms and position the trailer pumps for all portions of the project. “We called Putzmeister right away to discuss the complicated project, and what our possible concrete placing solutions would be,” said Wes Pollnow, construction manager for Obayashi/PSM JV. “We felt more confident preparing for this by utilizing their complete systems approach.”
“The general contractor worked diligently with us and the concrete pump sub-contractor to determine the exact calculations, balances, picking points, and appropriate counterweights to ensure everything went off smoothly and safely,” said Alan Woods, Putzmeister field service technician.
By April 2010, most of the bridge was finished: the bridge approaches to the arch in Nevada and Arizona were complete, the concrete twin arches had been joined together, the precast columns on the arch had been set, and the steel girders were erected. It was time to start work on the 11 separate deck pours, each of which would be 88 feet wide and approximately 120 feet long. It would be no easy task, but the Putzmeister equipment was up for the challenge.
A Putzmeister 52Z-Meter semi-trailer-mounted concrete boom pump was chosen for the job for its impressive 170 foot (52m) vertical and 158 foot (48m) horizontal reach. The pump had to be flown into position, some 900 feet above the Colorado River.
To ensure everything stayed balanced, one deck section was poured on one side of the boom pump, then the boom pump was lifted and turned, and another deck section was poured on the other side. The boom pump was then lifted and turned again to continue the pour in this manner, going back and forth throughout all 11 pours. The boom pump had to be lifted and turned for pouring on the other side because the pipeline leading from the trailer pump to the hopper of the 52Z-Meter would have been in the way of placing the concrete.
Construction of the Colorado River Bridge is now complete, and traffic began using the Hoover Dam Bypass on October 19, 2010. No through or truck traffic is allowed on the original roadway, apart from Hoover Dam visitors. www.putzmeister.com
