Reinforcing Archives | Page 9 of 9

At The Conco Companies we continue to be a forerunner in the industry with the recently acquired Stud Rail Fabrication certification for our state-of-the-art rebar fabrication facility located in Benicia, CA. We are among only a handful of manufacturers throughout the industry that have obtained this certification. Our Rochester, WA plant is in the process of pursuing the same approval and hopes to have certification by June 2014.

The Stud Rail certification provides a cost-effective solution that simplifies the method of reinforcement for flat concrete slabs against punching shear at the column connection. The prefabricated stud rail assemblies provide the potential for less congestion and increased design flexibility.

Stud Rails Assemblies are an effective way of reinforcing flat concrete slabs against punching shear at column locations. The loads on a concrete slab supported by concrete columns generate shear stresses in the slab. The Punching Shear Studs are a predetermined length and diameter according to design specifications and are in compliance with IBC and UBC Structural Steel Welding Standards. They are used to extend the column perimeter into the floor or foundation slab and have low requirements in terms of formwork and reinforcement. To simplify system design, manufacturers provide free calculation software and other technical support to generate design placing sheets.

With the recent uptake in construction projects getting off the ground, Conco is pleased to acquire another innovative technique to aid in delivering efficiency and cost savings to our clients. We are an approved equal for any project not referencing our ESR-3317 report. A simple substitution request and a copy of the ESR-3317 is all that is required for us to get formal approval to provide those services.

Conco is one of the leading concrete contractors in the Bay Area offering a range of innovative, quality services. We have been honored to work on many high-profile projects and were recently awarded the concrete package for the San Francisco 49ers Stadium. Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects.

After the highly publicized reports from this past summer regarding the failure of 32 anchor rods on the eastern span of the new Bay Bridge, the highly regarded concrete contractor, Conco was retained by the general contractor, American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises, Inc. JV, to assist with the repair work. Based on their earlier performance with other critical and technically challenging components of the new bridge structure, Conco was the logical choice. “Every aspect of this project had complex technical challenges.” said Brian Petersen, the contractor’s Project Director, and “Conco’s skill and expertise was a great asset to our team.”

The defective anchor rods were supposed to secure the bridge deck to the concrete crossbeam support. Since the failed rods were embedded and inaccessible, replacement was not feasible. After extensive collaboration and analysis, a fix was designed. It involved a complex series of steel saddles and post-tensioned (PT) jacket walls that would provide the required clamping force to secure the bridge deck framing to the E2 crossbeam. Temporary steel shims were inserted into the stabilizers while the repairs were being done, and in order for the Labor Day opening to go forward as planned. “The SAS bridge is part of a world-class megaproject which features a large amount of challenging concrete work associated with temporary support structures that are not part of the completed bridge,” noted Jim Klinger, Conco’s project manager.

For this very complicated problem, Conco’s first task was to close in a steel-framed trestle platform to give work crews access to the site and eliminate the potential for materials to fall into the San Francisco Bay. Once the platform was complete, crews roughened the crossbeam surface and epoxied over 3,000 drilled dowels into place. Reinforcing steel and PT cable ducts were then installed by Harris Salinas. Conco crews followed behind them, placing custom-made PT trumpet blockouts and setting forms for the jacket walls.

The concrete jacket wall structures were placed in three pours totaling 380 cubic yards. Due to restricted access and rebar congestion, much of the concrete had to be pumped 250 feet and then injected into the forms through ports at strategic locations. Conco worked closely with concrete supplier, Central Concrete, to develop an injectable SCC mix with silica fume that would meet the project’s specifications. A full-scale mockup was constructed and successfully tested to ensure the long-distance pumping and injection of the highly-flowable SCC mix would work.

“Almost all of the concrete work items Conco was asked to perform by ABFJV were custom, one-of-a-kind scopes that we will probably never see again,” said Klinger. In late November, the third and final injection was finished and the repairs were completed successfully.

Conco is a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States. As one of the leading commercial concrete contractors in the Bay Area, we have been involved with large-scale projects in the area including the new 49ers Stadium. Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects and highways.

The Conco Companies own and operate two large rebar fabrication facilities in Benicia, CA and Rochester, WA. Conco is the largest independent reinforcing steel contractor on the west coast. In our core markets on the west coast there has been a sizable increase in the number of projects coming out of the ground and being contemplated in the future. In order to meet the needs of a growing market, we have spent significant capital to increase our capacity at each of our facilities.

Our newest facility in Rochester, WA (half way between Seattle, WA and Portland, OR) was built in 2008. Recent upgrades will serve to double the capacity of the plant by adding a second shear line, a new overhead crane and a new #14 rebar bender.

In Benicia, an additional overhead crane was purchased and installed and new state of the art auto benders were bought. A straight bar automatic bender (Barwiser) and a Coil 16 bender were bought from Schnell. These upgrades will serve to substantially increase our production capacity at this facility as well.

Furthermore, at both facilities additional stock inventory has been procured and more field fabrication tools such as a new coupler system from Dextra called Bartec have been deployed to give our crews the best equipment to complete a quality job.

By investing in our facilities, Conco is now in a position to better serve a growing market for the public works projects, high technology campuses and other expanding construction markets throughout the western United States. For more information on how we can service your next construction project, please call or email: