The Peikko Group made their first delivery of Column Shoes to the US. The Column Shoes were used for the construction of a large caisson in Troy, Alabama by ConecuH Bridge & Engineering Inc.

This project required 22 ea. Precast concrete columns for construction of a large caisson 150 feet in diameter and approximately 84 feet deep. This structure is to be used for a Scale Pit in a new steel mill. The columns are 84 feet in length (consisting of two 42 foot long sections), 39 inches (1 meter) wide and 15 to 17 inches deep. Four Peikko column shoes per column were used to connect the two halves. Each half column weighed 24,000 pounds (US), and an entire column was shipped via truck to the jobsite 175 miles away.

ConecuH Bridge & Engineering promised their customer that they could cast the last piece on March 13, 2009 and make delivery as soon as concrete reached 6000 psi compressive strength. Instead they were able to deliver the last piece on March 6, 2009

Factors in the success of the project:

• Early delivery of special forms thanks to Helser Industries of Tualatin, Oregan USA

• On time delivery of Peikko column shoes and excellent technical support from Peikko Group; (we had never used this type of fastener before) allowed us to work comfortably with this type of system

• Use of Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) high performance concrete allowed us to get concrete placement in forms that were over- crowded with reinforcing steel

This was the first time they cast any structural building columns in the company’s brief six year history. It was a complete success. Additional information can be found on our website at www.conecuhbridge.com.