Although the concept itself is as simple as placing a tree across a creek, bridge design and construction entails serious resourcefulness and expertise. Designers, architects and engineers allocate vast resources into bridge construction and, in doing so reshape the very environment in which we live. Beaver Concrete has been reshaping the environment for 65 years, which is no small feat. In recent years they have developed a relationship with Foley, Incorporated and now have the benefit of a team sales support approach.
Beaver Concrete is a heavy highway contractor specializing in bridge rehabilitation/reconstruction as well as structural concrete demolition. They operate in the five boroughs of New York and all of New Jersey. Beaver Concrete Construction’s Executive Team consists of Lorenzo Rizzo president; Bruce Junge executive vice president; Valentino Rizzo vice president and Vincenzo Rizzo, — vice president. They perform contracts for all the major regional transportation authorities including The Port Authority of NY and NJ, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation and others. The types of projects are predominately, but not limited to, structural concrete demolition and rehabilitation of bridges and airport runways.
They are currently working on multiple projects in New Jersey and New York. Two bridge reconstruction highlights:
The reconstruction of Claremont Parkway Bridge over Metro North Rail Road is a $10.6 million project that by restructuring will extend the life of the bridge by 40 years. The existing superstructure will be replaced with new prefabricated concrete box beams and cast in-place reinforced concrete deck slab. Other adjustments include replacing fences with three-rail railing and galvanized wire mesh fences behind the railings. The current substructure will be rehabilitated, the substandard vertical profile will be modified and approach roadways will be reconstructed.
The NJDOT Route 3 over Hackensack River project is a $17.6 million project which will rehabilitate the Route 3 bridges over the Hackensack River connecting the town of Secaucus, Hudson County and East Rutherford Borough, Bergen County. This project requires deck replacement in four stages of Route 3 westbound of Hackensack River. This will restore the two individual, structurally deficient bridges carrying Route 3 eastbound and westbound traffic over the Hackensack River. The Route 3 eastbound bridge was constructed circa 1934 and modified in 1964 and the Route 3 westbound bridge was constructed in 1963. Both bridges carry three lanes of Route 3 mainline traffic and provide an auxiliary acceleration/deceleration lane for entrance and exit movements. “Rehabilitating these heavily traveled Route 3 bridges over the Hackensack River is a cost-effective safety measure that will keep these bridges active and in service for years to come,” said NJDOT Commissioner Jim Simpson.
At all of these jobs they have been utilizing Cat equipment either purchased or rented from the local Caterpillar dealership, Foley, Inc. Beaver has used Cat 328D and 322 excavators, Cat 430 and 420 backhoes and a Cat 279 skid steer for rehabilitation needs. Vice President Valentino Rizzo was especially impressed with The Cat 328D zero tail swing. He commented, “This equipment was purchased for the NJDOT Route 3 over Hackensack River, project, due to the staging requirements and small work zones. The 328 is ideal for the job because of its compact radius design. We can get into tight spots with them, dig, and swing the arm and load — something other excavators can’t do. Our operators really like them as well. We worked with Jon Musicant to help us find the right machine for the job.” Jon Musicant, their Foley equipment sales consultant, said, “Beaver Concrete is a loyal Cat customer that I really enjoy working with. They have come to use both Foley machinery as well as Foley Rents to take advantage of the array of equipment — Cat and non-Cat — that we offer.”
At this job there are 45 employees who are working hard to complete this undertaking by September 2012. On these jobs, Rizzo also consults with Foley Rental Account Manager, Dewey Cardoso for his rental and allied equipment needs. For this project, Beaver Concrete also has purchased a 185 and 375 Genie rough terrain scissor lifts, as well as Atlas Copco compressors and associated Atlas Copco hand demolition tools. They have also rented the Terex hydra platform bridge inspection unit, Genie 60 ft. 4x4 boom lift and many attachments like the Zanettis road hog — a self powered cold planer for backhoes and brooms for skid steers.
Foley and Beaver Concrete have been doing business together for about ten years, but it hasn’t been until recently that Beaver has realized the full product line available. By using both the rental and machinery division as resources, Rizzo has choices to determine the best way to get equipment that he needs for a project. Whether it is to rent, lease or buy —daily, weekly or monthly — Foley’s sales team will help him come up with the best solution. It helps that Cardoso and Musicant work so closely together, providing double the support for these extreme project needs.
Beaver Concrete was extremely satisfied with the Foley staff, especially the professionalism of its sales representatives Musicant and Cardoso, as well as all of the service managers and operators that worked closely with them. Rizzo explained, “Jon and Dewey simplify every transaction if either purchase or rental, and they constantly call and check to see if we are ok. I have developed great relationships with them both and will continue to do so. We have never had a problem that Foley has not been able to resolve and we will continue to use Foley as our Cat dealer and emissions solutions company.”
Cardoso and Musicant are happy to work together to find the best solutions for Beaver Concrete. Cardoso said, “The most important thing is the customer and Jon and I work together to find the best products and services for them.” While Beaver Concrete continues to reshape the environment bridge by bridge, the Foley representatives will use the positive teamwork and customer loyalty factors as a blueprint for success.
This article was reprinted with permission from PayDirt Magazine, Summer 2011 Issue.
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