Photos courtesy American Galvanizers Association
The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) has announced the 17 winners of its 2017 Excellence in Hot-dip Galvanizing Awards, selected from among 120 innovative, versatile hot-dip galvanizing projects. In total, four of the 15 projects celebrated for excellence were Canadian, including a Québécois overpass and a slurry preparation plant (SPP) in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Excellence Awards
Amongst the winners of Excellence Awards, Montréal-based Corbec Inc. was awarded for:
- Place Alta Pergola (Terrebonne, Qué.) in duplex systems; and
- Olymel Saint-Esprit (Qué.) in food and agriculture.
The company also collaborated with Galvanisation Québec on Snow Scrapers and Blowers in Québec City to win in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) category. The two companies also teamed up for the Maritime Link Project (converter stations) in Bottom Brook, N.L., and Woodbine, N.S., which won in the electrical, utility, and communications category.
Galvanisation Québec was also awarded for Ste-Marie de Beauce multipurpose overpass (Qué.) in the bridge and highway category.
Most Distinguished
Recognized as the top award in the competition, the Most Distinguished Award was earned by Corbec this year for its work on Horizon Oil Sands Slurry Preparation Plant in Fort McMurray, Alta. The plant faces difficulties with corrosion due to the oil and ore liquefaction process, but its implementation of hot-dip galvanized steel boosts the resilience of the plant, saves money, and allows for relocation if necessary.
Lifetime Achievement Award
This award can only be granted to a project that has been in service for a minimum of 15 years, and in this case, it went to the AZZ Galvanizing’s Baseball Man topiary, located at Mississippi’s Gulfport Sportsplex. The hot-dip galvanized frame supporting the topiary was initially chosen to improve resistance to harsh fertilizers and irrigation, but since it was designed in 2001, it has also played an unexpected role.
Baseball Man has had to stand up to hazards much more significant than those it was designed to withstand—it faced the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and was set on fire by vandals last year. Although the latter event caused the topiary to be temporarily removed from the facility, it has been restored to its place, with the frame undamaged by the fire or natural disaster.
Videos on the lifelong performance of other galvanized steel projects can be found here. These include the following case study on Ontario’s Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.
