Safway announces the launch of a new Infrastructure Services Group, created to focus on providing safe and productive solutions for the construction, maintenance and repair of bridges, railroads, airports, shipping ports and other transportation systems, as well as power plants, stadiums and arenas.
"Safway is responding to the tremendous need to rebuild North American infrastructure and is uniquely positioned and distinctly qualified to serve this need through our broad and deep array of access services, technologies and resources," said Bill Hayes, Safway president and CEO. "Now, infrastructure customers can work with a dedicated team providing market-specific engineering and project management expertise. From transportation and waterways, to traditional and green power plants and large public venues like arenas and stadiums, Safway's new Infrastructure Services Group understands how to deliver safe, productive and time-saving access and protective coatings solutions."
Safway will dedicate a focused team of six regional infrastructure managers and nine engineers and field service professionals across its 115 branch locations to support its more than 150 sales reps as they pursue infrastructure opportunities in the U.S. and Canada. The Infrastructure Services Group is expected to become the third major component of Safway's revenue base, in addition to its historical markets of energy/industrial and commercial renovation and new construction.
To enhance its access services technology, Safway recently acquired SafeWorks, the global leader in powered suspended access, with highly recognized brands including Spider, Power Climber and Power Climber Wind.
"For 70 years, Spider has established a reputation for quality hoists, swing stages and rigging solutions," explained Hayes, "and bridges are one of the company's areas of expertise."
Over the past several years, Safway has also added several companies that bring a wide range of experience and state-of-the-art technology in surface prep and coatings to the Safway family. These include the nationally based North American Coatings (CL Coatings and Industrial Coatings & Fireproofing), U.S. Gulf-focused Mobley Industrial Services (now MobleySafway Solutions) and Dalco, based in western Canada.
With its patented and proprietary QuikDeck and QuikShield Suspended Access Systems, Safway has also been a recognized leader in providing comprehensive solutions for the repair and maintenance of bridges. QuikDeck provides safe, factory-floor-like working conditions and often allows bridges, airports and railroads to stay open and in use while a major repair and rehabilitation project is underway. "QuikDeck helps reduce the time required by craft labor to repair a bridge, and we have documented case studies that highlight savings of 10 - 15 percent in bridge repair or refurbishment when using QuikDeck over other access solutions," Hayes added.
"With our track record of providing safe, productive solutions for bridge maintenance and repair, our recent acquisition of leading powered suspended access brands and our expanded capabilities in surface preparation and coatings, we are uniquely positioned to serve as the go-to resource for these types of civil engineering projects," Hayes explained.
Safway's 115 locations across North America, more than $650 million of access and scaffolding equipment and 10,000-plus employees across the United States and Canada, allow the company to quickly deploy equipment, materials and labor to any infrastructure project. The company has successfully provided access and other services for hundreds of infrastructure projects such as the construction of the new San Francisco-to-Oakland Bridge (SFOB), refurbishment projects for the Longfellow Bridge in Boston, Madison Square Garden, and Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and renovations in the terminals at both the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Tampa International Airport.
Brent Luedtke, who was named business development director of the Infrastructure Services Group, points to the clear and growing need for infrastructure maintenance and repair services in the United States. For example, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 2016 there were 130,797 deficient bridges in the United States - representing nearly 22 percent of total bridges - which were functionally defective or structurally obsolete. "The backlog will only continue as bridges age," Luedtke said, adding, "Similar needs exist with rail, airport and port infrastructure. In fact, just the 50 top-priority infrastructure projects cited by President Trump's administration total $137 billion in construction spend -- and the access and protective coatings component of this spend is not insignificant."
