Tim Durham is the newest dealer to join our Techno Metal Post family, establishing TMP Chester Springs (Chester County and Delaware County) in Pennsylvania. Tim has been a landscape designer and handyman for the past 35 years, and as someone who cares deeply for his customers, he has developed a very loyal clientele. “When a customer is happy, I’m happy; I can sleep at night.”

Tim shares a home with his wife Christine, their daughter Skyler (17), son JT (15), and Tim’s eldest son Jason (25). Jason, who is passionate about cars and currently works as a mechanic for BMW, will be helping his dad as Tim sets up TMP Chester Springs. Tim said what enjoys most is spending time with his family and working hard at what he loves: “I love to create. I love challenges and meeting new people. I love finishing projects beyond expectations.”

Tim found out about Techno Metal Post through his brother-in-law, Rick Caramanica of TMP Boylston in Massachusetts. He said Rick has been encouraging him to become a Techno Metal Post dealer for a while. Tim finally decided to take the leap and recently spent some time with Rick, learning more about TMP, and “getting my hands wet”. He said, “Landscaping is very stressful and physical. Techno Metal Post is also very physical but I have the machinery.” And looking down the road at his investment and hard work, Tim said, “I can also bring my sons into this business and leave them something when I retire.”

Tim and Jason spent the week training with us. Both said the experience was great and that “lots of questions were answered.” Tim said he especially appreciated the hands-on training. “I loved the chance to physically touch and do. The better you get, the more efficient you become – like landscaping and handywork.” Jason said, “It was great to see how complex and impressive the product is, and yet is easy to learn to use.” Both Tim and Jason talked about how welcomed they felt and the camaraderie they observed: “The thing I noticed in this place is that nobody is above anyone else. Everyone is smiling, laughing, telling jokes and still getting the job done. As soon as we walked in the door, we felt part of the family.”

As Tim embarks on this new chapter, he knows a big part of his job will be to educate people about TMP helical piles. “I’ve seen the building industry for years, and this technology is incredible. It solves so many problems. It’s also environmentally friendly, which is so important now.” He is also excited that he still gets to create and be of service to clients. “With landscape design, I created things people can enjoy for 10, 20, 50, 100 years. An addition to a house can do the same: enjoyment for customers. So, let’s see how we can make this grow!”

Techno Metal Post is very pleased to welcome the newest member into the TMP family: Artur Toczek of TMP Polska. Artur is the first TMP dealer in Poland, joining our growing dealer network and helping expand our market in the European Union.

Artur, a dad of two girls, has been a designer and builder for many years and has a long and solid background in construction. His father and grandfather were both builders, and Artur said he is the “last generation” to have attended a handcraft school in Poland which offered practical professional programs to students.  His skills, talent, and passion for building and design took him to Sweden where he lived and worked for 10 years buying, remodeling, rebuilding, and redesigning old homes, barns, and farmhouses.  Six years ago, after establishing his own company and a very successful career, he decided it was time to return home to Poland.

Artur said he first discovered Techno Metal Post at the Ecobuild trade show in London, on March 6, 2018.  He was attending the show with his own building and design company, looking for new technology, materials, and ideas when he came across Guy Edney of Techno Metal Post U.K. South. Artur expressed his strong interest in bringing TMP technology to Poland, and the rest is history!

Trained and certified at our head office center in Canada, Mr. Toczek join a growing international network of over 150 experienced and skilled dealers worldwide. We wish TMP Polska much happiness and success!

Techno Metal Post is very happy to welcome Allen Arnold and Carissa Stewart, his fiancé, into the Techno Metal Post family. Together, they will be heading up Techno Metal Post Western Twin Tiers.

A veteran of the US military, Allen has several careers under his belt. He has worked in construction and was a logger for many years before becoming a security guard at the local college. As a security guard, his work eventually led him to more safety training and courses in CPR. This experience piqued his interest into continuing further in the field of health and safety. He and a friend and colleague considered becoming paramedics but decided to pursue nursing instead. His friend dropped out and Allen stayed on, becoming an emergency room nurse, a career he continues to enjoy. He says it is now time for a different chapter and to begin building his own business.

Carissa works as a Patient Access Rep at the same hospital as Allen. As they embark on this new Techno Metal Post adventure together, Carissa will help Allen look after the administration and marketing of their dealership (and maybe even install a pile or two!).

One episode of Holmes and Holmes on HGTV, where they were installing Techno Metal Post helical piles for a deck, was enough to hook Allen. Seeing the technology, he immediately realized, “it was a no-brainer!” and began looking for a Techno Metal Post dealer to install piles for his wrap-around porch. While on the Techno Metal Post website, he noticed the “become a dealer” button at the bottom of the page. He read further and realized he wanted to become a dealer. Carissa said Allen has wanted to have his own business for some time, and now a unique opportunity was presenting itself. Allen said he considered waiting another year before embarking on the venture but with Carissa’s encouragement, they took the leap now. Allen said, “If I start something, I finish it. I am not a quitter.” He decided to seize the moment. “I didn’t want to miss an opportunity that might not come around again…I didn’t want to see some other guy driving around my neighbourhood in a Techno Metal Post truck.”

Allen and Carissa said their week with us was “amazing!” They enjoyed the training and felt it was very thorough. Both completed all parts of the training, including the welding portion. Carissa says she wants to learn and do as much as possible so that she can answer clients’ questions. There was also a “Techno Metal Post First”: Allen managed to break Max’s sledgehammer during the sledgehammer test. There was lots of laughter, as well as many questions while they were here. Allen and Carissa were really taken with “with how happy everyone is.” And Allen was impressed with the fact that all our piles and equipment are made right here at our Techno Metal Post base in Thetford Mines. “It shows real commitment to this company.”

Allen and Carissa will continue working in their respective fields, as they get Techno Metal Post Western Twin Tiers off the ground. Allen said his first order of business as a new dealer is to install the piles for his own porch. “It’s the best advertising! And I won’t cover the piles either. Let everyone see that I use the product.” Some final reflections before heading back home, Allen said “I am nervous, but no longer afraid.” He knows he has been well-trained and will be well-supported in this new adventure.

Techno Metal Post would like to introduce another member to the Techno Metal Post community: Dan Kelly is our new dealer for Techno Metal Post Ottawa. Originally from south western Ontario, Dan grew up on a farm and spent his early years working summers, weekends, and holidays in his uncle’s construction company. An electrical engineer by training, Dan put himself through college and university building custom homes. After university, he went to work as an engineer at Honda Canada Manufacturing doing complex problem analysis and new model design. After three years he said he “needed to learn the real world” and wanted his own business. In 2008, he moved to Ottawa with his family and returned to the field of construction. He apprenticed at Hickory Dickory Decks and eventually bought the franchise.

Dan is married with 2 children: a 9-year-old son who loves to play hockey, and a 12-year-old daughter who is a dancer. Dan says, “working is my hobby”, and if he is not doing that, he is at the ice rink with his son.

While working at Hickory Dickory Decks, Dan discovered Techno Metal Post helical piles, as the company used them for their deck projects. Impressed with what he saw, he said he knew he wanted to be part of Techno Metal Post. When he learned the Techno Metal Post Ottawa dealer, Richard Turpin, was retiring, he inquired about buying the Ottawa dealership and now, here he is.

Dan describes his week of training with us as “very exciting!” and is impressed with the people he met. He said, “everyone is super nice and friendly. Any questions I’ve had have been answered immediately. Everyone is very knowledgeable.”

Dan says his plans and objectives at this point are very basic: “We’re already installing piles, and the plan is to keep putting piles in the ground.” He is especially looking forward to “the joy of physical labour and getting my hands dirty. I am so excited to start this new business; it’s finally becoming a reality. It’s been a long negotiation process to this point, so it’s finally nice to be here.”

Techno Metal Post is very happy to introduce a new team to the Techno Metal Post family: Ed Myers and Simon Brunet. Ed is our new dealer-owner for Techno Metal Post Brockville/Kingston (formerly Techno Metal Post Perth), and Simon is heading-up sales. Ed and Simon have worked together for the past 13 years and are looking forward to installing piles and embarking on this new project.

A native of Brockville, Ed has spent most of his career in the construction industry. Since 2001 he has had his own building company specializing in windows, doors, and small additions. In his free time, he loves fishing and snowmobiling. He is married with two children and is soon to be a grandfather for the 4^th time.

Originally from Ontario, Simon grew up, lived, and worked in Halifax for 30 years. Simon has had a very varied and interesting career. For many years he was a chef and then decided to make the jump to construction. When asked about the connection between the two professions Simon smiles and says, “The quickest way to a person’s heart is through their stomach or their house – food and construction do that.” He and his family moved back to Brockville in 2005, where he met Ed and began working for him.

Ed’s trajectory to Techno Metal Post is bitter-sweet. Travis Clark, the former Techno Metal Post dealer in the region (Techno Metal Post Perth) had installed piles for some of Ed’s sunroom projects. Impressed with the product, Ed became more interested in the world of helical piles and started exploring the possibility of having his own dealership with another company, as Travis was the Techno Metal Post dealer in their area. Several weeks after Travis had installed the posts for Ed, Ed was contacted by Alain Papineau and discovered that Travis had died. Ed stepped in to buy the dealership, establishing Techno Metal Post Brockville/Kingston, and continuing the work of Techno Metal Post in the region.

Both Ed and Simon said the week with us has been very good, very educational, “a lot of fun” and that it has flown by. They said one of their biggest learnings is the shift from concrete to piles and moving away from “old school construction.” They are also really impressed with how “well-organized” everything and everyone is and how well “everybody knows their job.” Ed and Simon are also very appreciative with how bilingual the team is and how seamless communication has been. They have been pleasantly surprised that “there is no language barrier at all” – something they expressed as very important when trying to establish this new business. Their lasting impression of Techno Metal Post is that it is “a big company with a small family feel. Everybody likes working here. There are no false smiles.”

Teaming-up together in their new Techno Metal Post endeavour, Ed and Simon’s first plan of action is to educate the public about helical piles as the alternative to concrete piers. They plan to grow the business so that by next year they will be able to have two machines (an EM1 as well as an R2D) and to bring on a few more installers. In the meantime, both plan on being on-site busily putting piles in the ground!

A growing concern

Techno Metal Post is aware that currently, many people are living in high-water table zones.  Some are there by choice (coastal homes, cottages, etc.), while others, come across these locations by chance and circumstance.  Structures that weren’t previously in flood zones, now find themselves in these challenging situations, due to seasonal patterns and land changes.  Also, regions where these tables were once “normal”, now find themselves in a critical place where water is increasingly on the rise.

You’ll find high-water table zones are very common in low lying areas, or in locations where soil is considered not well-drained.  This as a result, causes significant damage to people’s homes, or in other devastating cases, dwellings are lost altogether.

Be it extreme weather, land development, or other causes, our new reality remains that globally- water is on the rise.  With this, there is an ever growing and pressing need for secure, reliable, and durable foundations.

Techno Metal Post answers this need, with our helical pile foundations.  A perfect solution for protecting your structure and ensuring your home remains strong and stable, even in areas with high-water tables and flooding issues.

In these challenging conditions, why use Techno Metal Post helical piles instead of traditional concrete footings for your foundation?

There’s no avoiding that concrete footings require excavation, and doing so in high-water table zones, creates many challenges for something as paramount as a house foundation.

If you dig close to the water table, water will flow freely making pumping and drainage unavoidable.  You destabilize the hole walls and create extra work when removing excess soil from collapses.  Think about the cost of time and labor, as well as a safety concerns.  Next, all water must be removed and the area for the footings absolutely dry, before pouring the concrete.  The inspection, which is required when using traditional concrete footings, will not pass if these steps aren’t taken.

Depending on the soil near the water table, there’s also a risk of ground settlement after the excavated area dries, which can create foundation problems down the road.

With Techno Metal Post foundation piers, you can build your structure – including your home – in any soil, even with a high-water table.  Our helical piles can be installed in any soil conditions and are ideal for challenging territory, including flood plains.  They require no excavation, which means there’s no need to avoid or dispose of water.  The piles are simply screwed into the ground with our proprietary machinery, which can access any terrain – wet, dry, or frozen.  No digging, no holes, no concrete, no mess, and no need for inspections.  Your structure is ready to be built immediately, and there’s no worry about ground settlement.  Your Techno Metal Post foundation is strong, solid, and guaranteed not to move.  With our green polyethylene sleeve, there is also no risk of lifting during freeze/thaw cycles or during drought in clay soils.

Techno Metal Post screw piles are the guaranteed solution to protect your home and investment, whether you live along a river bank, adjacent to a flood plain, or simply in an area with high-water tables.

Techno Metal Post would like to introduce another new dealer to the Techno Metal Post family: Michael Pelletier is opening up Techno Metal Post Kamloops, in British Columbia. Originally from the region of Thetford Mines, Michael has been in western Canada for ten years, working in the field of construction. Last year he decided it was time to start his own business.

Michael said he had always known about Techno Metal Post but had never really investigated what it was all about. It was his long-time school friend, and fellow “Thetfordois”, Steve Langlois (Techno Metal Post Calgary), who piqued his interest in Techno Metal Post. After a few conversations about what Steve was doing, Michael became “more intrigued” with Techno Metal Post, and Steve invited him out to a work site. From that point on, Michael said he knew becoming a Techno Metal Post dealer was what he wanted to do. Last summer, he worked and apprenticed with Christian Rousseau (Techno Metal Post Alberta) and completed his training in Thetford Mines this past December.

Michael said he had a “great week of learning and meeting new people” while training with us. “I admire the devotion of the whole Techno Metal Post team towards their dealers.” He appreciated the opportunity to experience the “whole company…to see the whole distribution of the product and the productivity of each department. Michael also enjoyed “every moment of social gathering when meal time came and having those little moments of interaction between dealers and Techno Metal Post staff.” He believes this is key in helping build a dealer’s confidence “towards the whole team and production of Techno Metal Post.” While acknowledging the helical pile industry, Michael feels Techno Metal Post “has it all” in comparison to other competitors – from the specialized installation equipment, to all the different Techno Metal Post departments and teams, to the competitive pricing.

With his heart set on establishing a Techno Metal Post dealership in Kamloops, Michael is heading to beautiful British Columbia this winter. After 10 years of living and working in Calgary, he is uprooting and going to build, not only a new business, but a new life as well. And although Michael will continue to make his home in western Canada, he says he manages to return home to his family and community in Inverness, Quebec, Canada several times a year. Now he says, “I am looking forward to a better future now that I own my dealership. Hopefully this will take me to a whole new level to push my skills and knowledge to a superior degree, which is already happening. I will some day end up being a successful business man.”

On November 30, 2018 back-to-back earthquakes and aftershocks (7.0 and 5.7 magnitudes) hit Anchorage, Alaska leaving behind it damaged roads, public buildings and houses.  This devastation left significant foundation and structural collapses over a wide area.  What they found in the aftermath was- structures that were built on Techno Metal Post (TMP) helical piles, were the ones that remained solid and strong.

Further down we explain how helical piles can be used to successfully repair these foundations, in order to prevent future damage.  But first, let’s understand what happened.

In many cases, the ground beneath the foundations buckled during the earthquake, and the two main causes were:

1. Soil liquefaction – this occurs when a partially or fully saturated soil, substantially loses strength in response to an applied stress (ex: tremors during an earthquake or other sudden changes in stress conditions), in which material that is ordinarily a solid behaves more like a liquid.
2. Faulty foundation footing.
3. Fill that is not properly compacted during the original construction.

 

Above- A foundation and surrounding soil that caved after the November earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska – notice the settlement expands beyond the footprint of the building, but not beyond the likely area of original excavation. 

 

How do helical piles solve this problem and prevent future foundation collapses?

Techno Metal Post foundation piers are engineered and tested to the highest quality and standards, which guarantees durability, security, and sustainability of a structure’s foundation.  Secondly, they are professionally installed, using proprietary hydraulic machinery.  And finally, the piles are screwed into the ground by our certified technicians, until the required load-bearing capacity is reached, and secure footing is found.  Only then, is it considered a ‘deep and solid foundation’.

 

 

The goal behind installing screw piles, is to bypass poor soil (such as peat, soft clay, or fill) and find denser ground to properly support the structural weight.

The exact weight a pile can support in a particular soil, has been predetermined by the engineering experts.  If more weight needs to be added, the pile is simply installed deeper into denser and more stable soil.

 

How did TMP helical piles perform through the January 24, 2016 and November 30, 2018 earthquakes?

After the November 2018 earthquake, TMP Alaska took elevation measurements of a recent foundation project, and saw that the house had remained leveled, and didn’t suffer any settlement during the quake.  They also checked similar projects and discovered the same result: structures supported by TMP helical piles were not affected by the quake and remained the same as the day they were installed. TMP Alaska has almost 10,000 piles installed throughout the Anchorage and Mat-Su area and have had no reports of failures.

A two-story house remained intact and the deck piles that were used, also remained stable.

In January 24, 2016, another earthquake (7.1 magnitude) rocked South Central Alaska and was felt as far north as Fairbanks.  An informal post-quake survey of TMP Alaska’s completed projects, demonstrated the confidence in our pile foundations for earthquake regions.  After the January 24 quake, there weren’t any reports of issues with collapses or other damage, due to the (more than) 20 seconds of tremors.  After inspecting many finished projects, there was no evidence of settlement, pile damage/movement, and no drywall cracking. Several houses and cabins on the Kenai Peninsula remained fully supported by TMP piles.

 

House on helical piles in Big Lake, Alaska.

 

What do we know about helical piles and earthquakes?

While it’s known and widely accepted that helical piles perform better than traditional foundations in earthquakes, it isn't clear why that is.  Until recently, helix piles had never gone under extensive testing during seismic events.  That changed when the University of Oklahoma’s Amy Cerato Ph.D., P.E. decided to study and test the performance of helical foundation piers subjected to earthquake loads.  She begins by mentioning the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand:

“After the series of earthquakes in 2011, the city of Christchurch was surveyed, and it was found that all buildings/infrastructure constructed on helical piles sustained minimal structural damage, however, a large majority of the condemned buildings were constructed on other foundation types. The international community has qualitative proof that helical piles perform well in earthquake prone areas, but engineers have not quantified “why” those piles are superior foundation elements, and unfortunately, helical pile use in seismically active areas within the United States remains minimal. Therefore, this project seeks to find out ‘why’ helical piles seem to behave so well in seismic regions by subjecting them to earthquake loads in the University of California – San Diego’s Large Shake Table.”

Now, through testing and actual seismic events like the ones in Alaska, Dr. Cerato’s hypothesis continues to be accurately supported: “The international community has qualitative proof that helical piles perform well in earthquake prone areas.”   

In 2016 at the University of California, San Diego (Jacobs School of Engineering), the seismic testing of helical piles was carried out, on the world's largest outdoor shake table.  The results of the tests were very positive, demonstrating what we have always believed:  Helix piles remain strong and stable during seismic activity.

Dr. Cerato’s research continues and her early work indicates that her hypothesis is correct.  This helping to finally explain “why” they perform so well in earthquakes.

SOURCES

• Dr. Cerato’s study
• Dr. Cerato’s blog
• Dave Northup, TMP Alaska

Techno Metal Post is very happy to welcome two new dealers: Reece Hoath and Riley Hoath from British Columbia. These two brothers are establishing TMP Prince George.

Reece, an electrician by trade, currently works in the oil and gas industry in Fort McMurray. He is an electrical technician doing electrical maintenance at an oil refinery. His passion, however, is construction. He has done construction projects on his house, recently adding an addition. When it came time to put in a foundation he says, “I hate sonotubes”, so he started investigating Techno Metal Post helical piles as an alternative. As he looked further into the company and the product, he realized not only was it a good solution for his addition, but it was also a very good business venture. Soon after, he contacted Christian Rousseau (TMP Alberta) and looked into becoming a dealer.

Riley’s background is also in oil and gas (power engineering) and is a pipeline supervisor. He loves his job, but he says an opportunity to now work for himself is a huge attraction. And although he admits that in his field of work (pipelines), “We put in (driven) piles on a mega scale”, Riley says that up until six months ago he knew nothing about Techno Metal Post and helical piles. It was his brother Reece, excited about the prospect of working in the world of construction and TMP helical piles, who asked Riley if he wanted to join him and invest in the dealership.

Riley and Reece are both married, and each have young children who keep them busy. Reece says his three little ones “are a handful…and I love them!” With the TMP dealership based back home in Prince George, he is looking forward to coming off the road and being able to spend more time with his family.

Reece and Riley said they had a great week of training with us, and we thoroughly enjoyed their participation – the Hoath brothers possess a great sense of humour! Riley described all the information he received “like drinking from a fire hose…but done well in a week. It was a well thought out on-boarding process.” Reece expressed he was a little nervous at first: “you don’t know what the organization will be, but everyone was amazing. The organizing as a whole is wonderful…all coordinated nicely.” Both Riley and Reece were very impressed that we roll our own steel and make our own machinery: “To see them building an EM1 was amazing!” Reece said he especially likes TMP’s proprietary installation equipment “because they are compact and designed specifically for putting in those (helical) piles.”

When asked about their goals and aspirations, they say their goal is to help expand Techno Metal Post “because it’s a great company, with great people.” “That”, says Reece “and to enjoy what we’re doing.”