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6 DEMOLITION September/October 2009

LVI ClearsLouisville Plant A Job of Delicacy and Precision


7DEMOLITIONSeptember/October 2009



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When a major manufacturer recently decided to commence a demolition project in Louisville, Kentucky, the job posed a significant challenge. The work would take place in close proximity to other areas of the plant site which would continue to be involved in active produc-tion. Thus, the demolition team would have to take extreme care to surgically remove the old structures without disrupting other activities at the plant. Success would depend on the skills of the team to accomplish this delicate work. LVI Services was selected for the project. With more than 30 offices across the United States, LVI regularly performs demolition and environmental services for a wide range of com-

panies in the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as government agencies. Established in 1986, LVI brings to each project the expertise of hundreds of highly trained professionals and a dedication to health and safety. The demolition at the Louisville site, which is still under way, includes various building types, pipe bridges, tanks, vessels and process equip-ment. It involves 90 buildings and covers an area of more than 600,000 square feet. The buildings to be demolished were part of an old chemical production plant that was originally constructed in the 1940s to manufacture products used in the automotive and construction industries. “The trickiest part of the demolition proj-ect would be the need to work around active plant areas,” said Ken Preston, LVI Site Superin-tendent. “For example, some of the structures to be demolished were pressed up tight against a live process pipe rack or electrical substation. LVI was able to provide the experienced labor force with the skills necessary to do this delicate and precise work.” Safety has played a large role throughout the project, from the selection process through the planning stages, and continuing as the work takes place. LVI and the manufacturer ensured that the demolition team’s safety protocols and procedures were aligned with those already in place at the plant, so that the safety of all work-ers – in the plant and on the demolition team – would be protected. LVI began the demolition work after the plant was remediated of all hazardous materi-als and asbestos. The team mobilized a fleet of equipment including a Komatsu PC 450 excava-tor with a 90-foot ultra high demolition (UHD) boom. Also on site are Hitachi 650 and 330 ex-cavators, Daewoo 340 and 480 excavators and a John Deere 200 excavator. These machines are equipped with various specialized demoli-tion tools including grapples, shears, pulverizers and hammers. The size and power of these ma-chines facilitate the safe and efficient demolition of the various buildings and components.

9DEMOLITIONSeptember/October 2009

The project is broken down into multiple work zones. As the structures in each zone are demolished, all of the building materials are separated. The masonry and concrete materials are pulverized and recycled as onsite fill. Steel is segregated and sent to a local salvage yard for recy-cling.

Using the right equipment, like the LRD long-reach boom, allows the demolition team to reach sensitive areas without disturbing the surrounding material. This enables specialization in articulated and “surgical” demolition by using high-reach, heavy-shear equipment on tight sites.

This project is the combined effort of two LVI branch offices – the nearby office in Cincinnati, Ohio, along with the Philadelphia Industrial Demolition branch. “This teaming effort allows LVI the benefit of staffing the project with local personnel, as well as bringing in specialized personnel and equipment from other regions,” said Dan Thomas, LVI Project Manager. “With its broad network of offices, LVI can quickly deploy teams similar to this one to demolition sites virtually anywhere in the country.” Operating Engineers Local 181 in Louisville and Operating Engineers Local 542 in Philadel-phia provided highly skilled workers who are dedicated to safety and quality performance. The project team is led by Dan Thomas, Project Manager, Cincinnati; Ken Preston, Superintendent, Philadelphia; Frank Baldino, Operations, Philadelphia; and Bill Pronzato, Estimator, Philadelphia.


LVI has performed major demolition projects for industrial manufacturing and chemical plants, power plants, commercial facilities, Las Vegas resorts and more. Its state-of-the-art demoli-tion equipment enables it to perform large-scale concrete cutting, crushing and separating, as well as steel cutting and equipment dismantling. The company’s demolition experience ranges from selective interior/exterior demolition to the leveling of entire commercial building complexes. From knocking out interior walls to imploding buildings, LVI offers a full range of demolition services. In 2007, LVI expanded with its acquisition of Mazzocchi Wrecking, Inc., the largest demolition/wrecking company in the New York metropolitan area and the seventh-largest in the United States at the time. LVI/Mazzocchi specializes in articulated and “surgical” demolition, using high-reach, heavy-shear equipment on tight sites where a traditional “wrecking ball” or explosives are prohib-ited or severely restricted. Surgical demolition is often a safer and more cost- and schedule-efficient solution for a wide range of projects, such as the one in Louisville.

For the Louisville plant demolition and all of LVI’s projects, safety is a top priority. The company’s “Target Zero” health and safety program is aimed at reducing risks by creating the safest work-ing environment possible for employees. The company recently announced that 2008 was its best safety performance year ever, and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Recordable and Lost-Time Incident Rates have shown continuous improvement since 2005. In ad-dition, its workers’ compensation Experience Modification Rate (EMR) has improved in each of the past four years.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of September, and the site will be cleared and graded for future development.

demolition mag dupont demo

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