EBSCO Industries, Inc. :: News :: Valley Joist East Produces 160-Foot Girders for Sevierville Convention Center


	home

Valley Joist East Produces 160-Foot Girders for Sevierville Convention Center

A construction worker directs as one of the 160-foot-long steel joists is installed in the Sevierville Convention Center in Sevierville, Tenn. The project was unique because of the sheer size of the joists.

Valley Joist East recently completed its third-largest contract to date—the production of 130 steel joists, each 160 feet long, for the Sevierville Convention Center. Fred Steele, general manager of Valley Joist East, explained that not only was the contract the company’s third largest, it was also the most unique and the most challenging to fulfill.

“At first we questioned whether or not we could handle the amount of work needed to complete the Sevierville project and still take care of all our other customers,” Steele said. “The joists needed a very unique length and depth that many fabricators were unable to provide. Thanks to a new long-span girder production line that was installed in December 2005, we were able to take on the project.”

Jackie Jones, Valley Joist East sales representative, helped Valley Joist win the Sevierville project. Jones explained that Cives Steel, a large-scale general contractor and fabricator in the eastern and central United States, first approached Valley Joist East about taking the job.

“They were considering not bidding the job at all due to the complexity of the joist system and the fast-track schedule,” Jones said. “After many conversations between Cives and Valley Joist East, Cives decided that that Valley Joist was the only joist supplier in the area with the engineering and detailing expertise to get the job done right.” Jones explained that the key to selling this project was a combination of Valley Joist’s reputation for being the best, the company’s engineering and detailing capacity to handle such large and unique orders, the quality of workmanship and the company’s solid integrity. “It is a great feeling to go to work every day knowing that the company you represent has the four qualities mentioned above,” Jones said. In 1996, Valley Joist East took on its largest project ever, the fabrication of steel joists for the Amway headquarters and distribution center in Michigan, and then in 1999, the company was contracted to produce the new Pennsylvania Farm Show building in Harrisburg, Penn. “To illustrate the magnitude of the Sevierville project, the Pennsylvania Farm Show building required 90-foot steel girders. The Sevierville project called for 160- foot girders,” Steele said. The sheer size of the Sevierville project was rare, and Valley Joist East tackled it with finesse and expertise. The Sevierville Convention Center, located in Sevierville, Tenn., ranks the largest event center in the Smoky Mountains at 240,000 square feet and will cost a total of $49 million to construct. Valley Joist East has completed its portion of the construction, with the entire structure anticipated to be completed at the end of August 2007. Jones said that to date, all of the joists for the project have not yet been erected.

Return to main News page