Washington Aggregates and Concrete Association (WACA) recognized a number of Washington State contractors for exceptional projects on May 1st during its 2008 Excellence in Concrete banquet. A panel of independent industry professionals reviewed the award submissions. Bellingham Marine’s NW division in partnership with its local concrete supplier, Ferndale Ready Mix and Gravel received WACA’s Excellence in Concrete (EIC) Award in the area of technical merit. WACA’s EIC awards recognize projects that reflect the unique advantages of ready mix concrete and the teams that build them.

“It’s a tremendous honor and the highest form of flattery to receive this award,” remarked Bellingham Marine’s NW Division General Manager Jesse Ellenz. Bellingham received the EIC technical merit award for its work on Salpare Bay Marina, a 193 slip luxury marina located on the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon.

Salpare Bay marina features Bellingham Marine’s Unifloat concrete floating docks finished with a stamped deck and variegated grey color. The stamped pattern provides a cut stone surface appearance and has received many positive comments on it aesthetic beauty and fresh approach to creating a great walking surface. The durability, aesthetic qualities, and non-slip, sure-footed surface that concrete delivers make it a common dock material in today’s modern premier marinas.

Working with concrete in dock construction requires a thorough understanding of the material’s properties. “To achieve consistent freeboard and platform stability, the concrete produced must be mixed and batched within extremely tight tolerances. Failure to do so will significantly affect the overall performance characteristics of the float,” noted Keith Korthuis, a representative from Ferndale Ready Mix and Gravel.

As the world’s leading design/build marina construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat saltwater systems, Unideck freshwater systems and Unistack dry storage systems for marinas worldwide.

As the region’s leading supplier of concrete and gravel, Ferndale Ready Mix and Gravel provides a wide variety of concrete mix designs along with a wide array of sand and gravel products.

Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; ph. 360-676-2800, fax. 360-734-2417, email. bmi@bellingham-marine.com

Ferndale Ready Mix and Gravel, 144 River Road, Lynden, WA 98264; ph. 360-354-1400, fax. 360-354-0486

Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine.