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New opportunities emerge in energy exploration
Winter 2014
Being able to adapt to changing economic conditions and evolve into new construction ventures is what has helped John Anderson keep his company going.
The owner of John Anderson Construction knows how to take existing heavy construction equipment and leverage it to find new opportunities, even in a new and emerging marketplace. The company is headquartered in Warren, Pa. (pop. 9,623), which is located in northern Pennsylvania and sits next to the Allegheny National Forest and Complanter State Forest. It has grown to include four divisions: earthwork, concrete, pipeline and facilities.
From corporate world to construction
For the past 28 years, Anderson has worked in the construction industry. He left the corporate world in 1985 — previously working as a securities advisor — and began working for a local concrete contractor. Anderson started his own company in 1989 and specialized in residential concrete projects, eventually expanding into commercial concrete jobs. Over time, he transitioned his company's services from concrete work to include excavating, which led to becoming a site contractor, while still offering concrete services for civil projects. Completed projects include several concrete projects of 2,000 cubic yards and a foundation of 2,400 cubic yards. In addition, his earthmoving equipment was responsible for road building, rock demolition and moving thousands of yards of dirt.
The next step was getting more involved in excavating for underground utilities and site development. In 2008, just as the economy was in the middle of the longest recessionary period since the Great Depression, Anderson discovered a new opportunity — excavating for natural gas pipelines.
"We've been fortunate to find ourselves in the midst of the Marcellus Shale boom," Anderson says. "We've positioned ourselves in the transmission pipeline and compressor station business, and it's really helped us grow.
"It's been an evolution. You keep pushing the boundaries of what you can do. I've never said ‘no' to an opportunity without at least looking at it. Then, as we branched out and continued to expand our comfort zone, we hired people who had knowledge in some areas where we were going."
The company has installed miles of steel and FlexSteel™ transmission pipe (steel-reinforced spooled pipe), up to 36 inches in diameter, and completed several compressor installations. Pipeline companies install compressor stations — a facility that helps transport natural gas from one location to another — typically every 40 to 100 miles to ensure that the natural gas remains appropriately pressurized.
U.S. energy production continues to rise, thanks in part to the Bakken (crude oil) formation in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, and the Marcellus formation, which exists in the Appalachian Basin across the eastern United States and contains previously untouched natural gas reserves. Pipeline projects in central and western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia account for approximately 75 percent of Anderson's business.
"Much of what we do is what is called a gathering system and mid-stream work," he says. "We also do some transmission line work."
The gathering system, according to www.naturalgas.org, consists of low-pressure, small-diameter pipelines that transport raw natural gas from the wellhead to the processing plant.
In May 2013, Anderson and his employees started on a new four-month, three-mile pipeline project for Natural Fuel Gas Company. The corporation is based in Williamsville, N.Y., and is a publicly traded firm that specializes in four operating segments: exploration and production, pipeline and storage, utility and energy marketing.
Anderson called on his Doosan crawler excavators to perform the pipeline installation project. The excavators were paired with a 36- or 48-inch-wide heavy-duty trenching bucket. Anderson's DX350LC-3 with a 48-inch Doosan trenching bucket has a heaped capacity of 1.96 cubic yards (52.92 cubic feet) of material. The Doosan excavators dug 5- to 9-foot trenches for the pipeline, says Anderson. (NOTE: The "dash 3" in the model number represents the newest generation of Doosan crawler excavators, with an interim Tier 4 diesel engine and performance and operator comfort enhancements.)
Right-sized equipment
For the past 12 years, Anderson purchased Doosan hydraulic crawler excavators — 10 to be exact — from area dealers in New York and Pennsylvania. His first Doosan excavator was a 17-metric-ton machine purchased in 2001, a machine that he still owns and operates today, and says has close to 10,000 hours. As his business grew, Anderson added more Doosan excavators, including an DX180LC, two DX225LCs, two DX255LC models, and eventually worked up to a 30-metric-ton DX300LC model that he purchased from authorized Doosan dealer Best Line Equipment in Harrisburg, Pa.
"I needed the 300 (DX300LC) that Best Line Equipment had," he says, "so I called the dealer and I had it on my job within a day or two." Anderson added a second DX300LC, and in fall 2012, he purchased a DX235LCR and a DX350LC-3.
Having a variety of Doosan crawler excavators suits Anderson and his operators well, especially when they're working on pipeline developments, Anderson says. He explains that the Doosan DX225LC and DX300LC models - 22.5 and 30 metric tons, respectively - are the right size of excavators for trenching, but the model that he likes best is the DX235LCR because of its reduced tail swing. The 173-horsepower excavator has a maximum dig depth of 21 feet 11 inches and a maximum reach of 31 feet 7 inches.
"The DX235LCR cuts down on the chance of operator error and damaging the machine," Anderson says. "Even though we're working in an open area, it's a little bit deceiving because if we're putting in a couple miles of pipe, we probably only have 50 to 60 feet of width to work in. The operators can't get off the permitted right-of-way of 50 feet."
It is common for Anderson to have multiple Doosan excavators working in tandem on a pipeline project, digging from 5 to 21 feet with a trenching bucket, working close together, and it's another reason why Anderson appreciates the reduced tail swing of his DX235LCR. In addition to excavating, Anderson's operators use straps and a Doosan DX350LC-3 excavator to lift and place pipe as large as 36 inches and weighing up to six metric tons. Having good visibility from the cab to the work area is critical for the operator's success. Anderson says he rates the visibility from the Doosan excavator cab as "excellent."
The DX350LC-3 is one of the newest generations of Doosan excavators and features a larger cab space to accommodate operators and keep them comfortable. Anderson says the new DX350LC-3 is comfortable to operate, but he also gives credit to the design of his older models, saying Doosan excavator cabs have always been friendly to operators.
DL250 at gravel pits
In keeping with his preference for Doosan equipment, Anderson has a Doosan DL250 wheel loader for use at the company's gravel pits (facilities division). Locations in Warren and Russell, Pa., provide the following materials to local customers:
- Screened topsoil
- Screened bank run
- Crushed bank
- Crushed concrete
- No. 3 stone
- No. 4 rip rap
- 2B gravel
- 2B limestone
- Cold patch
- Fill dirt
- Large rock
- Pea stone
- Sand
In addition to his Doosan heavy construction equipment, he also owns Bobcat® skid-steer loaders and a hydraulic mini-excavator for projects that require a smaller machine to work in confined or limited-access areas.
When asked what Anderson enjoys most about his line of work, he says, "Meeting and working with people from different backgrounds. I feel like I've been very fortunate to be in a situation where I'm always learning and being exposed to new things. I've been fortunate to be associated with a lot of good people who work for me and who we've worked for."
