Columbia River Carbonates Marine Terminal, Woodland, WA
70-foot-tall pier mounted hoist tower & 180-foot-long Shore Conveyor structure
Precision, Logistics & Lead Time Performance
Columbia River Carbonates Marine Terminal Project Overview
The Columbia River Carbonates marine terminal is the first terminal constructed on the Columbia River in over 14 years, designed specifically to offload barges carrying calcium carbonate mined in Alaska. By delivering calcium carbonate directly to the Woodland, Washington terminal, thousands of tons of material no longer need to be trucked from the former Portland, Oregon off-loading site, eliminating four trucks per hour hauling rock to Woodland, WA five days a week. According to Brady Wale, Engineering Manager at Columbia River Carbonates, “By delivering material directly to our marine facility, we’ve reduced trucking distance and associated environmental and public infrastructure impacts by 93%.” The terminal consists of four (4) primary structures:
• The 70-foot-tall pier mounted hoist tower (Steelhead Metal)
• The 310-foot-long over water Gallery Conveyor structure
• The 180-foot-long Shore Conveyor structure (Steelhead Metal)
• The 150-foot-long, pivoting Radial Conveyor structure
Steelhead: Delivering on Quality & Leadtime
Steelhead Metal & Fab, LLC (Steelhead) contributed two structural sections for the-unique-to-the-Northwest, Columbia River Carbonates (CRC) Marine Terminal in Woodland, Washington. JH Kelly, the primary terminal project contractor and one of the largest industrial mechanical contractors in the Pacific Northwest, initially selected Steelhead to fabricate the 180-foot shoreline conveyor structure that houses the system moving calcium carbonate from the marine platform in the Columbia River, to the over-water Gallery and finally to the onshore stockpile area for transfer to CRC’s processing facility.
Because Steelhead was the only qualified fabricator to meet JH Kelly’s lead-time, JH Kelly then awarded Steelhead the 70-foot-tall hoist tower fabrication contract. The 300,000-pound lift capacity hoist tower is anchored to the marine terminal platform just offshore in the Columbia River.
A History of Performance: JH Kelly & Steelhead Metal & Fab
“Steelhead has performed flawlessly on all the projects we’ve undertaken,” says JH Kelly Project Manager, Philip Thompson. “We initially sought them out several years ago when we were looking for additional AISC certified fabricators to work with us on the Nippon Dynawave Pulp Dryer project. Steelhead fabricated both the pulping and de-inking components of 400-foot-long multi-process system, and exceeded our expectations regarding meeting schedules, and attention to detail in anticipation of the installation process, including their clear and concise installation drawings that callout potential, specific fitment challenges.”
Constant Communication & Mission-Critical Logistics
After almost 10 years of planning, project reviews and approvals by Cowlitz County, the Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Corps of Engineers, swift construction and installation of the project was essential. “From our initial site visit, to understanding the roles of other contributors, to shop drawings, to staging and logistics, we were in constant contact with our client,” said Steelhead’s owner, Mike Kreitzberg, “Because the onshore stockpile area was limited, we had to precisely time delivery of the shoreline structure components to match the order of assembly of components provided by multiple suppliers. Regarding the Hoist Tower, we needed to deliver the Tower modules to the Portland, Oregon pier so that it could be completely assembled on the Oregon side, loaded onto a barge as a complete 70’ tall assembly, then shipped to the terminal pier on the Washington side when the water levels in the Columbia River allowed offloading. This is a prime example of the value of completely prototyping at our Salem, Oregon facility so there are no surprises when it comes to meeting tight assembly windows.
Continuity, Cross-Training & Collective Knowledge
Steelhead Metal has grown and diversified in large part because of continuous ownership and management over its 26 years of operation. Founded by Mike Kreitzberg, who continues to guide the company, Steelhead employes long tenured, highly skilled fabricators, estimators with extensive drafting and detailing experience, project managers with broad estimating experience, and a highly trained CAD detailing department with the tools and talent to bring architectural and engineering design into functional reality. According to Mr. Kreitzberg, “When working on complex projects like the Columbia River Carbonates terminal, the value of robust experience, crosstraining between departments and skilling up and promoting from within really shows. This was a great project, and we look forward to working with the JH Kelly team in the future. We’re proud to be part of a strong and diverse Pacific Northwest design, fabrication and manufacturing ecosystem.”