Underground Infrastructure - October 2023 - 48

BUSINESSPEOPLE
In Memoriam
J. Marcus " Mark " Laney,
former partner and
president of Laney Inc.,
known for exemplary work
in boring highways and
drilling rivers for pipeline contractors,
passed away June 26, 2023, at age 81,
following a tragic fall from a ladder.
Laney was introduced to road boring
when he was only 16 years old, working
for Docs Road Boring. Building on the
knowledge he gained, he and brothers,
Dickey and Steve, started a boring
business, Laney Inc., in 1979.
Laney and the company are also
recognized as pioneers and leaders
among pipeline directional drilling
contractors.
In 1989, when Laney Directional
Drilling opened for business, HDD was
still an unproved option for underground
utility construction, not seriously
considered by most project owners. For
large pipeline projects, HDD offered an
option for making crossings under rivers
and other bodies of water, highways and
areas where excavation was impossible
or impractical.
An early challenge, however, was the
lack of equipment to make trenchless
pipeline crossings. Laney's solution was
to design and build its own HDD rigs,
with Robert Hamil.
Laney-built drilling equipment quickly
got larger, and it and the operating crews
became well-known and respected in the
industry for completing long, difficult HDD
installations under adverse conditions.
In 2008, Mark left his role as " official "
leader, but continued to serve in an
advisory capacity.
" I've been in the pipeline construction
business 50 years, and it's time to step
back, " he said at that time.
" It's been very hard, challenging work,
and we've done a lot and, I think, made
important contributions to the industry.
Life has been good. I have made many
friends in the industry which I value
very much; there are a lot of really good
people in this business. " UI
48 OCTOBER 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Shawn Lowman Joins
Tulsa Rig Iron
Shawn Lowman has joined
Tulsa Rig Iron as director of
sales, leading the company's
sales efforts of new and
existing products.
His career includes 30-plus
years, in sales, marketing and operations, and
the last 16 years, specifically in the oil and gas
industry. Over the years he has gathered invaluable
experience in the various segments of the
industry, from manufacturing and product development
to working directly with contractors.
Tulsa Rig Iron, based in Kiefer, Okla., is the leading
manufacturer of mud mixing and recycling
systems, mud pumps and hydrostatic test pump
packages serving horizontal directional drilling
(HDD) and water well industries. Partnering with
contractors involved in pipeline, telecommunications
and utility projects, Tulsa Rig Iron offers
complete solutions for any size HDD project.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Tulsa Rig Iron, (918) 321-3330,
tulsarigiron.com
PPI Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented to Donna Stoughton
The Plastics Pipe
Institute, Inc. (PPI) presented
Donna Stoughton with
its Lifetime Achievement
Award in recognition of
her many years and vast
contributions to the industry.
Stoughton, who recently retired from WL
Plastics, was the first woman to chair the
organization's board of directors since it was
founded in 1950. During her 20-year affiliation
with PPI, Stoughton served and chaired
numerous technical and other committees,
and was featured in Plastics News as one of the
" Women Breaking the Mold. "
" Her intelligence and drive to make this
industry better and better have always been
strong, " said David M. Fink, PPI president, when
presenting the award. In addition to leadership
positions, " Donna has represented PPI at the
United States Conference of Mayors, the Mayors
Water Council and at numerous trade shows
and conferences at ASCE, ASTM and AWWA. "
Within PPI's Municipal and Industrial
Division, she has served as chair, vice chair
and past chair, as well as chair of its marketing
committee, for more than eight years.
In addition to volunteering at PPI, Stoughton
was vice president of sales and marketing
for 29 years at Charter Plastics and then vice
president of the northeast region for WL Plastics,
after it purchased Charter in 2021.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Plastic Pipe Institute, (469) 499-1044,
plasticpipe.org
Brown and Caldwell
Brown and Caldwell, a
full-service environmental
engineering and construction
services firm based in Walnut
Creek, Calif., expanded its
funding and finance group
with the addition of Seema Chavan, as vice
president and senior director of strategic funding.
In this role, she focuses on helping clients
secure financial aid for public water infrastructure
projects. This includes identifying funding mechanisms,
advising on project scoping to maximize
funding opportunities, and selecting and applying
for economic assistance. She also provides
counsel on how federal, state, and local funding
could increase clients' financial capabilities.
With a 20-year background in the water
and wastewater industry, Chavan is highly
experienced and uniquely skilled in partnering
with public utilities to identify, strategize, and
secure federal, state, and local low-interest
loan and grant opportunities.
Also, Allan Luk joined the
company as senior director of
digital solutions, responsible
for augmenting a best-in-class
team of practitioners focused
on assisting clients in
technology planning and making informed
decisions with robust tools and associated
processes, user-friendly interfaces, improved data
management and quality, and advanced analytics.
In this role, he also partners with the firm's
technical subject matter specialists to develop
and implement emerging digital solutions to
help solve clients' complex challenges related
to aging infrastructure, climate change impacts,
the increasing cost of water, and mounting
workforce development needs.
Luk joins the company with 23 years of experience
implementing analytical and technical
solutions to exceed business metrics across
various sectors. UI
http://www.plasticpipe.org http://www.tulsarigiron.com http://www.UndergroundInfrastructure.com
Underground Infrastructure - October 2023

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