DTW Member Wins Award For Restoration of Tower
Friday, April 20, 2012

Just a few years removed from a serious health crisis caused by poor air quality inside Detroit Metro/ Wayne County ATCT (DTW), member and former facility representative Vince Sugent and his team were recently honored for the successful restoration project inside the tower.

The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) presented its highest honors for innovation in restoration and reconstruction at its recent Leadership Summit & Industry Expo in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Phoenix Awards are presented each year to recognize achievement in the areas of restoration and reconstruction and the winning projects exemplify the complement of skills required to return a project to pre-loss condition.

In an industry first, the award for Innovation in Restoration was shared between eight different parties who collaborated to successfully restore DTW. The project included the removal and replacement of approximately 115,000 square feet of gypsum wallboard material and nearly 20,000 square feet of one-inch thick elevator shaft linerboard. Due to the extensive nature of the fungal contamination, the entire shaft of the 18-story elevator was disassembled under controlled conditions and then rebuilt while the elevator and the air traffic tower remained fully functional.

“The success of this project would have been impossible without the expertise, caring and commitment of every member of this team,” Sugent said.

The other companies comprising the Integrated Team included: LRC Indoor Testing and Research (Cary, N.C.); Durbin Environmental Consultants (Suwanee, Ga.); Building Science Corporation (Westford, Mass.); BBJ Environmental Solutions (Riverview, Fla.); Envirotech Clean Air (Stoneham, Mass.); Regency DKI (Clinton Township, Mich.); and Wonder Makers Environmental, Inc. (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

This is the second award in as many years for Sugent. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) last year selected Sugent as the recipient of its Public Servant Award for 2010. The OSC recognized Sugent’s substantial contribution to public service through his disclosures of serious aviation safety hazards and public health risks at DTW. He received his award on Jan. 19, 2011.