OMAHA, Neb. – The Nebraska chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) recognized the Applied Underwriters HQ building with the 2022 Award of Excellence for the use of concrete. This is one of the highest awards a project can receive and is due largely to JE Dunn’s talented self-perform team. The annual award recognizes one project that displays the versatility of concrete in design, production, and placement.

Concrete work on the Applied Underwriters HQ is unique not only because of the sheer size but also the chemical components necessary. The 57,800 cubic yards of concrete and 4,500 tons of rebar demanded the creation of an onsite concrete batch plant and the largest crane ever used in Omaha. It also required the use of chemical admixtures such as corrosion inhibitors, non-chloride accelerators, moisture-mitigating admixtures, and shrinkage-reducing admixtures.

The JE Dunn self-perform team is compiled of a variety of different trades, and the Applied Underwriters job exemplifies that. At the peak, there were 15 carpenters, 8 laborers, and 4 operators onsite (27 total). In addition, there were 10 ironworkers (rebar) and 15 horizontal formwork carpenters working as trade partners for JE Dunn self-perform. As said by Jack Westra, one of the Senior Project Engineers, “The Omaha self-perform team specializes in concrete and rough and finish carpentry, but we’ll take on just about any scope if there is a need or chance to accelerate the schedule.”