Fall Line Testing & Inspection, LLC Selects Tucson, Arizona for National Headquarters

Tucson base ideal for national firm specializing in construction testing and inspection for dams and other major projects

TUCSON, Arizona (Dec. 8, 2009) - Fall Line Testing & Inspection, LLC, a construction testing and inspection firm, is locating its national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., the company announced Tuesday.

Fall Line Testing & Inspection (www.falllinetesting.com) has completed the purchase of a 10,000-square-foot building at 3360 East Elvira, located near the airport and Interstate 10 in Tucson’s south side. The facility will provide office space for the firm’s staff of 35 engineers and technicians, and also house a Roller-Compacted Concrete (RCC) design and testing lab for dam projects throughout the U.S.
The company chose Tucson for its proximity to a major transportation corridor, good climate and access to a strong labor pool of University of Arizona graduates in engineering, geology and other related fields, said Scott C. Nichols, President of Fall Line Testing & Inspection.

“We believe Tucson is the perfect fit for our growing company,” said Nichols, a Tucson native who has lived in the Southeast the past 20 years. “Many of the dam projects in the future will be located in the western U.S., so it makes sense to locate our operations in the region. Tucson has much to offer and we’re pleased to be coming here.”

Fall Line is expected to complete its move into the facility by February. Company officials were in Tucson Monday to close on the vacant building, located near Palo Verde Road in the Airport Commerce Center. The purchase price was $600,000. Fall Line acquired the facility from Bourne Partners.
Founded in 2007, Fall Line Testing & Inspection, LLC is an affiliate of Paul C. Rizzo & Associates, Inc., a leading global engineering and consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh.

Fall Line specializes in developing Roller-Compacted Concrete (RCC) mix designs and conducting construction materials testing for dams and other major projects.

A relatively new material, RCC is a special blend of concrete that has the same strength, durability and ingredients as conventional concrete (cement, water and aggregates), but is much drier. Because it can be placed quickly and easily and the low cement content causes less heat to be generated while curing, RCC is considered ideal for dam construction, replacement and restoration.

With dams, sections are built lift-by-lift in successive horizontal layers of RCC so the downstream slope resembles a concrete staircase. Once a layer is placed, it can immediately support the earth-moving equipment to place the next layers. RCC is generally transported by dump trucks, spread by bulldozers, and compacted by vibratory rollers.

Fall Line’s role is to develop the appropriate RCC “recipe” for a specific project – the appropriate mix of materials – and then to test the strength and stability and other quality control issues and inspections before, during and after construction.

Fall Line recently completed the Quality Assurance testing program for the Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Rebuild Project located near Annapolis, Missouri. It is the largest RCC structure in North America. Approximately 3 million cubic yards of RCC and an additional 330,000 cubic yards of conventional concrete were tested by Fall Line at its on-site laboratory.

For future projects, Fall Line will create mix designs and transport at the end of projects RCC test specimens, which must be stored and tested on specific dates, to its permanent laboratory in the new Tucson headquarters.

“It is easier to bring the rock to us than us to the rock,” explained Nichols, a Rincon High School graduate who attended the University of Arizona in the 1970s before embarking upon a career in business.

Nichols said Fall Line will soon submit a bid for work on the San Diego County Water Authority’s San Vicente Dam Raise project as well as a dam project in Australia.

He said his company also is benefiting from the federal stimulus package, which is helping jumpstart some shovel-ready dam projects.

“We anticipate continued expansion of our company as concerns about the availability of water and hydroelectric power continue to grow in the U.S. and elsewhere,” he said.

Other notable recently completed projects include the New Bear Creek Dam in Alabama, owned by Tennessee Valley Authority, and the NRCS-sponsored Sallisaw Creek Watershed Spillway in Oklahoma. Fall Line is presently working on the Deep Creek Dam and Catawba Dam, both located in North Carolina.

Since its inception, Fall Line had been operating on-site for projects without a designated corporate home. Nichols said he expects the firm’s 30+ employees to re-locate to Tucson.

As the company grows, Nichols said he looks forward to tapping into the strong science and engineering programs at the University of Arizona and other Arizona schools to hire new employees and recruit interns.

In addition, Nichols said Rizzo, Fall Line’s parent company, is monitoring the Arizona business climate and may consider joining Fall Line in Tucson sometime in the future. With markets that include power generation, dams, transit and mining. Rizzo provides services in geotechnicial, structural, environmental, seismic, hydrology/hydrogeological engineering, and construction management. Rizzo (www.rizzoassoc.com) employs approximately 250 staff members.

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