Island know-how earns local engineering firm position on Kahoolawe cleanup team
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Andrew Gomes PBN Staff Reporter
Teamwork will be key in Kahoolawe's remediation as eight companies coordinate efforts and expertise. Local civil engineering firm Austin Tsutsumi & Associates Inc. is a player in the $280 million project precisely because of past participation.
"We are fortunate to be on the team with Parsons Infrastructure [and Technology Group] and UXB [International Inc.]," said Ted Kawahigashi, president of Austin Tsutsumi. He said "fortunate" because although the firm was interested in participating in the U.S. Navy's eight-year contract, it did not do the choosing. "They called us," he explained.
Gordon Lee, Parsons office manager, said there was a huge pool of Hawaii civil engineers to pick from. In fact, Parsons as lead contractor and as a full-service engineering firm was capable of doing road design itself. But the company wanted to involve local companies where possible.
Royal Contracting Co. Ltd., a Hawaii subcontractor partnered with Parsons (featured in last week's installment of the series), offered suggestions. Royal Contracting Vice President Leonard Leong said Austin Tsutsumi was one of a couple local firms named.
"They were pretty versed in what we might expect on Kahoolawe," Leong said, meaning road, sewer and water infrastructure design. "They're competent and responsible and those are the things you need to have working on Kahoolawe. We think they're a good addition to the team," he continued, adding their past experience on Navy contracts was another positive qualification.
"It's not like we went scurrying around," Lee said. "We had people we knew. You like to have people that work together."
Austin Tsutsumi has worked with both Royal Contracting on the Kapaa and Kalaheo landfills as well as Cultural Surveys Hawaii on road widening in Poipu, Kauai. Cultural Surveys Hawaii is another team member for the Kahoolawe project.
Parsons, too, has partnered in the past with the local civil engineers. As part of a joint venture in the 1970s with what was then The Ralph M. Parsons Co., Austin Tsutsumi did road, water and sewer work on Palau, Pohnpei and the Truk Islands -- then the Trust Territories of the Pacific (now the Federated States of Micronesia).
"It helps when you work together because you have some sense of understanding and it makes it more comfortable," said Kawahigashi at Austin Tsutsumi. He also said that familiarity can also smooth resolutions should problems arise during construction.
Through joint ventures, Austin Tsutsumi continues to forge relationships. The company is currently partnered with the government of Vietnam to provide environmental and technical expertise on waste water, and air and water pollution abatement projects in Pong Nai province.
Austin Tsutsumi, established in 1934 by H.A.R. Austin, has 55 employees and has revenues of $4 million to $5.5 million annually.
Kawahigashi expects the Kahoolawe job will be pretty routine with no need to add staff. He was not able to quantify the value of the work for his company because the scope is in the process of being determined by the team and the Navy.
Lee at Parsons said Austin Tsutsumi will design roads. Its role may also involve design of an airfield if needed, erosion planning and other infrastructure design. Kawahigashi also expects the work is likely to include restoring the Island to its natural condition after the work is complete.
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