ABOUT LUEDTKE ENGINEERING
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History
From our beginning, Luedtke Engineering has been located in Northern Michigan. Founded by E.R. “Duke” Luedtke in 1930, our marine construction company has enjoyed continuous growth and is today a multi-million dollar operation. As is common to the construction industry, we, Karl and Erich Luedtke, joined our father in the business and began training in the early 1950’s. In 1968, we succeeded our father and assumed control of the corporation.
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In the early years, we confined our activities to Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. By 1966, we started expanding both in capabilities and geographic area. This resulted in a dramatic increase in sales with the subsequent acquisition of four additional tugs and eleven units of floating equipment. Our expansion has been paralleled by a steady growth of management capabilities, reinforced b nearly 50 years of experience in this highly specialized field of marine construction.
Part of the key to our success is well qualified people, experience and the equipment. Through experience, we have been able to identify and weigh the risks. The result has been completion of our projects on schedule and successfully. With this happening, we can count on our satisfied clients for repeat business, allowing us to prosper.
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
Since we started business in 1930, we have taken part in many changes. First was the use of manual labor, men individually putting “one man stone” in place when building piers, breakwaters, etc. Then came, what was considered at the time, huge cranes with steam engines that eased the physical burden and increased productivity. Today the intensive labor methods of the past have given way to huge self-unloading ships. Planning, experience, plain hard work and often a lot of imagination are still required to successfully complete a project on schedule.
PIPELINE PROJECTS
In 1967, we, Luedtke Engineering Company, were awarded a contract to build the twin 14’ diameter cooling water intake line for the Two Creeks Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant was located a distance of 12 miles south of Kewaunee, Wisconsin’s harbor, creating a need to construct a temporary harbor at the job site. The temporary harbor was constructed by sinking four steamship hulls, then refloated and reused at the completion of the project. The idea had been used many times previously, but it was one of the few instances where the steam ship hulls were not seriously damaged by the scouring action of the lake’s bottom. This allowed a sizable savings in construction cost.
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PILE DRIVING PROJECTS
Pile driving has been used for years in marine construction. Widening the railroad right-of-way built for Bessemer & Lake Erie Rail Company at Conneaut, Ohio, was a complex project that required driving steel sheet pile cells underneath an existing concrete arch bridge.
Pictured at right is the breakwater at Vermilion, Ohio. Coming off Lake Erie at the mouth of the Vermilion River, construction of the breakwater was complicated by continuous wave action. Nevertheless, we were able to complete the project on time for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
DIVING OPERATIONS
Hard hat divers are a common sight around open-lake pipeline projects. One of our earlier projects was completed in 1940 at Muskegon Heights. This municipal water intake line extended 4500 feet out into Lake Michigan. Through the years, we have successfully completed over twenty water intake lines for cities on the Great Lakes. The Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant near Charlevoix, Michigan, was our first contract on a nuclear power plant. The project called for a 60’” diameter cooling water intake line to be completed in 1961.
At Luedtke Engineering, we have since completed five additional projects for nuclear plants. The experience has proved our capability to manage the complex and detailed quality assurance programs required by AEC regulations.
RUBBLEMOUND PROJECTS ONE PICTURE
Pictured left is the Dike Disposal Area at Lorain, Ohio. Designed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers to contain polluted dredge spoil from Lorain Harbor, this 8.7 million dollar project encloses 52 acres and when filled will become a public park. The dike is a rubblemound stone structure containing over 500,000 tons of stone, with a sheet pile cut-off wall driven down the center.
The rock, varying in size from small core stone to large 20 ton cover stone, was brought in by truck, rail, barge and steamship from seven different suppliers in order to meet our completion schedule.
DREDGING PROJECTS
In 1971, we were awarded a contract to dredge 800,000 cubic yards of material at the Consumer Power Company’s Ludington Pump Storage Plant. Prior to completion of the project, we removed the powerhouse lakeside cofferdam wall which contained 3050 steel sheet pilings. The entire inner half of the harbor was then paved with a 2’ thick layer of riprap to protect the lake bottom from scour when the power plant’s six 24-foot diameter penstocks were placed in operation. The project site was located 5 miles south of Ludington and subject to frequent storm interruptions, providing a unique challenge.
EQUIPMENT OWNING CONTRACTOR
We have always maintained the policy of owning, maintaining, and upgrading our own equipment through the years. This enables us to complete projects on time because we have the specialized equipment needed for marine construction. The hull for our largest Derrick boat containing a Clyde Model 28, 10 cubic yard Clamshell, Whirley was designed, built and launched from our own Frankfort yard. Four tugs have been repowered and rebuilt in our boatyard since 1970. These capabilities show that Luedtke personnel have the skills and ability to keep our equipment running efficiently.
PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY
From our first major contract in 1931, where we constructed the first steel sheet pile breakwater built anywhere, Luedtke Engineering has tried to be known as the innovator in marine engineering. By pioneering the first circular steel sheet pile cell in Lake Michigan in 1937, we started to build a name people could rely on.
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Our success has not been an accident. We weigh all the risks in a project, and then set out to complete it successfully. We believe successful completion of any job also means on schedule, a concept which often seems to have been lost in today’s thinking. With nearly a half century of experience behind us, we have the wisdom and insight needed to undertake major projects. The equipment and the facilities required to maintain a smooth running operation are also part of our overall capability picture. At Luedtke Engineering, we have the ability and determination to complete your project successfully, as we have demonstrated for many others in the past.
