Akio Kitamura, founder and president of Giken, is the 2018 recipient of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) 2018 Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in the Design and Construction of Marine Foundations.

Kitamura is considered a trailblazer of press-in-piling technology. For 40 years, he has promoted the advantages of the press-in-pile method. He invented, in 1975, the Silent Piler. It was the first commercial pile driving machine based on press-in-piling technology, and virtually eliminated noise and vibration traditionally associated with pile driving. In a release, the DFI says the effect of that innovation extends beyond marine foundations to the entire world of civil construction.

He will receive his award at IFCEE 2018, held March 5-10, 2018, at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Fla. A colleague from Giken will join him for the presentation on Silent Piler technology and methods, held 8:15 a.m. Thursday, March 8.

The Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in the Design and Construction of Marine Foundations was established in 2008 to recognize the innovative spirit of Ben C. Gerwick and his contribution to the marine foundation industry over his 62-year professional career as a contractor, educator and construction engineer. The award encourages and recognizes innovation in the marine foundation industry. Recipients are selected by the DFI Marine Foundations Committee.

The DFI is an international association of contractors, engineers, academics and suppliers in the deep foundations industry with more than 3,300 members worldwide. For more information about the Deep Foundations Institute, visit www.dfi.org.