One of Pine Island’s core values is continuous improvement: doing everything we do better every day. We recently spoke about how well-maintained, consistently available equipment and facilities that are fully operational are instrumental to Pine Island’s daily efficiency and the success of our operation.

One of our recent facilities projects is replacing Pump House #52 at Ben Haines. While pump houses are routinely upgraded on a rotating basis, the engine in #52 needed to be replaced during the harvest. While inspecting it, our team discovered some other issues, so it was decided that we would raze the original altogether and rebuild.

Local resident Pat Tierney, Pine Island’s newest team member (he started shortly after Christmas), is currently working with facilities supervisor Mike Guest on this project. They started out by breaking up the concrete foundation and hauling it away. The next step was to be hauling in dirt to level the ground and pour the new foundation. “It didn’t quite work out that way,” Pat says. “Turns out so much water had gotten underneath the pump house that it’s pretty much quicksand. Now we’re moving sand to prep for when the water comes off the surrounding bogs; once that happens we can fix the ground and put the new pump house in place. Right now we’re keeping things stable.”

While Pat’s extensive and diverse experience includes driving heavy trucks, he says he still gets nervous backing down the dams. “I’ve never had to do it with water on both sides!” he says. “And it’s tough to get the truck straight so I can get in where I need to go. But as long as I don’t go swimming, I figure I’m ahead.”

His versatility has been a great addition to our team. Since he’s started, he has worked on the pump house project, sanding, building gates, and stringing swan line, among other things. “I actually really, really like the variety,” Pat says. “It’s cool to come in every morning and have something different to do.” And he enjoys working with Mike; the two of them finished their afternoon by efficiently constructing the frames for new pipe gates.

Pat also has a great appreciation for the land itself. “It’s pretty out here,” he says. “Just today, driving out here, I saw a big old hawk land this close to me. That’s something you don’t see all the time. At least, not that closely.” His drive to learn and develop new skills, as well as his willingness to do whatever it takes, makes him a great addition to the Pine Island team, and we look forward to seeing him flourish.