HEPA-Vent Inventor Honored By
Demolition Association
DOYLESTOWN, PA -- John E. Weber, a
demolition industry veteran,
inventor, and one of the charter
members of the National Demolition
Association, was saluted by his
peers with the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 35th
Anniversary Convention of the
Association.
Now
the retired president of ICONCO/LVI
Demolition Services in Oakland, CA,
Weber played one of the most
influential roles in the growth of
the Association from a handful of
member companies in 1973 to more
than 1,100 in North America today.
“During John’s 35 years as a member
of the National Demolition
Association, he served on the Board
of Directors and in every executive
position – including president – and
at least once on every one of our
committees,” said Michael R. Taylor,
CAE, Executive Director. “His
contribution to the growth of our
Association cannot be measured.”
Weber began his career in 1959 as a
laborer and office manager, joining
ICONCO in 1964 as an executive. In
his many years in the industry, he
handled the demolition of high-rise
structures up to 30 stories both by
conventional means and by implosion;
demolished at least 10 wood pulp
mills in the state of California;
and more than 10 power plant
facilities. His firm also was
responsible for the demolition of
well over 100 bridges.
Among the most noteworthy of the
projects he handled was the
demolition of 600 buildings in the
town of Port Chicago, CA, for the
U.S. Navy. In the 1980s, he oversaw
the demolition of the top 12 floors
of the Crocker Bank building in
downtown San Francisco, while the
bank stayed in business on the
bottom two floors. Most recently,
he handled the demolition of a
350-foot-tall cooling tower at the
Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in
Rainier, OR, and the 30-story St.
Regis Hotel in Century, City, CA.
In
the 1990s, Weber invented the
“HEPA-Vent” filter device to keep
asbestos removal work areas safe and
sanitary and donated the patent to
the public domain. “At the time, I
wanted to give demolition
contractors an alternative to a very
expensive existing device,” Weber
explained.
During Weber’s tenure with the
Association’s Insurance Committee,
he was responsible for working with
the California Workers Compensation
Rating Bureau to help lower the
workers comp manual rates from 78%
of the payroll to 8% to 10%.
Eventually the new system was
adopted by other states to lower
their demolition rates.
Weber’s work in the Oakland-area
community has also been noteworthy.
In the 1980s, he participated in a
Hayward, CA – San Felipe, Mexico
Sister City Program to collect and
distribute all types of products and
materials for the San Felipe
people.
Weber is currently a resident of
Diablo, CA, in Contra Costa County.
The
National Demolition Association is a
non-profit trade organization
representing more than 1,100 U.S.
and Canadian companies and many
international firms that are
involved in the demolition process.
For
more information, go to
www.demolitionassociation.com or
call 800-541-2412. |
