ERIE, Pennsylvania – March 12, 2014 – The Kane Innovations plant has begun fabrication on nearly 2,500 lineal feet of solid aluminum railing, privacy fencing and perimeter screens for what was formerly known by construction insiders as “Yards, Parcel D”. This particular section of The DC Yards mixed-use development property, now known to the public as “Twelve12 Apartments”, is preparing to accept residents this summer.

First imagined by lead architectural firm, Shalom Baranes Architects and materialized by general contractor, Walsh Construction, the new Twelve12 apartment complex project will feature over 200 rooms, a rooftop deck, a residents’ lounge, contemporary dining areas, private event spaces and breathtaking views of both water and land. What’s more, public transit and neighborhood conveniences are just a stone’s throw away.

hop workers at Kane Innovations are expressing their excitement over this welcome opportunity to fabricate a number of made-to-order aluminum, glass and stainless steel designs.

Steve Oberlin, a top welder at Kane Innovations for over 23 years, is responsible for welding a large amount of the multi-line, aluminum railing sections on the project. He says that patience is vital to his process.

“So far, I’ve welded about 35 sections of the 10-line aluminum guardrail. Probably the most challenging part of welding this particular style of railing is the fact that it’s one inch, solid aluminum bar and very, very heavy. It takes a quite a while to heat up.”

Though time-consuming, he says the payoff is in the finished product.

“It’s a bit of a challenge, but well worth it when you see the end result,” said Oberlin. “It’s a great looking railing.”

Tim Guard, Kane Innovations plant supervisor, echoed Oberlin’s sentiments.

“The Yards, Parcel D/Twelve12 is a different type of job for us, but it’s not overly complex. The sheer weight of these panels, though, is incredible. At 250 pounds per section, our first release totaled around 15,000 pounds.”

So heavy, in fact, that Kane Innovations needed to contract a semi-trailer truck.

“We were unable to use our own trucks for shipping due to weight restrictions,” said Guard.

Aside from the multi-line aluminum rail, there are additional fabricated items for The Yards, Parcel D/Twelve12 project being constructed and refined by Kane Innovation’s  assemblers, grinders and welders.

“A number of employees are also working on some of the other segments of the project such as dividers, stainless steel stair rail, and combination stainless and glass railing,” Guard said.

As the railing is fabricated, the aluminum sections will be shipped to a paint facility where it will be covered in a 2-coat silver mica Duranar fluoropolymer coating. The stainless steel portions will remain at the factory and await a number 4 polish from a Kane Innovations expert machinist.

Railing work for The Yards, Parcel D/Twelve12 is scheduled for substantial completion this summer. To learn more visit http://www.twelve12dc.com/.

About Kane Innovations 

Kane Innovations has been providing exceptional quality building products and extraordinary service to customers nationwide, since 1890. Their living wall systems, security window screens, architectural railings and detention products are all fabricated in-house by expert metalworkers. Kane Manufacturing’s American-made products have been found in, on, and around many well-known structures including The White House, The Statue of Liberty and the new One World Trade Center.

To learn more about Kane Detention, please visit online at kaneinnovations.com or phone 800-773-2439.