Professional consulting firm Freese and Nichols, Inc. (Fort Worth, Texas, USA) recently added corrosion specialist Ron Deal as a senior designer. In the role, Deal will leverage his expertise to develop cathodic protection (CP) programs for clients in the water/wastewater, transportation, and energy industries.
Deal, who is based in the firm’s office in Austin, Texas, has more than 15 years of experience managing and designing large-scale corrosion control projects in Texas and nationally. In addition to overseeing major projects, Deal has handled detailed work from conceptual design through construction and commissioning and ongoing operations.
His expertise includes collecting and interpreting test data and preparing recommendations based on NACE International standards and best practices. According to the firm, Deal understands the corrosion mitigation process across a variety of applications, including water storage tanks, water transmission pipelines, wastewater facilities, oil pipelines and reservoirs, coastal facilities, and bridges.
“With Ron’s all-encompassing background, particularly in water and wastewater projects, he will complement the majority of our firm’s practices,” says Rusty Gibson, vice president. “He will allow us to provide enhanced services that emphasize reliability and resiliency in every project and reduce the overall life-cycle cost of a project for our clients.”
The firm serves clients across the U.S. Southeast and Southwest regions. With sustainability in mind, the group says it plans, designs, and manages numerous infrastructure projects.
Deal has previously worked with municipalities, public entities, water districts, and military bases spanning the United States, including cities in Texas and California such as San Angelo, Texas; San Diego, California; and Los Angeles, California. He recently managed the CP program for more than 100 ground and elevated water storage tanks near Houston, Texas.
Deal is a certified CP3—Cathodic Protection Technologist by NACE, where he has served as an active member for many years and has been invited to give presentations for the organization.