TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2023
Last week, protective coatings manufacturer Tnemec Company Inc. announced the 2023 Tank of the Year and People’s Choice Award winner.
According to the emailed release, this year’s People’s Choice Award and Tank of the Year winner is the Dum-Dum water tank in Bryan, Ohio, with a record-breaking 46,729 total votes.
The company has been carrying out the annual awards program since 2006, celebrating the innovative and creative uses of its coatings on water tanks throughout the U.S. and Canada. Eligible water tanks had to be submitted by Oct. 13, use Tnemec products and could not be more than two years old, or previously submitted for the Tank of the Year award competition.
2023 Tank of the Year
The tank will now reportedly be placed in “the most prominent position” in Tnemec's annual Tank of the Year calendar, along with other top finalists.
?? Announcing the 2023 Tank of the Year winner.....
— Tnemec Company Inc. (@TnemecCompany) October 20, 2023
Congratulations to the winner and finalists! #TOTY #TankoftheYear pic.twitter.com/kokIUVVZa6
The Dum-Dum water tank is located on the Spangler Candy Company factory campus and its water is used to make around 12 million lollipops every day. Each of the eight 65-foot-tall Dum-Dums reportedly represents one of the most popular flavors.
The tank was reportedly painted with Tnemec’s UV-resistant, long-lasting fluoropolymer finish, Series 700 HydroFlon, which is expected to help maintain the design for a long time in the state’s climate.
“Overall, our team at Tnemec was blown away not only by the number of entries in this year’s Tank of the Year contest but also by all of the innovative and creative designs in this year’s pool of candidate tanks,” explained Brian Cheshire, Director of the Water Tank Market.
“The tanks in this year’s contest highlighted the hometown pride and overall ingenuity from many towns all across the United States and Canada.”
The City of Bryan has also reportedly marked off a spot for photos across the street from the tower where visitors can take photos with the tower in the background.
Tank Background
In July 2022, it was announced that the water tower would be getting a “sweet” new design featuring large painted lollipops thanks to Spangler Candy Company.
Kirk Vashaw, CEO of Spangler Candy, presented the plan at the Bryan Board of Public Affairs' public meeting that month. The presentation highlighted the new tower design, including eight large Dum-Dum lollipops surrounding the circumference of the main tank, with the legs of the tower painted white to represent lollipop sticks and the words “Bryan, Ohio” painted in large, capital letters down the riser pipe.
The water tower was painted by award-winning muralist Eric Henn, who had worked on water towers and “super-sized” murals for more than 30 years. His work has been featured all of the world and was awarded “Artist of the Year,” “Muralist of the Year” and “Tank of the Year,” among others.
The new design was created in collaboration between Spangler, Henn, the tower painting contractor and the BPA. The board also approved the design and accepted financial contributions during the meeting.
Henn reportedly began painting the tower design that fall, following the city’s completion of the tower’s base coat and weather permitting. The BPA covered the costs to prepare and add the base coat of paint for the tower, which is completed every 15 years.
According to the company’s release at the time, Spangler had offered to make a $25,000 contribution toward the base coat paint and future maintenance. Additionally, it would have covered all costs for the painting artist, labor, expenses and supplies.
Vashaw explained that Spangler also intended to provide the viewing platform on its property for visitors to take photographs and selfies. Additionally, the company was developing a new destination attraction in Bryan, and the water tower was anticipated to enhance its impact. Spangler Candy World was scheduled to open this year.
The Tank of the Year will reportedly be featured as the month of January in the 2024 water tank calendar. Other finalists and nominees, Tnemec states, will be included in the following months of the calendar.
Other Finalists
Over 320 water tanks were reportedly nominated, creating a record of over 46,000 online votes cast this year from across the U.S. and Canada. Each year, the Tank of the Year winner is reportedly chosen by a panel of water tank enthusiasts based on criteria including artistic value, the significance of the tank to the community and challenges encountered during the project.
The Dum-Dum tank was chosen as the winner in 2023 for many of the reasons listed above, along with the creativity that went into its design, which Tnemec explains incorporated all aspects of the structure of the tank.
Other water tanks among the top 12 finalists for 2023 include:
“Since 2006, Tnemec has been recognizing municipalities for their aesthetic, creative, and innovative uses of our high-performance coatings on water storage tank projects,” Cheshire added. “This year’s finalists represent several different types of water tanks in various shapes and sizes, all of them impressive for one reason or another.”
2022 Tank of the Year Winner
In October of last year, Tnemec announced that the Bossier City water tank, located in the northwestern region of Louisiana and east of the Red River across from the larger city of Shreveport, was the 2022 tank of the Year winner.
The message “We salute our first responders” found on the tank’s exterior was meant as a tribute to all the hard-working police and firefighters whom the public has long-held respect for keeping the community safe, according to Tnemec.
In announcing the award, it was also shared that the tank graphics were “intended to make the most striking, bold, and bright statement embodying the spirit of its community.”
The tank, completed with Tnemec coating systems Series 700 HydroFlon, Series 1075 Endurashield and Series 90G-1K97 Tneme-Zinc, beat out nearly 350 water tank nominations.
The Bossier City tank was selected by a panel of water tank enthusiasts based on criteria such as artistic value, significance of the tank to the community and challenges encountered during the project.
This tank was completed in August 2022 by field applicator Veolia.
Tagged categories: Awards and honors; Coating Materials; Coating Materials; Competitions; Industry News; Program/Project Management; Tanks; Tanks and vessels; Tnemec; Water Tanks
