Native Innovation

SPRAY FOAM INSULATION – The Chickasaw Nation is a federally acknowledged Native American tribe with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma. After the election of Governor Bill Anoatubby in 1987, the Chickasaw Nation entered the twenty-first century as a successful economic and political entity. From its headquarters, the Chickasaw Nation has increased its tribal enterprise programs and provided employment opportunities to tribe and non-tribe members throughout the United States. In October 2021, the Chickasaw Nation revealed some of its biggest plans to date, an extensive resort-style destination development, located adjacent to the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

The $400 million OKANA Resort will include a riverfront hotel, spa, outdoor adventure lagoon, amphitheater, indoor waterpark (IWP), restaurants, and retail outlets. The 11-story hotel will have 404 deluxe rooms with views of the lagoon, riverfront, or downtown Oklahoma City. The five-acre outdoor adventure lagoon will be lined with sandy beaches and a pedestrian bridge that crosses over it. There will also be a 33,000-sq.-ft. family entertainment center which will include a 100,000-sq.-ft. indoor waterpark, golf simulator, multiple retail outlets, and restaurants, plus 39,000 sq. ft. of conference center space. Plans also call for a Native American marketplace and a 1,500-seat amphitheater.

Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation covers Oklahoma and the surrounding states and is TERO (Tribal Employment Rights Office) Certified and Native-American-owned in addition to being SPFA & ABAA certified. Alongside their clients Manhattan Construction, they knew that the immensity of this project would result in it being broken into four work sites, including the hotel, FEC (convention center), lagoon (outdoor water park), and the IWP.  

Scorpion Spray Foam’s fit for the vast and groundbreaking project came down to their reputation, connections, and the experience of their employees. For example, David Jacobs is the Head of Operations and started in the foam industry over 20 years ago working on roofs. He then moved to the equipment side and started a couple of service centers specifically for spray equipment. Working on everything from paint sprayers to rig building, he worked at these service centers until these companies were sold.

Jacobs went on to work in the residential wall foam business for years after helping launch a start-up that later sold. He then went on to IDI Distributors to help develop their service center program. Leaving there, he took on a regional sales role with Akurate Dynamics and was part of a great team dedicated to changing the SPF industry by developing advanced SPF equipment. He has now settled down off the road to raise his two young children. He took the role at Scorpion because he could see that his vision and theirs aligned and that the company had great potential with a strong desire to be the best in the industry.

Dustin Norman is the VP of sales at Scorpion. Norman started his career doing blasting and coatings at naval bases, mines and pipelines and then moved on to start several foam divisions across the country. He then helped launch Scorpion with Keith Stitt six years ago. “Between Dustin Norman and I, we have 50 years of SPF experience, which I think is the key driver to our success in this market. Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation’s owner, Keith Stitt, has always encouraged and had faith in our abilities to handle such an undertaking like OKANA,” explains Jacobs.

Scorpion landed the OKANA resort project through the bidding process with the general contractor (GC), Manhattan Construction, who they have a longstanding business relationship with. Before the bid, Norman looked at the blueprints of the project and what was going out for bid. After confirming the areas that required foam, he gathered his findings, put together a bid, and submitted it.

Once they won the project, Norman finalized the contracts and then handed it over to Jacobs for the SPF logistics and execution.

There are many divisions at Scorpion with the SPF division having approximately 12 employees and running four-person crews on commercial projects, with the OKANA project having two of their crews on site. Scorpion currently has two spray foam rigs and will only use Akurate Dynamics equipment as they believe it has a guaranteed true on-ratio technology with the help of ACE data-backed conformance reporting.

The Scorpion commercial crew started on the OKANA resort project in September of 2023 and the project is due to be completed in 2025. Due to the project’s logistics, Jacobs must often pull out the blueprints of the site to make sure the Scorpion crew are clear on where the SPF needs to be applied. On every jobsite, the crew always wears PPE required by OSHA, and safety is continuously their top priority. They worked off scaffolding, scissor lifts, and even 155-ft. boom lifts, so all of their employees have the equipment training and certifications to operate these pieces of equipment, as well as the fall protection certifications. The crew were also required to wear harnesses and SRLs (self-retracting lifelines).

Scorpion takes the issue of safety very seriously, investing in each employee so they have all safety qualifications, certifications, and knowledge a professional SPF crew needs to have on the jobsite. They are proud to have won the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) of Oklahoma Safety Recognition Award in 2023 in addition to being recognized by ASA National.

Working with four different superintendents, the Scorpion crew installed foam in all four areas of the OKANA resort. With the walls, top side and underside of the roofs for both the hotel and FEC (convention center) having two to ten inches of Huntsman HEATLOCK HFO Pro closed-cell foam installed. The hotel also had the elevator shaft and exterior soffit sprayed. SPF was specified in these areas for the air and thermal barriers and to help engineering controls.

The lagoon called for a block-fill foam with the crew injecting Huntsman’s PIP 250 CG closed-cell in all exterior walls of the building built with CMU (concrete masonry unit) block. “When it comes to the block-fill foam, there is always a lot of education on our part with the GCs because the mason guys will go in and set the block and the GCs will want us to be there the next day injecting the foam. However, the mortar needs time to dry out or the foam will push it out. They also have to pre-drill holes for us,” explains Jacobs.

After the block was dry and the holes had been drilled, the Scorpion crew then pumped in the foam with a couple of seconds of trigger time then backed away to let the foam expand and repeat to the areas where the foam had not yet expanded to the desired amount. The indoor water park (IWP) also has two to 10 inches of HEATLOCK HFO Pro closed-cell installed to the walls, roof to wall junctions, the underside and topside of the roof and the parapet walls. The crew then applied a No-Burn thermal barrier on all exposed foam per IBC (International Building Code).

This project hasn’t come without its challenges with the Scorpion crew working on site alongside over 1,200 tradesmen and women. So, making sure they coordinated their schedules with them was essential. The temperamental weather conditions resulted in some days being very hot and dry, and other days the crew found themselves walking through two feet of mud. “So far, the coolest part of this project is watching it all come together. Seeing the wave pool being built or watching the water park slides get bolted in. As a father and a fellow Oklahoman, I’m so happy to be a part of such a cool and exciting project as this waterpark. I personally can’t wait to take my kids here for a weekend vacation,” said Jacobs.

Knowing the hard work that Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation is putting into this large project, from the initial bid to the SPF applications, is a great representation of a quality SPF company.  

The Chickasaw Nation is a federally acknowledged Native American tribe with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma. After the election of Governor Bill Anoatubby in 1987, the Chickasaw Nation entered the twenty-first century as a successful economic and political entity. From its headquarters, the Chickasaw Nation has increased its tribal enterprise programs and provided employment opportunities to tribe and non-tribe members throughout the United States. In October 2021, the Chickasaw Nation revealed some of its biggest plans to date, an extensive resort-style destination development, located adjacent to the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

The $400 million OKANA Resort will include a riverfront hotel, spa, outdoor adventure lagoon, amphitheater, indoor waterpark (IWP), restaurants, and retail outlets. The 11-story hotel will have 404 deluxe rooms with views of the lagoon, riverfront, or downtown Oklahoma City. The five-acre outdoor adventure lagoon will be lined with sandy beaches and a pedestrian bridge that crosses over it. There will also be a 33,000-sq.-ft. family entertainment center which will include a 100,000-sq.-ft. indoor waterpark, golf simulator, multiple retail outlets, and restaurants, plus 39,000 sq. ft. of conference center space. Plans also call for a Native American marketplace and a 1,500-seat amphitheater.

Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation covers Oklahoma and the surrounding states and is TERO (Tribal Employment Rights Office) Certified and Native-American-owned in addition to being SPFA & ABAA certified. Alongside their clients Manhattan Construction, they knew that the immensity of this project would result in it being broken into four work sites, including the hotel, FEC (convention center), lagoon (outdoor water park), and the IWP.  

Scorpion Spray Foam’s fit for the vast and groundbreaking project came down to their reputation, connections, and the experience of their employees. For example, David Jacobs is the Head of Operations and started in the foam industry over 20 years ago working on roofs. He then moved to the equipment side and started a couple of service centers specifically for spray equipment. Working on everything from paint sprayers to rig building, he worked at these service centers until these companies were sold.

Jacobs went on to work in the residential wall foam business for years after helping launch a start-up that later sold. He then went on to IDI Distributors to help develop their service center program. Leaving there, he took on a regional sales role with Akurate Dynamics and was part of a great team dedicated to changing the SPF industry by developing advanced SPF equipment. He has now settled down off the road to raise his two young children. He took the role at Scorpion because he could see that his vision and theirs aligned and that the company had great potential with a strong desire to be the best in the industry.

Dustin Norman is the VP of sales at Scorpion. Norman started his career doing blasting and coatings at naval bases, mines and pipelines and then moved on to start several foam divisions across the country. He then helped launch Scorpion with Keith Stitt six years ago. “Between Dustin Norman and I, we have 50 years of SPF experience, which I think is the key driver to our success in this market. Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation’s owner, Keith Stitt, has always encouraged and had faith in our abilities to handle such an undertaking like OKANA,” explains Jacobs.

Scorpion landed the OKANA resort project through the bidding process with the general contractor (GC), Manhattan Construction, who they have a longstanding business relationship with. Before the bid, Norman looked at the blueprints of the project and what was going out for bid. After confirming the areas that required foam, he gathered his findings, put together a bid, and submitted it.

Once they won the project, Norman finalized the contracts and then handed it over to Jacobs for the SPF logistics and execution.

There are many divisions at Scorpion with the SPF division having approximately 12 employees and running four-person crews on commercial projects, with the OKANA project having two of their crews on site. Scorpion currently has two spray foam rigs and will only use Akurate Dynamics equipment as they believe it has a guaranteed true on-ratio technology with the help of ACE data-backed conformance reporting.

The Scorpion commercial crew started on the OKANA resort project in September of 2023 and the project is due to be completed in 2025. Due to the project’s logistics, Jacobs must often pull out the blueprints of the site to make sure the Scorpion crew are clear on where the SPF needs to be applied. On every jobsite, the crew always wears PPE required by OSHA, and safety is continuously their top priority. They worked off scaffolding, scissor lifts, and even 155-ft. boom lifts, so all of their employees have the equipment training and certifications to operate these pieces of equipment, as well as the fall protection certifications. The crew were also required to wear harnesses and SRLs (self-retracting lifelines).

Scorpion takes the issue of safety very seriously, investing in each employee so they have all safety qualifications, certifications, and knowledge a professional SPF crew needs to have on the jobsite. They are proud to have won the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) of Oklahoma Safety Recognition Award in 2023 in addition to being recognized by ASA National.

Working with four different superintendents, the Scorpion crew installed foam in all four areas of the OKANA resort. With the walls, top side and underside of the roofs for both the hotel and FEC (convention center) having two to ten inches of Huntsman HEATLOCK HFO Pro closed-cell foam installed. The hotel also had the elevator shaft and exterior soffit sprayed. SPF was specified in these areas for the air and thermal barriers and to help engineering controls.

The lagoon called for a block-fill foam with the crew injecting Huntsman’s PIP 250 CG closed-cell in all exterior walls of the building built with CMU (concrete masonry unit) block. “When it comes to the block-fill foam, there is always a lot of education on our part with the GCs because the mason guys will go in and set the block and the GCs will want us to be there the next day injecting the foam. However, the mortar needs time to dry out or the foam will push it out. They also have to pre-drill holes for us,” explains Jacobs.

After the block was dry and the holes had been drilled, the Scorpion crew then pumped in the foam with a couple of seconds of trigger time then backed away to let the foam expand and repeat to the areas where the foam had not yet expanded to the desired amount. The indoor water park (IWP) also has two to 10 inches of HEATLOCK HFO Pro closed-cell installed to the walls, roof to wall junctions, the underside and topside of the roof and the parapet walls. The crew then applied a No-Burn thermal barrier on all exposed foam per IBC (International Building Code).

This project hasn’t come without its challenges with the Scorpion crew working on site alongside over 1,200 tradesmen and women. So, making sure they coordinated their schedules with them was essential. The temperamental weather conditions resulted in some days being very hot and dry, and other days the crew found themselves walking through two feet of mud. “So far, the coolest part of this project is watching it all come together. Seeing the wave pool being built or watching the water park slides get bolted in. As a father and a fellow Oklahoman, I’m so happy to be a part of such a cool and exciting project as this waterpark. I personally can’t wait to take my kids here for a weekend vacation,” said Jacobs.

Knowing the hard work that Scorpion Spray Foam Insulation is putting into this large project, from the initial bid to the SPF applications, is a great representation of a quality SPF company.  

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