Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance Recognizes Sterling Solutions and Ameren with Transforming Supply Chain Award
Proactive, collaborative site access planning on Ameren’s LRTP Segment 14 transmission project delivers nearly $4
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PHOENIX, Ill., Oct. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sterling Site Access Solutions, America’s leading manufacturer of sustainably-sourced, domestically produced Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) mats, panels and systems, today announced that the Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance (SSCA) has honored Sterling and utility partner Ameren with its Transforming Supply Chain Award. The award recognizes the companies’ work together on Ameren’s Long Range Transmission Planning (LRTP) Segment 14 project, a 345kV multi-segment transmission build in which proactive, collaborative site access planning reduced schedule risk, lowered cost and advanced sustainability across the project’s supply chain.
“We are honored and grateful to have been recognized by the SSCA with this award, but it truly is the result of the leadership and strategic approach Ameren took when planning for this project,” said Kaye Ceille, CEO of Sterling Solutions. “We’ve always preached that sustainability and cost-effectiveness go hand in hand, and the results of this project are a shining example of that philosophy.”
Site access is typically an afterthought on major transmission projects. On LRTP Segment 14, Ameren took a different approach, bringing Sterling into the planning process more than a year before the first mat reached the site. That runway gave the teams time for factory tours, product testing and full alignment across supply chain, procurement and field construction before ground was broken. Ameren was able to source site access materials directly from Sterling as a capital expense rather than leaving it embedded in a prime contractor’s scope, reducing risk for Ameren and its contractors alike.
A central part of the solution was the introduction of a new product to the Ameren system: Sterling’s TerraLam® 5-ply Cross Laminated Timber mats. Ameren purchased 5,000 TerraLam mats, manufactured at Sterling’s Phoenix, Illinois facility and delivered on a just-in-time basis, to kick off the project. The mats will be used for the two-year construction phase and retain more than half of their useful life for deployment on future projects.
The results to date include:
- Nearly $4 million in savings realized already, with up to $20 million projected in full project impact
- 5,000 TerraLam CLT mats delivered just-in-time, with 60% of product life remaining at the end of the project
- 125 fewer truckloads of material moving through local communities, a 33% reduction in construction traffic and 38 metric tons of CO2 avoided
- 52% (17) fewer construction crew days required for installation helping to mitigate labor shortages
“We knew that we couldn’t approach this project with the old playbook – too much has changed across the supply chain,” said Frank Niemerg, Director, Transmission Construction Services at Ameren. “By working closely and early with all of our partners, including Sterling, we were able to avoid challenges we might have otherwise encountered deeper into the project. Instead, we delivered a project on time and on budget, all while minimizing the environmental impact.”
About Sterling Solutions
Sterling is America’s leading manufacturer of high-quality, cost-effective Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) mats, panels and systems. Our TerraLam® CLT products are sustainably-sourced and domestically produced at commercial-scale plants in Illinois and Texas.
Our Site Access unit provides full-service matting and bridging solutions to utility, civil and commercial construction industries, including Site Access Planning, Environmental Compliance and consulting services. In some markets, we offer Right of Way Site Preparation and Restoration, Access Road & Pad Construction, and Staging & Laydown Yards.
For more than 75 years, Sterling has innovated and delivered sustainable solutions meeting customer needs, creating jobs and economic opportunity across the supply chain, and reducing risk and environmental impact of industrial, commercial and residential construction projects. More information is available at www.sterlingsolutions.com.
About Ameren
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.5 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric transmission and distribution service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri provides electric generation, transmission and distribution service, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops, owns and operates rate-regulated regional electric transmission projects in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
Media Contact John Williams, Scoville PR for Sterling +1-206-660-5503, jwilliams@scovillepr.com
