Magazine

New, Right-Sized Vermeer MX300 Mixing System Optimizes Productivity

With a redesigned, slim, rectangular profile tank, the new Vermeer MX300 mixing system is right-sized to help horizontal directional drilling (HDD) contractors optimize productivity and offers customizable mounting configuration options.

Schonstedt

Schonstedt Instrument Company launched Loki, a multi-frequency locator designed to “sweep” large areas to quickly and easily locate buried assets. It was developed for utilities and construction crews seeking a user-friendly, lower-cost, reliable locator.

Volvo

Volvo's 20-ton-class EC200E offers strong performance without the added features and cost of a larger excavator.

Doosan

Doosan now partners to offer the Trimble LOADRITE L3180 SmartScale as an option on Doosan wheel loaders.

Dura-Line

A brand-new high density polyethene product, is now manufactured at Dura-Line’s Gravenhurst, Ontario, plant. PowerGuard, an HDPE conduit, allows for a flexible, expandable network with dedicated, easily identifiable pathways for system upgrades, redundancy and future capacity.

John Deere

John Deere is rolling out its new construction simulators. The modular update outfits the new John Deere simulators to one of six machine types: backhoe, crawler dozer, excavator, wheel loader, joystick-controlled motor grader and fingertip-control motor grader.

Vacall

Gradall Industries Inc. released a new video providing an in-depth look at its Vacall family of products. The 12-minute video features an up-close tour of Gradall’s New Philadelphia, Ohio, manufacturing facilities and the state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that produce Vacall sewer cleaning, hydro excavation, industrial vacuum and sweeper models.

Berntsen International

Berntsen International Inc. received a U.S. patent for its Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) RFID technology, the centerpiece of the company’s connected infrastructure locating and asset management solutions.

Avanti International Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary

Avanti International reached a milestone, celebrating 40 years as an industry leader.

Hoffman Southwest Acquires Tri-State Utilities

Hoffman Southwest (HSW), a portfolio company of ORIX Capital Partners, acquired Chesapeake, VA-based Tri-State Utilities Company.

Perma-Liner Celebrates Opening of 5th Distribution Warehouse

Perma-Liner Industries LLC, a leading manufacturer and supplier of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation equipment and materials in North America, opened its newest distribution warehouse. The Bow, N.H., facility offers full stocking of cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) materials and equipment, and direct 24-hour assistance for all certified Perma-Liner installers.

Waterline Renewal Technologies Acquired by Private Equity Firm

Waterline Renewal Technologies Inc. (WRT), a leading, Rosemont, Ill., provider of engineered products used in the trenchless rehabilitation of wastewater infrastructure for municipal, commercial, industrial and residential applications, was acquired by private equity investment firm Behrman Capital.

Hidden Beneath the Bed

Undocumented Obstacles Below Railroad Tracks Complicate Ramming Job

Steering Through Sandy Soils to Upgrade City Sewer System

The economy in Garden City, Kan., is strong with the recent opening of a Dairy Farmers of America plant. Approximately 4 million pounds of milk from regional farmers makes its way to the plant each day, which has led to expansion for many other companies throughout the area. To keep up with the expected growth from the dairy industry and retail stores being constructed nearby, Garden City is upgrading existing utilities to ensure they are prepared to handle current and future needs.

Consumers Energy Modernizes System with Saginaw Trail Pipeline

In Michigan, Consumers Energy is modernizing its natural gas system to improve safety and reliability, and a key element is replacing 78 miles of transmission pipeline that passes through three Michigan counties.

How to Select the Right Trench Protection System

How a utility contractor chooses to excavate on a job site can make all the difference in the project outcome. When you consider that 30 to 40 percent of all excavations lack the appropriate protective solutions, it should come as no surprise that projects are often over budget and overdue. When you add the very real risk of injury or death, a lack of proper protection makes no sense at all.

Rock, Weather, Tight Deadlines are No Match for Horizon Pipeline

Pipeline construction projects across America have flurried in recent years, with miles of natural gas line being added almost daily. The bulk of new lines is being constructed in the prolific Permian Basin, with midstream energy companies, like Targa Resources Corporation, expanding to support growing demand for natural gas and liquified natural gas (LNG) exports.

Trenching In Tennessee

Cleary Construction is involved in a major project to relocate and replace utility lines in Smyrna, Tenn. Moving the utilities is necessary due to a road widening project to improve traffic flow in this growing community located about 20 miles southeast of Nashville.

Sewer Construction Grants Targeted for Big but Speculative Increase

There seems to be a good chance that Congress will pass a reauthorization of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), given strong bi-partisan support for the Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019 (H.R. 1497).

Customer Satisfaction Declines Across Energy Utilities Sector

Following a slight bump in 2018, residential customer satisfaction in the energy utilities sector has taken an about-face one year later.

PPI Offers Free Course on Selecting, Specifying HDPE for Power, Communications

The Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. (PPI) launched a new Continuing Education Unit (CEU)-style course about design, installation and specification of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit and duct. Selecting & Specifying HDPE Conduit for Power and Communications Applications can be downloaded free from the PPI website.

EPA Announces New WIFIA Funding for Water Infrastructure Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making funding available to provide an estimated $6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans in 2019. “Through WIFIA, we are addressing several of President Trump’s top priorities, simultaneously: modernizing our nati..

EPA Announces $2.6 Billion in Availability for Water Improvement Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of $2.6 billion in new funds to assist states, tribes and territories with improving drinking water and wastewater infrastructure across the country.

Trump Says He’ll Push for $200 Million for Everglades Work

President Donald Trump says his administration will seek $200 million for federal work on watershed restoration in the Everglades this year.

Pennsylvania Counties Using Fiber Optics to Improve 911 Capabilities

For years, fiber-optic cables have been the gold standard in speed and reliability for telecommunication networks. Not only do they provide much faster internet data speeds for homes and businesses, they allow for larger and more complex data sets to be transferred at no loss to speed or quality.

MTA to Build First All-Terrestrial Fiber Line From Alaska to Contiguous U.S.

MTA Fiber Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTA, Alaska’s best choice for technology and communications products, announced today that it plans to build AlCan ONE (Alaska Canada Overland Network), the first and only all-terrestrial fiber network connecting Alaska to the contiguous United States and beyond.

NTSB Probe Yields New Safety Recommendations for Gas Utilities

Federal safety officials are recommending new rules for natural gas leak reporting and installations after investigating the cause of an explosion that killed seven people at a Maryland apartment complex in 2016.

Appeals Courts Provide Good/Bad News for Pipelines

Stephen Barlas  |  Washington Editor The top federal appeals court in charge of policing regulatory decisions gave a big victory to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), endorsing in February its approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, one of two controversial projects already underway..

Give Them What They Ask For

When an energy source is extremely economical, much-more environmentally friendly and readily available, common sense would dictate that you encourage development of that source. But sometimes common sense and reality prove to be dramatically different thing..

Unusual Sliplining Solutions Developed on Los Angeles Project

Rehabilitating or replacing large-diameter sewer lines in heavily populated areas always is a challenge: heavy traffic complicates work and causes disruptions and traffic delays, creating a ripple affect extending far beyond the construction zones.