Oil/Gas Pipelines
Momentum For NASSCO Initiatives Continues
by Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor It seems like every year is an eventful time for National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO), the national organization dedicated to improving standards relating to the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground wastewater infrastructure. ..
Raven Lining Systems Earns USDA Certified Biobased Product Certification and Label
Raven Lining Systems has earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for its AquataFlex® 505 and 506 products. The USDA Certified Biobased Product Label verifies that the product or product familys amount of renewable biobased ingredients meets or exceeds levels set by USDA. Biobased prod..
PLM’s 71H pipelayer
Pipeline Machinery Intl. 71H pipelayer has the support of Caterpillar®, the engineering expertise of Vanguard Equipment Inc. and Kress Corporation, thus the challenge was met to create a utility-capacity pipelayer in the Tier 4 Interim/EU Stage IIIB class, designed for lifting 60,000-lbs. and engine..
LMK Hydro Hat Withstands Patent Reviews
LMK Technologies prevailed on petitions filed by BLD Services on patent claims surrounding LMK’s commercial embodiments for the Insignia Seal, specifically, claims covering the Hydro Hat remain 100% intact and valid following multiple challenges to LMK’s patent claims by BLD. The Patent Trial and A..
Duke’s Root Control Razorooter II
Duke’s Root Control Razorooter II, the only diquat-based herbicide registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for controlling nuisance tree roots in sanitary sewer line collection systems. Razorooter II also received a classification of “evidence of non-carcinogenicity for humans” ..
NASSCO Standard Bearers: Harold Kosova
This month, NASSCO honors Harold Kosova and his many contributions to the rehabilitation industry. Kosova was born in 1935 in Chicago and graduated from DeVry Technical Institute. His career began at National Power Rodding Corp. in 1960 and continued until he retired as president in mid-2014. Nation..
Trenchless Technology Comes To Barbados
Two methods of trenchless construction are being employed in a project to improve the water infrastructure on the island nation of Barbados. Using trenchless methods on this segment of the project allows aging water mains to be replaced while greatly limiting the amount of excavation needed to bury ..
The Thrills! The Chills! Ten Underground Infrastructure Stories From 2015
by Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Art Director As 2015 quickly moves into history, let’s take a look back at the thrilling days of yesteryear and some of the underground infrastructure stories that peppered the pages of UC in 2015. There were awards given and records broken and lumps of rock and the loss o..
TTC Auger Boring School
Inaugural TTC Auger Boring School Impresses Attendees The Trenchless Technology Center’s 2015 Auger Boring School received favorable reviews from participants in the week-long training program completed in mid-October. Sponsors included American Augers, Baroid Industrial Drilling Products, Barbco,..
Ditch Witch founder dies
The utility construction industry lost a giant with the Dec. 11 death of Ed Malzahn, chairman of the Charles Machine Works Inc. (CMW). Malzahn’s invention of a compact trenching machine paved the way for changes in the way essential utility services are delivered to customers. Malzahn, 94, died i..
Oil Export Bill Moving Forward
House passage of an oil export bill for the first time in 40 years puts pressure on the Senate to follow suit. The House bill (H.R. 702) is narrowly focused on the oil export issue. However, the Senate bill (S. 2011), awaiting action on the Senate floor, is broader and encompasses provisions on oil ..
NASSCO Standard Bearers: Michael Burkhard
EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2016, NASSCO will celebrate its 40th year of setting standards for the assessment and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure. As we look forward, we also look back to those who have made significant contributions and have impacted the continued acceptance and use of trenchle..
Manhole Rehab with Avanti's Chemical Grout
Manhole rehab with Avanti’s chemical grout is necessary for the safety and longevity of our underground infrastructure. Groundwater enters into sewer systems everyday through manholes causing treatment plant overloads. There are five techniques to stop infiltration: Curtain Grouting, Vertical and Ho..
B&T Drainage Wins Vermeer Ultimate Crew Contest
B&T Drainage of Marshall, IL, proved themselves as the ultimate drilling crew at the 2015 International Construction and Utility and Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) in Louisville, KY, beating out three other crew competitors and winning the use of a Vermeer D24x40 S3 Navigator HDD for the span of one y..
Melfred Borzall FastBack
Melfred Borzall’s one-of-a-kind patent-pending FastBackTM system is changing the way contractors handle HDD boring. FastBackTM is Borzall’s new system for direct pullbacks without removing the drill head or installing a backreamer. This unique system includes the FastReamTM housing – used in place ..
Choose the right tool for the job
Total-solution HammerHead®/RS Lining Systems collaboration keeps pace with rapidly evolving noninvasive techniques Today’s pipe repair specialists can take a lesson from Maslow’s “law of the hammer,” revising it slightly to make a similar point: “To the contractor with a sledge, every bid includes ..
Roberts Pipeline Announces New President
Roberts Pipeline has named Robert (Rob) Lyons as company president. Lyons brings more than 30 years of senior management and operational experience from the oil and gas industry. He has held multiple executive positions within Quanta Services, experiencing success driven by development of strategic ..
Business Shorts - October 2015
LMK Technologies On August 24, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled in favor of LMK Technologies, declining institution of inter parts reviews on two petitions filed by BLD Services. The decisions were issued in IPR2015-00723 (Paper 7) and IPR2015-00721 ..
LMK Technologies Continues to Lead the Way in Trenchless Rehabilitation
LMK Technologies Continues to Lead the Way in Trenchless Rehabilitation of Main to Lateral Connections with the Addition of Man Entry Lapel Liner Located in Ottawa, Illinois, LMK Technologies has been a leader in trenchless Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining since 1993. LMK is recognized by many mun..
Sideline Specialty Equipment Merges With Cross Country Pipeline Supply Company
Cross Country Pipeline Supply (Cross Country), a leading equipment and supplies provider to the domestic oil and gas pipeline construction industry, announced that it has acquired Sideline Specialty Equipment (Sideline). Through the acquisition of Sideline, Cross Country has entered the Canadian mar..
TIME-TESTED: HDPE TOP CHOICE TO RUN UNDER HISTORIC HIGHWAY
The historic Pacific Coast Highway runs along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the United States. Through Newport Beach, California, it’s known simply as the PCH. It winds north along the coast through upscale neighborhoods and shopping areas toward Los Angeles. Visitors travel from around t..
Cat Pipelayers Feature Enhanced Performance
The Cat PL72, PL83 and PL87 Pipelayers – long the standard in the pipe-laying industry for powerful performance, reliability, and durability – feature an integrated, all-Cat power train with differential steering and an electronically controlled hydraulic system that places total control of lifting ..
Vactor’s New DigRight™ Technology Benefits Vacuum Excavation of Utilities
According to hydroexcavation best practices, there are set pressure limits based on the depth of the excavation. For example, when excavating 18 inches below the surface, the water pressure limit is 1,500 psi. The maximum water pressure allowed in any situation with a straight jet nozzle is 2,500 ps..
New productivity tools help HDD contractors work smarter, not harder.
The world’s aging infrastructure, expanding population and growing energy demands create an environment that will keep horizontal directional drilling contractors in high demand. At the same time, HDD contractors face new challenges, as project owners demand more information and detailed documentati..
Rehabilitation New Products
Hibbard Inshore In the water and sewer industry, the aim at Hibbard Inshore is to provide their clients with solutions in areas where the local sewer camera companies may face constraints. They do this by offering a variety of solutions to address inspections in all of the conditions seen in the wa..
Trenchless Pipe Replacement
HammerHead Trenchless Equipment HammerHead pneumatic pipe-bursting systems are being used by underground contractors around the world as an effective method to replace failing, outdated or under sized sewer, water and gas lines. Pipe bursting follows the path of the existing utilities, reducing uti..
A Small HDD Mud Recycler Built for Big Success
Some of the best new product ideas come from customer conversations. Equipment manufacturers often talk with underground construction contractors about their ever-changing equipment needs on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) job sites. When utility contractors talk about their biggest HDD pain p..
Rehab Technology News
Reline America welcomes new installer, Whitaker Construction Reline America has announced the addition of Whitaker Construction to its team of authorized installers. Whitaker Construction, founded in 1953, has been in the underground utility construction industry for over 60 years. They have grown ..
American Augers Introduces Mid-Range Rig, Fluid Recycling System
American Augers has introduced two new horizontal directional drilling (HDD) products – the DD-110 directional drill and M200D drilling fluid recycling system. The 110,000-pound pullback DD-110 represents the “low” end of the company’s mid-range directional drill lineup. The M200D fluid recycling s..
Reversing the Cause of Infiltration & Restoring Collection Systems
The single biggest sewer challenge facing engineers and municipalities is inflow and infiltration (I&I). I&I is destroying our underground infrastructure and shortening the critical life-span of our existing sewer collection systems. If this problem is not resolved, structural rehabilitation becomes..
- 290-mile gas pipeline expansion proposed across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
- $227 million Garnet Valley water project advances, set to create 73,000 jobs in Nevada
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish
- Construction underway for $1.4 billion, 60-mile water pipeline in Chicago
- Worker dies after trench collapse at sewer project site in Norwich, Conn.
- Gehl and Mustang offer world’s largest skid loader
- Growing Pains and Gains
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish