April 2011 Vol. 66 No. 4

Reduced tail swing excavators from Kubota, Hitachi, Ditch Witch, Volvo, Case, John Deere Construction & Forestry, Caterpillar, New Holland Construction, Bobcat, Komatsu America and Kobelco.

Shoring and safety products from Speed Shore Corp., American Shoring, Quik-Shor, PRO-TEC Equipment, Trench Shoring Services, Efficiency Production and Kundel Industries.

Robert Dewayne Bennett, 47, passed away on Feb. 13, in Palestine, TX, of complications from pneumonia.

Robert Edward Turner, senior vice president of engineering and partner of Appalachian Pipeline Contractors LLP, died in Hendersonville, TN, on Feb. 8 of complications from double pneumonia.

Advertisers from the print edition of <em>Underground Construction</em>, April 2011, Vol. 66 No. 4.

New Holland Construction announced March 24 the launch of the Super Boom Road Show, an open house customer event held at New Holland dealerships across North America. The event includes a skid steer challenge featuring New Holland’s new 200 Series skid steer loaders.

Kobelco Construction Machinery America announced March 24 the “Your Competitive Edge” sweepstakes. To celebrate the launch of 13 new models in 2011, Kobelco is offering excavator operators the chance to win a new Kobelco compact excavator for a year.

Bob DeRoma, Interplastic Corporation’s Senior Vice President announced March 21 the launch of the 2011 Scholars Award Program sponsored by Interplastic Corporation in affiliation with the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, announces the release of its 2011 U.S. Markets Construction Overview, offering insight into some of the engineering and construction industry’s most complex business challenges.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation recently announced that Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) have introduced legislation to improve pipeline safety efforts nationwide.

The Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) hosted its fifth annual Pipeline Program Research Exchange Meeting on Feb. 1-3, at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta, GA.

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America members formally adopted a set of five guiding principles for pipeline safety, renewing the gas-transmission industry’s commitment to safe and reliable pipeline operations.

Leaders of the Natural Gas Council (NGC) recently wrote to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to express interest in working with NERC and others to understand what transpired in the power sector during a unprecedented cold snap in the southwestern United States that occurred in early February and to take steps to minimize such serious impacts in the future.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $868,000 to the city of Clinton, IA, for improvements to its wastewater system. The construction project is expected to be completed by the spring of 2012.

Southwest Texas Water Resources (STWR) released a white paper summarizing more than two years of scientific research on the Southwest Texas Water Project (STWP).

HDD Broker Inc., has been acquired by Vermeer Corporation, a leader in HDD and other underground construction equipment manufacturing, as of April 18.

A new, independent non-profit organization is tasked with developing and administering a sustainability rating system for North American infrastructure—the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). The organization was founded by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Public Works Association (APWA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Smart digging always means calling 811 before every job. Digging without calling can lead to severe consequences including harm to those who dig, costly damages to underground infrastructure and utility service disruptions.

A new report prepared by EnSys Energy for the Department of Energy Office of Policy and International Affairs finds that the Keystone XL pipeline would help reduce U.S. imports of foreign oil outside North America.

The Northeast Trenchless Association (NTA) elected 2011 board members at their recent annual meeting.

John Deere Construction & Forestry announced April 7 that it has been awarded the Common Ground Alliance’s (CGA) President’s Corporate Award of Excellence for promoting the Alliance and the 811 “call-before-you-dig” safety program.

Duoline Technologies recently expanded its manufacturing facility in Gilmer, TX. The company now produces Duoline from an ultramodern, ISO9001:2008 certified, 130,000 square foot plant using a highly efficient manufacturing system supported by advanced process controls and automation designed to provide repeatability and precision.

JCB announced the opening of a new West Coast Parts Distribution Center in Fontana, California on March 16, bringing its total number of distribution centers in North America to three. The distribution center will primarily serve customers in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones, helping to reduce freight costs and shorten delivery times. JCB’s other North American parts distribution centers are located in Burlington, Ontario and Savannah, Georgia.

CertainTeed’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe plant in Lodi, Calif., was honored by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CA OSHA) through its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). CertainTeed is the 51st company in California to be given this award.

U.S. demand for pipe is forecast to advance 6.6 percent per year to $38.6 billion in 2015. Gains will represent a substantial turnaround from the declines of the 2005-2010 period, during which pipe demand was hampered by an economic recession and a sharp drop in building construction spending.

Radiodetection’s advanced Current Direction (CD) feature, provided by the RD8000®PDL Multifunction Pipe & Cable Locator and the TX-10 transmitter, enables operators to continue to trace their target utility through today’s increasingly congested underground networks.

Denso has just released a new line of protection for pipeline coatings called Rock Shield.

ZED Tunnel Guidance, located in London, U.K., specializes in development and manufacture of advanced guidance systems for Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs).

The PowerTech E 6.8L engine is the first John Deere engine to carry both Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 3 Emergency Stationary and European Union (EU) Stage III A certification, with dual frequency ratings of 1,800 and 1,500 rpm.

The new Kawasaki models, the 42ZV-2, a 0.78 cubic yard loader, and the 45ZV-2, a 1.18 cubic yard loader, are designed and engineered with all of the performance and reliability of the larger Kawasaki wheel loaders, but in a smaller package.

Griffin offers accessories to complete any wellpoint system. Wellpoints are available with 1.5-inch or 2-inch PVC or stainless steel screen.

The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) posted record numbers at its 2011 Annual Meeting and CGA Excavation Safety Conference & Expo held March 8-10 in Orlando, FL.

Rehabilitation of failing sanitary sewer systems is a high priority for many cities in the United States with major projects under way relining and replacing aging and failing mains.

What do you call a job that requires four different pipe jacking pits to install a new 72-inch sanitary sewer pipe? While that may sound like a standard job, the reality was much different.

Smartphones, 3G and 4G networks are everywhere, offering wireless subscribers virtually instant access to data and electronic communications from anywhere at any time. Thanks to the scores of recently developed mobile devices and applications -- as well as the introduction of new ones seemingly on a daily basis -- the demand for mobile data is skyrocketing.

Municipalities across the country are getting into the exercise movement to ensure the health of their water valves. That’s right -- water valves. These hidden, but important, devices lie beneath the city streets and their health is important to our overall security in stopping the potential of contaminants from entering the water supply.

Legend has it that Cincinnati, like Rome, was built on seven hills. Contractor Midwest Mole Inc., Indianapolis, IN, is continuing the local history by constructing seven sewer tunnels in a landmark project that is challenging common trenchless methods for long bores.

CenterPoint Energy Inc., Houston, TX, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations. It serves more than five million metered electric and natural gas customers in six states: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s water infrastructure congressional appropriations are destined to sink, maybe like stones, this year. Republicans and some Democrats want to severely cut the appropriations for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds in fiscal year 2011, which started last Oct. 1.

Vectren Corporation acquired Minnesota Limited, Inc. March 31 in a strategic move to grow Vectren's infrastructure services business segment. Minnesota Limited will join wholly owned subsidiary Miller Pipeline in Vectren's infrastructure services group.