May 2017 Vol. 72 No. 5

The Radius Over-Bit Reamer simply attaches over the pilot bit and secures with one bolt, eliminating the need to remove pilot tools to attach reamers. There are no collars, wrenches or tongs. And with the pilot tool still attached, the sonde can be used to locate through tight easements. Available i..

Prime Horizontal announced a new range of downhole tooling including HDD-specific tricone bits, as well as cutter segments and block leg cutters for use with hole opening. These products can be supplied for self-fabrication or as a complete body with cutters. New 20-inch TCI and MT Block leg cutter..

TT Technologies offers a full line of Grundoram pneumatic pipe ramming tools for trenchless casing installation. Available in 11 styles, Grundoram ramming gear is able to accommodate 4- through 120-inch casing installations. These tools provide accurate installation in a variety of soil conditions, ..

The McElroy Acrobat – a hydraulic butt-fusion machine originally designed for the plumbing and mechanical industry – is now available for the underground construction market. Priced competitively, the Acrobat 180 is ideal for those interested in a reliable, easy-to-use machine. It butt fuses two-in..

When the pipe yard for a project in McKeesport, PA, presented specific challenges, Pe Ben USA, an industry leader in all aspects of pipeline transportation, found the solution in a SENNEBOGEN 825 M material handler. “We typically use excavators with a vacuum attachment to move pipe to and from our ..

To increase productivity and improve ROI on fiber job sites, Ditch Witch, a Charles Machine Works Company, has introduced the MT16 microtrencher. The cost-effective machine creates an ideal trench in a single, quick and efficient pass when working with the Ditch Witch RT55 or RT80 ride-on trenchers,..

American Augers has introduced a new electric auger boring machine (ABM), the 600,000-pound-thrust model 36/42-600E. “Because it produces no exhaust, there are many situations where electric power offers significant benefits,” said Richard Levings, American Augers director of product management. “..

Uncertainty about traditional water supplies is sparking investment among municipal water utilities in water reuse and desalination projects to mitigate risk, as highlighted by a new report from Bluefield Research. “Utility customers are already facing higher water rates – up 25 percent since 2012 ..

Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC), an industry leader in life-cycle analysis and sustainable product design and analysis, has released the first comprehensive environmental review of underground piping systems in North America. Based on a 100-year life-cycle assessment methodology, the Life C..

Ditch Witch, a Charles Machine Works Company, hosted more than 300 customers worldwide to an exclusive, VIP experience at the company’s headquarters in Perry, Oklahoma, on March 28-29. “This annual event helps customers directly see and demo our latest products, and get a behind-the-scenes look at ..

Horizontal Auger Boring Projects, Second Edition, is a comprehensive manual of practice covering horizontal auger boring techniques for pipeline crossing. The second edition of MOP 106 presents current practices for the planning, design and construction of pipelines under highways and railroads usin..

Keeping up with the ever-evolving fiber industry, its largest and only trade association has made a big change. Fiber to the Home Council Americas (FTTH) is now the Fiber Broadband Association. While still committed to fiber to the home, the new name reflects the expanded demand for the speed and r..

Enbridge Inc. and NDT Global are partnering in a multi-year research and development project to advance innovation in pipeline inspection technology and, ultimately, drive pipeline safety and reliability to a new level. “We believe this next-generation project with NDT Global will build on the indu..

By installing 900 miles of fiber-optic cable connecting Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope, Anchorage-based telecommunications company Quintillion Holdings is bringing broadband internet to the Arctic for the first time. Marking the first phase of a larger project to lay a fiber-optic..

WaterOne, the public utility serving approximately 400,000 people across a 272-square-mile area of Johnson County, KS, in the southwest quadrant of suburban Kansas City, has adopted a new method for locating and marking plastic or non-locatable water mains. This technology is being implemented in c..

Max Clark didn’t drop the mike when he closed the 2017 Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA) annual convention, but he did drop some serious knowledge on an appreciative audience about how to look at your life’s work, how to run a business, and how to love your family. Max provided a ..

In February, the Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) held the second annual auger boring school (ABS) on the Louisiana Tech campus in Ruston, LA. The ABS program, initially conceived by Leo Barbara, is now supported by both the TTC and NUCA. Wi..

The University of Houston’s Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT), and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering organized and hosted its 22nd annual conference and exhibition at the college on March 3. Titled “Infrastructure, Energy, Geotechnical, Flooding and..

Can one machine tackle vastly different types of ground? That’s the problem a Georgia-based contractor faced. When beginning the installation of a new 54-inch-diameter water main in Cobb County, GA, which included three trenchless crossings through multiple ground conditions, Strack Inc. needed one..

Culvert replacement can be a tricky proposition. The existing culvert is usually in bad shape to begin with. Add in weather, remote location and difficult site access, and now you have the makings of a project that only a few contractors can tackle successfully. LTL Directional Drilling, a division ..

Injection grouting is described by its proponents as the first trenchless technology to repair leaks in underground pipes. First used for municipal applications more than 50 years ago, injection grouting has advanced to become the most economical and reliable method for controlling infiltration in ..

Spending for manhole structure rehabilitation has grown due to increased deterioration and collection system infiltration control. It is important to understand how the manhole structure functions, and how the deterioration and corrosion mechanisms are affecting the structures. Should the structures..

If someone would have told me, back when I was a young woman growing up on Long Island, NY, that I was going to make a long and distinguished career in the world of sewers, I would have told them they were crazy. From a very early age, I had my eyes set on the world of fashion. I attended the New Yo..

In February 2014, a news photographer snapped a picture of almond trees being ripped from dry soil in Firebaugh, CA. Baker Farming uprooted 20 percent, about 1,000 acres, of almond trees that day because adequate access to water was lacking, as the California drought continued into yet another year...

Basketball and auger boring are two completely unrelated topics unless Mike Boyd has a say in it. At the end of a lengthy career of coaching basketball, he knew he’d miss the excitement and strategy he left on the court. He took that dedication and applied it to his new contracting company, Three Po..

Can one machine tackle vastly different types of ground? That’s the problem a Georgia-based contractor faced. When beginning the installation of a new 54-inch-diameter water main in Cobb County, GA, which included three trenchless crossings through multiple ground conditions, Strack Inc. needed one..

President Trump’s stated intention to require new and repaired pipelines to use “domestic content” has the potential to throw a large monkey wrench into future U.S. pipeline construction. But the ability of the president to turn his proposal into reality remains a significant question. Pipeline tra..

by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief And the oil and gas pipeline attacks continue. Kill the pipelines and severely cripple the inherently evil carbon-based energy industry. That action, in theory, would further encourage development and adoption of planet-saving alternative energy sources. That’s..

Creates Largest Energy Media Company Serving Upstream, Midstream, Downstream Sectors Gulf Publishing Company announced today the acquisition of Oildom Publishing Company of Texas, Inc. to create the world’s largest independent media company devoted exclusively to the international energy industry. ..