April 2021 Vol. 76 No. 4

Features

75th Anniversary

BLD Services LLC

THEN

Incorporated in 2001 by Brad L. Dutruch as a full-service municipal and public works construction company in Kenner, La.
Initially installed lateral CIPP technology in the Southeastern U.S., including Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
Since that time, the company has grown steadily, both internally as well as through acquisitions.

NOW

BLD serves the municipal market providing cost-effective solutions to mitigate water infiltration through defective sewer service laterals with the Service Connection Seal + Lateral (SCS+L), mainline chemical grouting, and mainline CIPP spot repairs.
In the last 10 years, there has been a shift in the sanitary sewer rehabilitation market with municipalities focusing increasingly on service laterals as a major source of infiltration and searching for cost-effective methods to eliminate the excess water.
BLD’s Service Connection Seal + Lateral (SCS+L) is an extremely economical solution, not only to mitigate infiltration, but to provide structural integrity to the host pipe, providing a water-tight seal at the connection inside the main.
Over the past 11 years, we have grown to over 30 installation crews and performed work in 34 different states.
BLD is the largest lateral installation contractor in the U.S. with more than 125,000 successful installations.

MILESTONES

Two main acquisitions, in 2008 and January 2009, have fueled BLD’s growth and expansion: D&O Contractors Inc., a well-established general contractor incorporated in 1975; and the Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP) Lateral Lining Division of Insituform Technologies Inc.
The Insituform acquisition added additional expertise in constructing and rehabilitating water, sewer and other difficult-to-access pipes throughout the world using trenchless technologies, like CIPP, to minimize excavation and disruption.

CONNECTIONS

BLD always enjoys the opportunity to participate in the Rehab Zone sponsored by NASSCO at the Underground Construction Technology (UCT) conferences, providing quality educational resources for service lateral cured-in-place-pipe rehabilitation.
The annual UCT Conference is a premier venue to share ideas and learn from professionals in the underground rehabilitation industry.

Century Products Inc.

THEN

Founded in 1982 by James Bielawa, under the name Century Plastics Inc., as a wholesale distributor of plastic pipe, fittings and valves.
After nearly a decade, entered the environmental industry to meet customers’ needs for plastic screens and bailers, as well as bentonite products for monitoring wells.
Evolved into a full-service contractor supplier for HDD tools and drilling fluids.
Seeing the vast potential for future growth in this industry, the company bought property in 1996, in Sussex, Wisc., for its new headquarters; broke ground in the spring of 1997; completed and moved in September of that year.

NOW

Family-owned Century Products Inc. is led by James (CEO) and Todd (president) Bielawa.
Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, has evolved into a key player in the HDD industry.
Serving the global HDD industry, Century’s dedicated engineering staff continually seeks out and implements value-added technology to drive advancements in the tools utilized by industry leaders.
Being a privately held manufacturing and custom-design firm allows for the flexibility to anticipate and improve product offerings, and quickly adjust to changing market requirements. This is evident in the milestones achieved.

MILESTONES

In 2000, revolutionized the hole opener, introducing the first solid-body device with replaceable arm and cone assemblies: the 27-inch Gold Series hole opener This new design transformed an otherwise disposable piece of equipment into an asset.
With co-developer, Brewis Engineering, introduced first 550-ton swivel to the industry in 2007.
In 2008, introduced 26-inch TCI replaceable arm and cone assemblies, incorporating the largest cone produced to date, as well as the largest Tungsten carbide inserts used.
Built the largest hole openers to date – two 60-inch hole openers for a sewer pipeline project.
Received patent in 2010 for replaceable arm and cone assemblies with keyed body design.
In 2011, introduced first-generation Falcon Series hole openers, 20 to 30 inches.
Expanded replaceable arm and cone assemblies to 12.5-, 16-, 17-, 22- and 26-inch, in 2012, available in TCI conical, TCI chisel and milled tooth.
Developed the only authorized Brewis Swivel Repair Facility in the United States in 2013.
In 2016 introduced Osprey Series fly cutters, a total redesign of the conventional fly cutters used.
2020 Launched Century’s Falcon FR Series hole openers featuring patent-pending field replaceable assemblies.

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