September 2023 Vol. 78 No.9
Business
Business News
BUSINESS
Vermeer Looks to the Future After 75 Years in Business
Built on Founder Gary Vermeer’s legacy of finding a better way, Vermeer Corporation has centered around impacting people and the world for the better, over the last 75 years. As the company looks to the future, third-generation family member, President and CEO Jason Andringa said the next 75 years will continue to aim for the same purpose.
“What started as a small machine shop to meet the needs of local farmers in and around our hometown of Pella, Iowa, soon became the ground floor for my grandfather (Gary) to open Vermeer Manufacturing in 1948,” said Andringa.
“With the guiding principle of treating other people how you’d want to be treated yourself, we’ve created a culture over the last 75 years of making a real impact on the way work gets done that continues to drive our company forward. Ultimately, it’s a commitment that is part of every interaction we have among ourselves, suppliers, dealers, customers and the communities we live and work in.”
Today, Vermeer is an organization of more than 4,000 team members worldwide that was recently recognized by Forbes magazine as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers. Operating eight facilities on six continents and offering service and support in more than 60 countries, the iconic yellow iron equipment is distributed through a global network of more than 600 industrial and forage dealers.
From Gary Vermeer’s first invention of the wagon hoist, more innovative equipment followed: the hydraulic horizontal directional drill, large round baler and stump cutter. In this way, Vermeer has shown its commitment to developing high-quality equipment that addresses the challenges
its customers face.
Helping connect people to the necessities of life, manage natural resources, and feed and fuel communities, new innovations Vermeer plans to bring to market will include expanding digital product offerings, developing next-generation machines and introducing new equipment.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Vermeer Corporation, (641) 628-3141, vermeer.com
9th Annual ‘Shooting for a Cure’ MS Clay Shoot Tournament
Underground Products of Texas is the presenting sponsor for ImpactMS Now’s 9th Annual Shooting for a Cure, Oct. 7, at Fossil Pointe Sporting Grounds, Decatur, TX.
All net proceeds from the clay shoot tournament will benefit ImpactMS Now’s medical research to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system.
The top three teams, best female shooter, and best male shooter will win the coveted ImpactMS Now buckle.
In addition, great prizes will be raffled off, including two firearms and a custom-made fire pit, donated by Barbco. The event will sell 100 squares for each item; each square is a $20 donation.
Fossil Pointe Sporting Grounds has limited shotgun and golf cart rentals. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Barbco, (800) 448-8934, www.barbco.com
ImpactMS Now, impacsmsnow.org
Underground Products of Texas, (682) 647-0355
BAMI-I, ASCE-UESI to Present 19th Utility Investigation School
Buried Asset Management Institute-International (BAMI-I) and the ASCE Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI) have teamed up to conduct the 19th Utility Investigation School (UIS). This five-day workshop will be held Oct. 16–20, in Baltimore, Md.
This short course will give practitioners the knowledge and tools to provide competent utility investigations in accordance with accepted national standards (ASCE 38) and to defend against claims through this knowledge and its documentation. In addition to the classroom lectures, practical sessions will be held where participants will be offered hands-on experience with the GPR, PCL, etc.
Attendees UIS is designed for include:
- Engineers, surveyors and project managers providing deliverables that include results and depictions of utility investigations
- Consulting engineers and employees of utility companies, state DOTs and local highway agencies, regulatory agencies, local governments, etc.
- Design engineers for infrastructure projects with significant expected utility congestion
Director is Tom Iseley, Ph.D., P.E., Dist. M. ASCE, PWAM Professor of Engineering Practice and Beavers Heavy Construction Distinguished Fellow, Purdue University.
Course developer and primary instructor is Jim Anspach, PG(r), Dist. M. ASCE, NAC ASCE/UESI President; 2018 Member-EJCDC; TRB Utility Committee Chair; ASCE -38 A.A; Professor of Utility Engineering, IOWA State University Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering; J.H. Anspach Consulting. Other instructors are the foremost experts in the geophysics and subsurface utility engineering field.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Utility Investigation School, (404) 386-5667, sbehbaha@purdue.edu
Volvo CE to Establish New Compact Business Unit
As part of its ambition to lead the transformation journey through electrification and sustainable power, Volvo CE has set up a dedicated business unit for its range of compact equipment machines and solutions. The aim is driving growth and profitability in this important product segment.
An increase in population and urbanization has led to the expansion of the construction sector throughout the globe, with a particularly strong increase in the demand for compact equipment. The segment now represents 50 percent of the total market, compared to 35 percent a decade ago, with the growth trend likely to continue.
This new global business unit is the latest step forward in the company’s ambitions to lead the transformation of the industry and provide dedicated productivity-boosting solutions built to fit customers’ evolving needs. Thomas Bitter, Volvo CE’s Head of Technology, will take on the role as Head of the Compact Business Unit, from September 2023.
“Our pioneering work in electrification and digitalization has positioned us as an innovator in compact equipment,” said Thomas Bitter, Volvo CE’s head of technology, who assumes the top position of the Compact Business Unit in September.
“And now, because of compact equipment’s ever-growing influence on the market, we are focusing our attention on our compact machine portfolio to provide customers with productive and sustainable products and services.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Volvo Construction Equipment, (717) 532-9181, volvoce.com
NAXSA, Industry Groups Sign Formal Alliance with OSHA
NAXSA’s desire to establish an alliance with OSHA was fulfilled recently as it joined OSHA leaders and six other prominent industry groups for a signing ceremony at the U.S. Bureau of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The Partners for Safe Trenching and Excavation Operations Alliance includes a formal Agreement among the organizations to “forge innovative, creative, and effective ways to fill the gap in trench and shoring safety communication and education between industry, government, and small-to medium-sized contractors.”
The signing was preceded by several months of input into a work plan detailing each organization’s role and responsibilities. Specific events and actions, such as NAXSA’s annual Shore Up for Safety Week and multiple upcoming Trench Safety Summits, are included as deliverables in the work plan, along with sharing of information between the Alliance partners and support for specific OSHA activities, communications, and goals.
Gathering around the signing table, partners discussed the challenges the Alliance seeks to address and offered insights from their organizations’ perspectives. Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), cited unambiguous standards and practices as a priority of his organization. Sarah Magruder, president and CEO of the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), called for more use of 811 and a change in risk assessment borne by consequences that drive safety practices.
Michael Flowers, NUCA’s director of Education, Training and Safety, highlighted leadership training that imparts the “what” and the “why” of trench safety to those leading others in the work. Mandy Edens, deputy assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, emphasized, among other topics, fostering “the worker voice” – helping workers to feel safe exercising their rights.
NAXSA cited the impassioned commitment of its members to bring fatality and injury from preventable incidents to zero. Also noted were its members’ expertise, training skills and standards, day-to-day work with customers to show them how to use equipment properly, as well as NAXSA’s events, publications, and even outreach to local media, to raise the expectations of everyone who can make a difference.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Occupational Health & Safety Administration, (800) 321-6742, osha.gov
Ace Energy Infrastructure Achieves Record-Breaking Intersect Pipeline Installation
Ace Energy Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. accomplished a significant milestone, successfully installing a 3,600-meter, 24-inch-diameter pipeline across the Subansiri River in Assam, India. This remarkable achievement was made possible by utilizing the intersect method of horizontal directional drilling (HDD), positioning it among the largest pipeline installations worldwide using this technique.
This installation was executed for Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL), a joint venture of oil and gas companies such as Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., GAIL (India) Limited, Oil India Limited, and Numaligarh Refinery Limited, with MECON Limited, India Ltd. serving as the project management consultant.
It was part of a project to extend the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (National Natural Gas Grid) to the northeastern states of India, a project envisioned by the Prime Minister of India and ably steered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Govt of India.
“This endeavor is a good demonstration of the engineering talent and competencies that infrastructure companies in India are capable of,” said Ravneet Singh, director of Ace Energy Infrastructure Pvt. “Our team of experts tackled several technical and logistical challenges with precision and dedication, resulting in the completion of this complex HDD crossing milestone.”
What made this an extra special effort, apart from the technical challenges in the drilling, were:
- Extremely difficult site conditions: Both banks of the river, where the equipment was to be mobilized, were at an extremely inaccessible location, in North Lakhimpur and Majuli Districts of Assam. While access to the Majuli side was achieved by the construction of a temporary cofferdam across the Lohit River, which too was washed out due to flash floods in early April in pre-monsoon rains, access across the river itself was on a rudimentary ferry that could barely accommodate cars. Even more challenging was the narrow weather window when equipment could be mobilized, with the entire area being water-logged between June and October.
- Several months of job planning: Detailed planning of methods, equipment, and manpower, several months in advance, played a crucial role. Equipment such as tracking and guidance tools, a recycling unit, mud pumps, drill pipe, swivels, and various tooling, apart from the HDD rigs, with ample redundancy befitting such a major crossing were procured months in advance and had to be mobilized at the remote project site.
- Hard Work, and determination: The Ace Energy Infrastructure team worked tirelessly day and night over the past five months, without a single break.
- Perseverance and using setbacks to learn and grow: From a flash flood washing out the only access to the site (the temporary cofferdam) to breakage in drill strings, the team faced adverse situations and continued towards the commitment to excellence.
- Improvising methods using feedback from people on the ground: During the execution, the best-made plans needed to be re-visited and re-engineered in light of the dynamics of the project site. Feedback from experienced personnel at the site proved invaluable. Their firsthand experiences and insights provide crucial guidance for continuous improvement.
Ace Energy Infrastructure was established in 2007 and has its roots in Mumbai. Over the years, it has flourished through a combination of entrepreneurial leadership and courage in adversity and has grown in its ability to execute diverse projects across the nation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ace Energy Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd, +91-22-2660 0078, aceenergy.in
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