Underground Construction articles from July 2003

Underground Construction archives from July 2003

Water risks. (Editor's Log).
July 1, 2003... Water is fast becoming a worldwide commodity--and a precious commodity at that. Public awareness of the nation's looming critical water issues is still limited. Of course, some areas of the country, such as the southwest and western United...

SBC, BellSouth, Verizon adopt common standards. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... Three of the nation's largest telecommunications service providers--BellSouth, SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon--have adopted a set of common technical requirements based on established industry standards and specifications for a technology...

Halco, CME host rock seminar. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... A rock drilling seminar hosted by Halco Directional Drilling and Central Mine Equipment (CME) was held May 13 in St. Louis, MO. Nearly 30 professionals were in attendance in addition to representatives from each company. The field...

Clean drinking water is a necessity. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... In a survey conducted for the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies by pollster Frank Luntz, Americans indicated, "safe and clean water is not just a priority, it is a necessity." According to the survey, clean drinking water and...

Foreman Electric wins 2003 HDD survey. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... Darrell Foreman, president of Foreman Electric based in Baxter, IA, is this year's HDD survey winner. Foreman was awarded $500 plus a complimentary full conference pass to UCT--a total value of almost $900--by Underground Construction magazine...

Jonah gas gathering system expansion. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... TEPPCO Partners, L.P. announced two projects totaling $65 million that will expand both pipeline and processing capacity on the Jonah Gas Gathering System in southwestern Wyoming. TEPPCO expects the Phase III expansion to contribute...

Pilot project showcases CableRunner's technology. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... CableRunner North America has agreed to provide the city and county of San Francisco with up to two miles of fiber-optic connectivity using its Flexible technology as a pilot project to demonstrate the success of the CableRunner technology. ...

In memorial. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... RICHARD A. GUMP died on June 21, 2003. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Billie Nail Gump; daughter, Marilyn Gump Stewart; son, Richard A. Gump, Jr. and his wife Diana; brother, Harry A. Gump and wife Charlotte; sister-in-law Mildred...

Dolomite mine application: in Pensacola, Florida.
July 1, 2003... A leading, regional mining company in Pensacola, FL, was hired to extract dolomite ore from a privately owned section of land. Dolomite is a carbonate rock formation found all over the world that is widely used in road paving. The open pit mine...

Pipeliners Association of Houston honors Gulfstream Natural Gas System. (Newsline: for the latest industry developments).
July 1, 2003... The Pipeliners Association of Houston held its final meeting for the 2002-2003 year on June 2. Outgoing President Mike Jamison presented Gulfstream Natural Gas System with an award for Pipeline Project of the Year in recognition of its recently...

'Salting' Bill reintroduced. (Washington Watch).
July 1, 2003... Hope apparently springs eternal in the hearts of employer groups who are getting ready to try once again to pass a "anti-salting" bill in Congress. Leading the effort in the 108th Congress is Rep. Jim Demist (R-SC) who is sponsoring The Truth...

Controversy over excess. flow valves. (Washington Watch).
July 1, 2003... Installation of excess flow valves (EFVs) by local distribution companies, an issue which has come back to bedevil local gas companies over the past decade, has reappeared at the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA). The agency...

Abraham ratchets up natural gas concerns. (Washington Watch).
July 1, 2003... With the summer well underway, the Bush administration seems to be taking short-term natural gas problems very seriously, yet continues to express opposition to some of the key incentives needed to get the long-term Alaskan natural gas pipeline...

Subsurface instruments. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... Key features of the LC-12 Professional's PLUS include: amplifier with analogue meter display and filter controls; a sensitive, patented ground microphone and handswitch; a super magnet for steel and iron pipes and hydrants; aviation-grade...

T.D. Williamson. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... The Ioniflam 2 is a hand-held, gas leak detector based on flame ionization technology. Features include high sensitivity, short response time, and a compact light-weight design. With a detection level of 1 p.p.m., the Ioniflam 2 detects the...

Moffatt Enterprises. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... Test each pipe joint as it's laid in less than 30 seconds and tell whether it is going to leak or not, before it's buried, without pressure. An ultrasonic transmitter is used in coordination with an ultrasonic detector. The detector converts...

Mil-Ram Technology. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... The new RS 485/4-20mA smarter Transmitter TA 2100 self-calibration, labor-free transmitter adjusts span monthly based on life curve. It features auto gas calibration in two minutes and is non-intrusive hands-free. An offsite sensor-only...

Lumidor Safety Products. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... Lumidor introduces the UniMAX II pocket sized, microprocessor controlled single gas monitor. The UniMAX II detects and displays gas concentration on a digital display. This compact monitor is designed to read oxygen or a wide range of toxic...

Sierra Monitor Corp. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... The Sentry Commander is a centralized alarm panel that can interface with multiple Sentry hazardous gas risk controllers providing central alarm. The Sentry Commander is a central processor providing consolidated alarm information, easy zone...

Fisher Research Laboratory. (Equipment spotlight: gas and water leak detection).
July 1, 2003... The XLT-30 acoustical leak detector combines high performance acoustic sensors with advanced electronic signal processing and an easy to use control panel with LCD and keypad that enables the user to locate and repair leaks faster and easier....

ITT Flygt. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... A small portable 1.4 horsepower pump ideal for dewatering ditches, manholes, small construction sites, small ponds and basement has been introduced by ITT Corp., Trumbull, CT. Designated as model Ready 12, the pump, weighing only 25 pounds and...

Thompson pump. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... Contractors who are involved in deep excavation and open pumping will find a very effective and efficient pump in Thompson's wet prime open trash sewage TS series. It is designed for remote operation and with the large pump housing, volute and...

Pumpex. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... Pumpex offers a durable, lightweight, portable manhole dewatering pump, the Pumpex SP series, that is designed to solve demanding conditions within confined space restrictions. The Pumpex SP handles dewatering and drainage of manholes up to 65...

Baker Pumps. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... Baker Pumps' complete line of Eco-Prime (environmentally friendly) Pumps range in sizes from 3 inches to 12 inches and have flows over 6,000 gallons per minute. Eco-Prime is unique, when compared to traditional dry-prime pumps, in that the...

Godwin pumps. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... The Godwin Dri-Prime is an automatic self-priming centrifugal pumpset available in sizes from 2 to 16 inches. It has been proven in many types of bypass pumping applications, for general dewatering and other other uses. With maximum flows up to...

Myers-Seth Pump. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... Myers-Seth Pump is introducing its 4-inch double diaphragm pump. The pump is a trailer-mounted dry prime diaphragm trash pump operating at 300 gpm with a 28-foot suction lift and solids handling of three inch and up. The unit is powered by a...

Multiquip. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... Multiquip centrifugal pumps are designed to handle all types of clear water applications and have a maximum capacity of up to 30,000 gallons per hour. They are offered in sizes ranging from 1 55 to 6 inches. Robin and Honda OHV gasoline engines...

STOW. (Equipment spotlight: pumps and dewatering equipment).
July 1, 2003... STOW's centrifugal pumps are designed for clear water applications and are ideal for a wide range of construction, municipal, agricultural and residential applications, such as dewatering basements and swimming pools. The CP-20H and CP-30H...

New erosion regs impact utility projects: Phase II storm water runoff regulations affect smaller areas, populations.
July 1, 2003... Protecting the nation's water supply is a long-standing priority and is addressed at many levels by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly called the Clean Water Act. The Environmental Protection Agency cities storm water runoff...

Canadian contractors await Northern Pipeline Projects. (Convention Review).
July 1, 2003... Canadian pipeliners continued to endure slow times, but with the Mackenzie Valley Project on the distant horizon, long term prospects look bright. That was the perspective presented to the more than 240 attendees at the 2003 Pipe Line...

Scottsdale, AZ, site of next Municipal Trenchless Workshop. (UCT Seminar Series).
July 1, 2003... The popular UCT Seminar Series' next Municipal Trenchless Sewer & Water Workshop is scheduled for Scottsdale, AZ, on Sept. 9-10. It will be held at the Marriott Mountain Shadows Resort. Local involvement for the workshop is growing....

Vacuum excavators: choosing air or water.
July 1, 2003... A "new" digging machine has made a place for itself in a growing number of equipment fleets dedicated to underground utility construction and maintenance. The portable vacuum excavator is a two-in-one Package: a versatile "soft" excavation...

Applications for vacuum excavators continues to grow. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Recently, DRM Utilities and Taylor Electrical Contractors of Tuscaloosa, AL, were stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. During the final phase of a street revitalization project, an engineering oversight forced an unplanned change...

Vacmasters. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The Vacmasters System 4000 offers utilities and utility contractors the ability to pothole using supersonic air in any kind of soil, no matter how hard, wet, sun baked or compact--even ground frost. The System 4000 is installed on a 25,950 GVW...

Super products. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Mud Dog is a high performance vacuum machine for the serious hydro excavator. Mud Dog has the ability to excavate at distances up to 1,000-feet horizontally or 300-feet vertically, to allow you to tackle virtually any job. Plus, with its...

VAC-TRON. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... VAC-TRON's unique PMD Series vacuum excavation products have more than 50 wet and dry uses. Remove drilling mud, prevent frac outs and install utilities. VAC-TRON has more than 40 trailer- or skid-mounted models ranging in size from 200 to...

GapVax. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The HydroVax units from GapVax with 5,300 cfm and 28-inch Hg will easily handle most excavating jobs. The 3,000-psi, 40-gpm water system offers the most power for the biggest projects. The six-cyclone filtrations system will provide vacuum pump...

VacStar. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The VacStar line of vacuum excavation equipment is designed to locate underground utilities safely and quickly, as well as clean culverts, treatment plants, meter boxes, etc. The VacStar is designed for an operator to have curbside operations,...

Utiliscope. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The patented Utilivac VE-75 vacuum excavator provides big rig capabilities at a fraction of the cost. The basic system includes Utiliscope's unique air lance, making the VE-75 the world's most portable dry-type vacuum excavator. Although the...

Tornado advanced systems. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Tornado hydro-excavation equipment boasts a powerful and reliable mack chassis. The 12.5 cubic yard debris tank means contractors can dig longer without dumping. It also comes with a 1,650 gallon water tank, 27-foot extendable boom and a...

Vermeer. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Vermeer has answered the industry's need for high-powered vacuum systems that can quickly help clean up the drilling mud that accumulates around the entrance pit of an HDD site as well as perform the critical task of potholing or exposing...

Ditch Witch. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The Ditch Witch FX60 Vacuum Excavation System combines enhanced "soft" excavation capabilities and increased vacuum power in a compact, trailer- or skid-mounted unit. It is the quietest vacuum excavator in its class. For excavating, soils are...

Vactor. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... The Vactor HXX Hydro-Excavator is designed for safe, productive excavation, and was devised in conjunction with excavation contractors. Features include a dual stage 8,000 ft3/min fan, 12 yd3 debris tank, 1,300 gallon single-cell stainless...

Pacific Tek. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Pacific Tek offers a compact vacuum excavator for truck or trailer mounting. The new model PVW-220 offers big capability in a small package. Only 8-feet long, it can fit in a full-size pickup bed or on a trailer as shown here. Features include:...

Vacuum source. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Vacuum Source has introduced a new, smaller vaXcavator unit, bringing their total number of models to 32. The new VT250D/G Vacuum Excavator includes a 500 cfm positive displacement vacuum blower with 250 gallon collection tank. Powered by a...

Ring-O-Matic Mfg. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... Ring-O-Matic's Super Jet Vac hydro-vacuum excavation systems are self-contained, trailer or skid-mounted units that provides a nondestructive, practical solution for exposing underground utilities. Standard features include: 275, 550, 750, and...

AmeriVac. (Vacuum excavators: air/hydro).
July 1, 2003... AmeriVac Group announces the MAX VAX 700. This mid sized, PD blower, truck mounted, hydro vacuum excavator, takes on the larger, heavy weight trucks, while priced in line with its size. Some of the revolutionary features include: debris blow...

Modern leasing programs offer varied advantages. (Rental/Leasing).
July 1, 2003... Today it seems that everything businesses use is leased. For years, many organizations have preferred to lease, rather than own, cars and trucks, but now it isn't unusual to find firms who literally lease everything required to conduct...

The Charles Machine Works named "Vendor of the Year". (Rental Update).
July 1, 2003... HSS RentX has named The Charles Machine Works "Vendor of the Year" at the 47th Annual American Rental Association Convention and Rental Trade Show in Anaheim, CA. The company manufactures Ditch Witch trenchers, widely used in the rental market...

Volvo Rents opens branches, signs franchises. (Rental Update).
July 1, 2003... Volvo Rents announced it had opened new rental centers in California, Louisiana and Florida, as well as new franchises in Arkansas and Minnesota. Sedquoyah Management opened a Volvo Rents center in Bakersfield, CA, and Sparks Equipment...

Sunbelt resumes expansion. (Rental Update).
July 1, 2003... Sunbelt Rentals recently opened a pump and power services store in Wake Forest, NC, concentrating on rental power, fluid-handling, compressed air and trench-shoring services. Sunbelt's power-generation equipment ranges from 20kW to 1500...

Mears/HDD, Tom Allen Construction combine forces. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Scot Fluharty, president of Mears/HDD, LLC and Tom Allen Construction Co., announced the combination of the respective companies' horizontal directional drilling operations under one entity--Mears/HDD, LLC. The new organizational structure has...

TBE Group. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Consulting, design and engineering firm TBE Group has appointed Robert Peter (Pete) Stasis, P.E., as Utilities Business Unit Manager. A corporate director, Stasis will oversee all of the utility division's Clearwater office, which covers the...

Robbins names auger boring manager. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... The Robbins Company of Solon, OH, has named John Reynolds as General Manager for their new product of auger boring systems. His responsibilities include the continued development of a full line of auger boring equipment development, sales and...

The Charles Machine Works. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin presented the prestigious 2003 Governor's Award for Excellence in Exporting to Ed Malzahn, company founder, president and CEO, on May 14 during the 20th annual Oklahoma World Trade Conference at the Clarion...

HOLT CAT. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... San Antonio, TX-based HOLT CAT; one. of the largest Caterpillar dealers in North America, was named '2002 Dealer of the Year' by Fortune 500 company, Pieter Kiewit Sons' Inc. HOLT CAT was selected from more than 450 manufacturers and dealers...

Enwave & Aecon. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Enwave District Energy Limited and Aecon Group's Utilities division have entered into an agreement whereby Aecon would provide utility construction services to support Enwave's heating and cooling services in Toronto. Under the terms of...

Sauereisen. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Sauereisen has appointed Ron Zmich as the company's new sales manager, assuming the leadership of the corporate sales force. His responsibilities include executing new marketing strategies to broaden the company's base of sales for corrosion...

CONTECH. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... William H. Cordes has been appointed senior vice president and general counsel of CONTECH Construction Products Inc. Cordes joins CONTECH from the law firm of Thompson Hine LLP where he was a partner in the firm's corporate transactions and...

RMS Welding Systems. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... Joe Hall has accepted the position of vice president of Sales and Marketing for RMS Welding Systems, a division of O.J. Pipelines Canada. Hall will focus on marketing RMS Welding Systems' proprietary technology, support services and specialized...

Volvo. (Business: general industry reports).
July 1, 2003... The first Volvo excavator built in the new Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) factory in China left the production line recently and was delivered to the customer, ZheJiang YuZhong Construction Group, a company involved in the new Formula...

Storm 500 answers hard rock questions. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Halco Directional Drilling Products Ltd. is helping directional drill manufacturers answer the tough question of what they do when they need to drill in hard rock with their innovative, air-driven Storm 500 drilling system. The system is...

Pumpex. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Pumpex models K103 and K153 wastewater pumps are trouble-free for diverting and rerouting high volume or intermittent volume flow to bypass deteriorating sewer lines, coffer dams, streams and creeks without interrupting surface transportation...

TT Technologies. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The compact Grundodrill 4X is specifically designed for residential service and "last mile" operations. The Grundodrill 4X offers 9,200 pounds of thrust and pullback. The drill features a dual-hydrostatic pump system that gives the operator...

McLaughlin Mfg. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Pinpoint ground faults of buried electric, CATV and telecommunication cables and trace and identify cable depth with the Verifier Vision Fault Finder. The adjustable 3-watt transmitter, protected for up to 250 volts of live power, features a...

Trencor. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The 1260HDE chain trencher is one of Trencor's most popular models. It has a 425-horsepower Caterpillar engine with a patented mechanical powertrain. The design contains a torque converter, power-shift transmission and a dual-chain reduction...

Weiler. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Tiger Discs for stainless steel grinding are made with a specially formulated coated abrasive cloth that is designed to provide maximum performance in stainless steel applications. This material will work with lighter applied pressure, which...

Kiefer Industrial. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Kiefer Bulk-Industrial manufactures a line of tilt flatbeds that offer a 24-inch bed, which tilts to a 12-degree load angle for safe and gentle loading. A maintenance-free hydraulic dampening system produces a soft and steady tilt action....

ASV. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... ASV released the RC-100, the first rubber-tracked loader to combine high flow, high speed, high lift and high horsepower in one machine. The All-Surface Loader also features advanced rubber tracked undercarriage, which equates to the most...

New Mapping Display For Locators From SeekTech. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The SeekTech S6 Locator boasts unique antenna arrays (patent pending) for mapping display. Energized lines are viewed on the screen and the direction of the line can be followed as it changes. The practice of "swinging"the locator is no longer...

Vermeer's D200xD300 navigator meets large drilling needs. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Meeting the needs of large drilling contractors for increased flexibility service-ability and mobilization, Vermeer Manufacturing introduces the D200x300 Navigator horizontal directional drill (HDD).This new HDD features an exclusive attached...

Almetek Industries. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... Almetek Industries has launched a three-color TRIDENT line of safety signs guaranteed to last for 30 years. Specially designed to help lower maintenance cost, these signs will not rust, fade, crack or peel. These 3-D engraved signs, made of...

Allied's Hammer meets contractor demands. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The Allied Model 95 AR Series hammer is built to meet the growing demands of the rental market and to offer an alternative hydraulic hammer to contractors. The Model 95 AR Series hammer offers reliable performance, minimum maintenance and an...

John Deere construction & forestry. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... John Deere's newest crawler dozer, the 26-metric-ton 950C's ease of operation and precise maneuverability are the direct result of its full-featured hydrostatic drive train. With an infinitely variable range from 0 to 6.8 mph, the operator can...

Kerotest Mfg. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The new polyethylene ball valve product line, Polyball, from Kerotest Manufacturing includes a complete size range from 1/2 to 12 inches and both the full port and standard port are available in medium and high density polyethylene. The...

Minus One. (New products: the latest products).
July 1, 2003... The Minus-One Trench Shield reduces trench width by six inches. Trench shields are a form of protection for underground construction, required by OSHA. They are designed to protect workers in the event of a trench cave-in. Conventional shields...

Calendar. (Important Upcoming Industry Events).
July 1, 2003... 2003 July 23-27, Distribution Contractors Association, 15th Annual Mid-Year Meeting, Carmel Valley Rattan Carmel, CA, Contact: DCA, PH: (972) 680-0261 July 28-31, StormCon Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, TX, Contact: Steve Di...

Dinosaurs, fly fishing & sewer rehab in Vernal, UT.
July 1, 2003... If you do any digging around Vernal, UT, you may turn up a dinosaur bone or two. This area of northeast Utah is popular with paleontologists who come here for archeological excavations. Vernal also attracts thousands of tourists who come to...

New contract, advisors at Underground Solutions. (News Update).
July 1, 2003... The George W. Kennedy Construction Co. has submitted the apparent low proposal to rehabilitate a section of water line using Underground Solutions' Duraliner System for the Village of Oak Park, IL. George W. Kennedy Construction is a...

Lametti & Sons completes sewer rehab project in Bismark, ND. (News Update).
July 1, 2003... Lametti & Sons, a licensee of Inliner Technologies, completed renewal of 7,649 feet of aging vitrified clay sewer pipe for the city of Bismark, ND. The project, valued at $323,000, entailed the installation of Inliner's cured-in-place pipe...

V&A Consulting Engineers sign as corrosion consultants. (News Update).
July 1, 2003... The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has retained Oakland-based V&A Consulting Engineers, corrosion and infrastructure protection specialists, as a prime consultant to provide corrosion protection services for the city's water supply...

Ball joins Vector Corrosion Technologies. (News Update).
July 1, 2003... Vector Corrosion Technologies, a supplier of products and services for corrosion mitigation in concrete structures, has announced a new addition to its sales and marketing staff. J. Christopher Ball has rejoined Vector Corrosion Technologies as...

American Logiball. (Spot Repair).
July 1, 2003... American Logiball's Sleeve Installers are ideal for point repair systems; whether it consists of installing cured-in-place (ambient, hot water or steam mechanical sleeves. Sleeve Installers cure) or locking are available up to 50 feet long for...

Infrastructure Repair Systems. (Spot Repair).
July 1, 2003... Infrastructure Repair Systems uses a patented point repair system on thousands of installations throughout North America. The system is a permanent, cost effective solution--from the comprehensive training to product quality control, the...