Blog, Industry News, trenchless people
Tri-State Utilities enters their 30th year of operation in 2020. As they look forward to new leadership and direction, they are excited to announce the following promotions and present their management staff.
Tri-State Utilities is pleased to announce that Jonathan Thomas, PE has been promoted to Vice-President / General Manager and will lead them into the new decade. With 10 years of project management experience at Tri-State Utilities, Jonathan will be overseeing the Chesapeake, Virginia and the Winston-Salem, NC offices. The addition of Jonathan to the Senior Management team will position the company for continued growth in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Ron Parsons has been promoted to Vice-President of Operations. With 15 years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, Ron will now lead field operations to bring a continued expertise in Cleaning & CCTV services and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) Lining. Ron started his career as a Vactor operator and has held positions as a CIPP cutter operator, CIPP Foreman and Superintendent. Ron has invaluable experience cleaning and lining pipe of all sizes and possesses great personnel management skills.
Craig Welsh will now lead the Estimating Department in addition to his role as a Project Manager. With 16 years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, Craig will oversee an estimating department that will focus on Cleaning & CCTV services, CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) Lining, and traditional open-cut storm, sewer, and water line services. Craig’s experience with site work as well as rehabilitation methods provides him with a unique skill set for providing accurate estimates for Tri-State to build.
John Saintsing is the Business Development Manager for Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. With seven years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, John will continue to explore new, better and innovative methods for CCTV services and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) technologies. John’s responsibilities will include attendance to industry conferences, building key customer relationships, and developing new services and products in Infrastructure Rehabilitation.
Sean Merryman was hired last year as the Business Development and Project Manager for the southwest North Carolina region and South Carolina. Sean will maintain a heavy presence in the area while establishing a new lining crew and Clean & TV crew to service this growing region. Tri-State Utilities is very excited about the experience Sean brings with him from his previous employer and the opportunity to service municipalities and engineers who have historically been outside of our footprint.
Connor Mathis is a Project Manager with eight years of experience at Tri-State Utilities. Connor will manage projects throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina while focusing most of his time on the Construction Services contracts for the Cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. These services include: Cleaning and CCTV, CIPP Sectional Liners, Rausch Repair Sleeves, and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) for Storm and Sanitary Pipe Rehabilitation. Connor is also certified in land disturbance and manages all heavy excavation work, road repairs and off-road ditch maintenance.
James Farris is a Project Manager with a total of six years of experience in utility construction and the last four years with Tri-State Utilities. He has gained valuable experience on Consent Order driven inspection and rehabilitation of storm and sanitary sewer systems. Before coming to work at Tri-State Utilities, James spent four years with Real Estate Improvement, a Virginia Beach based Class A construction company. Prior to that, James was with Norfolk Southern Railway for eight years focusing his efforts primarily on customer service, purchasing, and sales.
Rick Sharp is the newest member and Project Manager of the Tri-State Utilities’ team. Rick brings with him over 15 years of project management experience from residential and commercial construction as well as land development. Rick will be managing projects throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Andy McSweeney will continue to lead Tri-State Utilities as Vice-President of Project Management with a focus on Estimating and Business Development as they grow their footprint deeper into North and South Carolina.
Joe McSweeney, after 27 years of service with Tri-State Utilities, has decided to retire. A career that included responsibilities of a CCTV Operator, CIPP Foreman and Superintendent, and Vice-President of Operations. A career full of accomplishments and a future full of possibilities. Tri-State Utilities wishes Joe much more success in his future endeavors.
The management team of Tri-State Utilities is can all be reached at (757) 366-9505. Visit their website for more information on the company.
Industry News, trenchless people
Mr. Denis Pellerin’s role will be to develop CCI’s Engineering and EPC capabilities outside the North American market. He will be based out of Paris, France. Denis Pellerin is a Civil Engineer from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (1983) and has received his MBA from INSEAD (1990). He has 35 years of experience in the trenchless crossings industry.
In 1985, he joined the start-up company, HDI, as a field engineer. HDI became one of the world’s foremost HDD contractors, introducing Horizontal Directional Drilling into Europe, Australia and several countries in Africa, South East Asia and South America. During those pioneering years, Denis and his HDI colleagues introduced new HDD techniques, such as buoyancy control systems for large diameter pipelines, entry casings for pilot holes and gravel shield reamers.
After serving as Site Engineer, Project Manager, Operations Manager and Commercial Manager, Denis was appointed Managing Director of HDI SA in 1991. Throughout his career, Denis has implemented Horizontal Directional Drilling, Direct Pipe®, Microtunneling, Pipe Ramming and Auger Drilling
technologies, sometimes combining technics in order to gain optimal efficiency.
His career with HDI has taken him on more than 2200 trenchless crossings projects, spanning more than 40 different countries worldwide, all safely concluded. Together with HDI, Denis received several industry recognitions, in Australia (1987), USA (1999), Europe (2011) and France (2012, 2015 and 2018), for innovative HDD projects onshore, as well as marine based. He was a founding member and the first treasurer of the professional organization DCA Europe in 1994 and served as its Vice-President from 2008 to 2016.
The CCI Group of Companies are pleased to have Denis join their team.
Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless products, trenchless projects
In the trenchless excavation, horizontal directional drilling, and underground manufacturing industries, one family stands out as leaders in this close-knit community: The Barberas. Family Patriarch, James S. Barbera founded Barbco, Incorporated, a world class capital equipment manufacturer in these industries. In fact, his status is so renown and legendary, that in April, he will be posthumously inducted as a member of the Class of 2020 into the North America Society for Trenchless Technology’s Hall of Fame, joining a very elite and highly esteemed society of industry ground breakers. James S. Barbera has passed the torch onto his three sons, Anthony, David, and James A., who now own the family business, Barbco. The Barbera clan continues to drive the industry forward and now have brought the third generation of the family into this exciting field.
On January 2nd, grandsons Drake Barbera (son of Anthony) and James V. Barbera (son of James A.) along with co-owner Clay Gillian successfully completed their very first horizontal bore with their new company AccuLine Underground at an urban work site in Metuchen, New Jersey. AccuLine partnered with project General Contractor J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. to complete a 250 foot long crossing that was at a depth of 20 feet under the length of a busy city road skillfully avoiding numerous very critical city main utilities. To say that this 3,000 man hour project was challenging is a complete understatement.
The AccuLine team’s years of experience and deep knowledge of the industry was readily apparent before the first shovelful of dirt was removed from the job site. In his initial meeting with the job owners, Drake made a strong and convincing counter-proposal to the microtunneling option with his recommended approach using a conventional auger boring machine pushing a BMTA (boring machine tunnel attachment). Drake’s proposal proved to the winning combination, securing AccuLine this very prestigious and highly visible contract.
The crew faced numerous job site challenges ranging from old and forgotten infrastructure to rocky and sandy soils. Their expertise allowed them to make on site equipment modifications and adjustments coupled with some new to the field innovations to keep the job on line and on grade, dramatically saving the job owners both time and money. This highly successful initial foray into the Barbera family business as proven that the third generation of Barberas and their company, AccuLine Underground is a force to be reckoned with! Grandfather Barbera must be very proudly watching over his progeny!
Industry News, trenchless products, trenchless projects
Adaptable machine will begin bore at 11.6 m then size down to 9.9 m
In December 2019, the City of Dallas, Texas, USA unveiled the largest hard rock TBM ever to bore in the U.S. The 11.6 m (38.1 ft) diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM will excavate the 8 km (5 mi) Mill Creek Drainage Relief tunnel, and its size is not its only distinction. The adaptable machine will change size partway through the bore, to a more compact 9.9 m (32.5 ft).
The unique Robbins TBM will be used to dig a tunnel designed to provide 100-year flood protection for east and southeast Dallas, areas affected in recent years by severe storms. The tunnel will protect 2,200 commercial and residential properties, including Baylor Medical Center. The current drainage system in these areas was constructed 50 to 70 years ago, and only provides two to five years of flood protection. “The completion of the TBM assembly marks a major milestone in the Mill Creek Tunnel Project,” said Council Member Lee Kleinman, chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for the City of Dallas. “I’m thrilled to see this type of engineering marvel happening right here in Dallas.”
The dual-diameter aspect of the Robbins TBM will be a first-of-its-kind conversion process. The contractor, Southland/Mole Joint Venture (SMJV), will make the conversion underground about 2.8 km (1.8 mi) into the bore. The two diameters are needed as the upstream section of the tunnel is designed with a circular cross section and peak flow rate of 42 m3/sec (15,000 ft3/sec), while the downstream 2.8 km (1.8 mi) portion has a higher peak flow of 565 m3/sec (20,000 ft3/sec) and was initially designed as a horseshoe cross section. Using the TBM for the entire tunnel is less time consuming and costly. “Robbins and SMJV are working closely to create the safest and most efficient sequence for completing this conversion within the limits of the bore. The City of Dallas (Owner) and our Project Team are very excited to embark on this unique challenge,” said Nick Jencopale, Project Manager for Southland Holdings.
The Robbins TBM, named “Big Tex” with permission of the State Fair of Texas, has been designed with a specialized cutterhead including removable spacers and adjustable bucket lips to convert to a smaller diameter. The TBM will first complete its 11.6 m (38.1 ft) diameter section of the alignment, then back up about 21 m (75 ft) to a transition area for the conversion, which is expected to take six to eight weeks.
As the TBM bores, it will pass through Austin Chalk between 12 to 30 MPa (1,800 to 4,400 at depths from 31 to 46 m (100 to 150 ft) below the city. The route is potentially gassy, so probe drilling is mandatory throughout the project. Crews will utilize ground support including eight 3.9 m (13 ft) long rock bolts every 1.5m (5 ft) with wire mesh and channel straps as needed. The finished tunnel will be lined with a 380 mm (15 in) thick cast-in-place concrete lining.
“Big Tex will work 24 hours a day to excavate the tunnel with crews ranging in size depending on activities,” said Rachel Sackett, marketing and communications director for Southland Holdings. Based on previous work through similar geology, the project team expects TBM excavation to progress rapidly to an average of 25m (80 ft) per day, allowing the project to be completed on schedule in 2023.
Image 1: The 11.6 m (38.1 ft) Robbins Main Beam TBM is the largest hard rock TBM ever to be used in the U.S.
Image 2: A ceremony was held in December 2019 to mark the impending launch of the unique Robbins TBM, which will undergo a first-of-its-kind diameter conversion approximately 2.8 km (1.8 mi) into the bore.
Image 3: The 8 km (5 mi) Mill Creek Drainage Relief tunnel will provide 100-year flood protection for east and southeast Dallas, areas affected in recent years by severe storms.
Image 4: The adaptable Robbins machine will change size partway through the bore, to a more compact 9.9 m (32.5 ft).
Photos by Shannon Faulk
For more information/questions please contact:
Desiree Willis
Technical Writer
Email: willisd@robbinstbm.com
Direct: 253.872.4490
The Robbins Company
29100 Hall Street
Solon, OH 44139
USA
Industry News, trenchless people
CDM Smith environmental engineer Ajay Shrivastav, P.E., ENV SP, is the winner of Trenchless Technology’s World Trenchless Day (WTD) Sweepstakes.
The WTD Sweepstakes was hosted by Trenchless Technology and was generously sponsored by Akkerman, Applied Felts, Michels Corp., Maxliner, NASTT and Vortex Companies. The Sweepstakes generated more than 400 entries throughout the year, with the drawing held on World Trenchless Day.
Shrivastav’s prize package includes: one free conference registration to the NASTT 2020 No-Dig Show, April 5-9; a ticket to attend the annual No-Dig Show Gala Awards Banquet Dinner on April 7; standard room accommodations at the host hotel for up to four nights and up to $500 for airfare to Denver.
Congratulations Ajay and we’ll see you in Denver!
Want to join him? Register today and save before early discounted registration ends.
Rick Sharp is the newest member and Project Manager of the Tri-State Utilities’ team. Rick brings with him over 15 years of project management experience from residential and commercial construction as well as land development. Rick will be managing projects throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
