trenchless people
THOMPSON, CONNECTICUT USA, October 4, 2017:
Numa, the world’s leading drilling technology provider, is proud to announce the promotion of industry veteran Neal Kuszewski to Vice President of Sales. Neal’s new responsibilities include strategic management of Numa’s sales programs and initiatives, as well as day-to-day sales operations in the United States and International markets.
Throughout his career, Neal has played an integral role in positioning Numa as a key global competitor in a highly challenging and dynamic industry. He leads a team of eight regional managers who have successfully increased the company’s penetration and influence in eleven different industries covering over 100 countries. He also assumes a lead role assembling and growing a network of distributors.
“In his previous position as Sales Manager, Neal exhibited the personal dedication and business leadership skills necessary for his new role,” said Ralph Leonard, President of Numa. “As VP of Sales, Neal will ensure that Numa continues to work closely with prospects and customers to design the right solutions to demanding drilling applications, provide an exceptional level of customer service and deliver timely technical support.”
Neal has accrued over three decades of service with Numa, advancing from an initial role as a CNC Machine Operator through multiple promotions. Prior to his current role, Neal has held positions as the Global Sales Manager, Domestic Sales Manager, Product Engineering Technician, multiple supervisory roles in production, and as a Field Technician, providing him with a breadth and depth of knowledge in company products and operations that is unparalleled.
ABOUT NUMA
Numa provides the world’s leading drilling technology with over 110 DTH Hammer and Bit products serving 11 different industries. Our products are designed to drill vertical, horizontal, and reverse circulation holes from 3½ to 48 inches (89 – 1219 mm) in diameter in hard rock, overburden, or loose strata formations. Having customers in 105+ countries, we have built our customer-centric reputation on providing the highest value in products, performance, and personal service available in the rock drilling industry.
Industry News, trenchless projects
SANTA CRUZ ACCOMPLISHES EMERGENCY HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILL FOR
LOMBARDI GULCH CROSSING
HDD provides a rapid and reliable way to replace aging steel pipeline
Overview
The City of Santa Cruz Water Department (SCWD) has long anticipated the need to assess, design and build a new pipeline system as part of the existing North Coast System (NCS) which delivers raw water to their water treatment plant. The existing NCS is a series of stream diversion structures and collection
conduits and includes approximately 16 miles of pipelines that are nearing, or have exceeded, their design life and must be replaced. The replacement pipeline is a series of phased projects and will provide a water delivery system that will be reliable for the next fifty years or more.
Phase 3 of the overall initiative included the replacement of 18,600 feet of primarily 24-inch diameter pipe using open cut methodology. Additionally, five trenchless crossings, one horizontal directional drill (HDD) crossing under sensitive environmental habitats and four horizontal auger bores crossing under California Department of Transportation and railroad right-of-ways were included in Phase 3.
In 2015, this phase of the NCS project had been designed but had not gone out to bid when a failure of a 1,200-foot critical section of the existing steel pipeline at the Lombardi Creek Crossing location prompted SCWD to schedule that section for immediate replacement. Site conditions at this location required replacing the pipeline using HDD installation methodology. Its location within the Wilder Ranch State Park elevated environmental concerns because the park has strong biological, scenic, cultural and recreational values.
The replacement of the Lombardi Creek crossing began in late 2015 after selecting the HDD Company from Granite Bay, California to be the contractor. The actual drill alignment length was approximately 1,300 feet with an elevation change of approximately 60 feet. Entry and exit angles were approximately 10 degrees. The final alignment was 25 feet below the bottom of the creek. 24-inch DR 18 Fusible PVC®
pipe was selected as the replacement pipe. Overall, the drill alignment and bore preparation took four weeks. While the bore hole was being drilled and reamed, the Fusible PVC® pipe was fused by Underground Solutions. Once the bore hole was prepared, the Fusible PVC® pipe was pulled into place,
a process that took approximately 8 hours. The replacement project took two months from mobilization to pressure test and the replacement pipe was placed into service after completion. This new segment will be tied into the new NCS Phase 3 pipeline when it is complete.
Project Manager Kevin Crossly stated, “The Lombardi Gulch HDD Undercrossing is the largest and longest installation of Fusible PVC® pipe to date for the City of Santa Cruz. The City was very pleased during all phases of the project with Underground Solutions which provided technical support solutions during design of the project. When the City experienced the 0.5 MGD leak and fast tracked the construction phase, Underground Solutions was responsive to the project requirements to secure, fabricate, deliver and fuse the 1,300 LF of pipe that was ultimately installed on a very aggressive schedule of approximately eight weeks. Fusible PVC® pipe is a great product that Underground Solutions will support and stand behind. We will definitely consider using Fusible PVC® pipe on future projects.”
Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless products
Vac-Tron Equipment is excited to introduce Empire CAT as their new Arizona dealer. Vac-Tron partnered with Empire because they share the same common core values and beliefs. “This was a perfect fit and we are honored to have Empire CAT representing our product line.” Brian Showley, VP Vac-Tron Equipment.
“We wanted to partner with a company that shared similar strategies within the markets we serve. Vac-Tron is an industry leader in vacuum excavation and their equipment lends itself to the same clientele that we serve with our excavation lines from Caterpillar. Empire CAT is always looking for ways to offer our customers safer and more efficient products and our partnership with Vac-Tron brings a new level of safety to the jobsite.” Michael Rodoni, Rental Manager for Empire CAT
Empire Southwest, LLC is a third-generation family-owned Caterpillar dealership. Founded in 1950 by Jack Whiteman, Empire sells, rents, and services heavy equipment, tractors, and power generation equipment to contractors throughout Arizona.
Empire is:
- Committed to meeting the needs and supporting the success of clients throughout the mining, agriculture, and construction industries.
- Proud of our business culture, which was built on the Corporate Values of Safety, Respect, Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence, Stewardship, and Astonishment.
- Dedicated to the success of our clients and the communities we serve.
- Committed to building and maintaining solid business partnerships.
For more information on Empire CAT, please visit www.empire-cat.com.
For more information on Vac-Tron Equipment or to schedule a FREE demo, please visit www.vactron.com or call 1-888-VAC-TRON.
Industry News, trenchless products, trenchless projects
First of Two Mixed Ground Machines will begin boring this autumn
Singapore industrial photographer service
The first of two Slurry TBMs, a rebuilt 6.65 m (21.8 ft) diameter machine, passed its factory acceptance on September 4, 2017 in Singapore. The machine, fitted with a Robbins cutterhead and outer shields, is destined for the Mumbai Metro Line 3 under contract UGC03 for the Dogus-Soma JV (DSJV), and will begin excavation in late 2017. The factory acceptance for a second 6.65 m (21.8 ft) diameter Slurry TBM will be conducted by the end of 2017.
The on-time delivery of the first machine is just the beginning of partnership that will span years. “There are few companies in the international arena that are as professional as Robbins. Robbins has been very helpful to DSJV since the inception of the project and will be our partners until the end of the contract. Robbins’ presence in India including field service crews will be a great help for us in future,” said Mr. DV Raju, Senior Vice President for SOMA.
Singapore industrial photographer service
The two machines will excavate parallel 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long tunnels between Mumbai Central and Worli station sites, passing through three intermediate cut and cover stations on the way. Ground conditions consist of fresh to weathered basalt and breccia up to 100 MPa UCS with water pressures up to 3 bar.
The JV selected Slurry machines for their contract due to the challenging ground conditions expected. “I have worked with Slurry TBMs on similar geology globally. Slurry TBMs have real power and will suit the hard rock geology of our Mumbai Metro contract 3. The water table and variable geology, especially basalt of higher hardness, can be easily tackled by Slurry TBMs,” said Mr. Tamay Sayin, Project Manager for DSJV. The cutterheads of the machines are fitted with wear protection, wear detection bits, and Robbins 17-inch disc cutters for the conditions. Grizzly bars will limit the size of boulders that can enter the cutterhead to 250 mm (9.8 in). The slurry systems includes rock crushers as well as abrasion-resistant plating in high-wear areas.
Singapore industrial photographer service
The two TBMs are the first of a total of four machines being provided by Robbins for the Mumbai Metro Line 3. Another two 6.65 m (21.8 ft) diameter Crossover XRE machines will bore parallel 2.8 km (1.7 mi) tunnels on a separate contract in 2018. “Mumbai Metro is one of the most prestigious metro works in the country, and Robbins’ involvement in providing suitable machines and associated services is an honor,” said Kapil Bhati, Managing Director for Robbins India.
The 33.5 km (20.8 mi) long Line 3 of Mumbai Metro being constructed by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will consist of 26 underground stations and one at-grade station that will reduce heavy traffic and rail congestion between Bandra and Churchgate areas of the city. A total of 17 TBMs are being procured to bore various sections of the tunnels, which will be excavated at average depths of 15 to 25 m below the city. The entire line is expected to be operational by 2021.
Image 1: Officials from Robbins, owner MMRC, contractor Dogus-Soma JV, and consultant Maple celebrate the successful factory acceptance testing of a Slurry TBM bound for the Mumbai Metro on September 4, 2017.
Image 2: (From left to right) Mr. DV Raju, Senior Vice President-SOMA, Mr. Kapil Bhati, Managing Director-Robbins India, and Mr. Tamay Sayin, Project Manager-DSJV mark the occasion of the first Robbins TBM to be sent to India’s Mumbai Metro Line 3 project.
Image 3: The Slurry machine is the first of four Robbins TBMs that will be supplied to Mumbai Metro, including two Crossover XRE machines to be supplied to another contract in 2018.
Industry News, trenchless products
Vac-Tron Equipment hosted a Red Carpet event to celebrate their 6,000th unit being built, along with their Low Profile trailer mounted industrial vacuum unit debuting in Logan Lucky, a new hit comedy. The event was held in the Villages, FL where Vac-Tron hosted the screening and was a chance for its employees and their families to celebrate this monumental event. Also in attendance was Vac-Tron’s customer Echo Utility Engineering and Surveying, who recently purchased the 6,000th unit, along with Vac-Tron’s dealer, Vermeer Southeast.
‘Lucky’ doesn’t begin to describe the amazing product placement that Vac-Tron received on the big screen. The movie showed the true power of the Vac-Tron units as actors Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, and Adam Driver used the unit to suck money out of an underground vault and into the vacuum unit for the big heist.
The Vac-Tron unit made its ‘star’ appearance within a few minutes of the movie starting. It was a surreal experience to see the Vac-Tron unit live and in action with the loud cheers from the crowd. The movie showcased the unit at least 10 times with extended periods during each shot and the crowd’s enthusiasm increased every time. This was a humbling experience for the employees of Vac-Tron to see a unit that they built in the little city of Okahumpka, FL make it to the big screen. Vac-Tron units have been built in Central Florida for over 20 years and shipped all around the world.
A reporter with The Daily Sun interviewed Vac-Tron’s Founder Don Buckner and President Tim Fischer. “We never thought that we’d make it on the big screen and we are excited for all of our employees. We have a great team and to be able to celebrate this event and our 6,000th unit is a true honor”, said Fischer.
“I started Vac-Tron in my two-car garage more than 20 years ago. We started with nothing and built it to the organization it is today,” said Buckner. “It’s just surreal to me to imagine that we had this kind of success with our equipment.”
It’s no wonder the director decided to use a Vac-Tron unit when looking for a versatile way to safely dig and suck material up quickly for a project, even if it was just for a movie. While Vac-Tron does not list “robbing a NASCAR race”, as an application for its product, there are many highly efficient applications for a Vac-Tron unit, i.e. locating utilities, potholing, directional drilling, controlled excavation, industrial cleanup and many more.
Vac-Tron Equipment is the industry’s innovative leader and one of the world’s largest producers of industrial vacuum equipment and vacuum excavation equipment. Vac-Tron Equipment, which has more than 30 industrial vacuum products and more than 50 wet and dry uses, has 115 dealer locations in North America.
Contact vactron.com for a demo in your area.
THOMPSON, CONNECTICUT USA, October 4, 2017:
