Industry News, trenchless people
Brierley Associates celebrates the addition of Mr. Rory Ball to lead their new Cleveland, Ohio office as part of their Midwest expansion strategy. Rory has more than 14 years of domestic and international experience as a Project Leader and Tunnel Engineer.
Mr. Ball earned his BS and MS Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he focused on Geotechnical and Structural Engineering, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with James Scholar Honors. Rory excels at leading office and field teams, identifying and proactively addressing project risks, and delivering world class engineering solutions to public and private clients. His North American and Pacific Rim tunnel experience encompasses subsurface conditions ranging from soft mud to extremely abrasive soil with abundant cobbles and boulders, to glacial till, to a variety of hard rock types. Serving as resident engineer, design lead, and technical reviewer on a diverse portfolio of projects, Rory adeptly identifies solutions to provide cost effective and efficient designs for complex heavy civil and tunneling challenges.
President and CEO, Dr. A.J. McGinn notes: “Adding Rory’s technical skill sets, industry experience and contacts, energy and enthusiasm for the work we do is a huge opportunity for Brierley Associates. We have admired his accomplishments in Cleveland and are now extremely happy and proud to have him as the newest member of the Brierley family.” Rory will lead the Ohio operations, and continue their long history of delivering intrinsic, recognizable value by focusing on constructability, efficiency and practicality to Create Space Underground.
For more information about Brierley, visit their website.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless products, trenchless projects
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Industry News, trenchless people
The National Clay Pipe Institute welcomes Kent Carlson as NCPI’s VP. Kent has been working with NCPI since the first part of July, after a very successful career of more than 30-years with the city of Los Angeles. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Kent started working for the city as a machinist and worked his way up to Sewer Operations Manager.
While at the city of LA, Kent invented a number of tools for cleaning sanitary sewer pipes, including:
- The Hollywood Hustler (reverse three-bladed root saw used on mechanical rodders)
- Sparky or the Rat Rod (a high rpm / low-torque hydro-mechanical can cutter, used to cut protruding laterals and remove mineral deposits)
- Hailey’s Comet (a tail piece nozzle for hydraulic root saws)
- A quick change coupling for mechanical rodding trucks that has reduced operator injuries
That background gives Kent a unique “in the trenches” (pun intended) understanding of the challenges facing municipal sewer professionals. When the city of LA began tracking such things, there were over 1,000 spills per calendar year. Using aggressive cleaning techniques and tools, in 2017, that spill rate was just 70 per year for over 6,700 miles of sanitary sewers.
“I loved my job and the people I worked with at the city,” said Carlson, “but I had a strong team in-place that no longer really required my daily participation. The opportunity to meet more sewer rats like me and work with them on a broader set of challenges was too good to pass up! ”
Find out more about him in this Gizmodo article, see the Municipal Sewer & Water article about his efforts in Los Angeles or visit his YouTube channel to see some of his work.
About NCPI
The National Clay Pipe Institute represents the clay pipe industry to sewer system decision makers. They offer the unique perspective, history and knowledge of the longest-serving and longest-lasting pipe product available.
For more information on NCPI, visit their website here.
Industry News, trenchless people
McLaughlin Group, Inc. and Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC come together as Vermeer MV Solutions.
Pella, Iowa, November 12, 2018 – Vermeer Corporation announced its purchase of Vac-Tron Equipment, LLC, and its plans to bring the Florida-based company together with McLaughlin Group, Inc. which was purchased by Vermeer in 2017. This acquisition and integration of the two companies builds on the Vermeer strategy to provide a comprehensive suite of vacuum excavation technology, equipment, training and support to the growing underground utility and soft dig markets.
Founded in 1997, Vac-Tron has grown to become a respected brand known for innovative, high-quality vacuum excavation products sold and serviced across underground utility markets. Headquartered in Okahumpka, Fla., Vac-Tron offices and production facilities employ more than 100 people. For the last 13 years, Vac-Tron products have been sold almost exclusively through the Vermeer dealer network.
McLaughlin, a drill tooling and vacuum excavation company founded in 1921 and located in Greenville, S.C. with more than 100 team members, brought nearly a century of industry knowledge into the Vermeer fold last year.
“This acquisition allows us to leverage the innovation, market expertise and production capabilities across our McLaughlin, Vac-Tron and Vermeer brands to meet increasing customer demand while giving our dealers a more efficient, single-point connection to a full product lineup. Coming together solidifies the long-term strategy and commitment to support customers and dealers in a unified way,” said Jason Andringa, Vermeer Corporation president and CEO.
Operating under the combined group, Vermeer MV Solutions, the organization will continue to provide Vermeer-branded vacuum excavation equipment and technology through dedicated Vac-Tron and McLaughlin series product lines as well as McLaughlin branded utility accessories and auger boring systems.
Vermeer MV Solutions will operate under one combined leadership and sales team led by General Manager Dave Van Wyk. Leadership at both Vac-Tron and McLaughlin will come together and serve as a unified team, bringing the strengths and best practices together in the areas of innovation, design, manufacturing, sales and customer support. The Florida and South Carolina locations will continue production as they work together to meet the growing demand within the soft dig markets.
“We’ve been proud to have the Vermeer name on our equipment for the past 13 years. Now, we are proud to formally be a part of the Vermeer family. We look forward to investing with McLaughlin and Vermeer to deliver the technology and equipment our customers need as we provide the highest quality product for the customer,” said Tim Fischer, Vac-Tron president.
About Vermeer
Vermeer Corporation delivers a real impact in a progressing world through the manufacture of high-quality underground construction, surface mining, tree care, environmental and agricultural equipment. With a reputation for durability and reliability, that equipment is backed by localized customer service and support provided by independent dealers around the world. To learn more about Vermeer Corporation, visit Vermeer.com. To dig into the Vermeer story, visit Vermeerimpact.com.
Industry News, trenchless people
HydroScience is pleased to announce the opening of their fifth HydroScience office, located in Carlsbad, California, and led by Regional Manager Robert J. (Jud) Warren, PE, BCEE. Jud will be leading their efforts to provide water, wastewater, and recycled water engineering services in Southern California.
Jud has close to 40 years of project delivery experience for clients throughout the Western United States, and most recently in San Diego County. He will be backed by the full resources of their engineers and support staff in the other HydroScience offices. Led by Jud, HydroScience looks forward to implementing their mission of providing the highest quality work for their clients in this new region—the first time and every time.
HydroScience Carlsbad Office
2131 Palomar Airport Rd, Suite 208
Carlsbad, CA 92011
Jud Warren, PE, BCEE
760.815.3219
jwarren@hydroscience.com
Industry News, trenchless people
Offers expert-led, hands-on curriculum in a distraction-free environment
Nov. 6, 2018 – LAKE MILLS, Wisc. – The first class of contractors to graduate from HammerHead University, the world’s most advanced trenchless technique learning center, received manufacturer certification after three days of hands-on, guided instruction Sept. 17. The training facilities and curricula had been officially announced as fully operational at the Lake Mills, Wisconsin, headquarters of HammerHead Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works company, during its annual August sales meeting.
The new two-story, 5,000-square-foot educational facilities provide trenchless method contractors, plumbers, project engineers and utility company and municipal crews both classroom and hands-on application training for every HammerHead product line. Courses are available for the pipe ramming, pipe bursting and pipe slitting methods; lateral and vertical cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) cleaning, preparation and rehabilitation; and pipe and culvert spot repair.
HammerHead University’s first graduates included six Apollo Home employees. Founded in 1910, the Cincinnati-based business provides sales, service and repair of home mechanicals including heating, cooling, ventilation, electrical, plumbing and sewer systems for more than 800,000 customers in its Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana service area.
Services such as drain cleaning, water line replacement and sewer repair are overseen by Apollo Excavation Manager Dustin White, who was one of those returning for a three-day course on HammerHead cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining systems and point repair. White received his initial HammerHead CIPP certification prior to the existence of the facilities. He compared how much the university-like setting improved the learning experience for four Apollo technicians attending with him for their initial certification.
“The controlled environment really makes a difference,” White said. “The mockup creates a better real-life experience. It takes away the anxiety of a ‘game-time’ situation. The pipe was embedded in gravel, but everything was above ground, giving our people who are new to CIPP better visual access to see exactly how it works.”
Jeff Urbanski, HammerHead Training and Technical Services Manager, said a fully controlled learning environment allows students to focus on the fundamentals of the applications without the distraction of specific, site-based complications. Initially grounded in an application’s principles, students are better prepared to anticipate how such jobsite factors will affect an operation, as well as help them to more quickly determine the root cause of any problem that arises.
“This is innovative education. It’s not just reading from a book. We simulate real-life applications, replicating situations that put participants inside a house or a manhole on a street. But taking away the soil, watery ground conditions and confined entries in their first experience with the method results in more consistently repeatable performance over a wide range of worksite conditions.”
A controlled learning environment is also a safer environment to gain practical experience before applying techniques in the field, he said. “Mistakes in a controlled setting result in greater understanding, whereas on an actual job, mistakes can cause expensive downtime due to equipment or property damage.”
For those who already have that grounded understanding, Urbanski said instructors can alter mockups to duplicate a specific site’s set of complications. “Contractors can study in advance the impact of certain variables like cobbled soils and flooded pits before they face them on the job.”
Courses are led by application experts. “Our HammerHead University teaching staff consists of former plumbers, knowledgeable factory and industry equipment specialists and experienced field technicians – all highly trusted advisors,” Urbanski said.
The HammerHead University setting enables courses to be held year-round. “No matter what the weather is outside, 365 days a year, participants can be using Same Path technologies to install, replace or rehab pipe, from gas-line slitting to CIPP applications.”
HammerHead is currently in the process of establishing an “e-learning platform” with continuing education units for its courses. Urbanski said, “In association with our courses, students will be able to go online and for a small fee take a pass-fail course to receive certification that applies specifically to their state or a given municipality if its governed by specific guidance. Certification will be annually renewable.”
Average class sizes in a given application range between two and five people. The University demonstration area accommodates up to 18 participants in as many as eight separate application stations simultaneously. Larger class sizes can be accommodated in the HammerHead University conference room.
To enroll or request information about specialized courses, contact HammerHead Trenchless at (920) 648-4848, or go to https://www.hammerheadtrenchless.com/training.
Photo 1: HammerHead University, the world’s most advanced trenchless technique learning center.
Photos 2-3: Students learn the hands-on curriculum in a distraction-free environment.
Brierley Associates celebrates the addition of Mr. Rory Ball to lead their new Cleveland, Ohio office as part of their Midwest expansion strategy. Rory has more than 14 years of domestic and international experience as a Project Leader and Tunnel Engineer.
