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Investing in learning opportunities to give customers tools to nurture skills: Michels
When horizontal directional drilling (HDD) emerged in the mid-1960s as a new way to install utility lines under immovable or unavoidable obstacles without significant surface disruptions, crossings spanned up to a few hundred feet guided by frequent potholing. That changed in 1971 when a 4-inch gas line was placed under a river in Watsonville, CA, USA, a location where potholing would not be possible.
At about that same time, Michels was growing its utility line construction business in the Midwestern United States. Driven to meet customer needs and offer specialised services, the company expanded its geographic footprint and markets served.
Today, Michels is an international, diversified energy and infrastructure contractor and leading provider of construction services to the energy, transportation, communications, power and utility industries.
In 2021, Michels added Michels Asia Pacific, a permanent trenchless operation in Wangaratta, Victoria, to the Michels Family of companies. Michels Asia Pacific selectively specialises in technically challenging trenchless installations in Australia to allow customers to provide reliable, unobtrusive service in metropolitan and remote areas.
The team consists of Wangaratta-based project management and field staff supported from industry experts at Michels’ headquarters in Brownsville, WI, USA.
Flash back nearly 35 years to 1988 when Michels was one of the first contractors to recognize the potential of the new technology of HDD, a safe, environmentally sound way to install utility lines where traditional open-trench construction would not be practical or feasible.
Intrigued by HDD’s prospect of allowing energy and infrastructure construction in previously unsuitable areas and soil conditions, Michels dedicated personnel and resources to learning about the technique and introducing it to customers.
In keeping with Michels’ spirit of innovation and determination to provide customers with the best solutions, Michels set out to master the art and science of HDD. As the operations team completed HDD projects for energy customers, Michels in-house design and fabrication team got to work developing its own equipment to provide more opportunities than commercially available products at the time.
In 1996, Michels designed and built what was then the largest machine of its kind: the Hercules 1200, a HDD rig with 1.2 million pounds of thrust/pulling power. Not content to stop with one success, Michels continued to improve and expand its HDD equipment, eventually owning the world’s largest fleet of high-capacity HDD rigs with more than 1.2 million pounds of thrust/pulling power.
At the same time, the Michels team developed best practices for mitigating the risk of inadvertent fluid returns, managing bentonite and drilling fluid pressures for proper hole conditions, lubrication and cutting removal.
Michels also developed proprietary cutting tools and casing systems to maximize the potential for successful crossings and established processes for land-to-land, water-to-water, land-to-water projects.
As HDD’s reputation as a safe, accurate option for trenchless crossings grew, so did requests for longer and larger diameter crossings under transportation corridors, waterways, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive or challenging areas.
As lengths extended into the thousands of feet, Michels Trenchless team pioneered the pilot hole intersect method in a 2003 crossing in Boston. A powerful drill rig set out from each side of the alignment with a mission to follow an engineered path and meet at a predetermined spot, essentially doubling an HDD’s potential based solely on the drill rig’s push/pull capacity.
The Georges Island HDD crossing was a 1577 m hard-rock, water-to-water crossing to install 30-inch diameter pipe.
That technique was a watershed moment in the HDD industry. In passing years, demands for increasingly longer crossings with more complex alignments surfaced around the world from diverse industries, including energy, electrical transmission, water and wastewater and renewables.
In 2021, Michels completed a 4702 m installation of an NPS-24 steel utility line, the likes of which had not previously been attempted at the 24-inch diameter in the world.
Looking to the future, Michels is committed to building infrastructure to support projects in traditional and emerging industries and to continue providing safe, proven and innovative solutions to customers in Australia and wherever needed.
“In Australia, North America and throughout the world, there is an ever-increasing need for obstacles to be trenchlessly crossed, particularly in a time when there is a very real need for expanded infrastructure for traditional and transitioning markets,” said Matt Smith, President, Michels Trenchless, Inc. “We are honoured to have the skills, expertise, equipment and opportunity to deliver solutions that will build the future.”
For more information visit Michels’ website.
This article appeared in the August edition of Trenchless Australasia
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Picote Solutions Extends its Range with Battery Operated Solutions for Domestic Plumbers
The Picote Solutions name is firmly cemented in the trenchless industry for their game-changing pipeline rehabilitation solutions, but their latest range has demonstrated their ability to pivot to meet the needs of their customers working as contractors or small business owners.
Tom, International Business Development Manager from Picote Solutions UK loves the Picote Battery Powered Mini Cleaner for “its versatility in the house. This piece is ideal for anyone doing internal plumbing. Any domestic plumber should have a tool like this in their arsenal.”
This unit comes with a detachable foot control, which allows for hands-free operation, and the stepless speed control of the foot pedal offers high speed and high torque operation at between 800 and 2200 rpm. This is an extremely effective unit for cleaning, descaling and root cutting in pipes from DN32-75.
Most impressively, the unit operates independent of a power outlet, eliminating leads and cords as potential trip hazards and minimising disruption to homeowners.
Furthermore, if a power source is available close by battery charging can be undertaken even when the units are in operation.
Also in the battery range is the Picote Battery Powered Mini Miller which has undergone a complete redesign and gear box upgrade from previous models. Contrary to the traditional powered versions, the Battery Powered Mini Miller is cordless and can operate for up to 3 hours continuously with its standard battery, helping to reduce worksite footprints.
Most impressively, the redesign has increased the capabilities and productivity of the unit, making it even more effective in cleaning, descaling and root removal in smaller pipes from DN50–100. The units are also efficient in cutting and reinstatement works in pipes from DN50–75.
Similarly, to the Battery Powered Mini Cleaner, this unit has a dedicated high-speed and high-torque motor with stepless speed control and an electric safety clutch.
According to Tom, from Picote Solutions UK; “the Battery Powered Mini Miller is much more versatile than the powered version. The power delivery is much smoother and is now more powerful than ever before, cleaning up to DN100 pipes.”
Next up in the battery range is the Picote Hybrid Midi Roller. This Hybrid Midi Roller is for impregnating CIPP liners from DN50-225. This lightweight, compact unit can be powered by the integrated battery or plugged in and charged during use.
The built-in high-performance battery, with approximately 10 hours of working time, allows you to work anywhere without access to electricity.
All three of these battery-operated units have been developed to put the user in control and provide rapid but thorough renovation and cleaning regardless of where you are, making them a great choice for small businesses conducting domestic plumbing work.
Dawn Greig, Senior Director at Picote Solutions said: “With the growing drive towards net zero and the need from contractors to be able to access worksites that have limited or no direct power supply, Picote Solutions battery-powered options are truly the way forward.”
Picote Solutions versatility and innovation are just some of the many reasons Pipe Core are distributors for the complete range, ensuring our customers in Australia and New Zealand have the right product for any job, along with full support, service, repairs, training, and product demonstrations.
Not sure what piece of equipment is right for you? Browse online here or reach out to Pipecore team so they can help with training and support to ensure you pick the right piece of equipment to grow your business.
Explore the full Miller range here.
For more information, click here.
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Written by Laura Walter, Marketing and Events Coordinator, Pipe Core.
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Vermeer HDD is a fab addition to Irrifab
Thompson’s Irrifab (TI) was started in 1985 by Ray and Greg Thompson, based out of Cowra, in the Central West of New South Wales.
The business started out as a farm irrigation service, providing local farms with support on pivot irrigation, stock water systems and turf watering. Then about 10 years ago, they decided to branch out and grow the business in the civil irrigation and pipeline space.
Doug Walker is one of the Civil Project Supervisors at TI and has been working with the business for about two years. He says the decision to expand into civil work was made because it offers a big opportunity for growth.
“There was a lot of work going in council pipeline projects, watermain replacements, and building out pump stations, so we have invested and grown that part of the business over the last few years,” Doug says.
Part of that growth has seen TI recently add a brand-new Vermeer D8x12 HDD to its fleet of excavators and skid steers, which will be put to work on the smaller jobs that would usually be contracted out.
“It’s been hard to contract out our small, local jobs lately, as the labour and appetite just isn’t there. So, we decided to invest in the business, bring in a machine, and train ourselves up so we could do the work ourselves,” he says.
The Vermeer D8x12 HDD offers the strength of a large drill with the compact body and enhanced performance of a small drill. The D8x12 comes with straightforward controls, a narrow footprint and enhanced power with less sound disruption, and is ideal for small service installation, such as gas distribution, power, water, and telecommunication networks. Walker says that before the D8x12 is put to work, he and the team will finish their training on the drill, provided by Vermeer Australia.
“We’ve organised five days of training on the new rig, to get us across how to best use it, and the safety features. Then we’ll be putting it to work first on under road boring work in the local area,” Walker says.
“The Vermeer Australia team has been great, and a special thanks to our rep Kevin and the Albury team here. They’ve really supported us in our first purchase, making sure the team is comfortable with the drill, and answering any questions we have. Once we put it to work and see how it performs, we may look at adding another one to our fleet in the future.”
For more information visit Vermeer Australia’s website.
This article featured in the June edition of Trenchless Australasia.
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