Innovation Trends in the Trenchless Industry

The Abbott Innovative Product Award, awarded annually by the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), celebrates state-of-the-art products or services making a significant impact in advancing the trenchless industry. The award is named for the late Joseph L. Abbott, Jr., an active NASTT member since its founding in 1990 and a champion of innovation. Submissions are judged in four categories:

• INNOVATION
• VALUE 
• COMPETITIVE POSITION
• IMPACT

Awarded annually since 1999, finalists present their new technology at the prestigious opening technical forum of the NASTT No-Dig Show, led by Cindy Preuss and Matthew Izzard since 2019. Winners are announced at the ribbon cutting ceremony that opens the door to the exhibit hall where their product or service is showcased.

“It is a great privilege to get the inside scoop on the best new trenchless technologies and applications at the Forum,” said Izzard. “The quality of submissions and presentations makes for a keenly contested award and introduces many now mainstream trenchless technology applications. It is rewarding to see the growth of manufacturers and suppliers as engineers, contractors and engaged owners adopt these new technologies.”

Participating as the Chair of the Innovative Product Awards selection since 2019 has been a favored highlight of Preuss’ No-Dig Show experience and career. “The Innovative Product Award program is an outstanding vehicle to draw attention to the latest industry needs, trends and the dynamic companies developing and producing these advancements.”

“Covering both pipe rehabilitation and new installations,” she continued, “the Innovative Product Awards and the showcasing of the finalists at the No-Dig Show, serve to advance and broadly promote innovations within the industry.”

Innovation Trends in the Industry

In recent years, the committee has seen a marked shift in the type of applications submitted for this prestigious recognition. Products are trending away from major raw technological advancements (brand new technologies) to more application-based advancements (e.g., greater sensitivity with acoustic-based inspection tools).  We see this shift as being born out of necessity, in the following ways:

Sophistication: We are pushing the envelope with larger and/or more challenging installations. This leads to a concerted effort to improve the equipment and tooling already in use (e.g., better steering capabilities for an HDD rig). Innovation building on innovation.

Market need: Utility owners and engineers are looking for better ways to understand the performance of their infrastructure and the unseen conditions. The industry is answering the call by expanding applications of existing equipment and developing multi-inspection tools and technologies that allow assessments of different pipe materials.

Pivoting from mishaps: Innovation is often driven through overcoming adversity. Failure to employ various trenchless tools and equipment on more challenging projects drives the development of multi-purpose tooling or hybrid equipment and technologies (e.g. the direct pipe method). These innovations have resulted in expanded capabilities for tackling complex site constraints, longer/larger installations, and/or tricky geotechnical substrate.

Work surplus: As more infrastructure improvement projects are being initiated, the productivity surrounding construction execution is critical to maximize the amount of work that can be done. This can include expanding the capabilities (associated with lengths and diameters, for example) around assessing and rehabilitating existing pipelines as well as installing new pipelines.

NASTT and the underground utility infrastructure industry continue to be encouraged and excited to see the new opportunities created by innovations and the teams furthering the trenchless industry with passion and creativity.  

Product overviews of the winner and finalists are available in the NASTT Trenchless Knowledge Hub – knowledgehub.nastt.org.

Visit nastt.org/awards for details about applying for the 2025 Abbott Innovative Product & Services Award. The application window will open in the fall. Contact membership@nastt.org for more information or to join.

By Cindy L. Preuss, P.E., CDM Smith Water Conveyance Discipline Leader and Matthew Izzard, NASTT Executive Director