Trenchless Industry Gathers at NASTT’s 2019 No-Dig Show in Chicago: Day 2 Recap
Day 2 at NASTT’s 2019 No-Dig Show was full of activity — in the classroom, as well as on the exhibit floor. The day ended with the annual Gala Dinner, which featured the induction of the association’s eighth Hall of Fame class.
Attendance at this annual trenchless gathering continues to grow with this year’s unofficial numbers pushing well past the 2,000 mark.
The five-day show — the largest trenchless-only tradeshow in the world — is hosted by NASTT and managed by Benjamin Media, which is the parent company to Trenchless Technology. The show is being held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.
RELATED: Trenchless Industry Gathers at NASTT’s 2019 No-Dig Show in Chicago: Day 1 Recap
Day 3 is currently under way.
At Tuesday evening’s Gala Dinner, NASTT welcomed the following trenchless icons into its eighth Hall of Fame class: Maynard C. Akkerman, president, CEO and owner of Akkerman Inc.; Chris Macey, P.Eng., Americas Technical Practice Leader-Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation of Linear Infrastructure at AECOM; and Robert “Bob” Westphal, senior advisor of operations at Michels Corp.
The NASTT Board of Directors created the Hall of Fame in 2010, to ensure that the society’s most outstanding and praiseworthy members received due recognition. The intent of the NASTT Hall of Fame is to preserve the outstanding accomplishments of exceptional individuals and to honor their contributions to the advancement of both the trenchless industry and the society.
Chris Macey, Robert Westphal and Maynard C. Akkerman
Brendan O’Sullivan
Also receiving recognition at the Gala Dinner were recipients of the Trent Ralston Award for Young Trenchless Achievement (Brenden O’Sullivan, P.E., MurraySmith) and NASTT Chair Award for Lifetime Service award honoree Frank Firsching, B.Sc., MBA, water industry consultant.
The No-Dig Show is the place to unveil the latest technologies that continue to push the industry forward. NASTT’s honors the best new and innovative products each year with its Joseph L. Abbott Jr. Innovative Product Awards, recognizing companies with state-of-the-art products in either new installation or rehabilitation for their achievements in advancing the trenchless industry.
The Innovative Product Awards were handed out for the top technology in the industry Tuesday afternoon.
The Kobus Pipe Puller from Kobus Services Ltd. received the Innovated Product Award for Rehabilitation. The Kobus Pipe Puller KPP400 Series is an innovative trenchless technology for the replacement of water and gas service pipes. The device is a self-contained hydraulic winch that mounts on the arm of a typical compact excavator found on most construction sites. The hydraulic motors are driven from the auxiliary hydraulics motors of the excavator and are capable of delivering 60,000 lbs of pulling force.
The Geonex Oy DTH-hammer drilling system received the Innovative Product Award for New Installation. Geonex’s system works with steel casing or without casing in solid rock and performs best in hard rock and mixed soil conditions, where rock quality creates significant costs with tricone bits or in mixed soil conditions that cannot be supported with drilling fluids. Method is direct pipe installation method and operates with an air percussion hammer.
The Geonex team receiving the Innovative Product Award for New Installation.
The Kobus team receiving its Innovative Product Award for Rehabilitation.
Trenchless Technology also launched its World Trenchless Day Sweepstakes, sponsored by Akkerman Inc., Applied Felts, Maxliner, Michels Corp., NASTT and The Vortex Companies. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate World Trenchless Day 2019 than to send one lucky winner to the biggest trenchless technology conference on the planet -NASTT’s 2020 No-Dig Show, April 5-9, Denver, Colorado. All you have to do is complete the form – at this link – to enter for a chance to win. Come back daily to enter again. Winner will be announced on World Trenchless Day, September 26, 2019.
Today is the final day for the 2019 No-Dig Show, featuring Gas Industry Day, which features a full day of education and networking for the gas industry through an array of technical sessions. Exhibit halls hours are 9 am to 12:30 p.m. The conference concludes with its annual Closing Luncheon, which gives attendees a preview of the 2020 No-Dig Show in Denver.
Stay abreast of NASTT’s 2019 No-Dig Show by following @TrenchlessTech, @WFM_Journal and @NoDigShow on Twitter. Or you can download the official (and free) No-Dig Show mobile app on either your iPhone or Android phone.