North States Utility Contractors of
Eagle River, Wisconsin, has a simple business philosophy:
Provide only top-quality processes, products and service to achieve
the highest level of customer and employee satisfaction.
 As
an important part of its pledge of quality assurance, North
States has invested in an arsenal of trenchless piercing tools
for the installation of new gas lines beneath roads, rails and
landscaping. "We carry piercing tools on all our trucks,"
says Bob Tijan, president of North States. Each truck
is also equipped with an air compressor to power the pneumatic
tools.
North States encounters a wide range
of soil conditions when trenching and performing bores.
Elements include variations and combinations of rock, clay,
gravel, sand and loam. In areas where a boring tool is
not required, a plow is used to install lines.
"Of the 23 crews we have out every
day installing electric and natural gas lines, at least one
will be using piercing tools," say Tijan. "We use piercing
tools where there is terracing, fancy lawns and landscaping,
as well as under pavement."
Many contractors who own directional
drilling machines bypass the use of piercing tools, but not
Tijan. Although his company uses directional drilling
machines every day, Tijan believes each tool has its place.
"If I have to bore a lawn, I don't bring a directional drill,"
he says. "By the time we have the rig set up, we'd have
the job done and be gone (using a piercing tool)."
In his 20-plus years in construction,
Tijan has used all brands of piercing tools. He relates
the story of how he first became familiar with Grundomat tools,
manufactured by TT Technologies, Aurora, Illinois.
"We needed to perform an 11-inch
bore beneath a railroad track and we had no tool," Tijan explains.
"None of the companies we had been working with could offer
a tool that could handle this job. Then, TT's Rich Prosser
showed up to demonstrate a 7-inch-diameter Grundomat with an
11-inch-O.D. expander."
The soil conditions beneath the tracks
were difficult for boring, consisting of gravel and rock, but
the Grundomat quickly performed the bore.
About the same time, Tijan's crews
encountered a problem when attempting to install a gas service
beneath a state highway. Their smooth cone piercing tool
became stuck in rock soil. Crews trenched and retrieved
the tool, but that didn't solve their problem. Again,
TT Technologies' Rick Prosser came to the jobsite. This
time, he was armed with a 4-inch tool. And again, the
reciprocating stepped-cone head tool did the job.
The tiers of the tool's stepped-cone
head act as a stabilizer through an assortment of mixed soils.
The reciprocating chisel tip functions like a pneumatic hammer,
breaking up obstacles in the path of the tool. This same
action creates a pilot bore within the bore, ensuring the proper
trajectory, even through difficult soils.
To aid in a successful bore, TT Technologies
offers an inline lubricator. A pre-established amount
of specially formulated biodegradable pneumatic tool lubricant
mixes with the compressed air as it enters the piercing tool
to improve tool performance and reduce maintenance.
Where Tijan has encountered situations
not conducive to horizontal boring, such as partially frozen
earth in a Wisconsin winter, North State's use of piercing tools
is of benefit not only for the utility, municipality or homeowner,
but to his company as well.
"Piercing tools cut restoration time,"
he says. "That's a main reason why we use them."
Equipment World, August
1996, pages 60-61
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