Southern California-based utility locating company, C Below, has made a name for itself in the industry by investing in the tools to do each job efficiently and meticulously.

The new ROVVER X SAT II lateral launch crawler allows Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority (PWSA) to traverse steep pipe inclines with ease, which previously posed challenges for the team.

Ground Penetrating Radar Systems (GPRS) started like most construction service companies: relatively small, based out of a single region, providing services just to customers within reach, and with high hopes of growing over time. 

In just three years, private contracting company, Atlantic Pipe Services (APS), turned its two-person team to a staff of 64. President of the company, Allan Cagle, says that growth and success can be attributed to two things: investing in high-performance equipment and a crew selectively hired to align with their vision.

Utility locating work runs deep in Jake Mason’s blood. Now the President of Indiana-based, Mason Private Locating company (MPL), Jake Mason has been surrounded by this type of work since he was a child.

Inspecting laterals is key to finding sewer cross bores, identifying blockages and investigating illicit flows. And lateral lines often make up half of the total length of a sewer system, according to the EPA. Still, many municipalities fail to inspect them on a regular basis. Ready to start thinking about your lateral lines, but unsure where to start? These resources can help put you on the right path:

Twelve years ago, Neil Buchanan set out to start a small excavation company called Buchanan Contracting, Inc. This small company soon became Kentucky’s most trusted one-stop shop for underground projects. Today, the company has several divisions, including CCTV inspection, cleaning, excavation, sewer testing, CIPP and manhole rehab. The growth was exponential and now the company employs more than twenty workers and inspects close to a million feet of pipe per year. One of the things that sets Buchanan apart from its competitors is the company’s ability to do cross bore inspections.

Founded in 1954, Innovac had humble beginnings as a residential duct cleaning company. Over time it expanded its offerings to include commercial duct cleaning, industrial vacuuming and CCTV pipeline inspection. In 2014, the company changed ownership and Nirpaul Kang was brought on board as the Director of Business Development & CCTV Operations. Once hired, he identified opportunities that his division could capitalize on to increase revenue and service its customers better. 

When it came time to replace Lancaster Area Sewer Authority’s lateral launch sewer inspection system, John Vilga, the Authority’s Maintenance Supervisor, wanted a more dependable system that didn’t come with a steep learning curve.

Gas line cross bores are a huge danger lurking underground. With the popularity of trenchless construction methods and the prevalence of legacy cross bores, locating and eliminating them is critical to preventing potentially deadly explosions. Full lateral inspections using a lateral launch crawler are advised where legacy cross bores are a risk, and wherever new HDD gas line installation is completed. Learn about preventing, detecting and repairing cross bores with this curated selection of expert articles: