The No-Dig Show, the annual conference and exhibition of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), attracted a record crowd at the Gaylord National Resort in Convention Center near Washington, D.C., March 27-31.
The total attendance of 1,814 was a new high for the event and the second-highest ever for a No-Dig event in North America (the combined International No-Dig, jointly produced by the International Society for Trenchless Technology and NASTT, attracted 1,903 attendees to Toronto in 2009).
There are two main attractions that draw people to the No-Dig Show. One is the technical paper sessions that provide detailed, peer-reviewed papers covering a broad range of topics relevant to the industry. There were 140 papers presented covering condition assessment and inspection, horizontal directional drilling, microtunneling, large diameter tunneling, pipe bursting, auger boring, slip lining, cured-in-place pipe relining, and more.
The other main component of the No-Dig Show is the exhibition hall, in which attendees can see first-hand the latest products that are keeping the industry at the forefront of the utility construction and repair industry. About 140 exhibiting companies occupied the 73,000-sq ft exhibit hall.
Like many association conferences, the annual No-Dig Show is a time for NASTT to honor the people and projects that shape the industry. Among the social highlights of No-Dig were the presentation of the annual Trenchless Technology Person of the Year, Trenchless Technology Projects of the Year and Chairman?s Award.
The Person of the Year, which was profiled in the March issue of Trenchless Technology, was awarded to Bob Westphal, senior vice president of Michels Corp. Westphal joined Michels in 1965 and since that time has been instrumental in the development of the pipeline business, as well as HDD, microtunneling, tunneling and pipe relining aspects of the business.
The Projects of the Year and Chairman?s Award winners were recognized at the Gala Awards Dinner on Tuesday, March 29. The Trenchless Technology Projects of the Year, which were featured in the October 2010 issue of Trenchless Technology, includes winners, runners up and honorable mentions in the New Installation and Rehabilitation categories. This year?s winners were: New Installation ? Perth Amboy/Sayreville (N.J.) Record-Setting HDD Crossing of 24-in. Fusible PVC (Winner); Microtunneling Used in Contra Costa Water District AIP Project (Runner Up); Enbridge Alberta Clipper & Southern Lights (Honorable Mention); and Microtunneling Under Lake Oahe in South Dakota (Honorable Mention).
The winners in the Rehabilitation Category were: San Diego Regional Airport Authority Fiber-Reinforced CIPP Project (Winner); Live Pipeline Condition Assessment for Dallas County Park Cities Municipal Utility District (Runner Up); Capital Circle 36-in. Force Main Pipe Bursting Repair (Honorable Mention); and Westlake (Ohio) Sanitary Interceptor Treatment Project (Honorable Mention).
The Chairman?s Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement was presented to Jim Hoggatt, the Engineering Department Manager for the South Tahoe Public Utility District in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Hoggatt has over 30 years of experience in planning, permitting, design and construction management in the field of municipal engineering, and has been the project manager on the design and construction of many trenchless projects.
Next year?s No-Dig Show will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center March 11-15 in Nashville, Tenn. The deadline to submit an abstract is June 30, 2011. For details visit www.nodigshow.com.
