HDD customer brings fiberoptic technology to Vermeer dealer using Vermeer equipment
After nearly two decades in the utility industry, Cal Demic knows that being flexible and dealing with uncertainty is just part of going underground. As underground utility foreman at TM Becker Corp., that unpredictability is what makes Demic’s job both challenging and exciting.
“I appreciate variety,” he says. “I like that I’m on a different jobsite frequently. There’s a freedom in my job.”
Full circle
Demic says he’s been a Vermeer customer since he started working in the HDD industry 19 years ago. So, when he had the chance to use his Vermeer equipment to bring fiberoptic cable service to a Vermeer Wisconsin dealership, he jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s a neat project,” says Demic. “It’s like everything’s coming full circle.”
The job involved connecting a 2-inch (5.1 cm) fiber line from across the street to the Vermeer Wisconsin dealership. The crew had to complete a 500-foot (152.4 m) bore, which required multiple shots, the longest of which was 340 feet (103.6 m). The bore path ran beneath the dealership’s parking lot and the crew had to maintain 3 feet (91.4 cm) of ground cover.
Expecting the unexpected
“We anticipated problems under the parking lot,” says Demic. “But we took it one step at a time and adjusted accordingly from there.”
He was right to anticipate some issues. On this job, the crew discovered the parking lot was built up at one time with concrete fill materials. This meant the ground conditions shifted between normal concrete and the less dense concrete fill making for unpredictable drilling conditions. Demic had a plan for that challenge, though — the Vermeer D20x22 S3 Navigator® horizontal directional drill with standard swivel tooling.
“The D20x22 S3 has a great size-to-power ratio,” says Demic. “It can get into tight spaces, and it still gave us the power that we needed to get through the ground conditions in the area.”
With limited area to set up the drill, the crew completed the job in four bore shots over the course of two days.
Returning the favor
Demic says he’s always had a good experience with Vermeer. This job was an opportunity to provide a service to the dealership that will, in turn, help Vermeer provide the best service to its customers — including Demic and TM Becker Corp.
“The salespeople, the rental department, the service guys are all great,” says Demic. “They know what they’re talking about, and they’re willing to help us work through any problems.”
For more information on Vermeer horizontal directional drills (HDDs), visit Vermeer.com or contact your local dealer.
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