by Reed | Aug 7, 2017 | General
Starting with specialization It started with one man and his pickup truck. Tom Banks’ then one-man operation was rooted in specialization. Formed in 2001, Banks Gas Services, Inc. quickly grew from one employee to nearly one hundred. Today the company is a...
by Reed | Jul 24, 2017 | General
Installing pipeline across the United States, once a booming business in the 1960s, slowed in the late ’80s and ’90s. Today, thanks to the discovery of shale oil and gas, it’s back — and so is the cradle boring machine. These long-distance jobs often call for about 50...
by Reed | Jul 10, 2017 | General
Boosting safety on your next auger boring job Anytime individuals are working around large equipment like auger boring machines — no matter the industry — there is always a risk for injury. Despite the best efforts of crews and contractors to instill a culture of...
by Reed | Jun 14, 2017 | General
Four factors to consider for a scalable vacuum setup. These days, contractors are finding that getting to and from a project with a vacuum excavator that scales is a challenge in and of itself. Between harsher state and federal regulations and a shortage of viable...
by Reed | Jun 12, 2017 | General
Introducing the Vermeer MEGA VAC VXT Series PTO-driven power, scalable tank capacity and reliability for high-production contractors We’re extending our Vermeer MEGA VAC vacuum excavator product line with new PTO-driven options. We heard your requests for a...
by Reed | May 22, 2017 | General
Application is King in Vacuum Selection It’s no secret that vacuum excavators are a big purchase, and you’ll find out quickly if you made the wrong choice. Different jobs require different size and power characteristics. If we could stress only one thing about the...
by Reed | May 10, 2017 | General
How to increase the productivity of your vacuum excavator operation Vacuum excavating is growing in popularity not only out of necessity but also viability. The ability to quickly and effectively remove dirt and debris from an urban area has enhanced the demand and...
by Reed | Apr 19, 2017 | General
We’ve spent the last month covering common locating mistakes and some tips for trouble-shooting tough locates. Avoiding mistakes and following tips is great, but if you don’t have a quality, effective utility locator, these precautions won’t do you much good. ...
by Reed | Apr 11, 2017 | General
4 steps for troubleshooting a challenging locate Last month, Cody Mecham — regional sales manager at McLaughlin — walked us through the most common locating mistakes he sees from both rookie and seasoned locators. Since April is Safe Digging Month, we’re...
by Reed | Nov 10, 2016 | General
The underground infrastructure is a crowded place and so is the market for industry equipment. This list should make your purchasing process a little easier. 1) Suite of equipment As the industry continues to change, one factor remains the same — any job that takes...
by Reed | Jan 9, 2017 | General
Precautionary steps necessary for precise, safe locating With the growing utility demands of today’s world comes an ever-expanding network of infrastructure pathways necessary to support these services. Everything from sewer and water to natural gas and...
by Reed | Jan 27, 2017 | General
Pneumatic piercing tools offer an alternative trenchless method for utility installations Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has quickly become the preferred method of the underground construction industry. Travis Fields, owner of the Mole Inc., isn’t afraid to say...
by Reed | Feb 6, 2017 | Auger Boring, Core Saw, Directional Drills, General, Mighty Mole
With a nickname like “Silicon Hills,” it’s no surprise that the fiber market in Austin, Texas, is thriving. Gearing up for a fiber install project in Austin often means navigating a puzzle of difficult ground conditions, the section of rock tooling and an underground...
by Reed | Feb 27, 2017 | General
We know the CONEXPO-CON/AGG trade show is huge and overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s hard to know where to start. To help, we put together a list of why you can’t miss the McLaughlin booth this year. “Locate” utilities right in the McLaughlin booth. And while you’re at...
by Reed | Mar 23, 2017 | General
The most frequent missteps in locating and how to correct them More utilities are going in the ground every day — and that means the risk of a utility strike happening is going up. Many contractors refuse to take chances by relying on One Call and 811 records alone,...
by mightymole | Mar 10, 2017 | General
How do you make one of our most productive vacuum excavators even more effective? Onsite training and support from a McLaughlin representative. Cody Mecham, regional sales manager at McLaughlin, visited a customer who had recently bought a Vermeer MEGA VX200 vacuum...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Purchasing a vacuum excavator and struggling to balance weight regulations with your jobsite needs? We just made it easy for you. Click the link below to view our powerpoint! →DOT Part 2: Vacuum Excavator Selection- Weighing Your Options← Missed out on last weeks...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
By Jeff Wage, vice president at McLaughlin Drilling fluids, utility locates, tight deadlines. An HDD jobsite is already a complicated place. Recently, contractors are finding that getting to and from a project with a vacuum excavator that scales is a challenge in and...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
From start to finish, from welding a skid to painting a tank, hands on management is the McLaughlin way. Here at McLaughlin painting our vacuum excavator’s is a three part process: starting in the wash down booth, to the epoxy primer, and completed with a...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
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by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
We spoke with Brian from Capricorn Pipe Cleaning & Maintenance to learn more about their new equipment and the company’s expanded capabilities. It was two years ago when Brian Barram met with Vermeer product specialist Anthony O’Grady to discuss purchasing a...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Check out how a customer customized their new Vermeer ECO80 Vacuum Excavator Built by McLaughlin. The custom truck features a compact core saw for quick and easy hard surface cutting keeping you prepared for any jobsite challenge! It also has dry spoil tanks allowing...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
McLaughlin has introduced the new ECO truck mounted vacuum excavator series to answer the market’s demand for a compact vacuum excavation system that focuses on performance and improved fuel efficiency. Powered by 49-, 85-, or 99-horsepower auxiliary engines, ECO...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
In the market for a new vac? Don’t miss these technical tips. While there are numerous applications for vacuum excavators, including locating underground utilities, cleaning up drill fluid on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) jobs and cleaning water valve boxes,...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
New generation of vacuum excavators offers fresh features, same reliability Vermeer VX30 Gen3 by McLaughlin packs innovative tools in compact footprint GREENVILLE, S.C. — Building on the successful introduction of the VX50 Gen3, McLaughlin is introducing the next...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
The United States has the largest energy pipeline network on the globe, more than 2.6 million miles of pipelines are underneath U.S. soil, this powerhouse of utilities could wrap around the world about 86 times. Therefore as the congested underground continues to be...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Jason Manasco has been with McLaughlin for about 7 years and been in the manufacturing industry for close to 10 years. “I’m the auger boring guru” he says, “any and every question comes to me.” As the supervisor of the trenchless boring department he keeps the back in...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
The newly released Vermeer Verifier G3 by McLaughlin utility locator was very busy providing solutions all over the United States last week. For quick and easy inductive locates the G3 provides the operator a user-friendly experience complete with automatic depth...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Like locating a utility, it would be irresponsible to judge Victory Construction on the surface. Among the visible, obvious facts: the company was founded less than a year ago, and it is small, by some standards, running just one crew. Digging a little deeper, though,...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Troy Guhr has been with McLaughlin for 26 years designing any and everything Auger Boring. Needless to say his knowledge is invaluable. He took an afternoon to discuss the technique behind the tested and trusted auger boring flights. Before we dig in there are some...
by mightymole | Nov 3, 2016 | General
Contractors around the world face various jobsite conditions that require innovative solutions. From space constraints, to traffic management, to inclement weather – regardless productivity on the job is paramount. This is why a contractor in Spain teamed up a Vermeer...
by mightymole | Jul 25, 2016 | General
by mightymole | Jul 20, 2016 | Locators
New features make precise locating practices faster GREENVILLE, S.C. — McLaughlin is introducing a new utility locator, Vision LX that combines trusted precision with a simple, user-friendly interface. Contractors face congested underground conditions, unmarked...
by mightymole | Jul 12, 2016 | Auger Boring
PROBLEM In November 2015, Kandey Company of West Seneca, New York, accepted the Rush Creek Interceptor Project. Spanning over 8,600 linear feet, crews will install a combination of 1,700 feet of gravity and force main sewer line that will be placed within a 48-inch...
by mightymole | Jul 11, 2016 | Dealer Page, Locators
Utility Locating School: Equipment and Technique By Kyle Rogers June 2016 Appeared in print as “Equipment and Technique” Cleaner Magazine. Successful utility locating requires good equipment and better technique. When problems arise, fault most often lies...
by mightymole | Jul 8, 2016 | Company, General
New McLaughlin hire brings Vermeer dealer, marketing experience Company hires Jake Jeffords as regional sales representative GREENVILLE, S.C. — McLaughlin is proud to welcome underground industry–veteran Jake Jeffords to their team as a regional sales...
by mightymole | Jul 5, 2016 | Vacuum Excavators
Vermeer Vacuum Excavators built by McLaughlin now have a new additional option for keeping your crew safe. Our new LED light kit is available!! Contact us today for more information....
by mightymole | Jun 29, 2016 | Vacuum Excavators
Little did you know Queen Victoria was a pioneer in the first cable wiring of the world. In 1850, British engineers made a copper-wire cable, insulated it with gutta-percha (a rubberlike Malayan tree sap), and laid it across the English Channel. Soon came a cable...
by mightymole | Jun 23, 2016 | Company
John Archambeault, an industry expert is retiring after 28 years with McLaughlin. He was regional manager for the Midwest where he established himself and McLaughlin a lasting reputation. He was steadfast through the good and the bad times –but through and through...
by mightymole | Jun 7, 2016 | Auger Boring
This week one of our sales team was on site for a startup to install a 24″ gravity sewer line on grade. The contractor decided to use a MCL30/36 boring machine with a 24″ On-Target steering head and control station. Once complete the bore will end up...
by mightymole | Jun 6, 2016 | Vacuum Excavators
Check out our NEWEST you-tube addition of our Custom ECO80-800 Truck Vac featuring Dual Dry Spoil Tanks! The Vermeer ECO Series of Truck Vacuum Excavators built by McLaughlin is the answer to your next tough jobsite. Available for mounting on a variety of trucks or...
by mightymole | Jun 3, 2016 | Locators
New features make precise locating practices faster GREENVILLE, S.C. — McLaughlin is introducing a new utility locator, the Vermeer Verifier™ G3 by McLaughlin, that combines trusted precision with a simple, user-friendly interface. Contractors face congested...
by mightymole | Jun 2, 2016 | General
The McLaughlin (historically spelled McGlaughlin) name has been active in providing solutions for the underground industry for an extremely long time. Before establishing his own manufacturing company Joseph McLaughlin Jr. was drafted for World War I. He was a...
by mightymole | May 27, 2016 | Core Saw
The Vermeer CS418B by McLaughlin was on site this week in Michigan and Charlotte demonstrating why contractors should follow suit in the core sawing trend. A safer and less intrusive technique, core sawing is cutting a bold new path in construction and...
by mightymole | May 25, 2016 | Auger Boring, General
Joe Kandefer started out as a plumbing contractor, but it wasn’t long before his company began to take on bigger, more complex projects. “We did more and more large projects where excavation was involved. That’s when we started buying equipment to dig holes and dig...
by mightymole | May 18, 2016 | General
Installing pipeline across the United States, once a booming business in the 1960s, slowed in the late 80s and 90s. Today, thanks to the discovery of shale oil and gas, it’s back – and so is the cradle boring machine. In fact, there has been a dramatic increase in...
by mightymole | May 12, 2016 | General
Productivity Points: Proper water use, re-verifying utilities and efficient removal of hard surface material are three areas important to productivity. When digging, only use the amount of water pressure and volume necessary to agitate the soil enough to be sucked up...
by mightymole | Mar 21, 2016 | Directional Drills, Vacuum Excavators
Vacs ID Uncertain Underground MARCH 15, 2016Featured Stories in North American Oil & Gas Pipelines Starting with specialization It started with one man and his pickup truck. Tom Banks’ then one-man operation was rooted in specialization. He wanted to identify the...
by mightymole | Mar 14, 2016 | General
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every excavation job. Luckily, the utility excavation industry has a variety of options to choose from to get the job done right. Understanding ground conditions and job site requirements will help you select the right...
by mightymole | Mar 4, 2016 | Vacuum Excavators
Product Spotlight The MEGA VX200 6-inch vacuum excavator from McLaughlin can be mounted on either a new or repurposed truck chassis. The tank, power pack and water system all have a modular design and were developed to fill the gap between smaller trailer-mounted...