Vacuum Excavation Market Strong, Continues to Grow
by TRUVAC Team, on Jun 8, 2022 4:43:18 PM
Vacuum excavation systems on trenchless jobsites have come a long way over the decades. No longer unusual to see these powerful systems as part of the jobsite, they have evolved into a critical component in any trenchless project.
Safe digging practices are driving this market sector. “Some cities are even going
as far as only allowing air excavation to further reduce the chances of destructive
digging as the locating of utilities becomes ever more important in mitigating
risks,” says TRUVAC product manager Cory Schueller. “The limited visibility
inherent in the trenchless industry means it continues to be a challenge to
avoid underground utility lines that may been exposed in traditional open-trench
excavations.”
Schueller also notes an aspect that has become more prevalent as these systems
are being used to remove job spoils offsite: grabbing the attention of local law
enforcement and overweight transporting issues. “With the increased use of
hydroexcavation, the industry is getting more notice from law enforcement when transporting job spoils and [that] can result in overweight tickets,” he explains. “TRUVAC has responded with maximizing the payload of all of our hydroexcavators to reduce cycle times and increase job productivity.”
The evolution of vacuum excavation becoming permanently entwined with the
trenchless market points to one downward moment in the construction industry:
the downturn of the oilfield work. Vacuum excavation and the oil fields went
hand-in-hand but when the oil and gas market slowed, a shift toward nondestructive vacuum excavation — i.e., safe digging — occurred, offsetting that lull.
“As the oil field work reduced, the vacuum excavation shifted its focus to
nondestructive vacuum excavation with the mission of bringing safe digging
to the utility and telecommunications industries,” Schueller notes. “Today’s
current focus on the installation of new and resilient underground infrastructure
will, we believe, benefit greatly from the minimally invasive method of vacuum excavation to expose underground utilities with speed, while minimizing damages in borehole and trenching applications.”
With the trenchless market creating a new construction avenue for vacuum
excavators, the growth in the market has been incredible, the panel says.
The full article by Sharon M. Bueno may be viewed in Trenchless Technology Magazine, February 2022.
