This week Barbco’s HR manager Rhonda Hylton took a trip to Las Vegas to attend the annual 2023 SHRM23 Human Resources conference.
This conference offers access to premier education through industry leading professionals, as well as opportunities to grow your network through the vast array of people in attendance!
It’s important to stay on top of your game within any industry! We love seeing our employees push themselves! 
To learn more about this conference visit their website at https://annual.shrm.org
There are various ways that trenchless tunneling is completed today. However, one of the most effective, and accurate is through the use of a guided boring machine (GBM). Guided boring is a highly accurate method for the installation of pipes, conduits and cables. A pilot bore is drilled using a rotating drill string and is then opened up to your required size for the product pipe by using a reamer. Guided boring is used in a range of trenchless techniques such as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) auger boring, and pipe ramming. During drilling when line and grade is crucial, the bit is laser guided allowing for a high degree of accuracy, often within 1 inch (or less) tolerances.
Barbco’s Pathfinder technology is a state of the art Guided Boring System. They have combined the proven technology of a pilot tube steering system with the dependability of a conventional auger boring machine to deliver accurate casing installations up to 60” diameter.
The Pathfinder Guided Boring System has hundreds of success stories since its birth in 2005.
For more information on the Pathfinder Guided Boring System send an email to sales@barbco.com
Late last year Barbco Inc., U.S. Shoring & Equipment Co. sponsored the 7th annual Clay Shoot and PorkaPULLuza, held by NUCA Texas.
This one day event is a great opportunity for contractors, manufacturers, renters, etc. in the trenchless industry to connect, network, and have a great time together! Registered teams drove from station to station at Defender Outdoors Clay Sports Ranch and participated in clay shootouts to see which team came out victorious. Along with having some of the best pulled pork in Texas for lunch, shooters also got to enter raffles for some great prizes!
One of those prizes being a custom 36” fire ring manufactured by Barbco. Barbco has been manufacturing custom fire rings for years so this was nothing new for them. However, after some discussions with the raffle winner, Jake Duncan at MasTec, asked us if we could make a firewood holder instead! This was a first for the Barbco team, but nothing they weren’t able to accomplish. The firewood holder was designed with unique visuals and text, as requested by Jake. After designing and manufacturing this custom firewood holder it was painted gray and ready to be shipped off to its rightful owner!
If you are interested in having a custom fire ring or firewood holder made with unique visuals to represent you, simply reach out to jessie@barbco.com for a free quote! Our custom rings can have text, images, and can also be painted any color, or left plain steel. Let us bring your custom ring to life!
The 2023 annual NUCA meeting is an important meet up for professionals in the trenchless arena. This year the meeting was held in conjunction with the March 14-18 CONEXPO-CON/AGG event. The meeting is a one day event held prior to the start of CONEXPO.
The annual NUCA meeting encapsulates many different components from the trenchless industry. Throughout the day there are several committee meetings which are a great avenue for industry professionals associated with NUCA to network, and talk about specific challenges, and opportunities they are facing. Furthermore, an important conversation from the annual spring economic outlook speaker is given to forecast the new year.
We at Barbco also want to extend a congratulations to Rob Kyzys from Benjamin Media Inc. At this past annual meeting, Rob was honored with the Associate Member of the Year Award from NUCA. What Rob and Benjamin Media do for the trenchless industry through their multiple publications is integral to the understanding, progression, and innovation we see year after year.
Barbco’s President David Barbera was also in attendance at this year’s annual meeting. David is on NUCA’s board and plays a serious role in the development and deployment of new ideas from NUCA. Being a part of such an impactful organization is part of what makes his job so rewarding!
NUCA plays an instrumental role in pushing trenchless methods of installation to the forefront of the construction arena. They have done this through many different avenues, however one of the most effective has been their Trenchless Construction and New Installation Methods, 5th Edition manual. According to NUCA, “As the industry continues to grow, many contractors are adding trenchless projects to their operations. Some bid trenchless projects without the proper knowledge to complete the job as specified, and or their inexperience results in major project problems and costs.
After four years of volunteer effort by industry professionals, NUCA’s Trenchless Construction and New Installation Methods manual has been updated by the trenchless experts and professionals of NUCA’s Trenchless Technology Committee”. If your interested in purchasing a manual for yourself click here.
From February 7th to the 9th Barbco attended and exhibited at the 28th annual Underground Construction Technology International Conference and Exhibition (UCT), in Orlando Florida. This three day event helps connect our industry’s most influential water, sewer, gas, telecom and electric contractors, owners, operators, and manufacturers through the course of the event.
Barbco was pleased to see plenty of good friends from various contractors and vendors alike! Barbco’s booth was set up at the entrance of the exhibit hall which was great for traffic. Their booth encompassed literature regarding their equipment such as their ABM’s and Tri-Bor, hats and shirts, stickers, and a posterboard and a monitor showcasing IS Machines HDD World Record Offshore Crossing using a Barbco BD500 horizontal directional drill. The reason Barbco was showcasing this company’s project to the audience was not only because they used a Barbco drill, but also because they were finalists in the 2023 Underground Construction Awards (UCA’s) for Energy Pipeline Project of the year. Along with two other contractors, IS Machines HDD was a finalist in their category. There were 12 categories in total. In short, IS Machines HDD broke the world record for the longest successful offshore crossing. This project took place in the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Not only was this job a world record at 7000 feet, the amount of ingenuity and precise planning that is needed to complete a project of this caliber is staggering.
The UCA’s were held on the evening of February 8th, following the UCT show. The evening began with a cocktail hour then dinner was served. Following the dinner the speaker began to announce the winners of each category.
When it came down to it, unfortunately IS Machines did not win the overall Energy Pipeline Project of the Year, however this does not lessen the magnitude of the successful crossing.
Regardless of them winning or not, it shows that with proper planning and the right equipment, we can continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in this industry.
We want to give a huge thanks to everybody from Underground Construction for putting on this event and to our domestic dealers Trenchless Rental Solutions and U.S. Shoring & Equipment Co. for coming to represent Barbco.
Barbco Inc. is in the process of redesigning its pilot tube machine named Pathfinder. Pathfinder has been under Barbco’s many trenchless products for over 10 years and the new design will allow for a smaller footprint when in operation. Pathfinder is an attachment that works in conjunction with an auger boring machine (ABM). It is set up in front of the ABM and allows the operator to install a tube that is 5.5” in diameter. Once the pilot is fully installed, Pathfinder is disconnected from the ABM, taken out of the pit, and the job can now be bored. The machine allows for critical line and grade measurements to be maintained in ground that is densely populated with other utilities. In today’s environment, many contractors are faced with this dilemma when bidding on certain jobs. Pathfinder gives contractors the assurance that jobs can be completed successfully and because of the power Pathfinder provides, they are able to pilot holes north of 300’ long. To learn more about Pathfinder, call Barbco at 1-800 448-8934.
Check out this video of Barbco’s new 2023 Pathfinder Target Housing
Recently, Barbco sponsored it’s first ever blood drive with Vitalant, a national company that is in the business of taking blood donations and dispersing it locally to people in need. Vitalant set up the site inside the office area of Barbco. Staff from Vitalant was at Barbco for around 5 hours and was able to collect 10 units of blood which in the end, can help up to 30 patients. Vitalant staff was very pleased with the level of cooperation they received from the individuals who donated as well as the office staff that they encountered at Barbco and plan to work with the company three to four times a year for future blood drives. At this time, the next drive will be taking place sometime during the month of May. Barbco was incredibly pleased with the entire process and with the guidance from Vitalant, will make this a regular event.
Industry Publications
Whether you are a vendor, manufacturer, contractor, or consultant, keeping up with the news in your industry is essential to staying on top of your game and making sure you don’t fall behind. In the trenchless industry there are several media outlets that are essential for staying up to date with industry news.
Benjamin Media out of Richfield, Ohio is one of the largest print publishers in the trenchless drilling space. Since their founding in 1992, Benjamin Media has accumulated six different brands which revolve around trenchless, drilling, solar, water/wastewater, utilities, and more.
One of their most popular brands, Trenchless Technology, is the most widely recognized magazine serving the underground construction market.
Benjamin Media also boasts their Utility Contractor magazine, which is the official publication of the National Utility Contractors Association. This brand is aimed towards keeping members up to speed on association news and practices affecting the industry.
Furthermore, Benjamin Media has created Tunnel Business Magazine, which is the leading tunnel industry publication covering the North American market for more than 20 years.
They are also tapped into the solar industry with their publication Solar Builder, which focuses on being the go-to resource for solar installers looking to grow their business and expand profitability.
Being in the construction industry, they also have a brand called Compact Equipment, which is specifically for construction and landscape professionals who purchase, maintain and operate compact equipment.
Along with other publications revolving around utilities, Benjamin Media has become a key player in helping to keep the underground construction industry connected.