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| February Issue Post Date 2/23/06 | www.mcelroy.com | |
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Note From The Editor Kilpack works for ISCO Industries and has been sowing the seeds of black pipe in Utah for the past 17 years. He is no doubt one of the reasons the pipe’s market share is rapidly growing, particularly in the water industry. “We used to sometimes work three or four years to get a water company to even consider polyethylene for a project,” he says during a break in the seemingly constant ring of his cell phone. “Now a lot of jobs are going to bid with polyethylene as one of the pipe options or already specified as the only pipe option.” Our destination is to one of these projects in Washington County in Southern Utah . It is a five mile 63 inch water pipeline that will replace an open ditch irrigation system. In fact, the entire Washington County Water Conservancy District prefers to use polyethylene for water projects if at all possible. The reason, according to county officials, is that they have to maintain the pipelines they install and they would rather install a pipeline that requires no maintenance. Kilpack feels these projects are making his job easier. Just a few miles south of Zion National Park we find the jobsite. A McElroy 2065 is laboring away at the large pipe while everyone from shovel-hand to pipeline owner crawls about the scene. This is where Kilpack makes the transformation from ambassador to servant. He deals with each person on the site in the same manner. He listens. He listens with such intensity that their concerns become minor and fleeting. It is obvious Bob’s two favorite subjects go hand in hand and one serves the other – Bob just serves them both.
State Of The Infrastructure HDPE Corner Oil of the 21st Century 27 straight days of rain creating stormwater pollution problems for Seattle Trial opens in challenge to Lake Okeechobee water pumping New Jersey announces groundwater contamination settlements Several hundred irrigators in south-central Nebraska are considering whether they want to sell their share of the water in Harlan County Lake to the state, so it can be released to Kansas
Links North American Society for Trenchless Technology American Water Works Association American Society of Civil Engineers Foundation Newsletter Links Water World - Receive news from WaterWorld, Industrial Waterworld and Water & Wastewater International. Water Tech Online North American Society of Trenchless Technology Insider and Pipeline Newsletter If you would like a link to your newsletter posted in McElroy Connections, contact Drew L. Wilson at 918-831-9286 or McElroy Connections welcomes your feedback, story ideas, tips, or anything else related to PE Pipe and Pipe fusion. Please email your comments and story ideas to: FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, visit http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/forms/newsletter.htm McElroy Connections is published by McElroy Manufacturing Inc. The information contained within each issue is meant as a service to our customers, distributors, and those involved with Polyethylene Pipe applications.
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Bob Kilpack is thorough in his work, easy to smile and quick to brag about the great state of Utah , but most of all, he’s a listener. As we sail down one of Utah ’s open highways, I get the feeling he embraces the role of ambassador when he gets a foreigner like me into his truck. It’s a pride in State that makes him dictate historical tidbits along with colorful tales about growing up hanging out with his Dad and brothers in Utah ’s National Forest. This pride is also obvious when he’s talking about his other favorite subject – polyethylene – and the authenticity of his pitch comes from an effortlessness that can only be created with time.
“These kinds of jobs are my best selling tool,” says Kilpack. “Once an engineer uses polyethylene, he promotes it. And when other engineers in the industry see the success of these projects, it makes them want to learn more about the pipe.”
