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Steve Vick signs up with Dutch company on live mains insertion
March 22, 2015
Steve Vick International has signed a contract with infrastructure specialists Van Voskuilen Woudenberg b.v. The Dutch company will promote and carry out Live Gas Mains Insertion throughout The Netherlands.
Live Mains Insertion is a cast iron mains replacement technique offering maximum operational flexibility. It is similar to the normal insertion of a new PE pipe into an old cast iron main with one major difference: by using a special gland box developed by SVI, the old main is kept live throughout the insertion process and the new PE is gassed up to maintain supplies to customers.
Once the insertion process is complete, customers continue to be supplied with gas via the annular space in the main until it is operationally convenient to transfer the services to the new PE.
The technique has steadily evolved since its first use in the UK in the 1980s. Thousands of kilometres of metallic main have been replaced with PE using the Live Mains Insertion technique both in the UK and overseas. Companies using the technique have recorded significant cost savings.
Being a low-dig technique, the environmental impact of Live Mains Insertion is reduced and traffic disruption is decreased as fewer excavations are needed. Consumers benefit from being off gas for a minimum time.
Crock Harrison, SVI’s Joint Managing Director, says, “We are delighted to be working alongside Van Voskuilen to promote the use of Live Mains Insertion in Holland. The company’s core values of innovation, customer satisfaction and building long-term client relationships mirror our own and we are sure the contract will be very beneficial to both parties.”
Van Voskuilen is a highly successful family business founded in 1964 based in Woudenberg, central Netherlands. It specialises in carrying out infrastructure projects in the gas, water, electrical and telecommunications sectors. Albèr van Ee, CEO of van Voskuilen says: “We are delighted that we signed a partnership with Steve Vick International. We are sure that the Live Mains Insertion can be a useful technique in the Netherlands and lead to decreasing costs and increasing customer satisfaction. From the first day the companies have trust in each other and this is the key to success”.