Every time I speak with Tony Conn - City of Naperville Collection and Pumping Supervisor -  my grout first beliefs are validated.  It was casual phone conversation and my coffee cup was full, but it was Tony that was energized, confident, and firm in his convictions about municipal grouting. 

In the spirit of WHAT’S NEXT, a theme for the documentary webcast scheduled for 9/22 with Trenchless Technology - Re-Living 50 Years of Municipal Sewer Grouting and WHAT’S NEXT - I asked Tony Conn what’s next for the City of Naperville, IL?  I’ll simplify and summarize with the following bullet items:

Like the elements of our injection grouts, Avanti builds good chemistry with our clientele.

The beauty behind Avanti’s business model is the diversity of the people we serve. The challenge behind Avanti’s business model is the diversity of people we serve. How do we consistently interact with the unique needs and requirements of the municipal grouting community including consulting engineers, municipal authorities, and principals of contracting firms? Short answer: ENGAGE.

Guidance Questions Reveal Step-by-Step Answers

Purpose of this article is to provide insight to municipal decision-makers and their consultants on how to initiate, prioritize and fund an injection grouting program. This assumes your interests are aligned with the advantages of grouting: control groundwater infiltration and soil sediments impacting capacity, reduce SSOs and excessive flows to WWTPs, and extend the life cycle of collection system assets before costly structural repairs are required.

Lunch & Learns: Sixty minutes to refuel the body and revitalize the mind is time well invested for anyone. Engineering firms often leverage this hour to broaden the knowledge of their most important assets, yet Avanti has held learning events for every type of contracting firm, small municipalities and large sewer districts, regulatory agencies, DOTs, utilities, and facility management organizations, as well as our dealer network and supply chain partners. No two presentations are exactly the same - each is custom built to the wants, needs and interests of the host organization. Avanti has presented hundreds of lunch & learns – and a few breakfast sessions - across the United States, with more being scheduled week

As a rule, Avanti people do a credible job of listening to our customers. We’re growing in volume, but more importantly, we want to grow in value-to-customer. Are we building a company that reflects the wants & needs of our customers? We asked, listened, and took action—this is what responsible companies do.

The first and original trenchless technology is chemical grouting. The practice continues to evolve, and today makes a compelling case for the most economical and reliable method for controlling infiltration by sealing sewer mainlines, laterals, and manholes in both sanitary and storm sewer systems. Like any technology, the caveat is clear—it must be executed with precision. Clearly we have more performance standards and operating guidelines today than at any moment in our 50 year history

Avanti and strategic partner US Grout participated in field day at the 37th Annual Short Course Grouting Fundamentals and Current Practice and the University of Texas at Austin. Avanti and US Grout provided education to the school attendees on cementitious and chemical grouts by showcasing permeation grouting using Ultrafine Super cementitious grout and AV-160 Supergel acrylate grout.