Underground Solutions Inc.

What is it?

A supplier of fusible PVC pipe which is ideally suited to trenchless pipe laying.

What has it done?

2009 was a breakthrough year for UGSI. Despite difficult market conditions, and a concerted misinformation campaign from its competitors, the company achieved 60% sales growth and established technology leadership in the conservative US pipe-laying market.

What makes it special?

• UGSI’s fusible PVC pipe offers a brilliantly cost-effective solution to installing new pipelines and rehabilitating old ones. Its fusible joints allow massive trenchless pull-ins without the risk of leakage at the joints, while its Duraliner solution provides a structural lining for compromised pipes which is so robust that it counts as a new pipe under Government Accounting Standards Board guidelines.

• Trenchless technology is essential for rehabilitation work in long-established cities.

• Pipeline rehabilitation is one of the most significant challenges facing the water industry today. Hitherto it has also been largely resistant to new technology, partly because of the nature of the problem, and partly because of the conservatism of the market. UGSI has addressed the problem, and in 2009 it won over the market.