Danielle Scott

Installer Spotlight Video: Midwest Infrastructure Coatings

Installer Spotlight Video: Midwest Infrastructure Coatings This month, we're proud to highlight Midwest Infrastructure Coatings, an OBIC-certified installer with a service territory of Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas! Watch this new spotlight video to hear from Bryon Baker and Kolby Baker, co-owners of Midwest Infrastructure Coatings, as they provide faces to the company name and explain why they chose OBIC over other companies in the industry. "We are a small, grassroots company that started from nothing more than a truck, a wheelbarrow, and a bucket of tools," said Bryon. "As we have grown, we have established a solid reputation with our customers. They know that we are committed to offering the highest level of products and services on every job." "The flexibility offered by the OBIC product line allows us to tackle any job that needs to be done," said Bryon. "Regardless of the severity of the inflow

Danielle Scott2023-11-27T07:31:29-05:00November 27th, 2023|Installer Spotlight|

Experts in the Field are a Part of OBIC’s Commitment to Highly Trained, High-Quality People

Experts in the Field are a Part of OBIC's Commitment to Highly Trained, High-Quality People Trey Hesselschwardt is the Chief Training Officer with OBIC and has been with the company since its founding. What does a Chief Training Officer do? First, he helps new applicators come on board with equipment training and OBIC's process methodology. Second, he answers questions via phone calls on a daily basis. Third, he travels around the world to visit installers in-person, walks through situations they've never experienced before, and navigates through that with the best OBIC product choices. He makes 2 or 3 visits per month, with the goal to see every applicator at least once per year or more. Trey Hesselschwardt "I want to empower our applicators by teaching and giving them the tools to succeed. The best part of my job is the ability to help people and

Danielle Scott2023-11-09T10:23:03-05:00November 9th, 2023|Educational, Installer Spotlight|

Installer Spotlight Video: CTR Coatings

Installer Spotlight Video: CTR Coatings This month, we're proud to highlight CTR Coatings, an OBIC-certified installer with a service territory of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas! Watch this new video to hear from Troy Reed, Vice President; Shane Reed, Operations Director; and Andrew Reed, Operations Manager, as they provide faces to the company name and give details of their offerings and differentiators. They provide insight into what's important to today's municipalities - and after working on 16,000 manholes in 120 cities - they should know! Watch video now! Interested in becoming an OBIC-certified installer? As an OBIC installer, you are never alone. As a family-owned business, we know that supporting our installers means more than phone calls to nameless operators or generic emails. We take the time to get to know each of our installers so we can offer the personalized support you need to build

Danielle Scott2023-10-23T14:54:13-04:00October 23rd, 2023|Installer Spotlight|

How to Stop a Leak in a Manhole – The OBIC Way

How to Stop a Leak in a Manhole - The OBIC Way "Good morning, welcome to the first day of your OBIC Applicator Training. This morning we are going to learn about our manhole leak stopping procedure." OBIC-certified applicators around the world are fully trained and prepared through our Certified Installer Program that involves classroom time and on-site training. One of the most important skills an OBIC applicator will learn during the program is how to stop structure leaks. As we have discussed in previous blogs, groundwater infiltration from collection system cracks, hole, joint failures, mortar joints and faulty connections is an expensive problem. Various studies estimate that 40% of groundwater infiltration comes from manholes. A single 5 gpm leak can cost $10,000 per year in WWTP treatment cost! Leaks must be stopped efficiently and permanently as they threaten the structural integrity of your critical infrastructure. So

Danielle Scott2023-10-03T10:02:50-04:00October 3rd, 2023|Educational|

Join OBIC in Celebrating World Trenchless Day on September 28!

Join OBIC in Celebrating World Trenchless Day on September 28! Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of September, World Trenchless Day serves as a global celebration that shines a spotlight on the many benefits of trenchless technology in underground infrastructure. Here are just some of trenchless technology's benefits: 1. Safety Trenchless methodology is a substantial advantage versus open-cut construction methods. Although OSHA regulations assure trench protection and fall arrest systems, the absence of excavation eliminates those issues altogether. Another safety item that benefits from trenchless methods is the potential for traffic accidents, especially accidents from workers performing their duties along roadways with active traffic present. In the case of a manhole rehabilitation, a trenchless rehab job might take 3 or 4 hours versus an excavation project that might have traffic disrupted for multiple days, resulting in increased safety exposure. 2. Economics Trenchless projects are generally less expensive for

Danielle Scott2023-09-26T09:05:27-04:00September 20th, 2023|Educational|

What’s the Best Way to Prep a Wastewater Structure for Rehabilitation?

What's the Best Way to Prep a Wastewater Structure for Rehabilitation? Proper surface preparation is the absolute key to any successful coating/lining project. Depending upon the substrate surface, as much as 40% of the project cost can be the surface prep. Because of this, many contractors will cut corners on the preparation portion resulting in potential long-term failure. When it comes to wastewater infrastructure work, you should be looking at the long game, which is why OBIC goes above and beyond to extend the life of your structure for up to 50 years with a faster return on investment than replacement projects. So let's discuss in more detail what the best method is for preparing the surface of wastewater tanks, structures, and components before a rehabilitation project begins. OBIC-certified applicators are trained in Surface Preparation Standards published by the SSPC (Society for Protective Coatings) and NACE International.

Danielle Scott2023-09-06T09:51:50-04:00September 6th, 2023|Educational|

What is a Stress Skin Panel in Wastewater Structure Coating?

What is a Stress Skin Panel in Wastewater Structure Coating? We regularly refer to the OBIC Armor three-layer system for wastewater structures as a stress skin panel. During a recent conversation with a public works director, he asked for a more thorough explanation. A brief summary of that explanation around what a stress skin panel in wastewater structure coating is follows, and we're sure there are more people who would benefit from this information as well! The OBIC Armor liner system is a sandwich-structured composite. It consists of an inner and outer layer of flexible polyurea with an inner core of hybrid polyurethane. Sandwich panels exhibit great strength, which is why they are commonly used in airplane construction, vehicle fabrication, and building construction. Let's take a closer look at sandwich panels. The inner and outer layers are referred to as "skins" and the inner material is the

Danielle Scott2023-08-28T09:58:13-04:00August 28th, 2023|Educational|

Who Has the Best Warranty in Manhole Rehabilitation?

Who Has the Best Warranty in Manhole Rehabilitation? Did you know that our professionally-installed OBIC Armor multi-layer system is backed by a 10-year manufacturer and applicator warranty? During a recent trade show where we were an exhibitor, we were asked WHY we offer a 10-year warranty on our multi-layer OBIC Armor System. We thought this was an unusual way to phrase the question since, typically, it's something more akin to "tell me about your 10-year warranty". We responded that the system has a 50-year design life and it performs so well, (although issues do occur) that we have very few warranty call backs. The lady nodded and asked for a follow-up contact, so we guess that she was satisfied with the interpretation. So, as the lady asked, why do we offer a 10-year warranty on our OBIC Armor System? Let's delve in a bit deeper. By definition,

Danielle Scott2023-08-07T10:04:01-04:00August 7th, 2023|Educational|

OBIC and CTR Coatings Win UCA’s Sewer and Water Project of the Year Award!

OBIC and CTR Coatings Win UCA's Sewer and Water Project of the Year Award! We are very proud to announce that OBIC Products and our certified installer, CTR Coatings, were selected for the 2023 Underground Construction Award for Sewer and Water Project of the Year! The project they were nominated for took place in Lake Lure, North Carolina. It's a truly amazing story of how CTR was able to alleviate the burden at Lake Lure's treatment plant through the elimination of I/I. This underwater manhole rehab project was also a featured article in Trenchless Technology magazine! An awards ceremony was held February 6 in Orlando, Florida, in which (featured left to right) Bob Klopfenstein (OBIC), Neal Bryant (CTR), Mike Hoffmaster (OBIC), Mike Weichold (CTR), Troy Reed (CTR), Kristi Kimpel (OBIC), and Dustin Schlachter (OBIC) attended and graciously received the award. CTR Coatings was founded in 2010, and

Danielle Scott2023-07-24T09:15:03-04:00July 24th, 2023|Awards, Installer Spotlight|

Come Have Lunch and Learn With OBIC!

Come Have Lunch and Learn With OBIC! Come and enjoy a complimentary lunch while learning from our knowledgeable product experts! Lunch and learns and demos are a cost-effective way to provide your staff with insight and information on products and processes. Learning about OBIC sewer lining repair systems can help your staff plan and execute their projects while learning how to avoid common pitfalls. We customize the lunch and learn agenda based on your specific needs. OBIC has a wide variety of sewer lining repair products available that cover sanitary sewer, storm sewer, potable water and bridge decks. We understand that your time is valuable, and will work with you to customize the agenda to ensure we are addressing your needs and interests. Potential Applications/Topics: Manholes Wet wells Stormwater culverts Tanks and treatment plants Since lunch and learns are customizable based on each client's needs and interests,

Danielle Scott2023-07-10T15:44:37-04:00July 10th, 2023|Educational|

OBIC-Certified Installer Featured in Trenchless Technology Magazine for the Rehabilitation of 828 Manholes in New York

OBIC-Certified Installer Featured in Trenchless Technology Magazine for the Rehabilitation of 828 Manholes in NY The Trenchless Technology article, "Manhole Maintenance in Tonawanda, New York to Proactively Address I&I", features OBIC-certified installer, Advanced Rehabilitation Technologies (ART), as they successfully work with the Town of Tonawanda, New York to rehabilitate 828 manholes and counting! Before they were selected for the project, however, they were tasked with installing a test application in one of the worse structures in the town's system. After several months, all the test sites (OBIC and other manufacturers) were visited and lining materials were evaluated by Tonawanda staff. OBIC Armor 1000 was found to be best suited for their needs and so the project began. Learn more about these impressive test results and how ART was able to help the town reduce service calls pertaining to backups, basement flooding and related matters by 50%!

Danielle Scott2023-06-22T11:11:06-04:00June 22nd, 2023|Installer Spotlight|

About Danielle Scott