The Evolution of HDPE Fusion Equipment explores the remarkable advancements in HDPE fusion equipment. Discover the transformative impact of this specialized technology, as we uncover its evolution from early techniques to state-of-the-art machinery. Join us as we delve into insightful interviews with industry experts, revealing the crucial role HDPE fusion equipment plays in building reliable and sustainable pipelines. Embark on a journey through innovation and the benefits of flawless connections in HDPE pipes.

Sean Moth 

Welcome back in ISCO insights, the podcast our subject fusion equipment today. Before we start, I want to thank Ed Cooper for his help on the electrofusion podcast. We had a great episode last time out with no insights Alliance repeat you pipettes Demo Day with Garry Bouvet chiming in with ISCO. We’re partnering with the Alliance for that. That’s Wednesday, May 24. So keep an eye on that. And we’ve got an upcoming blog to talk about. Butt-fusion went back to basics with that. But here we are with the podcast, and a little overview, shall we say a fusion equipment history, past, present and future thrilled to be joined by Andy Niblett. Curtis Durbin, gentlemen, great to have you. Thanks for joining us.

Curtis Durbin 

Thanks for having me.

Andy Niblett 

really good to be here.

Sean Moth 

So let’s start out by helping folks get to know you, Curtis, we’ll start with you just give a little background of how long you’ve been a ISCO and what your responsibilities have been and where you’re at now with the title.

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, absolutely. So I joined ISCO in 2019. So coming up on four year anniversary with the company. When I joined ISCO, I was coming off 12 years in the rental car industry. So that was kind of my background, started as a business analyst. And after about eight, nine months, just found a natural fit with our equipment rental team. So then I became our rental manager. And a few years later, I’m now our equipment director. So I oversee operations for fused equipment rental, fusion equipment sales and do and used and worked closely with our operations team across North America

Sean Moth 

and all kind of works in that piping solutions mindset that it’s not just the pipe. So that’s fascinating. And Andy, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the 20 year caricature up on the board. So you’ve been around a while. Yeah, I’ve

Andy Niblett 

been around a little while. So the HDPE Piping Industry isn’t my complete career. I think I’m coming up on 28 years in the industry 20 Almost 23 of that now with ISCO, served on a variety of roles at ISCO anywhere from being a field technician to shop fabricators, sales management, more recently, really focused on equipment, specifically, growing our rental demand as rental sales director working really closely here with Curtis, as

Sean Moth 

I looked into kind of the evolution of fusion equipment and the evolution about fusion, it goes back into the 50s, when HDPE pipe was first kind of ISCOvered, so to speak, McElroy was founded in the mid 50s. There and then Philips got involved with it, it was a little difficult to pinpoint some of the first fusion machines. But it’s ironic to me that a lot of those principles are pretty much still in place with even the modern equipment, especially when you’re talking about the manual stuff. But if you go back to the earliest fusion equipment, you remember what we’ll start with you, Andy, because you’ve been around a little bit what comes to your mind?

Andy Niblett 

Oh, wow. So it kind of ties into what you just said. So the earliest stuff that I remember when I first started out would actually be from when I was in high school 1995 working in the shop, and you know, a lot of equipment with wheels on it. You know, the track that was before track machine? Yeah. Basic principles are still the same, though, right? He pressure. All those core fundamentals of fusion have remained the same since the beginning of time, or since the beginning of pipe fusion in the late 60s. So it’s been neat to watch it evolve over the years. And I’m sure we’ll talk more about that. Yeah, it’s

Sean Moth 

a little easier moving forward. It’s kind of hard to go back. I know you guys know it so much better than I do. But I think it’s the pit bull that kind of feels like it has the principles of what those first machineries were. So as we move into the evolution, the manual automation, to now a much more automated system, whether it’s huge scale, like the town or some of the smaller scale with the track star system in that what, what are the advantages, disadvantages to that in terms of how things have become a little more automated? Because I know some folks don’t like to kind of get in the weeds and just use their hands. Curtis, maybe you can address that a little bit. Yeah,

Curtis Durbin 

absolutely. It’s, it’s really interesting to me just how fusion equipment has evolved. Just in the few years that I’ve been in the industry. A lot of the principles are the same. But to your point, the the new tracks are AI series is the evolution, kind of the next step for fusion equipment. And there are a number of advantages, but some that really stick out to me that I think are so critical as we grow this business is enhanced safety improvements. None of the older equipment that we’ve mentioned, add some of the safety features that are now available in the high series, specifically the collision avoidance system, hydraulic lockout button, you press a button and you can make sure that, you know, there’s absolutely no chance of any accidents occurring. I think that’s huge. And another huge piece is the data logger seven is integrated with the TrackSTar II series. So it is part of every fusion that is made. So you know that you have proper tracking. And you know that you’re gonna get all the information that you need about that weld. And it really works with the machine to kind of guide the entire process.

Sean Moth 

Yeah, and for people that maybe don’t understand the data logger and how it works, Andy it gives you an opportunity. We don’t play the blame game, but if something does Let’s go wrong, the datalogger allows you to see, okay, it was on this date at this time under these conditions that so and so performed this, well, then maybe we can explore, maybe there were conditions or something else that led to that problem. And that’s going to be a great luxury for somebody who’s installing

Andy Niblett 

the I think data collection is everything in the world we live in, you know, it’s just simply keep it a record of everything that was performed, where it was at, take pictures with it. And, you know, Curtis didn’t mentioned even with having it on the ice series machine, you have optimized cooling at your fingertips with a data logger. So you’re much more efficient, and you’re safer. You’re, you’re gathering more data and keeping all that in a more organized way. I’m

Sean Moth 

teetering on the brink of my age that systems that quote, unquote, make it easier, make it harder, because it can get a little confusing with the technology in that. What is the blend ban in terms of allowing the actual fusion process to be safer, more complete, simpler, but at the same time, there are some factors that make it a little more complicated. It really isn’t that complicated. But we can kind of make it that way if we get in our own way. And yeah,

Andy Niblett 

so So my feedback has been twofold on you know, how people are accepting new technology, I think the guys who’ve been around a long time, who’ve used a lot of legacy equipment, really liked doing things the way they do it, and good for them. And that’s why you know, you have, you know, in the guided workflow of us here, you can still do it the old way. You just as long as you’ve been trained on data logger, and understand how that works, you’re good to go. But the flip side of that are people who are entering the industry now, or just maybe receiving their first fusion training, these guys love level three automation, it’s intuitive that walks them through the process, you know, gives them reassurance that the next step they’re taking is the right one, because it’s right there on the deal seven, confirming

Sean Moth 

this is probably oversimplifying, but I’m all about metaphors, it reminds me of adjusting to having a car with a backup mirror that showed on my on my dashboard. Like I still looked in the rearview and the side views and over my shoulder when I’m backing out. It didn’t take long for me to realize that you know what, that cameras pretty reliable gives me a really good Vin field division. And I’m gonna go ahead and trust it. And it almost reminds me electrofusion because I think some people are hesitant to do electrofusion because you can’t see the bead, you can’t see the well that’s you got to just kind of trust. And so to me, I guess it just boils down to trust. And I guess that’s something that that evolves. And it’s nice to have that blend of the youth coming in and embracing it. And old guys like me being able to understand it. But ultimately, I think everybody’s going to be able to adjust to that evolution. Wouldn’t you agree?

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, absolutely. Shawn, it’s like Andy said, we’ve had some, you know, industry veterans that got their hands on the machine, that kind of walking around it, they’re seeing a lot more screens, a lot more buttons, a lot less valves. But once they start using the new technology, the AI series, they love it, you know, just the integration of the data logger that we’ve talked about how easy it is to work through the fusion process, and the helpful guide that’s available. It’s fantastic.

Sean Moth 

I’ll try not to give those guys a bad time for carrying around a flip phone. But you know, it’s all technology is moving so fast. There’s definitely it’s kind of jarring, the how rapidly things move forward. Let’s explore the partnership with McElroy because this this is kind of hand in glove relationship when you when you see a skill in field with Fusion. You see the green, you see the McElroy equipment and we talked to some of the original equipment. I mean, McElroy has some fusion equipment built in the 70s that I know you guys still are involved with like it. It is a tried and true. And it really is a great partnership. Andy, I mean, it’s something that goes back for years,

Andy Niblett 

and really is you take about, you know, the core of who ISCO is, aligns very well with McElroy, both family owned businesses, both work together, really from the early days of HDPE pipe and have been you know, walking side by side of the innovation journey. We’re really proud to be a partner with macro in and appreciate what they what they bring.

Sean Moth 

It seems odd but it really is it I mean, McElroy is synonymous. I know there are other people that produce fusion equipment, and especially with HDPE. Here in the United States, we’re a little behind, you know, things overseas have been happening a little more regularly, especially from municipal standpoint, but it’s just you think fusion and HDP. You think about the green, you think about macro. I mean, it seems like they are synonymous with the industry.

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, to Andy’s point. We have a fantastic partnership with McElroy that’s been around since the 1970s. And, you know, one thing that we do at ISCO was we believe in innovation, and sodas macro. And so as they roll out new products, whatever that may be, you mentioned the talent earlier some of the Acrobat line or the new ice series, we embrace that. And we look to grow that new technology with them. And that seems to work really well.

Sean Moth 

That’s a perfect segue as we pining The year I remember Mike James name being mentioned is one of the first to try out a new piece of equipment. The Talon got its test out in fireball California at the almond farm. I mean, to me, that’s part of what makes that relationship successful. Andy is we’ve been able to say, Oh, you got something new. Give it to us. Let’s go. Let’s move forward. And that’s something we’ve done. Absolutely.

Andy Niblett 

We’re excited about. I mean, it’s part of our core, core values and mission statement here to be innovative lead with technology be out front. And I think we’ve proved that in a big way with asterisk equipment, which we’ve talked a lot about what just really getting out and getting these things on job sites. And, you know, getting contractors and owners engaged, doing demo days, making sure everyone understands that this is not spooky, and new. It’s really cool. Actually, it’s gonna help us do our job. And you know, we’re super excited about doing this again, with the Triton 560, which is coming out soon. Yeah, we’re ready to jump on board with that as well.

Sean Moth 

We will get to that how gratifying it is up to you, though, to be able to put forth that credibility of saying, oh, yeah, we were the first to use that equipment. We were the pioneers on adequate. And I mean, that’s got to be something that that helps you from your situation in terms of speaking to a customer. Maybe they have a question about a piece of equipment, you say, oh, yeah, we were the first to use it. I mean, I would imagine that’s got to be very helpful to you.

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, absolutely. So we have the largest fleet of AI series machines in America. And, you know, many distributors at this point have aI series, but we really embraced it. And we got behind that product very early. So yeah, it’s an advantage, you know, as acceptance has grown as a new product, and you see it on more job sites across the country, and really North America. You know, ISCO has been a big part in growing that,

Sean Moth 

we try to take a bit of a 30,000 foot view with with the podcast than that. And we do definitely get into the weeds with it. But in general, when we’re speaking to an audience, we kind of assume they know a lot about what’s going on. But I know for you guys, you encounter customers that have no idea what’s going on. And that’s not a problem. I mean, and you guys are willing to walk anybody through any situation, and help them with your coworkers understand, Okay, what’s the diameter of the pipe? What are we trying to do? What’s the project? What’s the fee, you know, the staging area, I mean, it’s, it goes back to the solutions, you know, you’re the, you’re the good guy. So you’re here to help.

Andy Niblett 

That’s exactly it. I mean, we throw that word around a lot here, solution provider, but that’s really what we want to be. We try to, you know, do a lot more than just deliver a industry commercial or even a ISCO commercial and saying what we can do, at least for me, it’s more about listening to what the challenges and what the problem is, and making sure that we have a breadth of solutions to offer. And, you know, not every two jobs are the same. They require different equipment, different training, you mentioned job site setup, we love to get involved with all those things, to make sure that we get equipment on the job site, and we keep downtime at a minimum or reduce, you know, hopefully none at all. And we make the job site safe, efficient, where the both the owner and the contractor are happy with the outcome.

Sean Moth 

It’s something for me, that’s I’ve been here for five months or so now, that’s represented a big challenge. And while it’s a challenge, it’s exciting to me, Curtis, maybe you can address this. But within ISCO, as it started as a golf irrigation company, we’ve evolved into what I like to classify as and markets like municipal and landfill and even within those applications. Does that make the job more challenging? Does that make the job more fun? Or a little bit of both? Because like Andy said, no two projects are alike.

Curtis Durbin 

I think it’s a little bit of both. We have a lot of experts in a number of different fields and applications at ISCO. And that’s absolutely true of our equipment business. And one thing I love about what I do is we provide solutions regardless of the application regardless of the jobsite conditions, or anything involved. We have equipment available to meet whatever the customer’s needs may be. And sometimes the technicians and the experts that they also need to show them you know how it should be done. So that’s really rewarding.

Sean Moth 

I love this one up like a jump ball because I’m sure both of you as I have ideas, but is there a common question that you get asked all the time that there’s an easy answer to that people are maybe even afraid to ask but you still get

Curtis Durbin 

a lot of times people ask about equipment what what they should have an ask about, you know, if they’re looking to buy equipment, do we have used equipment? So really, that’s something that Andy and I get a lot of times is you know, hey, if I’m going to have this equipment for you know, a number of jobs, perhaps years, do you sell used equipment? Do I have to buy the equipment so that gives us an opportunity to talk about everything we have available within our equipment offering, which is rental which is used, which is new, which is rebuilt, we can do whatever the

Sean Moth 

customer needs, and that’s actually see you’re saying Wait for me, again, this guy is a pro right here. And he Curtis, I appreciate that. But that kind of gets into the services that you guys provide. And you know, it, as you as you focused on it is rental, it is sales, you guys aren’t going to push your agenda, you’re just going to find out what’s best for the customer and come up with a solution. Because ultimately, it doesn’t behoove you to push something on a customer that they’re not going to be happy with. And I think that’s maybe the beauty of where you guys said is, you know, hey, you know, we’re not going to try to sell you the upgraded, you know, Lincoln Continental, or the Escalade, we’re going to here’s what do you need? Okay, let’s go with this. And, Andy, I think that’s a credit to what you guys do? Yeah.

Andy Niblett 

Well, I appreciate it. I mean, if you were to pin me down and say, What is your agenda, I think I said a few minutes ago, our agenda is to get equipment on job sites, you know, that reduces downtime, or hopefully eliminates it all together. And that can be in a lot of different ways. It could be with a rental machine or using machine or a new machine.

Sean Moth 

When we talk about the equipment, training is a big part of it McElroy certified training and this is you guys aren’t just going to send somebody out there with a circular saw and say good luck, you know, you’re gonna send them out there with his equipment, they’re going to be able to be fully trained, whether it’s our people helping them with a fusion or straining their people to do the fusion all of the above. I know that’s, again, going back to the solutions, but Curtis talked about the training process and what you guys can offer on the equipment.

Curtis Durbin 

Yes, I think Andy and I both can add a lot here. But we offer training in all sides of the pipe. So we can train on small diameter, medium diameter, large diameter, we trained to the ASTM F 3190 standard.

Andy Niblett 

If you don’t mind, I’d like to jump in real quick, because this is a fun topic. For me. It’s just Yes, the word training is thrown around a lot in our industry. Sure. And a little bit too loosely, I think and, you know, for one person training may be a Come on, show me how to use this machine, which we call that a demonstration, which we’re happy to do what do those every day. And then there’s also the person who calls training, a certified training, sure to two wildly different things, which is one of them has, you know, ASTM F 3190 pedigree, and it’s completely certified quality systems in place all the way at the top. And then in terms of the demo, you’re still gonna get a demonstration to f 2620. But it’s not a certification. So we offer both of those, and we have personnel who are highly skilled in both of those areas. So the demonstration that obviously takes a little bit less of a pedigree and experience in training and will use a lot of times a regional sales manager to do that, for example, if a customer has been trained on a t 900 series to a legacy machine, and they want to use an AI series on their next job. So they’re familiar with Fusion, they understand how things work, they just may not be familiar with the new parts, or the the new pieces involved with an AI series machine. Perfect opportunity for us to send out regional sales manager to do a demonstration, we’re not going in showing these people the fundamentals of fusion, we’re just making them familiar with some new technology.

Sean Moth 

You made a cake before but instead of a wooden spoon, we got to KitchenAid. So we’re gonna show you how to use the kitchen. i Yeah, it makes sense. And again, it goes back to the solutions. I mean, this is about the demonstration, do you need certified training? Do you need to renew what you’ve been doing? And Curtis? Again, it gets this goes back to just meeting the needs of the customer?

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, absolutely. Andy summarized of, well, if our customer needs to be certified and have that as part of their job spec, we can absolutely do that. Or if they just need to get more familiar with the machine, get a demonstration on the new technology, we’re there for that, too. So

Sean Moth 

buyback, I know is something that you guys have and you touched on the kind of the, I mean, you guys, these machines come back from a rental, they go back out, they look like the new again, I mean, this is not just a, you know, you pull the machine in the shop and close the garage door and leave it there until somebody else rents it. This is constant, you know, certified mechanics in that that are monitoring the equipment, making sure that it’s in tip top shape. And with that comes the buyback program, maybe which one of you want to kind of address that, and you can go and talk about it, I’d like

Andy Niblett 

to kick it off, and then I’ll throw it over to you. So really, the whole idea of buying equipment back started as a customer need, you know, trying to meet a solution on a project that had a special need. So we’ve been involved over the years with some massive projects with a great number of fusion machines on one job and the answer was, hey, we’ll buy the equipment. But when it’s over what do we do with it? So that that forced us into the new way of thinking and it turned out to be a great one because it works well with what we do already with the size and scale of our rental fleet. So we have the tools in place and the systems in place to take care of equipment that’s come off from the job site or that’s aged out of a rental fleet. And then that gets kicked over to Curtis and hosting Curtis you could tell us about that.

Curtis Durbin 

You know as our equipment business has evolved, so has our used equipment business and and I have been part of a lot of the recent changes with that. Perhaps the most significant is that every use machine that we sell now is an ISCO certified use machine. And we take a lot of pride in that label. So typically, that’ll be a rental machine that has lived its rental life, and now we’re selling it to a customer. Regardless of the vintage, we put that machine through a rigorous inspection, we’re going to every time we’re going to replace fluids and filters, we’re gonna make sure it has fresh face or blades, we’re gonna make sure that it has recoated. But plates are new, but plates, and then every component of that machine has gone through, that needs to be replaced, we do replace it. And then you know, we also we paint it, well, a lot of times make the fresh in the cowlings and put new callings, and to your point shine when it leaves our shop. Even though it’s a used machine, oftentimes, it looks like a new machine. And we we take a tremendous amount of pride in that. And our team does a great job with that. Yeah, I

Sean Moth 

didn’t want to tell tales out of school. But the green paint was something that was interesting to me, because I guess this all goes back to the relationship with McElroy. And how it kind of is that hand in glove because they have the implicit trust in you guys, that if you’re going to put their equipment out there, it’s going to be working in its best possible condition.

Andy Niblett 

Absolutely, that’s that’s our can’t say enough. That’s our primary goal. Whether it’s new equipment, used equipment, or rental fleet from ISCO. I don’t ever want there to be a scenario where anyone looks at that machine and says, Wow, this thing’s beat up, tore down, it’s old. Those those kinds of machines don’t have viscose name behind them, we really spend a lot of time making sure everything’s in tip top shape,

Curtis Durbin 

we should add to that we offer warranty and are used equipment. So a lot of times in our industry, you’ll see fusion equipment sold as is and there’s no offer of a warranty, it is go we offer a 30 day full warranty on all ISCO Certified Used machines. So anything that may come up in the first 30 days, we’re going to take care of it and make sure that that machine is operating as you expect. And then when we sell a rebuilt machine. So that’s gonna be a like new machine with not only a lot of new components, but new engine generator, etc, that’s gonna have a 90 day warranty.

Sean Moth 

So we’re gonna send you out with the equipment, we’re gonna guarantee it’s going to work and you’re going to know how to operate it. And it sounds like a pretty fantastic situation. I know that ISCO has 35 and growing locations around the US and Canada. How many of these house rental equipments and as the rental car background doesn’t work like that, in terms of this piece of equipment comes from Kingman, Arizona to a site in Utah and then needs to be used in Montana, and then it’s gonna go to Illinois, and then it ends but back here in Louisville is how does that manage?

Curtis Durbin 

Yeah, well, we have equipment spread across North America, as you mentioned, every one of our locations will have some equipment. But ultimately, I think for Andy and I, we want to be close to you regardless of where the customer might be. And we manage our fleet accordingly. So we will have equipment wherever it’s needed. And we really run a nationwide fleet and that sense so regardless of where the job may be, and where the equipment they’re going to use is going to come from we act in the manner that were close to you, whatever the closes short is, that’s how you’re gonna be charged from a shipping

Sean Moth 

perspective. And me from a from a diameter range standpoint, we mentioned the Talon I’m assuming four inch even two inch you guys I mean you have the solutions for pretty much everything.

Andy Niblett 

Yeah, we do everything from what half inch up to 2000 millimeter what the what the Talon we offer the entire Makary line, which includes, you know, productivity tools, PPR equipment, we even go beyond with some specialty, tight quarters limited access using equipment. So we really we have it all on our

Sean Moth 

fleet and we touched on it heavily in our last podcast so we don’t need to delve into it but if people are saying you know I don’t necessarily have a situation where I need butt-fusion I’ve got some in place in the trench welding that I need to do. I need to perform electrofusion you guys have that equipment as well.

Curtis Durbin 

We do. So we offer the Highland line of products. So we have the Highland 630 version two that is really popular with a lot of our customers will do electrofusion from small couplings half inch one inch up to I think any 30 inch couplings. We also have the Highland vortex which is really popular in our gas division. We have a lot of gas utilities that are embracing that. Absolutely. And then the latest is the the Highland Supercell which we’re really excited about.

Sean Moth 

We threw a blog out on that one that is a that’s a fascinating piece of equipment. I’m going to touch on that as we get into the future. I do want to revisit that. But you guys did Delve just a little bit into accessories and it’s not necessarily just the equipment and you touched on the datalogger it is is it integrating with some of the other pieces of fusion equipment now, in addition to the ice series that it’s built into.

Andy Niblett 

Yeah, it always has, I guess, when it was it was introduced in 97 leaf, you know, its first use was, you know, on a standard 618 Fusion machine, which is still the case tonight, I think the thing that you’re talking to is with the advent of the ossuaries machine, it’s integral, yeah, not only can you have it, you have to have it right. Which is really good for the data logger. But we use it and it’s included with the majority of our rentals, it’s really been fun to watch it grow. And the demand increase over the years for that kind of record keeping quality systems on really all machines.

Sean Moth 

We touched on the talent a couple of different times, you know, heavily used out in California, the fireball the the farm there, canal enclosures have become a big hot topic out west with water security being so important. Evaporation and seepage and other steineke are canal project out in Vernal, Utah, utilize the Talon. Do you guys kind of look at each other and go, this piece of equipment is amazing. And you know, how exciting is it to be such a big part of it? Because not, it’s not like you go to the corner store and find a talent. I mean, there’s limited access to them. But it’s a it’s an amazing piece of equipment. Yeah, it

Andy Niblett 

really is. So and you mentioned the Santa Cruz canal project, it was a really great job to that showcase, you know, what is going macro, I can do on big pipe, big scale, we not only have one talent out there, but to for a period of, I believe six months, we were on that job, working on a seven eight inch project that was almost three miles of pipe. So it’s really neat to get those guys out there. We’re excited, I would say, as a company, to where the future big pipes going. I know you talked to Mike James about their previous podcast, and we are ready and well a clip of well equipped to take on that challenge with machines like talent.

Sean Moth 

Well, and Andy, for those that don’t know, I know this is a day and age where somebody’s already on their phone, Googling it and learning all about it. But the talent gives you the ability to not only fuse the large pipe, but it’s the fact that you can eliminate 123, maybe four other pieces of heavy equipment in the process. Because if you have the pipe laid along a canal say you can just roll that talent over and it’s got the undercarriage clamps and, you know, it’s it’s not a one man job, but boy, it’s about as close as you can get to something of that size in that volume when it comes to large diameter pipe.

Andy Niblett 

Yeah, the real difference, I think, with that machine you just mentioned is the bottom loading, right? That’s a key feature of the talent as will be on the Triton 560 coming up where you don’t have overhead lifting. So it’s a big safety issue, as well as eliminating some of the pipe handling equipment.

Sean Moth 

So we keep touching on this, this this Triton, I mean, let’s talk about it, tell me a little bit about this piece of machinery got to get out of Midland people got to look at a demo. And it’s kind of we’re just starting to get it out there. But give me some details on this.

Curtis Durbin 

So Andy and I have both seen it a couple of times, it was in Midland, Texas at our open house, or new location there. And then ConExpo recently, we got to see it demonstrated there over the course of a couple of days. And it’s impressive, you know, we’re excited to get it into our equipment offering, as he mentioned, you know, the the Triton, which like the talent meets the pipe at the ground. There’s a number of advantages that come with that. And a lot of our customers seem really excited about the new product. So we’re excited to see it in action

Sean Moth 

in a ISCO yard very soon. Yeah. And maybe add on to that. What is why do I want this piece of equipment? What’s exciting about it? Well,

Andy Niblett 

I mean, there’s a lot excited about it, because it’s brand new, it’s a brand new idea. Well, in some ways, it’s borrowing from the talent, it’s borrowing from the Acrobat line. It’s a lot of the best things that macro has done over the years in one machine. And I gotta tell you, I’m just super excited to see how it performs on a job site and put through the trials and put it through the paces and see what happens. You

Sean Moth 

touched on it earlier. But with McElroy and kind of that mirror image of family owned, small business that’s exploded into something big. It seems like the success of both has relied on not just resting on okay, you know what the talent is awesome. This AI series is great. I think we’re good. No, it that’s not what it’s about. It’s about finding new, bigger and better. How much does that help you at your job in terms of looking forward to coming into work every day and looking forward to to maybe even on your own helping brainstorm and finding these new solutions with a good diffusion equipment.

Curtis Durbin 

I think Andy and I work really well together. But of the two of us, he’s more of the idea guy. So we’re always, you know, when when we’re meeting we’re always thinking about what’s next trying to look at the bigger picture and think about, you know, how can we be innovative and we do that in everything we do at ISCO and certainly McElroy has done this As you know, the ice series just rolled out within the past couple of years. And here we are talking about the training the next advancement in fusion technology. So it’s really cool as a partner of theirs. And I think it’s something we’re always talking about what’s what’s next? Yeah,

Andy Niblett 

it goes back to me, you know, being close to the customer, and understanding what the new problems are. Yeah, we’re doing a good job. We’re building great HDPE piping projects. But there’s always something you got a guy on a jobsite saying, Well, what if this? And what if that, and what if we did things different? And those kinds of things really interests me, I’m, by nature, really curious. So I love to hear that kind of feedback and talk to a lot of other like minded people. And, you know, macro is the same way to they love to hear that kind of feedback, take that back into the lab, get a team together, say, you know, how do we meet this challenge? How do we, how do we know and meet that challenge, but go past it, and give a customer and owner something they never expected?

Sean Moth 

Before we move into what the future potentially holds? Just in general, maybe a recommendation or a message to somebody who’s listening in to the podcast that maybe is thinking, you know, what our business might be in good shape? If we were to rent or buy some, some equipment? What advice do you have, in terms of, you know, what, what is the conduit to get to you guys? You know, do we just call you directly? Is it? Is it inquiry through the website? And how does that work? Yeah, it’s

Andy Niblett 

pretty easy. It’s all those things, you can you can check out our website, www dot Esko dash pipe.com. And there’s a lot of resources there around fusion equipment, you could contact any member of our sales team who we work extremely close with on a transactional basis, day to day. Really, anywhere you see ISCO push the button, call us, we’re ready to help.

Sean Moth 

All right, so now the future. Like maybe I start with the idea guy out is there? Is there a crazy idea you have in your head because as I studied the Highland Supercell and the lithium ion technology to help you perform electric fusion and field with what amounts to a briefcase, and no generators? And that I started to think to myself, well, is the power of the lithium ion going to allow us to perform butt-fusion in that same fashion? Is that maybe the next step? What what do you guys envision as the next, the next talent next Triton, the next Ice series coming out with McElroy partnering with ISCO, you know,

Andy Niblett 

I’m no battery expert. But I think there will be some challenges we’ll take in that kind of technology too. Butt-fusions is simple, simply because of the amount of heat that you have to absolute reduce for heat or to make a buck fusion joint. Wood. That said, I think there are lots of opportunities for technology to get deeper into the equipment, obviously, the US Series has been a big hit. That’s an three machines right now there’s a complete product line that it could be in down the road. Also, I think a lot like, think of your iPhone about how intuitive it is, right? You don’t need a manual to operate that. I think that’s where fusion is going, I think it’s gonna get to a point with one point where it’s going to be so intuitive that training may not be required, there may just be some basic fundamentals that people have to know. And beyond that, I think you might see a machine one day that knows what it’s doing on his own.

Sean Moth 

That aid that AI thought gets kind of scary, you have any thoughts on the subject, Curtis?

Curtis Durbin 

Well, something that we didn’t mention yet about the Triton is that it’s operated completely through the data logger. You don’t have to do any machine operation, you know, standing at or by the machine. It’s all through the data logger, kind of think of the way you operate a drone, similar fashion. So you could be 20 yards away, operating the terrain and bringing it to the pipe picking up the pipe completing the entire fusion, and you never get within, you know, 2025 yards of the machine. That’s an advancement and that could expand and could reach other products, you know, you have to be seeing. So

Sean Moth 

does this mean we’re going to be walking through the cubicles here and we’re going to look over to Bob at his desk and ask what he’s doing. He said, I’m performing fusion in California right now.

Curtis Durbin 

We could get there. He might be operating

Andy Niblett 

the machine. But you still have to have that. That fusion expert on site to understand all the circumstances around the

Sean Moth 

fusion. Obviously, that’s crazy to think of though and that the I think the drone comparison is very apt. As we wrap things up here. Is there any final thoughts anything you want to add? No, really appreciate the time you’ve given us. Curtis sermon, Andy Niblett our guests on our podcast, ISCO insights, final thoughts, final additions. You

Curtis Durbin 

know, Sean, I just appreciate the opportunity to do the podcast with you, Andy. I love talking about fusion equipment. I could do it all day. So you know, I hope the next podcast we do maybe we could talk a little college sports. Alright, maybe Major League Baseball, but that’ll be for another time. But But thank you for having

Sean Moth 

some might find that a little more interesting, but hopefully our audiences are intrigued by this. Any any final thoughts you want to throw out there?

Andy Niblett 

Yeah, I think I’d give a final shameless plug to our rental fleet. I’m really proud of the work that Curtis and I have done together. During the last couple years, everybody hears that we have the largest fleet, but we also have the youngest fleet. We also have the largest parts inventory to support that we have tools like the fusion hotline, where you can get on the phone with an expert if you have an issue in the field. Super proud of that. So thank you for having us today. Like Curtis I really love talking about fusion and fusion machines. While

Sean Moth 

the passion comes through and we we couldn’t have gotten to two better people to talk about it will remind you to take a look at the demo day with the Alliance for PE pipe as Garry Bouvet and his co-partner on that one Wednesday, May 24. And upcoming blog coming up about two butt-fusion going back to the basics. There’s nothing more basic about HDPE pipe than fusing. So a couple of other opportunities always the blog, the field reports, the podcast the insights, we’re doing what we can to keep you informed and if you have any questions in the meantime, you can always visit our website isco-pipe.com Thanks again to Curtis and Andy for joining us. This has been ISCO insights, the Podcast Take care