After arriving back in Vancouver blurry eyed from what seemed like a very long flight making connections from NASTT No-Dig in Sacramento, we started to reflect on was all that really worth the hassle?

Our answer was yes… and… no.

The only negative that we and most exhibitors have with No-Dig shows in general is the small amount of time allocated to the exhibitors to show their products and speak with potential clients for the cost and hassle of setting up and ripping down.

In the positive camp, No-Dig is probably the best place to learn trenchless through seminars and case studies put on by the smartest, most knowledgeable problem solving people in the industry.

We had the opportunity to attend the “NASTT’s Horizontal Directional Drilling Good Practices Course” put on by Dr. David Bennett and Matthew Wallin of Bennett Trenchless Engineers and Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam. The course was well attended by a good mix of people in the industry from manufacturers to end users. We were amazed at how far the trenchless industry has progressed in such a short time. New equipment and techniques have resolved problems thought to be insurmountable, boring distances have increased exponentially in the trenchless industry. This course is a MUST for anyone wanting to stay in touch with what is going on.

Overall the show was a great opportunity to meet up with some of our customers and end users as well as meet some new contacts and learn a lot from some very smart people in the trenchless industry.