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LAVALLEY INDUSTRIES,
USA
L
aValley Industries was founded in 2006 by Horizontal
Directional Drilling (HDD) veteran Jason LaValley, with the
mission of bringing equipment solutions to the pipeline
construction process created and designed by those
who had worked in the industry. LaValley’s flagship product line
was developed from a sketch that Jason LaValley created after
witnessing a jobsite accident. That initial sketch has developed
into the DECKHAND®pipe handling system, which has brought
a new level of flexibility and load control to material handling
attachments. Designed around the concept of a single tool with
many purposes, the DECKHAND’s head unit is powered by the
excavator’s hydraulics and utilises a variety of purpose-driven arm
attachments to safely and efficiently load or unload different
types of pipe, road mats, casing, and other materials. 360˚
rotation, tilt, and shift functions deliver load control and load
placement.
Over the last decade,
LaValley Industries has grown
into an equipment manufacturer
with global distribution and a
product line-up spanning across the
HDD, pipeline, utility, and construction
industries. In 2017, LaValley Industries
launched its patented exit-side (pipe-side)
wrench, TONGHAND
®
, which has quickly
become the new standard in North American
HDD exit-side operations, with international
sales launching in 2019. The TONGHAND’s
patented rotation arms, gullwing design and
integral TongVise
TM
allow a single operator to
torque and un-torque pipe joints, sub connectors, and
hole openers, all from the safety and comfort of the
excavator cab.
Keeping true to its roots in improving jobsite safety
and efficiency, LaValley Industries has introduced the
TONGHAND XS (THXS). THXS has been specifically designed
to bring all the versatility of the original TONGHAND exit-side
wrench to contractors using smaller drill rigs in the 140 000 lb
class and below. THXS has a lifting capacity of 5000 lb, connects
to any excavator in the 14 - 18 t range and is powered by the
excavator’s auxiliary hydraulic circuit. It is designed to work with
pipe tool joints ranging in diameter from 2.88 in. to 4.38 in., and
its patented gullwing design makes it capable of torqueing/
un-torqueing hole openers, subs, and other tooling.
The 30 000 ft/lb torque capability on its patented vise,
coupled with its precision pipe control design, allows workers
to remain safely away from drilling components while
torqueing/un-torqueing joints, loading and unloading drill
string components, and positioning drill rod throughout
the jobsite.
TONGHAND has received the International
Pipeline Contractors Offshore Association’s
(IPLOCA) New Technology Award, the North
American Society of Trenchless Technology’s
(NASTT) Innovative Product Award, and the
Pipeline Industries Guild’s (P.I.G) Land Based
Pipeline Technology Award. “Although
it has been extremely satisfying to be
recognised by our industry peers, I get
greater satisfaction every time that
I am on a jobsite and see our tool
removing workers from danger
zones and making their job easier,”
says Jason LaValley, President
of LaValley Industries and
inventor of TONGHAND.
“I look forward to THXS
doing the same.”
TONGHAND
®
XS on a Northern Pipeline jobsite in Worthington,
Minnesota (US).
TONGHAND on a Southeast Directional Drilling jobsite in Fishkill,
New York (US).
Heavy equipment review
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