Troy Ouverson started working in his father’s business at age 12, in 1992. Three years ago, he became the owner of the company, Ouverson Excavating, which for almost 40 years specialized in installing residential sewer and water lines in and around Buffalo, Minn.
As owner, Ouverson saw that the many lines the company had installed were in need of repair and, in some cases, replacement. So he changed the name to Ouverson Sewer and Drain Services, aiming to take decisive action to be at the forefront in the industry.
“We saw that a new cycle was starting,” Ouverson says. The company geared down from new construction, added inspection cameras and, most important, went into cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining. Besides changing the company name, Ouverson changed the graphics on the two service trucks to tout no-dig line replacement.
As a computer junkie, Ouverson also saw the importance of using the Internet and the company web site to promote their new business model and appeal to homeowners faced with sewer line problems.
When he made the switch, Ouverson expected to be installing perhaps two CIPP liners per week, while still digging and replacing pipes. In reality, the firm installs a new lining almost every day and gets calls from all over the state with requests for more information and invitations to bid on jobs.
“When we jumped into this, we jumped in 100 percent. Once we got into it, it has just been unbelievable the opportunities we have had,” Ouverson says. “Ninety percent of our work is now in CIPP lining. Thirty to 40 percent of that business comes to us through customers finding us on Google or Yahoo and going to our web site. I thought initially that if we could do some relining and some traditional digging, that would be fine. But the relining really took off.”
The company still gets requests for new construction but is turning those opportunities down, as lining is more profitable, and for Ouverson, much more enjoyable.
The right system
Ouverson decided on CIPP as its trenchless technology because it requires just one small excavation, while pipe bursting requires two – one at the house and the other at the street. “We saw demonstrations of both systems at Pumper & Cleaner Expo,” he says. “We knew people in Minneapolis who were doing pipe bursting, so we were familiar with that. Our main reason for choosing CIPP was that we didn’t want to dig a hole in the street.”
After trying one lining system for four months and finding it was difficult and involved too many steps, the company settled on the Perma-Lateral system from Perma-Liner Industries, Inc. That system fits with the company’s plan to stick with residential work and some services for small municipalities. “We knew right away that we had found the right system for our needs,” Ouverson says.
To get the word out about the new CIPP service, the company contacted local municipalities in order to become listed as a contractor for homeowners facing line replacement problems. The company also secured a contract with one town to provide sewer inspections.
Primary to the promotion was the web site, in particular the use of search engines so that the company would appear toward the top of the list when potential customers looked online for sewer lateral solutions.
“I wanted to be one of the first sites that would come up,” Ouverson says. “You have to find the right key words. If somebody clicks and finds us, it may cost us $5, but we’re willing to pay that fee. I knew when we started that we would have to tackle that. I knew that with our web site, people would take us seriously.” Ouverson uses several search engines. The fees he pays are a major part of advertising expense but he finds it well worth the money.
Done in a day
As for the lateral lining process itself, Ouverson says the key when shooting toward the mainline in the street is to cover the joint at the main. It is also important to avoid shooting the liner into the main, where it could cause a blockage.
Training provided at the Perma-Liner headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., proved to be an asset. Ouverson attended with his father, Doug, and employee Scott Veal. Their five days in Clearwater included time in the field doing installations.
“We had hands on experience, shooting the lines and doing the measuring,” says Ouverson. Generally the three work together on a job, completing most projects in a day, sometimes less. While the system suits its current needs, the company also uses PipePatch equipment from Source 1 Environmental for fixing small defects, such as small cracks or leaks in PVC laterals.
Other equipment includes two cameras by MyTana Mfg. Co. Inc. “We like these cameras because of the support we get from a local company,” Ouverson says. “Those cameras take a lot of abuse, and when we have trouble we are 15 minutes away and they will give us a loaner to use. When we’re doing camera work, we have to be sure everything is working.” The firm also uses locators from MyTana – two for sewers and one for water lines.
The service vans are a Ford E-350 and a Ford E-250. The company also has a trailer jetter from General Pipe Cleaners (3,000 psi/5.5 gpm) and a fully stocked International truck for transporting supplies.
A specially equipped trailer carries a full setup for measuring and cutting CIPP liners and mixing the resin used to wet out the lining. For that purpose, the company modified the 24-foot trailer purchased for the first lining system to suit the needs of the Perma-Lateral technology. The trailer has air conditioning for summer and heat for winter.
Checking the neighborhood
Ouverson Sewer and Water is located on the west side of the Twin Cities, about 20 miles from downtown Minneapolis. Some homes within the 50-mile-radius service area were built in the 1960s, and some as long ago as the 1920s and 1930s. Many neighborhoods have mature landscaping, and the ability to fix laterals without digging is a popular option.
“When we’re lining those older clay pipe sewer lines, they look like a new line when we are done,” Ouverson says. Roots are cleared out with cable machines from General Pipe Cleaners.
While typical projects involve residential laterals, there have been some complicated projects. Recently the Town of Tracy, noted for huge public swimming pools, was faced with one of the pools losing thousands of gallons of water through cracks in an underground PVC drainpipe. If the leak could not be fixed, the city faced digging up the pool at a cost of millions.
For that project, Ouverson called on Perma-Liner for technical support. His three-man team, along with a Perma-Liner technical representative, tackled the job, which involved 90 feet of 6-inch pipe with five 90-degree elbows.
“We figured it would probably take three days to do this job,” Ouverson says. “We actually shot the whole thing in a single day.” As a rule, the company orders lining material in bulk rolls and then does the measuring and other preparation in the field. For special projects that require quick shipment, material arrives overnight.
Well worthwhile
In reflecting on the last three years and the experience with CIPP, Ouverson says the company seldom has to dig to repair or replace a line.
“Sometimes we have a water line that needs to be replaced, and we have to dig,” he says. “Or there is a piece of bad pipe where a rock was backfilled on top of the pipe and eventually smashed it down. But it’s rare that we have to dig. With this process, we can do more work, more efficiently, and we can enjoy the process and the accomplishment of providing a satisfactory service for our customers.”
