Laurini: a game changer in a difficult world
The IPLOCA Novel Construction Spring Session 2024 took place in Windsor, exactly where the inaugural event was held 20 years ago. It was a perfect occasion for Laurini to celebrate 20 years of history in this incredible industry—a story of ambitions and challenges where innovation is key to improving quality, performance, safety, and sustainability.
The theme of the session was “Beyond Boundaries: Embracing 20 years of Innovation, Unveiling Tomorrow’s Transformative Trends in Pipeline Construction.” We focused on two verbs in the title: “unveiling,” meaning to reveal, because the pipeline industry’s goal is to uncover the future trends, and “embracing,” as in embracing all those who bring innovation to improve our sector.
Laurini has always been committed to innovation, which is why we, along with many other companies associated with IPLOCA, consider ourselves “game changers in a challenging world.” We believe there are five characteristics to change the rules of the game: open-mindedness, talent, knowledge sharing, resilience, and embracing failure. During our presentation at the Novel session, we analyzed these attributes, reflecting on Laurini’s long history of innovation.
Back then, the Laurini Side Excavator was recognized as a highly innovative solution and received the “New Technologies Award sponsored by BP” at the 2005 Vancouver Convention. It was the first IPLOCA award to acknowledge the “talent” of a company that had entered the pipeline sector just a few years earlier. In 1996, Marco Laurini designed and built the first machine, a self-propelled and remote-controlled crusher named Grub, specifically designed to work inside trenches, leaving behind a uniform layer of fine material. That same year, several companies (such as Bonatti and Somico) purchased the first two units.
“Knowledge sharing” is fundamental. Just like in team sports, the combination of skills from many people can create wonderful things: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In 1996, Laurini joined IPLOCA and participated in the annual Convention in Istanbul. This was a turning point for our company because interacting with leading companies in the pipeline sector helped us better understand the needs and challenges to address.
In 2000, Laurini introduced its bestseller, the Vulcano: a self-propelled, remote-controlled vibrating screen. Even the best innovations require updates, which is why in 2015, Vulcano 2.0 was launched, followed by Vulcano Smart and Vulcano XXL.
Knowledge sharing also means building valuable partnerships. Last year, Laurini signed an agreement with Tesmec, another innovator in machine manufacturing. The idea behind the partnership is to combine our machines in bedding, padding, and filling operations. When using a trencher, the performance of Vulcano can be enhanced thanks to the finer material produced by the trencher. Competitive advantages include a comprehensive solution for the construction site, cost and time savings, and reduced machinery movements along the site.
During a dinner in 2006, Marco Laurini and Spiecapag’s Asset Manager, Bernard Quereillahc, discussed a multifunctional tracked platform. Marco sketched the designs on a napkin. That was the day Muletrax was born. The idea was to create a tracked platform for various uses. Muletrax won Laurini’s second BP award in Sydney in 2007. The third BP award came in 2011 with the Seam Aligner Clamp, ensuring quick, precise, and safe pipe positioning.
Innovation also involves learning from failure. In 2018, we developed Apollo, a pipe laying system. At the time, our goal was to ensure the stability of the pipe column, secure the side arms, and reduce the number of machines used during pipe laying. However, Apollo did not succeed due to the limited types of construction sites where it could be used.
The final key ingredient to changing the rules of the game is “resilience,” and this word holds various meanings:
Resilience means courage: In 2021, we designed our SansOne pipe layer, which brought significant innovations in terms of visibility and transportability.
Resilience means adaptation: Since 2022, we have been designing and continuously producing Casing Spacers for microtunneling.
Image: Jacko Lake Project, Surerus Murphy, Canada
Resilience also means embracing new challenges: In 2018, Laurini launched a new business unit dedicated to specialized transformations of excavators for demolition machines.
The expertise gained in pipeline machinery was crucial to our success in developing specialized excavator transformations suitable for pipeline sites. Our latest innovation is the Switch-boom Excavator. Its competitive advantage lies in allowing a single operator to switch from excavation to pipe laying configuration in just ten minutes.
The machine will be showcased at the Pipeline and Gas Expo in Piacenza at the end of May.