Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has brought Core & Vac trucks into operation after extensive trials.

Built to bespoke specification in Germersheim, Germany by MTS, using a Volvo cab and chassis, extensions were made to the rear chassis to accommodate a platform that houses a crane arm and drilling pod. This required the standard machine design to be altered from a rear tipping mechanism to allow side tipping.

The Core & Vac technology aboard the truck then sees an innovative acoustic camera inserted into a gas main, pinpointing the exact location of the leaking joint by listening for a pitch change of escaping gas.

The suction excavator on the truck drills and removes a neat 600mm diameter core out of the road surface, allowing the material to be sucked out and the pipe repaired using long-handled tools. After this, the hole is backfilled, compacted and the original core reinserted and grouted back into place, minimising customer inconvenience as well as saving time, money and new material used.