Big Machine for Big Jobs

Published in BC Y-Dig 2013:
Kamloops Augering & Boring Ltd. (KAB) is ready for the really big jobs with the world’s largest auger boring machine.

The American Augers 84/96-1800 is capable of boring 96-inch-diameter holes at 1.8-million-pound thrust. Weighing about 30 tonnes, it’s 17 feet long, nine feet wide and more than nine feet tall.

The standard model has a 300-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine and a Quik Tran system, exclusively from American Augers, that allows for fast return with up to 10,000 pounds of push/pull at high speed. Quik Tran “makes for easier machine operation in challenging work climates or conditions,” according to the manufacturer.

The 84/96, like other American Augers machines, also has a Quik Split frame design that allows separation of the rig into sections for easier placement and removal at work areas.

KAB president Malcolm Bachand told Underground Construction magazine the 84/96 was purchased “to install culverts on a large railroad project.” He was referring to repairs made in the summer of 2011 after an extreme rainfall event in the Peace River area, where KAB installed a new 72-inch-wide and 220-foot-long culvert at the Canadian National Railway’s Chetwynd yard. (An article about the Chetwynd project appeared in last year’s Y-Dig.)

“There is no comparison when it comes to the magnitude of its power when compared to the remainder of our fleet,” KAB’s Harry Dickinson said of the big machine this past March. However, he added, loading and unloading can be difficult due to its gargantuan size.

Dickinson said KAB does benefit by having the 84/96. “Installing and cleaning larger-diameter pipe has become easier. Typically, we would have to use a smaller ABM and significantly smaller auger to clean anything over 72 inches.

“The biggest benefit will be using our larger hammers with our 84/96 machine for installing up to 120-inch-diameter casings.

Established in 1976, Kamloops Augering & Boring provides comprehensive services in trenchless construction. Its services and expertise include tunneling, large-diameter pipe ramming, auger boring, rock boring, pilot tube microtunneling and horizontal pile driving.

American Augers manufactures auger boring machines, drilling rigs and related products at a 141,000-square-foot facility in West Salem, Ohio. The company proclaims on its website that its core value is “having products developed by a can-do workforce that focuses on mechanical, technological and customer-based design improvements.”