Trust and Reputation Help Elite Pipeline Succeed Across Industries

Many of Elite’s team members have been with the company for years, ensuring an experienced and dedicated crew on all projects. The company began servicing nuclear plants in 2005, offering manned entry and robotic inspections for pipe lining, pre- and post-inspection, and repair assessment. Elite continues to make a name for itself as a trusted partner for the largest nuclear facilities in the Northern Hemisphere.

Branching Into Municipal Inspection

The expertise, reputation and attention to detail that nuclear work has given Elite provided a strong foundation for its move into municipal pipeline inspection and repair. About five years ago, Elite began investing in the municipal side of its business and reached out to Envirosight as the long-time supplier of its CCTV equipment. Since then, Elite has grown from one to five Envirosight crawler systems: two ROVVER Xs and three ROVVER X SAT II units. Today, its municipal services include wastewater CCTV inspections, cleaning, and manhole to manhole relining in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The business is now split evenly between the municipal and nuclear divisions.

The Right Crawler for Every Job

And ROVVER X is ideal for this combination. “The most important thing for us: it’s mobility,” says Beitner. “We can pack up a ROVVER X, ship it across the country, and it’s ready for our techs to go into a plant and do a video inspection. Then, we can turn around and take that system out of the box and put it into a panel van or sprinter, and it’s ready to go for mainline inspection.

That really got us in with Envirosight, and it’s one of the main reasons we stick with it.” Elite also makes use of ROVVER’s add-on laser measuring tool and elevator. “We do have auxiliary lighting too,” adds Beitner, “But with the newest pan-tilt cam we rarely have to use it, because it’s already just about everything we need.” Reliability and trust are everything, and that holds true for the equipment, as well as the team doing the work. “We have systems that have inspected over two million feet, and we’re using them out in the field,” Beitner notes. “

[On] almost every nuclear project we have a ROVVER X camera,” and customers trust Elite with a range of high-risk projects. “We’ve inspected contaminated pipe in bubble suits before. It has a battery pack on the back and blows air to fill the suit. Then you can go into more restricted areas where equipment may provide limited man access to perform a video inspection.”

And ROVVER X is not the only Envirosight equipment in Elite’s toolbox. Its team operates a Verisight Pro+ push camera, and the SAT II lateral launch systems are kept busy running inspections for gas companies, looking for dangerous cross bores.

“Last year we purchased a [Quickview] zoom camera,” says Beitner. “When we go out to bid on projects, we use the zoom camera and assess the pipe as far as cleaning, so we can dial in our pricing when bidding on the projects. That’s come in real handy.”

It is a tall order, succeeding in the high-stakes nuclear energy industry, while also building out significant wastewater capabilities in less than half a decade. But Elite Pipeline Services makes it look easy, creating satisfied customers across the Midwest and the country. To be successful in both demanding worlds requires dedication, careful planning, skilled and trustworthy team members, and reliable, versatile equipment.

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