This year, McElroy launched a social media campaign to highlight operators who use McElroy equipment to live up to the company’s mission of making the world a better place. To celebrate those operators and the commitment to the industry, three winners were awarded a trip to Tulsa to our three-day INFUSION conference Sept. 20-22.
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s winners are David Atherdeen (Jag Poly – Australia), Jose Cuevas Torres (EMIN – Chile), and Eleazar Garza (EnviroCon – USA).
We were thrilled with the amount of participation in this year’s contest and thoroughly enjoyed reading the accounts of the operators who work tirelessly with McElroy equipment each day.
Congratulations, Champions of Fusion!
David Atherdeen
On a mine site in Central Queensland, Australia, Jag Poly was contracted to weld 1,500 meters of 1,000 millimeter SDR 13.6 pipe.
Operator David Atherdeen was part of a crew that utilized a TracStar® 1200 to complete the job.
“The TracStar 1200 is a great quality machine,” Atherdeen said.
“We didn’t have any issues related to the machine. The only difficulty in the job site was having to move heavy equipment. It’s not very often that we get to use a TracStar 1200 – we usually perform our projects with a TracStar® 900, so it was something unique for me to use it.”
Jose Cuevas Torres
A mine in Antofagasta, Chile, needed a skilled operator to run McElroy’s biggest machine to date – the Talon™ 2000. Jose Cuevas Torres was part of an EMIN team that traveled to the mine to fuse 1,600mm and 1,200mm SDR 11 pipe with the Talon and a TracStar® 1200.
“All the McElroy machines we’ve operated are better than any other brand in terms of production, safety, technology and quality,” Cuevas Torres said. “Compared to other brands, McElroy machines make our work easier, since the technology is much more advanced.”
Cuevas Torres said he never expected to operate a machine like the Talon.
“Knowing there are only three in the world and being able to have one in South America was privilege,” he said. “It was a unique experience that I never thought would happen. We have seen many videos of the Talon, but I did not imagine I would have the honor of operating it here in Chile.”
Cuevas Torres and his team were able to complete about seven to eight fusions daily on the project.
Eleazar Garza
Eleazar Garza submitted his story of a job in Austin, Texas with Envirocon Systems, Inc.
“I’ve been using McElroy machines since I started working as an operator,” Garza said. “We’ve tried different machines, but we always go back to McElroy equipment because it is very reliable and very easy to work with.”
Using a MegaMc® 1648, a TracStar® 900, and a TracStar® 618, Garza and his team worked on a set of fire lines, waterlines, drainage lines, and portable water lines for a large technology facility.
“This project was pretty cool because the pipe was very massive and it was challenging taking the MegaMc 1648 apart to make it fit where the fusion was going to be done. Also, there were several weird shapes and unique parts of the pipeline,” Garza said.
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