Herrenknecht AG, based Germany, was established in 1977 and is a leading manufacturer of tunnelling equipment. Through innovation and development, Herrenknecht has expanded its equipment range with specialised pipeline installation technologies.

Herrenknecht’s horizontal directional drilling (HDD) rigs offer pull forces from 80 to 600 t, a range of HDD tooling including full face hole openers (FFHO) for single-pass large diameter reaming stages, weeper subs and downhole jet pumps.

It offers Direct Pipe® technology, using AVN machine and Pipe Thruster, for single-pass installation of steel pipelines from 20 to 60 inches (508 to 1,524 mm) in difficult ground conditions, sensitive areas, or shore approaches.

Herrenknecht’s Pipe Thruster’s offer 300 to 750 t push/pull force to assist challenging HDD installations of longer pipelines and larger diameters, or as a pipeline rescue or insertion tool.

Its Pipe Express® method works as a rapid, semi-trenchless, cross country pipeline installation system for 30 to 60 inches(762 to 1,524 mm).

Herrenknecht’s E-Power Pipe® technology, using a microtunnel boring machine with jet pump (AVNS) for longer drives in small diameters. First, the AVNS excavates borehole using temporary jacking pipe concept. Second, the rack and pinion jacking frame pulls the prefabricated product pipe.