Permalok® HDD Joint Wins 2025 NASTT Abbott Innovation Award

Zero-Weld, Zero String-Out Interlocking Joint Maximizes HDD Efficiency

At the 2025 No-Dig Show in Denver, Northwest Pipe Company’s Permalok® HDD Joint received the prestigious Abbott Innovation Award from the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT). The award honors groundbreaking innovations that advance trenchless technology through exceptional design, technical refinement, and industry impact.

About the Permalok® HDD Joint

The Permalok® HDD Joint is a direct-push steel casing system engineered to optimize Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) operations. Traditional HDD setups require a substantial footprint—including a rig/operating area, a reception area, and a long stretch of open land to lay out and weld the pipe string.

Permalok’s weld-free HDD system eliminates those constraints. The casing pipe is cartridge-fed from the launch rig and advanced similar to drill stem. The press-fit joint design removes the need for pipe string-out and welding on the exit side, reducing the overall footprint, accelerating installation, and lowering construction costs.

Innovation Driven by Customer Needs

Horizontal Directional Drilling is a rapidly growing segment of the trenchless construction industry, with the number, scale, and complexity of projects on the rise. As HDD becomes more common for utility, water, oil, and gas installations, demand is increasing for innovative solutions that help engineers and contractors manage planning and installation challenges. The Permalok® HDD Joint was developed in direct response to that need.

Our customers were a driving force behind this innovation. We recognized the opportunity to apply the proven technology behind our other patented Permalok interlocking joint designs—press-fit, weld-free connections—to make HDD methods more accessible and easier to implement in the field, streamlining complex projects and delivering significant time and cost savings.

Real-World Impact

The Permalok® HDD Joint is already changing how trenchless projects are executed. One key example is its application in the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project, where it replaced a traditional HDD design that required pipe string-out at the exit. In this dense urban environment—complicated by highway crossings, train viaducts, and parklands—conventional methods weren’t feasible. Permalok’s HDD Joint enabled installation of the dual 5,200 LF HDD drives with a significantly smaller footprint, minimizing surface disruption and resulting in project success.

Northwest Pipe Company is honored to receive the 2025 Abbott Innovation Award and proud to contribute to the continued advancement of trenchless technology. As the industry evolves, we remain committed to developing high-performance solutions that address real-world challenges and deliver results for our customers and project owners.