“Methane, it gives you a hand!”
It was the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Italian television broadcast a commercial with the slogan: «Methane, give you a hand!» Significant investments were underway to connect most Italian municipalities to methane gas. It was then that some cities began installing the first polyethylene pipe infrastructure: natural gas was now a household name in Italy!
Today, after about thirty years, we can take stock and observe how this investment has led to enormous social benefits, with fewer and fewer areas without methane gas.
The two construction sites we will visit in Istrana in the province of Treviso are part of a gasification plan in two new residential areas and the welding works have been entrusted to the company Tonello Servizi S.r.l. of Oderzo.
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The first construction site has snow-capped mountains as a backdrop and involves the construction of a 300-meter section with a PE80 pipeline, 125 mm in diameter and with SDR 11.
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Here we encounter a tireless Delta Dragon 250 completing its welding cycle. This is a welder that’s not exactly new, having been marketed by Ritmo years ago, but it still performs its task flawlessly.
The reliability of this machine, combined with the periodic inspection plan required by regulations, have made this Ritmo welder a true workhorse on construction sites.
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Moving a few kilometers, the bright orange of a new Basic 250 stands out brightly on this gray day. The pipe being welded has the same characteristics and diameter as the previous site; here, a 900-meter loop will be created.
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The work phases are carried out scrupulously by the operator who has customized the welding area to the point that his colleagues jokingly taunt him and warn me not to get too close to the new welding machine because he will not even let me see it.
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Amidst the roar of laughter, it becomes necessary to exchange a few words with the welder, whose words begin with: “This is a perfect machine, I love it… and actually it’s true, I don’t let my colleagues touch it… ever!”
When you’ve been welding for years and you come across a new welder, you immediately know if the product is valid and well-made: it’s the experience you gain on the job site, and this Basic is truly solid and well-made. Then, when you press a single button to change the adapters and that’s it, you’re fascinated.»
It’s actually impossible not to agree with him, these are precisely the features that customers appreciate in this line of welding machines.
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The operations are proceeding smoothly and to create as little inconvenience as possible to residents, the affected section is being excavated, the pipe is being laid, and the excavation is being closed again.
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My visit is coming to an end, and on the way home I think back to the relaxed, cheerful atmosphere among my colleagues. After all, if everything’s going well… why be sad?
