Vactor HXX ParaDIGm® Vacuum Excavator Truck Named Top 100 Finalist for 2016 Chicago Innovation Awards

Federal Signal Corporation, parent company to Vactor Manufacturing, the industry leader in vacuum excavators, sewer and catch basin cleaners, and industrial vacuum loaders, is a Top 100 Finalist for the 2016 Chicago Innovation Awards, out of a pool of 643 blue-chip corporations, startups and other businesses. The awards recognize the most innovative new products and services in the Chicago region across a variety of sectors, industries and organizations of all sizes. Federal Signal, based in Oak Brook, Ill., was nominated for the recently launched Vactor HXX ParaDIGm® vacuum excavator truck used by utility, municipal and contractor customers throughout North America.
“We are honored that the Vactor HXX ParaDIGm has been selected as a finalist for such a prestigious award. This is a testament to our commitment of offering innovative solutions and products to our customers,” said Jennifer Sherman, president and CEO of Federal Signal Corporation. “Two years ago, we redesigned a portion of our new product development process with focused efforts by our Environmental Solutions Group Utility Innovation Team, the Vactor HXX ParaDIGm launch team, and valuable input from our dealership network. The Vactor HXX ParaDIGm compact vacuum excavator is the first new product introduced as a result of our collective efforts, and is the latest addition to Vactor Manufacturing’s broad product offering of water and air vacuum excavators serving the needs of the industrial, utility and oil and gas markets in the United States and Canada.”
As a Top 100 Finalist, the Vactor HXX ParaDIGm vacuum excavator is also in the running for the annual “People’s Choice Award,” selected through online balloting by the general public at the Chicago Innovation Awards website. The Top 100 Finalists have been divided into 12 industries, with the Vactor HXX ParaDIGm placed in the Industrial/Manufacturing category along with eight other companies. Online voting for the awards ends on October 6th.
“What I love about Chicago is its breadth of innovation,” said Tom Kuczmarski, co-founder with Chicago journalist Dan Miller, of the awards. “This year’s nominees prove that innovation is taking place in both large companies and small, across industries, for-profit and non-profit, high tech and low tech. These risk-takers and visionaries are at the forefront of solving all kinds of unmet needs in the marketplace.”

Vactor HXX ParaDIGm
The Vactor HXX ParaDIGm vacuum excavator is designed for the utility market to remove soil from around sensitive buried utilities with unmatched speed, precision and safety. Vacuum excavation uses similar technology to that used in sewer line cleaners and catch basin cleaners – high-pressure water and vacuum – as a non-destructive digging medium for a variety of utility and municipal excavation applications, including slot trenching, potholing, water valve box repair and locating of existing fiber-optic lines, cables and other utilities.
“The Vactor ParaDIGm is the result of a comprehensive, customer-focused design process based on qualitative field research involving more than 100 utility customers responsible for expanding, maintaining and repairing underground water, sewer, gas, electric and telecommunications conduits,” said Sam Miceli, senior vice president of Federal Signal’s Environmental Solutions Group, which includes Vactor Manufacturing. “This product introduction is a perfect example of both Vactor’s commitment to innovation and what the Chicago Innovation Awards celebrate.”
Out of the Top 100 Finalists, judges will select 10 winners of the 2016 Chicago Innovation Awards. More than 1,400 business and civic leaders will come together to honor the award winners when they are announced on October 25th at Chicago’s Harris Theater.

About the Chicago Innovations Awards
The Chicago Innovations Awards, now in its 15th year, is a nonprofit founded by Tom Kuczmarski, President of Consultancy at Kuczmarski Innovation and a professor at Northwestern University, and Dan Miller, a former chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission and former editor of Crain’s Chicago Business.

About Federal Signal Corporation
Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS) provides products and services to protect people and our planet.
Founded in 1901, Federal Signal is a leading global designer and manufacturer of products and total solutions that serve municipal, governmental, industrial and commercial customers. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., with manufacturing facilities worldwide, the company operates two groups: Environmental Solutions and Safety and Security Systems.

About Vactor Manufacturing
Vactor Manufacturing is the industry leader in vacuum excavators, sewer and catch basin cleaners and industrial vacuum loaders, featuring innovative technology and custom configurable designs. With one of the largest and most developed distributor networks in the industry, Vactor has more than 50 North American distributors in more than 100 locations to serve the utility, contractor and municipal markets, as well as 12 factory direct locations through FS Solutions for industrial customers.

For more information on the Vactor HXX ParaDIGm vacuum excavator, please contact Vactor Manufacturing at 1-800-627-3171, or visit www.vactor.com.

Vactor Manufacturing is the industry leader in sewer and catch basin cleaners, industrial vacuum loaders and vacuum excavators featuring innovative technology and custom configurable designs. Based in Streator, Ill., Vactor Manufacturing has more than 50 North American distributors in more than 100 locations to serve the utility, contractor and municipal markets, as well as 12 factory direct locations through FS Solutions for industrial customers.

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