by Diana Barnum
Correspondent
Starting your own drilling business can be tough. But networking
through organizations like the Ohio Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Association paid off for member Mark Rogers, owner of newly established
Integrity Boring of Bremen, Ohio.
“I was working as secretary/treasurer
for the Ohio HDD with the group’s past president, Marty Hallett of
Tru-Bore Technologies, Inc.,” said Mark Rogers. “I’d worked for Amerilink
for about 10 years and wanted to start my own business.”
Rogers
invested in a Ditch Witch JT1720 and set up shop. The 12,000 lb. JT1720
Mach 1 horizontal drilling system carries an 85-hp diesel engine, develops
17,000 pounds of thrust and pullback and up to 1,800 ft. per lb. of
spindle torque. This 200-inch-long machine measures 86 inches in height
and 54 inches in width.
To keep up with the industry, Rogers became
involved in the Oho HDD Association, helping it become established last
year in Columbus, Ohio. He served on the first interim board where
discussion of government agencies stepping in and taking charge of states
likes California when associations were not in existence urged Ohio
drillers to be proactive.
“Mark’s handling the overflow of our in-house crews at Tru-Bore,” said
Marty Hallett. “We’re installing cable and building uninterruptible power
supplies and telephony builds for Insight Communications (AT&T is part
owner of Insight Communications).”
In other words Tru-Bore is
responsible for those big, green cabinets that are popping up all over
town. In the event of a power breakdown, a gas-powered generator kicks on,
then battery back up. In this manner, Insight offers telephone service
over existing cable service.
Subcontractor Integrity Boring places some
of the duct or plastic pipe called innerduct for cable. All project
materials are supplied by Insight.
Installation Steps and
Equipment
There are only a few steps involved in setting up the power
supply areas:
• Set up cabinet - including generator and battery
back-up
• Place within location sites chosen by Insight engineers
•
Directional boring - avoid tearing up sidewalks, yards.
Tru-Bore uses
D7x11 Navigators for the bulk of the work, Vermeer D16X20 Navigators,
small drilling rigs and Ditch Witch HT 25 small trenchers. The D7x11
features an onboard water source and the smallest footprint in its class
in the industry. It is self-contained and compact to maneuver through
tight areas. Maximum torque is 1,100 ft-lb, with 7,800 lbs. pullback, 9gpm
mud flow, and 6 ft drill stem.
The D16x20 Navigator features the most
power available in this size of system: 16,000 lbs. of pullback and 2,000
ft-lb of torque. It is also self-contained and compact with a narrow
36-inch profile and 10 ft drill stem.
The light-utility trencher HT25
boasts an 80-inch height, top of cab, 120-inch basic length, 35.5-inch
width and max depth of 68 inches. It carries a Kubota D1105-E diesel
powered engine.
“In underground work, virtually 100% is directional
drilling now,” explained Hallett. “It’s a competitive environment. Not
tearing up yards keeps homeowners happy.”
And networking keeps business
owners happy.
“The association helped us get to know each other,”
explained Hallett. “Mark impressed me with his professionalism.”
The
Ohio HDD recently formed committees to address issues like damage and
prevention and certification. So there will be many more opportunities for
networking in the future, he added.
To learn more about the Ohio HDD
Association, contact Dan Schlosser, P. O. Box 310, Caledonia, OH 43314.
Call: (800) 537-6585 or (419) 845-2023, or fax inquiries to: (419)
845-2026. E-mail inquiries to: ASSNHQ@gte.net or visit the association’s
website at: www.ohiohdd.org
Contact Integrity boring at 1354 County
Line Road, Bremen, OH 43107. Call: 740-569-4971. Contact Tru-Bore
Technologies, Inc. at 600-F N. Cassady Ave., Columbus, OH 43219. Call them
at: (614) 257-1330 or fax inquiries to: (614)
257-1344. |