SS9901-CS030801 ucccssfltl horizontal directional drilling projects in
any environment require a lot of hard work and
planning. Successful IIDl) projects in thc middle of
a ma}or thoroughlhrc in Bellaire,Texas, require cvcn
lllOrC, aS tit) officials fOtllld out ~vhcII they hegan con-
struction of a new water [ralislnissioll lille [O tic Jll[O the
(Tity of ttotlsto~l's water network
Thc (ity of Bcllaire had to install a 16 in water n':ms-
mission main to mcct tlarris-(ialvcston ( oastal Subsidence
District requirements Ibr conversion from grnundwatcr
sources to snrlkice watch Thc City of Bdlairc contracted
with file City of Houston to purchase water by tying into
:l 66-in. water main supply linc that would carry tile water
to the City bi t3cllairc's storage alld treatment
facilRics
(71attach & Miller Inc.. a Houston-based civil engineering
Big Rig
Used in
Bellaire,
Texas
Kinsel, in turn, hirccl Janco l-)ircctional Drilling Cc)., Iowa,
IAI., to complete the 111)1) portion of the project
This marked thc first time thc City of Bcllairc elected to
usc HDPE pipe and horizontal directional drilling to install
a water line Ill order to obtain a 16-in. inner diameter
pipe, a 20 in. IIDPE pipe was selected lbr thc project. Thc
project was bid with open-cut and directional drilling
options Had the open-cut option been selected and corn
plcted using conventional dig-and replace methods, thc
water line installation project may have taken as long :is
three months to complete due to the hcaW traflic on
South Rice Street
According to Terry Norris, project manager for Kinsel
lndustrics,"The original bids tbr the open-cut project were
beyond vd~at thc City had budgeted to spend, primarily
duc to thc street repairs that would be required Kinscl
was asked to submit al/ alternative hid, and wc proposed
installation via }tDI) to minimize any tralfic interruptions
and detours In addition, I believe that using HDD cot tile
time needed to complete the overall project in half"
Janco succcssfllIly installed b,600 If of 20-in. Hi)PE pipe
under Rice Street, which crossed major thoroughlhrcs
(Bcllairc Boulevard and Bissonnet ~trcct. anti
Bcllair&s (7iQ Hall. The crew completed this
ditys of thc first week and product placement
b~ Kin~cl was complctt.d b} thc end of thai
ing drill shots, a~ approximaleIy 2.100 fl
weeks
~b accomplish this goal, Paul Klein prcs~-
was f}lccd with sctling up thc drill spread
oil5 streets during thc job.
The Maxi Rig Market B,/$ oron M. Bueno
So how is the maxi rig market looking these days?
When Trencbless Teclmology posed this question to a few:industry
experts in 2002. they described the big rig market as a glimmer of light
in an otherwise floundering directional drilling market. While the fiber-
optic boom drove the directional drilling market tO its height of popu-
larity and demand, it has been the pipeline projects that have kept a
steady inflow of work for the maxi rig drillers.
When asked how the maxi rig market is going in 2003, the maxi rig
manufacturers at Tulsa Rig Iron,American Angers and Horizontal Rig &
Equipment (tiRE) are still slightly optimistic about its future, particu-
larly outside of North America.
"The big rig market is fairly steady imernationally, b~lt aPpears errat-
ic domestically," says Guy Randall general manager atAmericanAugers.
which is considered to be a worldwide leader in maxi rig manufactur-
ing. One of its prized rigs is the DD-Millton Eighty.
"The domestic market is very soft right now but theee is large
amounts of activtty in the international marketplaee:' says Larlee Price.
sales manager at Tulsa Rig Iron, which makes drills from 160.O0 to 1.1
million lbs push/pnilback capacit~ -
Most of tile work employing maxi rigs is being done in the gas dis-
tribution, water and sewer markets Mid-size to large oil and gas
pipelines also draw the attention of maxi rigs, says Price.
Denis Fox. HRE vice president, concurs with the above assessment of
the market."The maxi rig market is strong worldwide but is a bit slow
in North America. The United States and Canada are still suffering from
the Euron fallout," Fox says. "After the exposure at Em'on, many associ-
ated companies tabled construction prolects, as did so many project
owners who were not associated. The industry is still waiting for an
onslaught of work that was to have made 2002 a record year for the
pipeline construction."
HRE, Come,Texas. has been in operation since 1999. The company
was founded by Gene Carpenter, who spent 10 years prior building
maxJ rigs for a leading HDD contractor.
Fox says that a major contributor to the strong international market
for maxi rigs is coming from the Chinese market. He says that there are
several requests for bids out, or those that will be issued shortly, for rigs
that will be purchased by Chinese customers -- including two with 1.1
million lbs of pullback.
So what are customers looking for when inquiring about maxi rig
purchases? There are several specific items that make the rigs attractive
to potential buyers, with the reliability highest on their list, as well as
price and after sales support, says Price. And today's customers are
doing their homework before they buy -- about the company and the
products they are seeking.
"In big rigs, price remains important although it is less important to
durability and support after the sale." Randall says. "We see a strong
emphasis on reliability due to the high costs and downtime: Sudden
service parts avallabiiny for the power system is absolutely vital. The
key to the purchase is sudden delivery of a high-performance package
that is supported by an experienced company."
"Customers want reliability. Rig buyers want references and informa-
tion about the manufacturer"Fox says."Today's customer is doing their
homework better and is a more knowledgeable shopper?
What's in store for maxi rigs? High-torque, slow speed hydraulic
motors are among the upgrades. High-torque motors that opemm at
slower speeds eliminate the need for massive gear reduction are regain-
ing tn popularity, Fox says.
?003 1RENCHLESS 11~CHNO~OGY 21
[;ad to fight a lot uf intex~crencc fi'om
thc bore path vve ,,','crc lb[Joy, in#"
drilling fluid iato Ibc hole at approx
thc iob, which kept thc drill s~cm and
well "\Xk dug wccp holes eveO' 250
ikct along thc borcpath during thc
contn~l during reaming and pullback"
g~lx JFOmllllCfllaJ COllCCrn5 also played
a role on this job. "Thc City's regula-
tions required that no din or spoil
/rom thc hole bc placcd on city
streets, so Janco used thc weep holes
product pipe ;~as floated m."~k, had
an excavator in place as we passed
each wccp hole alld loaded up dump
trucks with :III file spoil," said Klca~
All c(mccmcd parties wcrc happy
with thc final results ol this project
"This was a very clean job, but wc real-
ly had lo ~;()rk at it,'said Klein.
l)cspitc all Ibc obstacles, KIc~i cla~
sifics this pro}cci as a success "Pfc
planning is always critical lo complet-
ing projects on time and on budget,
especially }obs like this one ~Xk.
project bcMrc wc cvcn stepped onto
thc jobsitc"
Norris addcd,"lt went very well ~¥c
placed 6,600 lkct ¢~' water linc under a
busy sm'ct m only four ;;ccks with
o~lly minimal disturbance to thc sue-
all imolvcd '
Chris Spier is r"~arketing manager at
Astec Underground, which is headquar
tered in Loudon, Tenn. Astec
Underground is the parent cocnpany of
American Augers, which is based in
Wesi Salem, Ohio
Maxi Rig Manufacturers
PO Box 814, West Salem, OH 44287
Ph: (BOg) 324-4930~ Fax: (419) 869-7425 RS# 170
PO Box 808376 Canton, OH 447084837
?h~ (800) 448-8934; Fax: (330) 456-8396 RS# 171
Equipment ~ of AJnerka (H~tte)
6300 Faxley Rd., Upper 191arlboto, MD 20770
Pb: (301) 599430~; Fax: (301) 599-1597 RS# 172
gerrenknedd AG
D-77988 ~chwo~an, Germany
Ph: (+491 78244020; [:ax:
RS# 113
#odzoatel Rig &
2614 Indu~ial. Conroe, TX 77301
Ph: (936) 756-9337; Fax: (936) 756-9348 RS# 174
I-aeey Mad#aa Ira.
PO Box 1299, Humble. TX 77347
~: (281) 987-2511; Fax: (281) 9874553 RS# 175
Tr Tedmd~ies (him erilli~ Grab#)
2020 E New York St.. Aurora, IL 60504
Ph: (630] 851-8200; Fax: (630} 857-8299 RS# 176
l~lse Rig
PO Box 880, Kierfer~ OK 74041
Ph: (918) 321-3330; Fax: (918) 32L3339 RS# 177
Rabbles #~
29100 Hall St., Solon, 01~ 44139
Ph: (440) 248. 33~3; Fax: (440) 2,18-1702 RS# 178
PO #ax 200, Pella, IA 50219 ·
~: (641) 628-3~4h ~x: (641) 6~1-?~ eS# ~79
Record Rig
Unveiled
Laney Directional Drilling Co,
Humble, Texas, recently com-
pleted construction of a rig that
company officials say is the
argest maw rig ever built. The rig has
1 7 million lbs of push/pullback, can
~roduce 90,000 lbs of torque and is
~owered by a 1,206-hp Cat diesel
~ngine Laney officials say that the rig
was produced for the ever challenging
demands that are being placed on the
HDD industry