The company knows the value of keeping it all under one roof.
Precision Drilling Inc., a northeastern, subsurface construction company, has found that experience has paid off, in an uncommon way.
“We’ve become an established resource for tougher drilling conditions,” said Jon Errickson, the company’s owner. “We have the specialized equipment, experience and expertise to take on just about any project. In fact, we are often called in to finish a failing or botched project.
“Since 1977, we have been committed to providing our customers with safe, cost-effective foundation drilling and construction, in practically every geological condition. Over the years, I’ve learned that almost every project has complications. Knowing what to do when these challenges arise, sets us apart from our competition.”
Many drilling companies out-source transportation, rigs and related equipment, maintenance, repairs and skilled labor. Errickson believes that out-sourcing will not only increase costs, but will introduce many risks.
“Despite the additional effort, time and personnel, originating all aspects of the project keeps the costs down and expectations more accurate, both of which are appreciated by our demanding customers.”
The benefits of keeping everything under one roof, goes beyond quality control, Errickson said.
“It reduces variables and helps us to accurately determine each project’s time line. This gives our customer a completion date and cost they can count on. We mobilize our own equipment, manufacture our own rebar cages, and bring our own tooling and casing. Everything we use is owned outright, and is managed from our single, New Jersey location.”
Skill, and nearly 40 years of experience, can only be utilized with the right equipment. Precision Drilling uses an extensive inventory of Watson, Texoma and Williams auger rigs, as well as tooling and casing, up to 168 in. (427 cm).
“We’ve recently added a Taurus XL. This 11 foot wide Texoma can drill 14 foot diameter holes to 140 feet deep, making it perfect for our transmission line work,” said Errickson.
Also included in Precision’s fleet are specialty "low clearance" rigs for under power lines and overhead structures, or in basements, "Hyrail" rigs, to allow drilling directly from the railroad tracks, and air drills, for hammering through the hardest rock. Some projects require drilling equipment that is simply not available. Errickson engineers, fabricates and successfully uses, his own design and built equipment, as well.
"In the 40 years that I’ve been drilling in the northeast, I’ve encountered practically all geological conditions. We are prepared for practically any project.
"To help us drill rock sockets, up to 36 in. through unstable overburden, we use dual rotary drives on several of our rigs. These drives allow us to quickly twist and secure the casing in to the rock, then continue hammering for the depth of the rock socket, without switching rigs. This method is safer, faster and much less expensive for our customers. I manufacture, test and install these drives, right here, at our New Jersey facility.
"For ’hard-to-reach-areas’ we use our casing driver which we’ve mounted on a lead system, and held in place by a crawler crane,” Errickson explained.
"We bank our compressed air to the rig, and control the hydraulics from a remote-controlled power pack. After each hole is complete, the crane lifts and places the lead system to the location of the next hole. It’s quite the set up." For more information, visit www.precisiondrill.com.
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