Prime Drilling

CUSTOMER-DRIVEN DRILLING RIGS CUSTOMER-DRIVEN DRILLING RIGS

German company Prime Drilling GmbH has spent over 20 years developing and manufacturing robust Horizontal Directional Drilling systems. International Sales and Service Director Ralf Kiesow related the history of the company and its range of robust, innovative rigs. Report

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The extensive range of drilling rigs at Prime Drilling developed as a response to demands from clients. Earlier in the company’s history, customers were asking for increasingly larger and more powerful Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) systems. More recently, however, the market has prioritised the nature of an HDD power unit.

“Over the past few years, we started building fully electrically-driven rigs,” International Sales and Service Director Ralf Kiesow explained. “All our clients want to be greener, and we are at a stage where about half of what we build is electrical. Today we are the world market leader in electric rigs; nobody has built more electrical HDD rigs than we have done.”

Prime Drilling was founded in 1999 by Werner Wurm and Frank Auringer to manufacture modern HDD rigs. The company began with 50 and 100 tonne rigs, but the portfolio steadily increased. As Prime Drilling – now under second-generation management by Werner Wurm’s son Sebastian – expanded, the range grew to include 150 and 250 tonne rigs and eventually 500 tonne units.

“Everything we built was always in response to demand from a customer,” said Mr Kiesow. “We have never built anything without having an order in place.”

A broad portfolio

This philosophy led to more than just a broad catalogue of HDD units. The urge to fulfil customer expectations resulted in Prime Drilling developing more products than just the electric drilling rigs which today account for 50% of the company’s sales. The company also manufactures compact drilling rigs and a selection of Multifunctional Directional Drilling rigs with a pull force of up to 600 tonnes and that can be inclined from 6° to 90°. MDD rigs are suitable for both horizontal and vertical directional drillings and are often used to extract coal bed methane, bitumen and diamonds.

Jordan Yallop and Phil Nicholls.

The Prime Drilling portfolio also includes the Prime Pipe Pusher capable of a push or pull force of between 400 and 1,000 tonnes. These units are rack and pinion driven. Finally, Prime Drilling produces mud pumps with flow rates between 830 l/min to 3,500 l/min.

At the heart of the expanding range at Prime Drilling is the principle of building bespoke machines to match the requirements of the client. A Prime Drilling customer can choose from more than 200 options to ensure that the final rig will exactly match the requirements of the customer’s operation.

“What made us strong was not by building rigs for customers according to what we thought was best,” explained Mr Kiesow. “It was the other way around. Our customers told us what they needed from the rig, what aspect that we should focus on. In the end, whatever a customer wants for a rig, then we try to make it happen.”

Mr Kiesow highlighted a single customer request as representative of how Prime Drilling supports its clients: “We have a customer in Africa who owns 10 of our rigs. They told us how they work in marshland but operating a drilling rig on a barge was dangerous because of the high centre of gravity, putting the barge at risk of capsizing.

“We discussed the project with the customer, who wanted a self-propelled rig which floats. Of course, we then built them a rig which operates as a boat and sails through the marsh to wherever the customer needs it to go.”

Durable quality

Prime Drilling manufactures its innovative range of machinery from a dedicated factory in Wenden in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. The manufacturing site has 4,000 sqm of production space with 800 sqm of offices attached and is currently home to 80 employees.

The quality and durability of the machinery produced in Wenden is a core appeal of Prime Drilling rigs. Its machinery proudly carries the label ‘Made in Germany’ and operates smoothly in the cold of the Antarctic, the heat of Africa or the humidity of the Brazilian Amazon.

“All of the rigs we have ever built are still running… with just one exception,” smiled Mr Kiesow. “I know the client who owns the broken rig, and he still dreams about it. One day, we will make that rig run again.”

Quality is just one aspect of what makes Prime Drilling stand out from the competition: Prime Drilling rigs are designed to accommodate generic spare parts, allowing customers to source replacements locally, wherever they are in the world. The company additionally offers a 24/7 after-sales support service for those clients wanting Prime Drilling replacements. However, the company appreciates that not all customers want to wait for the delivery of imported parts.

Building a solid reputation for quality products requires a strong partnership with suppliers. Prime Drilling has established these relationships throughout its existence.

“Since day one, most of our suppliers have remained the same,” noted Mr Kiesow. “Take companies like Sauer Danfoss or Bosch Rexroth, we have dealt with them for 20 years: it’s a family. If we need somet hing, when you have a good relationship with suppliers, then they help you.”

Growth and automation

Even with the close support of partners, challenges remain for Prime Drilling. Alongside working through the ongoing process of reducing the company’s environmental impact, Prime Drilling also faces a skill shortage. When the experience and ability of the workforce is a key part of the production process, it can take up to two years to train new staff to the required level. Issues with the global supply chain also impact production for Prime Drilling.

However, Prime Drilling remains committed to steady expansion. The company is planning to invest in a new factory as part of its growth strategy. Feedback from customers shows a likely future for the market.

“Our customers tell us that they want more automation,” Mr Kiesow explained, “and they want a system that’s smarter than the one they have today.”

Digitisation and automation are set to be the buzzwords for Prime Drilling’s future. The company is already positioned to succeed in the marketplace of tomorrow. A combination of bespoke machines alongside Prime Drilling’s existing familiarity with electrically driven rigs indicate a bright future for the company. Yet, Prime Drilling will continue to be customer-led.

“We work with the big players around the world,” Mr Kiesow concluded. “We cannot tell them what they need from our equipment. They have been working with these machines for decades, they are the real experts. We just try to make their wishes happen.”