Dream to Drill

Celebrating 50 years in business during 2024, MATECO Drilling Company completes geotechnical and environmental drilling from their Michigan office. They do auger, direct push, sonic, and Direct Image^®.

“We’ve always been a mix of geotechnical and environmental. We used to do directional drilling but stopped when we bought our first sonic rig — the first Geoprobe^® 8140DT,” John Pitsch, general manager, said. “We saw the industry going toward sonic and wanted to be leading in the industry.”

When considering getting into the sonic drilling arena, Dale Elliott, company president, looked at the options and chose Geoprobe^® because of the size and features it had at the time.

“The 8140DT was a smaller footprint because at the time everything was truck- and trailer-based,” Pitsch said. “The smaller footprint on the tracks was a big selling point for us.”

Since adding the 8140DT in 2009 they’ve drilled 220-foot deep holes with the 5-foot stroke sonic drill rig. They’ve used the short stroke sonic for monitoring wells, vertical aquifer sampling, and PFAS sampling.

“There’s lots of PFAS sampling in our area. We use 4x6 sampling to collect water samples at different intervals as we’re progressing on the bore hole and then set temporary monitoring wells,” Pitsch said.

Even after 16 years, the 8140DT ran 9 to 10 months during 2024.

“Since we’ve owned the 8140DT [16 years], we’ve only put on three heads and have had no major service repairs,” Pitsch said.

Building on the strong demand for profitable sonic drilling work, they sought to expand their sonic services. Once again they looked to Geoprobe^® due to their relationship, customer service, and availability.

“A big thing is customer service. Geoprobe^® is great at troubleshooting problems we encounter. That’s why we looked there first,” Pitsch said. “We had projects coming up and looking to do proposals, so we were looking to expand our fleet in a timely manner. The 8150LS gives us deeper borehole capabilities as well as efficiency with the 50K head and 10-foot stroke. We can also run larger casing.”

Sonic Training

Driller Jeff Croel has been with MATECO for nine years. He finds the 8150LS and 8140DT “similar, but different operation.” Croel and Pitsch both came to Salina, Kansas, to for sonic training on the 8150LS sonic rig with Jed Davis, sonic drilling specialist.

“Jed was probably the best trainer I’ve ever had on rigs. It was impressive to get a feel for everything from someone who had built it and run it,” Croel said. “We also walked through the factory, and everyone said ‘hi’ and looked like they enjoyed their jobs. I was very impressed.”

The sonic training in Salina is very beneficial according to Pitsch, who started out as a driller's assistant, moving to an auger rig, and has time behind the controls of the sonic rigs during his 26 years with MATECO.

“Jed lets you in on ways to troubleshoot things you’ll experience in the field versus being on the phone all the time asking questions,” Pitsch said.

8150LS Sonic Benefits

When comparing the 8140DT with their new 8150LS, not only is the 8150LS quieter, but the rod loader and remote diagnostics also simplify their fieldwork.

“The rod loader on the 8150LS reduces physical labor. We’re not using winch lines to load rods, and people aren’t using their backs lifting heavy casing,” Croel said. “The remote diagnostics mean saving time on troubleshooting. The service team or engineers can remote in and see what’s going on when we’re having trouble.”

Pitsch credits Geoprobe^® research and development for the advancements in the sonic rigs.

“Geoprobe^® actually takes suggestions from drillers and implements them. Other manufacturers haven’t changed,” Pitsch said. “Geoprobe^® is changing, trying to stay ahead of everyone else.”

These changes benefit the driller, company, and customers.

“Adding the 8150LS has increased our sonic capability to go deeper and larger. We have multiple sonic rigs so we can service clients better,” Pitsch said. “We can have multiple sonic jobs at the same time or put both on the same job at the same time.”

During a recent PFAS project next to the river, they encountered some larger cobbles. The 8150LS didn't hesitate thanks to the 50K GV5 head.

“The 8150LS is so smooth, nothing’s been terribly difficult with it. It’s a dream to drill,” Croel said. “I did water well drilling for 19 years and have run a lot of rigs. Geoprobe^® is probably tops.”