Family Legacy Built with Dual Small Water Well Drills

Brothers Travis, DJ, and Dylan Busselman all come from different industries: construction, water well, and oil field drilling/service respectively. Trained in the field by his father-in-law, Kenny Neuendorff, DJ has dedicated nearly 18 years to the water well industry.

But when he decided to strike out on his own, he didn’t want to do it alone.

“He wanted to include us. We all bring something different to the table,” Travis said. “DJ runs the drilling operation, Dylan runs the service side, I run the back office, and DJ’s wife, Juliee, is our bookkeeper.”

Based in Columbus, Texas, Busselman Water Wells opened for business in November 2023 with a 1979 Mayhew 1400 as their first rig.

“A few wells in, it was great because we were slow. Then December came, and we got a lot of jobs at one time,” Travis said. “At this rate, by that summer we would be booked out six months in the future.”

Seeing the Difference Firsthand

When thinking about purchasing a new rig, the DM250 came up as an option. DJ had some familiarity with the small water well drill and heard good things about Geoprobe^®, but the brothers still had questions about the company’s operations.

“One of the key reasons we started the business with a Mayhew was because they built them out of Austin, Texas,” Travis said. “We were more comfortable buying a rig from a place two hours away so that if we were missing parts, we could get them. When we were making a decision to buy a DM250, we wanted to see how Geoprobe^® operated, the kind of manufacturer they are, and the quality control.”

The rig was ready for pick up in July 2024, giving Travis the opportunity to tour the Geoprobe^® facility. He had a chance to see the floor where the DM250 was built, meet the service team and phone staff, and was impressed by the attention to detail.

“Roman [Burrows, Kansas Service Center manager] walked me through what they do during the phone calls and what notes they fill out every time. It’s nice to know that Geoprobe^® is always trying to improve the equipment. It’s hard sometimes to track and log everything, so it’s helpful that they do it for us,” Travis said.

Growth Fueled by Small Water Well Drill Performance

The DM250 quickly demonstrated its power despite being a small water well drill.

“We hit the ground running, and we increased our productivity by over a 100 percent. We were drilling four to six wells a month; then we were drilling 12 to 16 wells a month with the DM250,” Travis said. “Our workhorse is the DM250. When we finished 2024, we saw how the market was, and we bought our second rig.”

Their second DM250 was picked up in May 2025 — less than a year after receiving their first. Now 80 percent of their workload is done by a DM250.

“I’ve ran rotary table rigs most of my career, and still do occasionally on larger jobs,” DJ said. “But the DM250 is fast, efficient, and packs a punch for its size. Instead of taking the larger rig to a residential or supply well, we can jump in the DM250, get to the location, and set up in a reasonable time — and we don’t have to worry about being the right size and weight.”

Quality-of-life features of the small water well drill jump out to DJ in particular.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one feature when the rig works so well. But the holdback helps with setting your drill speed to where everything is just right and running smoothly,” DJ said. “Having a carousel also helps speed up the first 160 feet of drilling, because you can operate it by yourself while your rig hand is getting other things ready.”

The DM250 isn’t just appealing to its owners, but to customers as well.

“We like the rig because the weight of the rig is lower than CDL and it’s very easily transported,” Travis said. “I got a phone call today asking if we had a smaller rig that could go in their backyard without tearing it up, and we said we did. That helps us gain jobs out there.”