NEW East Coast Service Center: Right Guys with Right Skills for Schramm Drill Rigs Refurbish

What began as a geotechnical drilling company in the ‘90s, Chesapeake Geosystems in Maryland moved into the geothermal drilling industry when geothermal took off in the mid-90s. 

“For the past 10 years we’ve focused on larger commercial geothermal projects all along the East Coast,” Chris Blanchet, owner, said.

With a fleet of nine drill rigs primarily comprised of Schramm drill rigs, Blanchett was disappointed in available rig options when he began looking to upgrade his fleet. So instead he looked to the team at the Geoprobe^®/DRILLMAX^®  East Coast Service Center to refurbish his Schramm drilling rig T450WS in 2018-19.

“We needed a track-mounted, deck engine geothermal rig focused on speed, efficiency, and ease of maintenance. We wanted a manufacturing-affiliated service option within 100 miles. If service isn’t there, the rig is basically useless,” Blanchet said. “There was no viable alternative rig to do what we do or substitute what we had. So we decided to make new what was old.”

Blanchet was so pleased with the results he has since had two more rigs refurbished by the team and has a fourth one scheduled for this fall.

“In my opinion the team is comprised of all the top former Schramm drill rigs service techs and engineers who sought a way to provide good support to water well market when Schramm drilling rig focus turned to oil and gas,” Blanchet explained. “They provide the best quality maintenance and service and are skilled in caring for the customer.”

He describes work he’s had completed on several of his rigs as being “successful” and “seamless,” appreciating the effort the team puts into solving problems.

“They put in the time and effort to solve the problem or point the customer in the right direction if they can’t figure it out themselves,” Blanchet said. “They went over the rig with a fine-tooth comb to identify issues and repair them.”

In Blanchet’s eyes, the final refurbished rig looked and operated better than new.

“I’ve probably started up to 10 or 12 new rigs, and they all had time-consuming issues right off the bat,” Blanchet said. “The refurb was put together perfectly and ready to roll into the field right away.”

With a variety of manufacturer’s rigs in his fleet, Blanchet feels confident taking any of his fleet to the team at the Geoprobe^®/DRILLMAX^® East Coast Service Center.

“They have a good general sense of how drill rigs work and are open minded to working on all types of rigs,” Blanchet said. “They provide a different level of service than any other service company I’ve used. They have all the right guys with the right skills. They know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about and care about their customers. They’re extra cautious not to cause downtime and are open and honest about what is going on. You can feel confident the right thing is being done.”