Subtle Changes Make Big Difference

Family-run McMillan Drilling began in 1947 focused on providing irrigation water supply in Canterbury, New Zealand. Enjoying what they do, they’ve experienced strategic and organic growth into other markets now completing drilling across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, including geotechnical, environmental, water supply, and ground heat loops. With 85 employees working out of offices in Auckland and Christchurch, they have a diverse fleet of 55 machines.

“We have a rig to fit almost any circumstance,” Iain Haycock, CEO, said. “Being multi-disciplinary means we can offer job security when markets fluctuate.”

Adding Sonic Technology

They’d been watching sonic technology for probably 20 years. Then, on a visit to the Geoprobe^® headquarters in Salina, Kansas, he distinctly remembers walking through the original facility at Broadway with Greg Johnson, former international sale representative, and seeing a very different machine than the typical probes.

“It was a sonic rig in R&D,” Haycock said. “That was probably 10 years before we invested in sonic.”

During 2010 they bought their first sonic drilling machine. They now own three — all Geoprobe^®.

“The main reason we invested in Geoprobe^® sonic was because I had seen a lot of different types of sonic in the market, but what felt right to me was knowing Geoprobe^® had been doing R&D for a long time,” Haycock said. “I consider Geoprobe^® to be conservative by nature and knew they wouldn’t put something in the market if it wasn’t a solid offering.”

Sonic Drilling Machine Features

To Haycock the consideration put into the sonic drilling machine design shines through the features, including:

• Flexible Positioning of Drill Mast: “The kinematics in the mast are useful to what we do.”
• Adjustable Swing-Arm Control Panel: “Retaining operator features between versions means the operator can easily transition between rigs.”

They added the 8150LS sonic drilling machine during 2023, including rod handler capabilities.

“We invested in an 8150LS to have a full-size sonic for the added depths and diameters and capability to take it onto sites we hadn’t been before,” Haycock said.

Before finalizing the purchase of their 8150LS, he visited Geoprobe^® for his sixth or seventh time.

“I enjoy meeting the people, they’ve become friends really,” Haycock said. “I like going and seeing the progress Geoprobe^® has made.”

He affirms the commitment to simplifying fieldwork comes through each version of the sonic drilling machine.

“There’s been nice innovation between versions. Not huge differences, but subtle changes that make a huge difference,” Haycock said.

To him, the ongoing innovation is evident in the tooling as well.

“We switched to the spring assisted swivel lift caps, and I think if we went back to the old style, we’d have people leave,” Haycock said.

The full sonic system also includes stellar service support.

“All machines have problems, but we know we can call Geoprobe^® and have a solution quickly,” Haycock said.