November 2024 Vol. 79 No. 11
Features
HDD Reunion, Hall of Fame Class of ’25 announced
Underground Infrastructure magazine and the Horizontal Directional Drilling Association, in conjunction with the HDD Reunion Organization, are proud to announce the HDD Hall of Fame Class of 2025. The honorees will be inducted during the HDD Reunion on Wednesday, March 5.
The HDD Hall of Fame nominating committee named five people to the Class of 2025. Representing the general – under 100,000 pounds of pullback – category are: Peter Hambling, Digital Control Inc.; John Mercer, Digital Control Inc.; and Bryan Tucker, Online Directional. Rigs over 100,000 pounds of pullback are represented by: Grady Bell, Bell Trenchless; and Vernon Harris, Ranger Directional Drilling.
Unfortunately, as the business of HDD continues to grow and evolve, key members of the community have passed. Posthumous honors in this class go to: Bob Rankin, AdTech; Frank Forest, Sharewell; Monty Scruggs, Isaacks Directional Drilling; and Gene Carpenter, Horizontal Rig & Equipment.
The formal recognition and awarding of the coveted HDD Hall of Fame granite obelisks will be held at a special ceremony during the renowned HDD Reunion celebration, held in conjunction with the Underground Infrastructure Conference, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. There will be HDD-specific educational sessions, conceived and produced by the HDD industry, on both March 4 and 5.
In addition to the morning’s HDD educational program, on March 5 there will be a special, interactive panel held on the floor of the Exhibit Hall with the five honorees from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The actual reception for the Class of 2025 Hall of Fame inductees and the HDD Reunion will begin at 5:15 p.m. History will be relived, tall tales shared, and visionaries revered at both the morning and evening events.
As the use of HDD for the installation of pipelines, fiber and power exploded in the ’90s, UIC was the primary event that embraced groundbreaking technology and continues to do so today. Thus, it remains the perfect place for the HDD celebration and the HDD Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Contractors and related personnel still flock to UIC to learn from the industry’s most extensive HDD educational program, “kick the tires” on new equipment, and network with their peers.
As the underground infrastructure industry prepares for 2025, it’s still a challenging time for HDD. Large rig operators historically focused on energy have successfully transitioned to new markets, yet the recent election has given encouragement to a stronger energy market as well. Small rig operators remain operating at full tilt, trying to keep up with the fiber/5G boom and, increasingly, power markets.
Introducing the 2025 Hall of Fame
John Mercer, DCI (small rig category)
When John Mercer founded Digital Control Inc. (DCI), he started pivotal roles in the development of small HDD rigs, as well as the locators that followed the path of those early bores. And he founded the global company Digital Control Inc. (DCI) during the mid-1990s, which has set the standard for locating equipment.
Mercer worked for Flow Mole during the 1970s, where a cable locator was used to track the underground pipe. The Flow Mole units used oilfield nomenclature to orient the drilling head. But Mercer, with a background in the aeronautics industry, believed a new nomenclature was needed for HDD that included yaw, pitch and roll.
With his Flow Mole experience, Mercer saw the need to develop an advanced locator designed specifically for the needs of the fledgling HDD market. He subsequently developed the now-famous Digitrak locating system that supported the explosive growth of the HDD industry. Peter Hambling joined the company as the first locator hit the market.
DCI has continued to roll out a variety of new equipment and upgrades that continue to establish DCI as a leader in the HDD locating market.
Peter Hambling, DCI (small rig category)
Hambling, the co-owner of Digital Control, helped build the company to the giant it is today. He was part of the design, development, manufacturing and sales of the advanced state-of-the-art horizontal directional drilling tracking systems and related products worldwide.
Prior to joining DCA, he had impressive careers in a variety of fields including director of corporate development for Orbital Sciences Corporation, working on the expansion and development of space business through multiple strategic corporate acquisitions. Hambling was a program manager for 3M corporation, working on research in microgravity for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1984 to 1987. Interestingly, he had also interned at NASA in 1981, working on Space Shuttle STS Strategic Planning and NASA orbital debris policy creation.
Beginning in September 1982 through October 1984, Hambling worked for Strategic Planning Associates doing management consulting, primarily for Royal Dutch Shell and Shell UK Oil.
He also worked as an engineer for Flow International and co-founded B&H Brightworks, which provided yacht refinishing.
Hambling received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Washington and has since obtained two master’s degrees from von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Yale School of Management Education
He also has two patents and is a licensed pilot.
Grady Bell, Bell Trenchless (big rig category)
Grady Bell III was born in New Orleans because his father, Grady Bell JR, was a downhole oilfield surveyor with Sperry-Sun Well Surveying, which was stationed there.
The family then followed the oil exploration boom around the world. These adventures included a move to Houston, then nine years in Great Yarmouth, England, two years in Dubia, two years in Bangladesh and finally two years in Aberdeen, Scotland.
With this background guiding his career choice, Bell made the logical choice after graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1985, to enter the oilfield and become a downhole surveyor. Unfortunately, the price for a barrel of oil in 1985-1986 went from $24 to less than $10 a barrel. This made a career in the oilfield not viable with a wife and newly born daughter.
Fortunately, a couple of old Sperry-Sun guys had started Sharewell to provide surveying to the young HDD/River Crossing industry. Bell was hired as the first field employee of Sharewell Inc. and operated a Tensor steering tool in its first HDD crossing.
He went on to work in the field for several years and then in the office for InArc/Reading & Bates, SPIE HDI, ARB, Pate & Pate and Laney Directional Drilling.
Bell is past-president of the Directional Crossings Contractors Association (DCCA), the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA), the Pipeliners Association of Houston and is on the board of directors for the newly formed Horizontal Directional Drilling Association (HDDA).
He is the managing member of Bell Trenchless Consulting LLC. of Conroe, Texas. As an HDD/Trenchless consultant, Bell brings his 38 years of construction experience to assist in planning and overseeing trenchless projects.
Vernon Harris, Ranger Directional Drilling (big rig category)
C. Vernon Harris was born in Selma, Ala., and began his drilling career in the oilfield, working there from 1956 to 1963. After a stint in the U.S. Army, from 1963 to 1965, Harris returned to oil field drilling on a Global drill ship. That set him up to begin learning about the world of directional drilling.
“My knowledge of the oil field was totally with experience from roughnecking to drilling on drilling barges/offshore rigs and drillships for Global Marine. From there, my training with directional drilling was achieved by going offshore with seasoned directional drillers for approximately three months at a time. This experience included work in the North Sea, Iran, all of the Arabian gulf, West Africa and of course, the U.S. Gulf Coast. I even had limited experience in Russia,” Harris explained.
All that experience prompted him to found Ranger Directional to perform HDD projects for pipeline and related work from 1993 to 1999. He is currently retired and living in Shreveport, La.
Bryan Tucker, Online Directional (small rig category)
After an early career in home building and the land development business, Bryan Tucker founded Online Directional Boring (ODB), LP in 1997 with a single, JT920 Ditch Witch drill.
Today, ODB operates a fleet of 11 rigs ranging from a Vermeer 10x15 to a Vermeer 220x300.
Tucker focused on fiber expansion across the country, working up and down the East Coast and settled in Houston in 2000. Since then, he has been a part of the design and execution of several high-profile fiber projects in Texas.
He is known for pushing his company to grow while always maintaining quality. Providing an outstanding product to his customers has driven Tucker to his business success for 28 years.
Posthumous Awardees
Bob Rankin
Bob Rankin started his oilfield career right out of high school in 1963, as a roughneck and then driller in the panhandle of Nebraska and eastern Colorado. Ten years later he went overseas and worked in Libya, Algeria and offshore in the Persian Gulf. His family accompanied him, living in Malta, Balearic Islands (Spain) and Iran.
Returning to the United States, Rankin was employed by Eastman Whipstock in Oklahoma City.
This started his directional drilling career, and he eventually formed his own company American Directional Technology Inc. He became known for setting whipstocks (cutting windows in existing casing and completing the directional work out of that slot) and completing directional work while drilling with air. He once displaced a well 5,000 feet using only air under Lake Dardanelle, Ark.
With the help of his son, Bobby, who was attending the University of Oklahoma in mechanical engineering, the company started to manufacture drilling motors for Rankin’s own use. A local horizonal boring company owned by Steve Ackerman, C & S Boring, found out about these motors and asked if they could make some for them.
Thinking outside the norm, Bob and Bobby started producing special motors designed just for the HDD market. These motors had their own rotors and thicker stator tubes and drilling motors to run on low flow drilling machines.
Rankin, using his directional expertise, helped drillers with their bores, either by phone or going to the drilling sites all over the country. And then requests for similar motors came from all over the world.
With the help of many dedicated employees, he would build a large company with a full machine shop producing drilling motors including rotor and stator rubber injection. The company continued operating under family leadership after Ranking passed away in 2018. The company was sold in February 2023.
Frank Forest
Frank Forest was born in Liberty, Texas, the youngest of six children, with five older sisters.
Sadly, his father, Calvin Forest, passed away when he was still very young, forcing him to grow up quickly and take on responsibilities beyond his years. Often dressed in hand-me-downs from his sisters, Forest persevered.
After graduating from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1960, he joined the U.S. Army. After his service, Forest returned to Texas and began a career in the oil industry. In 1965, he joined Sperry-Sun Well Surveying, marking the start of an adventurous chapter for him and his family. In 1970, they were transferred to Great Yarmouth, England, and three years later to Singapore, where he met his wife, Dawn.
By 1979, Forest was back in Houston, at Sperry-Sun’s headquarters, where he worked on innovative downhole technology with a company called Tensor. When NL Industries acquired Sperry-Sun, Frank anticipated changes and began crafting his exit strategy.
In 1985, he partnered with former colleague Tom Wagner to co-founded Sharewell Inc. Their first prototype tool was named CHAMP, inspired by their favorite Houston breakfast spot. Sensing a growing need in the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) market, Frank introduced and operated the Tensor steering tool in its first HDD crossing, establishing a foothold in the industry.
Under Frank’s leadership, Sharewell grew from a small HDD surveying company into a leading international player in the field. After selling Sharewell in 1993, he later moved to Rockport, Texas, where he combined his love for boating and fishing. With his 46-foot Hatteras Fishing Yacht, Pescamos, he fished throughout the Caribbean and South America, making new friends at every stop. Along with his business partners, Forest purchased Key Allegro Island Marina and established the restaurant DORADOS.
After retiring for a second time, Forest moved to Brazos County to enjoy a quieter lifestyle. Eventually, he and Dawn relocated to North Texas to be closer to their two youngest grandchildren.
Monty Scruggs
Monty Scruggs was a pioneering force in the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) industry and left an indelible mark on the construction world through his dedication and expertise.
His career began in 1990 with Spie Horizontal and then subsequently transitioned to Laney Directional Drilling in 1991, where he acquired his drilling skills. In 1993, Monty joined Isaacks Contracting in Aransas Pass, Texas, where his remarkable legacy took shape.
He initially worked on telecom and utility projects, digging holes and trenches by hand. Undeterred and filled with determination, he convinced Isaacks to invest in its first HDD machine – an endeavor that led to the establishment of Isaacks Directional Drilling.
Scruggs spent the next 21 years spearheading Isaacks' operations, managing various responsibilities, including bidding on projects, transporting equipment, running the rigs and assembling a highly skilled team of professionals. There wasn’t much Monty couldn’t do.
Known for his versatility and tenacity, he continually evolved with the industry, tackling complex HDD and road-boring challenges across the United States. He also fostered invaluable relationships and friendships within the HDD and pipeline industries.
Endowed with a knack for forming enduring connections with everyone he met, Scruggs firmly believed in never bringing "a knife to a gunfight."
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Scruggs harbored a big love for deep-sea fishing and ocean conservation. When not on-site or spending quality time with family and friends, he could often be found on his cherished offshore boat, Happy Hour.
Despite his passing in 2014, his legacy continues through the lasting impact he made on the HDD community, as well as the cherished memories of his wife Carrie, and his sons Jake, Clayton and Cody.
Gene Carpenter
Thomas Gene Carpenter, 58, owner and founder of Horizontal Rig & Equipment, died on March 10, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, son Brandon and wife Maggie, and his daughter, Amanda and husband Max.
Carpenter was born on Sept. 27, 1947, in Nacogdoches, Texas. During his early life, his family moved from Nacogdoches to Cleveland, Texas, where he would finish his high school education. Gene was a popular student who made excellent grades and was a key member of the high school football program. After graduation he would attend Sam Houston State University.
With America still engaged with the conflict in Vietnam, in 1968 Carpenter felt the call to serve his country. He left college and joined the U.S. Army. A Vietnam veteran, Carpenter served as an E-5 sergeant, earning a bronze star for meritorious duty, a national defense service medal, the Vietnam campaign medal, two overseas medals, a U.S. Army commendation medal and expert marksman medals as a sharpshooter for his efforts. He was honorably discharged in June 1970.
After leaving the army, he worked for 16 years in the pipeline industry, fabricating and welding for petroleum companies such as Exxon, Mobil, Shell and Texas Eastern. From 1989 to1999, Carpenter was the maintenance and fabrication superintendent at Laney Directional Drilling, overseeing the design, construction and maintenance of all directional drilling and support equipment.
In April 1999, Carpenter left Laney, creating Horizontal Rig & Equipment, based in Conroe, Texas. He quickly created a strong presence in the industry with his rigs being renowned for their structural strength, engineering efficiency and compatibility to work with many industries’ standard power units and other auxiliary systems of the day. Along with new builds, HRE was also heavily involved in rig overhauls and rebuilds, auxiliary systems design, rig maintenance and upkeep. HRE quickly earned the reputation as a “one-stop shop” for underground drilling companies.
Beyond the expertise and reliability of work, it was the trustworthiness and sincere sensibility that Carpenter operated with that built HRE into the reputable company that it became. He believed that hard work, honesty and making something worth having were the cornerstones of anything he put his name on. Those are the values his family still honors him with to this day.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To register for the HDD Hall of Fame/Reunion activities and/or UIC, go to Registration | UIC 2025 or contact Karen Francis for more information, Karen@undergroundinfrastructure.com, (713) 487-5676.
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