Applications

Every job has its rig.

HDD isn't one job — it's a hundred. A fibre run down a live city street and a 1.2-kilometre river crossing share a method and almost nothing else. For over 25 years we've built rigs for the specific demands of each. Tell us the job — we'll show you the machine.

We don't sell a rig off the shelf. We start with the job — the ground, the rules, the constraints — and build the machine around it. Pick your application below: what makes it hard, how we'd approach it, and where to start.

Image placeholder300–800 kN
Urban Fibre & Utilities
Down a live city street, between the gas main and the tram line — quiet, clean, no room for error.
ElectricHybridFuel
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The challenge

The hard part isn't the bore — it's getting it done between live services, under emission and noise limits, often at night, with no room to spare.

How we approach it

Compact MCU and CU platforms slip into tight sites; Hybrid and Electric keep the street quiet and the air clean — so a low-emission zone or a night shift is no obstacle.

What to look at

Footprint & weight · 300–800 kN pull · on-board pump · Hybrid or Electric drive · manoeuvrability.

Start with

The MCU (PD 45) or CU (PD 80). What decides it here: Hybrid vs Electric, on-board pump, and how tight the site really is.

A city-centre rollout run fully electric — quiet through the night, not a single noise complaint.

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Goes well withMud PumpsIDP
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Image placeholder500–2,000 kN
Water & Gas
The lines a town runs on. Mid-class, day in, day out — done right, done fast.
FuelHybrid
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The challenge

Rarely the spectacular job — but the one you run every week and can't afford to redo. Tight schedules, repeatable quality, bore after bore.

How we approach it

CU and CU+ platforms with an integrated mud pump keep it to one machine and one operator — fast to mobilise, dependable every time.

What to look at

500–2,000 kN pull · on-board vs external pump · rod length · Fuel vs Hybrid economics.

Start with

The CU platform (PD 80). What decides it: pump on board or external, rod length, and whether Hybrid pays off across your sites.

A utility contractor standardised a fleet on one platform — same operator, same routine, fewer surprises.

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Goes well withMud PumpsUsed Equipment
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Image placeholder2,500–6,000 kN
River & Major Crossings
One shot under a river. The pipe goes in once — or not at all.
FuelHybrid
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The challenge

On big crossings the limit isn't the rig — it's the pipe. Pull hard enough to move it and you risk tearing it apart before it surfaces. One attempt, often over open water, no restart.

How we approach it

Heavy RP and RP Heavy classes deliver the pull; the Pipe Pusher shares the load end to end — pushing from the far side while the rig pulls — so the pipe survives the install.

What to look at

2,500–6,000 kN pull · long rods (Range 2/3) · high-volume external pump · Pipe Pusher for the highest loads.

Start with

RP / RP Heavy + Pipe Pusher. For the exceptional crossing, a Build-to-Order PD 600.

On a record crossing, force alone would have destroyed the pipe — a Pipe Pusher shared the load and it went in, in a single pull.

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Goes well withPipe PusherMud PumpsBuild to Order
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Image placeholder1,000–3,300 kN
Power & Grid Crossings
The grid's lifelines — under roads, rail and water, steered to the metre.
FuelHybridElectric
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The challenge

Grid lifelines threaded under roads, rail and water — steered to the metre, often through emission-controlled or sensitive ground where mistakes are expensive and public.

How we approach it

CU+ to RP classes give controlled steering and dependable pull; where the trace runs through an emission zone, the Electric platform does the job without a drop of diesel.

What to look at

1,000–3,300 kN pull · steering precision · drive choice (Electric for zones) · rod length.

Start with

CU+ (PD 150) to RP (PD 250). What decides it: drive (Electric where required), pull class, rod length.

A grid crossing through a low-emission corridor — run electric, on line, signed off first time.

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Goes well withIDPMud Pumps
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Image placeholder4,000–6,000 kN
Oil & Gas Pipelines
The biggest diameters, the longest distances, the highest pull we build for.
FuelHybrid
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The challenge

The biggest diameters and longest distances there are — the highest pull, the lowest tolerance for surprises, and a schedule the whole project hangs on.

How we approach it

The top of the range — RP Heavy, and for the exceptional job a Build-to-Order PD 600 — paired with the Pipe Pusher for the highest-load installations.

What to look at

4,000–6,000 kN pull · Range 3 rods · high-volume pump · Pipe Pusher · ground data (IDP).

Start with

RP Heavy (PD 500). For beyond the standard range: Build to Order (PD 600).

A long-distance transmission line installed with a heavy rig and Pipe Pusher working in tandem.

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Goes well withPipe PusherBuild to OrderIDP
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Image placeholder2,500–5,000 kN
Outfall & Landfall
Where the bore meets open water — and there's no second chance to surface.
FuelHybrid
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The challenge

The bore exits at a point in open water — there's no second chance to surface, and the shore approach, often soft or tidal, is rarely kind.

How we approach it

Precise steering plus, often, the Pipe Pusher to hold the load through the shore approach; heavy RP and RP Heavy classes handle the rest.

What to look at

2,500–5,000 kN pull · steering precision · exit-point control · Pipe Pusher.

Start with

RP / RP Heavy + Pipe Pusher, configured for the shore approach.

An offshore landfall brought ashore through a soft approach, steered to the exit point on the first pass.

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Goes well withPipe PusherIDP
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Image placeholderHigh torque
Difficult Ground & Rock
When the ground fights back. Here it's torque, not luck.
FuelHybrid
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The challenge

When the ground fights back, raw pull won't save you. It's torque, tooling and the patience to keep the bore on line through formations that wear everything down.

How we approach it

The decider is rotary torque and tooling built for the fight. Configuration is everything — the right head, rod and pump, specced to the formation in front of you.

What to look at

Rotary torque (not just pull) · tooling · rod/pump setup · ground data.

Start with

Match torque to the formation — talk to us about head and tooling. Often a Build-to-Order detail.

A rock bore that defeated the first contractor — finished on a rig configured for torque, not just force.

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Goes well withBuild to OrderMud Pumps
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Tell us about your project. We'll point you to the right rig.

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