Underground Infrastructure - June 2023 - 22

25th Annual Directional Drilling Survey
it's no surprise that plastic pipe jumped
in popularity.
The most common pipe installed via
HDD remains HDPE, which increased
its market share from 49.3 to 55 percent.
PVC, particularly the growth of fusible
PVC, helped push its market share to
27.2 percent. Steel fell to 7.7 percent of
the market and ductile/iron dropped to
7.1 percent.
Original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) in the HDD tooling and
drill pipe sectors play a vital role with
many contractors. About 43.9 percent
of downhole tooling is purchased from
OEMs and 49.1 percent of drill pipe.
Ready for the future
HDD contractors as a whole portray
the image of hard-working, hard-nosed
individuals powering through obstacles
to successfully deliver products to
the market. To a certain degree, that is
an accurate picture, especially for those
who have been working within the
industry for decades.
However, there is much more to
today's HDD contractors. They have
learned the business nuisances and
know how to turn a profit even in the
toughest of situations. They also know
how to say " no " to unrealistic expectations.
They can engineer, survey and
plan jobs with the best in any market.
They have advanced to be true, dedicated
artisans of their craft.
The face of HDD construction also
continues to gain bright young contractors
who will build the market further as
technology expands to every fabric of
utility and pipeline construction.
When asked about future prospects
HDD Units Manufactured and Sold (world-wide)
3,000
2,640
2,500
2,355
2,525
2,451
2,570
2,670
2,597
2,487
2,378
2,492
for the continued growth of HDD,
most respondents - even large-rig contractors
- remained overwhelmingly
bullish on HDD's future, despite the
challenges of today.
" It's been a great run for me and my
family, " said a long-time contractor.
" Now, my children are taking over, and
HDD shows no sign of slowing down.
I'm hoping we'll have our grandchildren
working in the business, too! "
Said a big-rig respondent, " It's been
tough with the downturn of big rig drilling
for pipelines. But we're surviving,
keeping everybody employed and, in
fact, are finding different business opportunities
that we'll probably continue to
pursue even when pipelines come back. "
" Pure and simple, HDD is here to
stay, " explained this contractor. " We're
definitely in it for the long haul. " UI
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
2013
2014
2015
22 JUNE 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
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Underground Infrastructure - June 2023

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