One of the priorities of Hardmetals Canada has been promoting
the company’s proprietary line of drill bits and tools.
Reflecting on the Global Petroleum Show (GPS), Bata said,
“We had a patented item that people hadn’t seen here before
in the directional drilling side of things. When we displayed it
at the GPS we sold it on the spot.”
It was a new concept and Bata says there was no direct
competition for the product at the time. In fact, there were
only two or three companies servicing all of Western Canada
for HDD back then.
The company determined there was another related
market it needed to explore – the construction and foundation
drilling industry, including the supply of auger teeth and
screw piles. Many screw pile companies will produce products
for themselves because they are big enough and have the
time and effort to put into it, but nobody was really taking
care of the little guys at the time. Companies that generally
had only three or four jobs a month and didn’t have much
experience with certain sizes of auger drilling often didn’t
know who to turn to for help.
“That’s where we thought there was an opportunity
to expand and do something new and help people out,”
Bata said.
One of the priorities of Hardmetals Canada has been promoting
the company’s proprietary line of drill bits and tools.
This has been done with a particular focus on innovative
products which were developed back in Australia but had yet
to be introduced to North America.
One of those products was the HeliBit. It was designed to
give up to 30 per cent improved integrity and faster drilling
rates in a variety of ground conditions through a special patented
geometry of presentation of the cutters.
Another standout product the company offers is the
Wombat hole opener, which has provided the company with
a solid foothold here in Canada. Company officials hail it as
a significant step forward in hole opening technology when
it comes to HDD. It features field replaceable cutting segments,
cutter segments for different conditions, variable hole
diameter on the same cutter body and is suited for both forward
or back reaming. It’s the equivalent of a Swiss army knife.
“We saw there was no competition in that area (hole
opening),” Bata said of the Wombat, which was designed
in Australia. “With most hole openers you usually just have
one size. If you are drilling a 16-inch hole you use a 16-inch
hole opener. Now you are able to go from 12 inches to 24 and
you’re saving tons of money, space and time.
“It was actually designed for hard rock formations in
Australia. We lucked out that there was already a market for
it here in Canada, especially in Alberta where companies
have to contend with the Canadian Rockies. It’s worked out
pretty well for us. It’s really taken off here (in Canada).”
That’s been especially true in Bata’s hometown.
Hardmetals Canada has been involved in a number of deep
foundation projects including the Arris mixed-use tower
project in Calgary’s East Village area where it teamed up with
HCM Contractors Inc.
The company has recently begun expanding its footprint
here in Canada. It recently started up 3 Way Industries Inc., a
sister company to Hardmetals, a metal machining shop that
specializes in API threads and thread repairs. It also offers
custom cutting, drilling and finishing services and offers specialized
piles and building augers.
Bata says having ready access to machining services next
door to Hardmetals’ Calgary offices means issues can be
addressed much quicker now rather than always having to
collaborate with the folks at other machine shops. It also
allows the company to better address the particular needs of
the Canadian market and manufacture more items in-house.
“It’s helped tremendously,” Bata said of the machining
operation, which is a partnership between Hard Metals
Australia, its Canadian counterpart and Michael Gottli, a
machining expert and former plant manager.
Bata acknowledges that his company experienced some
early growing pains in Canada. Initiatively, it began offering
COMPANY PROFILE
42 Q4 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
