The Royal Eijkelkamp sonic drilling rigs (previously SonicSampDrill) are the product of an exclusive collaboration between two mammoths in the industry: the Dutch Royal Eijkelkamp and the Italian Fraste. What makes this collaboration so unique, and successful?
When Sonic became a buzzword in the drilling industry around the year 2000, Fraste’s General Manager, Vittorio Fracca, began to explore opportunities in the market. “I was in touch with a couple of manufacturers, but we didn’t find the right people and none of the products seemed reliable.”
Innovation is in the DNA of both our companies.
Royal Eijkelkamp, meanwhile, had been doing pioneering work on Sonic drill heads since the early nineties. They were looking for a partner to produce a drill rig that would meet the requirements of the SonicSampDrill drill head. Huug Eijkelkamp tried partnering with several rig manufacturers but did not find the quality he was searching for: “Our Sonic drill heads operate at 9000 rpm. This requires very special hydraulics and cooling.”
Vittorio continues: “Then, in 2008, we were contacted by Royal Eijkelkamp. And the rest is history.”
Huug Eijkelkamp and Vittorio Fracca shake hands on a successful fifteen-year long collaboration.
The first Eijkelkamp-Fraste rig was delivered to a customer in Indonesia in 2009. Huug recalls, “it was on an island in 38 degrees Celsius, running 12 hours a day, six days a week, on bad quality diesel, operated by local people. And the machine just worked, and worked, and worked. That’s when I realised: this is a very good quality machine, built according to our specs.”
It was the start of an exclusive collaboration. And yes, that first rig is still operational.
The first challenge was to make the Fraste drilling rig compatible with the Sonic drilling head’s technique. The hydraulic system had to be adjusted, the electrics, and even the frame. In the machine in its current form, everything is fully coordinated.
The Royal Eijkelkamp and Fraste technical teams continuously push the boundaries of technological innovation
“The most indicative of our success is how these machines perform. How they are built today is better than ever before: it's the sum of all the details that add up to make the machine so easy to operate,” says Richard Gussinklo, Rig Engineering Manager at Royal Eijkelkamp.
The companies’ technical departments work closely together; Richard visits Fraste at least once a month. To test new machines and discuss the technology, but also to discuss special requests from customers.
To reduce delivery times, the companies are working towards standardisation; most machines are available in a Pro and Royal version, which are kept in stock. But that doesn't rule out customisation. A special request comes in every week. Fraste’s Technical Manager, Igor Visentini, and his team immediately get to work. “We first analyse on paper and then make a quick study in our software. If the design is approved, we will start construction. Sometimes a request seems impossible at first. But, if we try to answer it, we might come to a different solution. In some cases, this has led to an improvement of the entire machine line.”
It is important for both companies to show that we represent the Sonic rigs together as one team, so at trade fairs you will often find Royal Eijkelkamp and Fraste sharing a booth. This allows customers to talk to specialists from both sides and also to discover the differences between sonic and conventional drilling.
The sales teams are proud to represent these machines.
Royal Eijkelkamp Sales Manager Rutger van Goethem remembers the challenges of selling loose drill heads well. “You can't just convert a conventional drill rig to a sonic one by putting a different drill head on it. Now we offer the best of both worlds: Royal Eijkelkamp specialises in sonic drilling technology and Fraste in rig building.”
The sales team: Federico Saporito, Rutger van Goethem, and Cristiano Marchioro (Fraste Sales Manager).
The customer with a seemingly impossible request is never immediately turned down: if they are prepared to compromise, a lot is possible.
Federico Saporito, Sales & Consultancy specialist at Fraste, explains: “The Arctic machine is a good example. It was made on specific request, for use in a specific country under certain weather conditions. It was a challenge, but we did our best to fulfil the request and the customer was 100% satisfied.”
Motivated by the customer’s demand for continuous improvement, Royal Eijkelkamp and Fraste constantly push the boundaries of technological innovation. It is a characteristic of the collaboration and is in the DNA of both companies. You can expect a lot more from these Sonic machines in the future.
This article was published in our Sonic Special Magazine. Download to read more about Sonic at Royal Eijkelkamp.
