Rotary drilling rig manufacturer Schramm has formed a new joint venture venture with Salt Lake City-based equipment design and repair firm Hardwick Machinery. In a release, Schramm says the partnership enables Schramm to offer a wider array of aftermarket services to customers worldwide, including same-day on-site maintenance at mines throughout the western United States.

“After many years of close cooperation between Hardwick and Schramm, we have elected to double down on our relationship,” says Justin Hardwick, president of Hardwick Machinery. “The product of this partnership will be nothing less than a powerhouse of the global drilling industry, an integrated entity capable of building and maintaining rigs from end to end. The biggest winners of the joint venture are our customers, who will enjoy speedy, reliable and quality service, no matter where in the world they are operating.”

Schramm says the partnership with Hardwick is key to the company’s long-term strategy to complement its existing backlog of OEM rig sales with superior aftermarket maintenance and support services for gold and other resurgent mining segments in Australia, the western U.S., Canada, China and Chile.

To further that growth strategy, Schramm also says that board member Otis Spencer will transition from his current role of operating partner at parent company GenNx360 Capital Partners, and assume the position of president and CEO of Schramm. Spencer has been deeply involved with Schramm since joining GenNx360 in 2014. Following Schramm’s acquisition, he assisted with two smaller acquisitions, as well as the development of the overall enterprise. Spencer was appointed to Schramm’s board of directors in 2019.

“I am honored by the trust placed in me by GenNx360 and Schramm’s board of directors and energized by the positive growth opportunities before us at Schramm,” Spencer says.

GenNx360 says Spencer’s appointment shows that company’s commitment to the success of Schramm.

Spencer succeeds Craig Mayman, who becomes Schramm’s executive vice president of sales, marketing and aftermarket. From his new base in Adelaide, South Australia, Mayman will oversee Schramm’s business development in the mining market segment. He will also direct all operations in Australia, currently the world’s most active mining market and a cornerstone of Schramm’s global business.

“It was my honor to serve as president of Schramm for the past two years and my pleasure to see a leader of Otis Spencer’s caliber and vision take the reins,” Mayman says. “After finalizing the joint venture with Hardwick Machinery, I look forward to returning home to Adelaide to lead Schramm’s rapidly-expanding Australian operations as well as global business development for the company.”

Schramm Inc. is an API-Q1, ISO-9001:2008 certified manufacturer of mobile, land-based hydraulic drill rigs for applications including energy, minerals, geothermal and water well drilling. Schramm rigs are made in the U.S. and in use in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit www.schramminc.com.