Rod handling is one of those elusive innovations attempted and often, after several failures, abandoned for traditional methods. Layne succeeded where many had failed by capitalizing on its strong drilling knowledge to create a solution that would be practical in the field.
Ken Swarthout was born and raised in Hemet, California. His father was a farmer in the valley, and after serving in the Air Force, he and his brother turned to raising different types of crops. That's where Swarthout learned the ins and outs of machinery.
Every profession, especially a niche field like drilling, has tricks or jargon that everyone assumes everyone else knows. But, if you missed it during training, specialty knowledge veers quickly into "too embarrassed to ask" territory.
Clean, safe groundwater is one of our most valuable and essential resources on this planet. It is the duty of groundwater professionals to protect this valuable resource for future generations.
Type a product into Google, and you'll get dozens, if not hundreds, of hits for individuals, third parties, rental yards and businesses looking to sell you a machine. But what might seem like a bargain deal could rack up unexpected costs down the road.
In years gone by, my father and I sold a number of cartridge-type filters to customers who had rusty water. After several years, we began to investigate other types of filters that would work on ferric or visible iron.
Most of us in the water well industry know our areas well enough to be able to preplan a well and go to the location with the right tools and equipment. But sometimes we run into the unexpected.
