At the recently held National Ground Water Association trade show in Georgia, we visited with leading pump hoist manufacturers on the trade show floor to check out their latest offerings. Here, we share some of the highlights from those visits.

Smeal Is “Very Fortunate, Very Busy”

At the Smeal exhibit, we asked Gerald Kassmeier about his company's latest additions. “In the smaller units - like up to 6,000 pounds or 12,000 pounds - we've introduced powered pipe racks to make loading easier,” he says. “We've got hydrostatic units all the way up to 100,000-pound capacity in various different models. As far as optional equipment goes, we've got the walking beam, we've got the catheads, breakout wrenches, the powered racks, plastic pipe reel for poly pipe - pretty much a wide assortment of options to fit whatever needs arise.

“We're pretty busy in the U.S. - especially in the Midwest,” Kassmeier notes. “And right now, we're shipping two rigs to Tokyo, we've got some going to Africa and we just took an order from the United Kingdom for a unit to go to Saint Kitts island. We've been very fortunate and very busy.”

Reichdrill Provides One-stop Shop

We met with Jim Hughey at the Reichdrill booth, where he told us about his firm's Eagle one HELPR unit. “It's a 6,000-pound, single-line hoist; it was built with the philosophy of putting together a complete package and marketing it as such. For years, in this part of the industry, pump hoists have been sold in a piece-meal fashion - everything on the unit would be an option, including the cable and the hook. We've gone ahead and built a complete unit. We've applied some of our rig-building expertise to the hoist side of the market. We've eliminated mechanical linkages; everything is hose and hard pipe back to the control station. We use a wireless remote. We use a hydraulic, extendable boom rather than a mechanical extend so you can stop it and use it at any point. The Eagle one's body is all-aluminum, and we mount it on 5500 Series GMC truck.” Hughey says that by having the hoist available, “It gives us a chance, as a drill manufacturer, to talk to some segments of the market that we ordinarily wouldn't be talking to.”

Pulstar Features

The Pulstar P10HD3L hydraulic pump hoist comes complete with rear independent hydraulic outriggers with failsafe lock valves, remote control, 44-foot tower height, mast light kit with brush guards, wire spool mounts rear and center, sandline with freefall hydraulic power to the rear, hydraulic oil cooler, hydraulic breakout wrench, 200SW-SU hydraulic wire winder, throttle control module, and much more.

Pul-A-Pump Mounting Options

For pitless adapters, it is necessary to remove only the upper half of the well cap. The Pul-A-Pump machine then is tipped up on its front handle or lifted it over the casing, and the machine well mount is placed inside the casing. This automatically levels and supports the unit. For cable quick-release pitless adapters, a quick mount slides around the outside of the well casing allows the full clearance for the pitless adapter latch mechanism to pass through.

For well houses or above-grade discharge where sub or jet seals are used, two types of mounting are available. Both use a support collar mount that allows the well seal to pass through the mount and machine base plate. Then, either a clamp that locks around the well casing, or an adjustable leg kit, which is bolted to the machine, supports it.

For well pits, no mount is required.

Semco Moving Bigger Units

At the Semco exhibit, we caught up with James Laurent, who told us, “A lot of people are wanting bigger units these days - they're going to 25s and 30s. That's a recent trend, and I expect it to continue. We're sending more and more of them to the oil and gas fields but 70 percent of them still go the water well contractors, which is our main deal.”

Laurent says, “We try to keep everything pretty standard on the hoists, but they are customized to whatever the customers want. Contractors might want a couple changes, but nothing that's out of this world or anything. We'll put spudders on them - whatever they need.”

Asked if Semco is having any difficulties getting steel, Laurent tells us, “No problem getting it - it just costs a lot of money.”

ND