The open house hosted by TEI Rock Drills was almost as much fun as it was educational. The annual event took place Oct. 3-5 at the company’s Montrose, Colo., facility. “We do this every year for our drilling contractor customers,” explains Joe Patterson. “The idea is to help them improve their businesses; we want them to be as successful as possible.” And it was a diverse crowd on hand; contractors came from all corners of the globe to participate.

The festivities kicked off with an opening night reception, and it was right to work the next morning with a full slate of education classroom ses-sions. “Every year, I change it up a little bit as far as the presentations,” notes Patterson. This year, there were sessions on how to read soil reports and bid jobs; the operation and maintenance of downhole hammers and drifters; selection of proper anchors for different load capacities; and oth-ers. All the presentations featured the kind of hands-on practical information drillers find most useful.

And speaking of hands-on, the afternoon demonstrations gave participants ample opportunity to try out the latest technology in TEI’s inventory. After a tour of the manufacturing facilities, it was time to fire up the rigs and auxiliary equipment. Also, other complementary vendors were on hand to augment the educational experience; those included NUMA, Obermann, EuroDrill, Beretta, Star Iron Works, Schnabel Engineering and ConTech Systems.

Capping off the festivities was an evening blowout that included socializing, dinner and dancing, and there was a golf outing for those who stayed an extra night.

TEI also puts on regular schools that are geared more toward field and operations personnel. Those take place in spring, summer and fall. When those details are firmed up, we’ll pass them along.
ND