Dan Rau is president and owner of Colorado Geothermal Drilling, located in Brighton, Colorado, and founded in 2005. The family-run business installs geothermal systems for residential and commercial customers across the Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs areas.

Considering the company was launched just before the 2008 economic recession, Rau is no stranger to adversity. The early and extraordinary obstacle meant pivoting drilling projects away from new construction to retrofits, but it didn’t stop the young business from advancing.

“We were trying to grow the company. We went to the bank at one point trying to buy another piece of equipment and they weren’t interested in the construction industry at all,” Rau said. “But fortunately we were able to continue to grow anyway.

Today, Colorado Geothermal Drilling has successfully completed more than 600 geothermal installation projects for new and existing structures.

This episode covers:

• Adapting drilling operations in the face of a recession.
• Benefits of a mechanical engineering degree and growing up on a farm for business.
• Winning a big job just as geothermal tax credits were going away.
• Finishing a compact residential job in a 15-by-25-foot backyard with access just 7 feet wide.
• Modifying drilling equipment over time to meet project needs.
• Building lasting partnerships with HVAC industry contractors.

Check out today’s episode to hear more. Watch the video here or listen to the audio version of our conversation at www.thedriller.com/boring-podcast. You can also find our show on Apple Podcasts. Search for Boring Conversations, then hit Follow.

Resources

Colorado Geothermal Drilling on the web: www.cogeothermal.com