The dedicated Drillto team have grown the business from a small construction firm to a highly regarded domestic and international rig manufacturer. Trenchless Works talks to one of Trenchless Asia’s Platinum Sponsors to find out more about its impressive growth story.
Drillto Trenchless Co. Ltd (Drillto) was founded in 2000 by a group of China’s earliest trenchless pioneers. Since its inception, the company has retained a strong focus on research and development producing high-quality directional drilling rigs to support a range of national high-tech enterprises. In addition to its impressive range of machines, Drillto now provides customers with construction training, technical guidance and maintenance – essentially providing a one-stop shop for its customers.
Producing over 114 models for the domestic and international market the company has established a reputation for both product quality and outstanding aftersales service. But whilst it is now sustaining fruitful results, Drillto, like so many high growth companies, has experienced its fair share of challenges. At the outset, the Drillto shareholders were focused on establishing the company and as such they did not draw any income from the business. Even against an extremely challenging economic backdrop the management team had the confidence to secure additional funding to support their own investment. In the words of Wang Peng, Chairman of Drillto Trenchless Co. Ltd: “We jumped into the tide of the Shenzhen without hesitation”.
In the early days, the team independently developed products, trialling them on construction sites to identify issues and areas for improvement. In doing so they gradually accumulated practical experience and started to raise funds for further research and development of the rigs. The result is a range of well-polished equipment that is easy to operate and maintain.
After months of practice and continuous improvement, Drillto launched its first drilling rig in 2001 and marked a solid step forward in the field of construction machinery. The first machines were manufactured in a simple factory in Shenzhen and the whole team still remembers the effort to restart manufacturing after a heavy downpour on the first day of the Chinese New Year completely flooded the facility.
Drillto’s mission has always been to make underground pipe laying easier. The team still adheres to the original aspiration of providing more efficient and convenient solutions for underground pipeline construction through technology and R&D. This mission has become the source of motivation that still drives the company forward.
After nearly 10 years of offering both construction services and manufacturing rigs, Drillto’s shareholders took the decision to focus solely on R&D and production. This has subsequently been supplemented with a range of additional services such as free training, which has helped to supply much needed skills into the sector since 2016.
Over time, Drillto’s reputation and business has continued to grow and in 2004 the company expanded into the export market with remarkable results. This success is founded on a commitment to ‘growing together with suppliers’ and establishing close working relationships to jointly respond to market challenges. This cooperative model enables Drillto to consistently meet customer demands and creates a win-win situation.
Over the last 24 years, Drillto has developed from a small construction team into a global enterprise with independent research and development capabilities and a widely respected production capability. Staying true to their to their original values of ‘being honest and down-to-earth’ and their mission ‘to make underground pipe laying easier’ has seen the company continue to grow, providing highly efficient and cost-effective solutions for both domestic and international customers.