Our History

Founded in 1991, CHD became the first Canadian HDD contractor when it designed and manufactured the very first HDD rig in Canada. Over the next three years two more rigs were designed and manufactured, entirely in-house.

 

In 1997 CHD became the first HDD contractor to successfully drill the Peace River, which at the time was the longest completed crossing in Canadian history at 1660m. And later that same year came another first, the largest pipe installed by HDD in Canada at the time, a 36" line under the Halfway River. Some of our more current Milestone Projects include the installation of a pipeline from the bottom of Pink Mountain to the top. With a total elevation gain of more than 400m, it is the greatest elevation change ever completed by HDD. Or more recently, we installed the largest plastic pipe ever attempted by HDD, a 36" sewer line under the Red Deer River.

 

Never content with the techniques and technologies available, we are constantly progressing, always pioneering innovative and unique procedures. We were the first HDD contractor to utilize an air hammer to install surface casing, now a standard practice, and the first to incorporate the use of a boiler and steam tracing for cold weather operations, also a current standard practice. The modifications we made to the rigs that were commercially available, modifications that were necessary given the unique geo-technical and environmental conditions that we work in, eventually made their way back to the manufacturers themselves and have now become the HDD industry standard. Techniques and procedures that are now commonplace, we pioneered, and the majority of the people that were key in the development and implementation of those techniques are still with us, still innovating.

Our Goal

This industry leading progression continues today with programs such as our Turnkey Program where we are not only of capable of undertaking the entire crossing, from planning, construction, and reclamation, but also financing. Aimed at municipalities, this program allows CHD to fund a project, plan and implement it, and once it is completed we’ll help arrange financing for the client. Or CHD’s Integrity Program , another first in the industry, is our commitment to do all that is necessary to maintain an open and transparent relationship between us and our client. From the projected cost of a crossing, our industry leading health and environmental policies, right through to our publicly available equipment inspection reports, we make every attempt to take some of the mystery and uncertainty out of HDD.

At CHD our goal is simple - to complete your next project: