In business for more than 40 years, the owners of Kansas utility contractor Jim Radell Construction Inc. understand very well that the economy runs in cycles—sometimes very good, other times difficult.

"My father, Jim, started this company in 1968 to do telephone work," says Steve Radell, project manager of the family-owned business. "There was a downturn in the '80s, just when we had purchased some new trenching equipment, and the telecommunications industry's problems in 2000 and 2001 stopped much construction activity. Now we're in a worldwide recession."

However, Radell Construction is still going strong.

Providing consistently good service helped Jim Radell build and maintain a solid base of satisfied clients and expand into water and sewer projects, which has helped sustain the company during economic downturns.

"Our first customer was the primary service provider in our area, and we still are under contract with them," says Radell. "We were well established in 2000, and that helped us get through that period. There is a slowdown for us now, but we don't have much debt, so we're confident about the future."

Adopting new technologies to meet changing industry requirements also has helped Radell Construction not only sustain business in slow times but also grow.

Although Radell crews do some aerial splicing of fiber, copper, and coaxial communications cable, 90 percent of its work now is trenchless construction with horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and pipe bursting of clay, ductile iron and cast iron pipes.

Radell also has trenchers, conventional loader backhoes, and compact vibratory plows for those times when the most cost-effective construction options are excavating or plowing. For open-cut work, excavation equipment operated by the company includes two Ditch Witch® 115-horsepower RT115 models and three Ditch Witch 80-horsepower JT8020 units. The basic tractors accept interchangeable attachments, and the Radell equipment setup includes two disc trenchers, two vibratory plows, and one chain trencher.

Radell purchased its first horizontal directional drilling machine in the late 1980s, soon after the first utility directional drills came on the market.

"My dad was always looking for a better way to do things and was always looking for new technology," says Radell. "I grew up in this business, and I remember that first Ditch Witch drill had a separate power pack that was tethered to the drill unit, and it was not self-propelled. The controls were mounted on the carriage, and the operator walked back and forth as the carriage moved forward and backward. Horizontal directional drilling certainly has advanced since then."

Today the company operates three Ditch Witch horizontal directional drill models: a compact JT2020, a JT2720 All Terrain (AT) model, and a JT4020 AT unit, the largest in its directional drill fleet.

Because much of Radell's drilling projects are in rocky conditions, the company elected to purchase All Terrain equipment, which is equipped with a unique dual-drive drilling system that gives relatively compact horizontal directional drilling equipment the capability of drilling through rock and hard conditions that once required much larger machines as well as the use of a mud motor.

The AT design employs an inner rod to drive a rock bit, and the outer pipe steers the downhole tool for drilling pilot holes and provides rotary torque for the hole opener during backreaming. The mechanical drilling system delivers maximum downhole horsepower and operates on low volumes of drilling fluid.

"We considered the mud motor option, but decided the All Terrain equipment provided the easiest process for our needs," says Radell. "With a knowledgeable, patient operator, we find drilling through rock is just as easy as a normal bore. I certainly recommend this equipment."

In addition to rock drilling, AT models are productive in normal conditions and most other types of soil.

The JT4020 AT's rock-drilling capabilities were on full display during a recent project for Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative. The assignment was to make a 1,650-foot crossing through solid limestone under the Neosho River near Erie, Kansas, for installation of a bundle of one 4-inch and two 2-inch diameter HDPE ducts that would hold both fiber and copper cables. "This was a complicated bore," says Radell. "From start to finish there was a 110-foot elevation change. We used a 6 1/2-inch TCI bit for the pilot hole. The pilot hole was surface-launched and exited in the flood plain across the river; it was 110 feet below the river at the deepest point. Two backreaming passes were made with a 12-inch TCI tool prior to pulling in the duct."

The project required 16 other bores ranging in length from 30 to 600 feet, with the average being 120 feet. Soil conditions included more limestone and clay. Most bores were for creek and street crossings. JT2020 Mach 1 and JT2720 All Terrain directional drills also were used on the project.

Craw-Kan has 33 exchanges providing more than 17,000 telephone access lines in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Other services include long-distance telephone, calling cards, dial-up Internet, cable television and digital television, and high-speed DSL Internet.

The JT4020 All Terrain has 40,000 pounds of pullback, 5,000 foot-pounds spindle torque, and spindle speeds to 250 rpm.

The JT2720 All Terrain produces 27,000 pounds of pullback, 3,200 foot-pounds of spindle torque, and spindle speeds to 225 rpm.

The JT2020 Mach 1 develops 20,000 pounds of pullback, 2,200 foot-pounds of rotary torque, and spindle speeds to 200 rpm.

Radell says the JT2020 and JT2720 AT are the most cost-effective construction options for installing telecommunication ducts. The larger JT4020 AT is used on telecom jobs when needed but has the power to pull in larger-diameter water and sewer pipes.

On most projects, Radell Construction is the primary contractor working on a turnkey basis. For water and sewer work, Radell crews place pipe, construct manholes, make connections, and make closed-circuit television inspections of the finished system. On water projects, services also are installed.

Although Jim Radell Construction serves a broad range of utility clients, telecommunications construction today is responsible for the largest percentage of Radell Construction's work, and a growing percentage of projects require trenchless methods.

Radell says that directional drilling is well accepted by most clients, and that most understand its benefits and the situations when it is the best option.

"However," he adds, "some engineers are still learning about the technology. We recently had a contract to replace an eight-inch sanitary sewer main that was specified as open-cut. But space was very tight, and a new parking lot was in place along the route of the pipe. We assured the engineer and project owner that we were capable of directional drilling on grade. After considering the circumstances, we got the go-ahead to do the on-grade bore and installed 400 feet of HDPE pipe. It saved time, money, and minimized surface disturbance and repairs."

Based in Pittsburg, Kanas, Radell Construction has 15 full-time employees, adding extra personnel when workloads require it. Most work is in Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and western Missouri.

Jim Radell still plays an active role in operations.

"I give my dad all the credit for the company's success," says Steve Radell. "He started the business from nothing and built it by insisting on doing quality work, making sure clients were always satisfied. He had the vision to see the future of directional drilling before most recognized its potential. He has set the standard we follow today. And he's still the first one at work in the morning and the last one to leave at the end of the day."

Ditch Witch equipment is manufactured in Perry, Oklahoma. In addition to directional drilling equipment, downhole tools, tracking systems, trenchers and attachments, the Ditch Witch product line includes vibratory plows, compact utility equipment, utility locators, vacuum excavators, and support products.

Ditch Witch products are sold and serviced by its worldwide dealer organization. Ditch Witch of Kansas, Valley Center, supports Jim Radell Construction.