People-First Engineering: How Our Engineering Expertise Makes HDD Projects Seamless
Great planning and technology only get you so far. Behind every successful crossing, beneath a river, a railway, or a major road, experienced engineers are keeping the project on track from entry to exit. At Prime Horizontal, that human element has never been an afterthought; it's been central to how we've operated since the very beginning.
Our mission has always been to put our customers first by providing the highest quality and experienced service with the highest degree of professionalism and ethical business practices. That commitment hasn't changed, and the international reputation we've built over the years is a direct result of staying true to it.
Supporting You from Start to Finish
Horizontal directional drilling can be an unforgiving sector. Ground conditions change, deadlines tighten, and complex crossings rarely follow the script drawn up in the planning phase. What makes the difference is having experienced engineers on site who know how to respond when conditions shift, backed by guidance systems, tooling and an extremely experienced management team to support ongoing operations.
Prime Horizontal provided HDD guidance and gyro steering support for a 1,634 m river crossing beneath the River Ems near Emden, Germany. The crossing formed part of a multiple-installation utility corridor for electricity infrastructure using a 280 mm OD HDPE pipe.
The project utilised the ParaTrack Gyro Module, the ParaTrack 2 Guidance System, and surface-coil tracking to maintain accuracy beneath the river. Ground conditions consisted mainly of sand with occasional firmer formations.
Why Horizontal Directional Drilling Demands More Than Technical Know-How
Technology is only ever as effective as the people using it. A tracking system is only as useful as the engineer interpreting its data, and a drill bit only performs as well as the team deploying it under real field conditions. This is precisely why Prime Horizontal has always been a service company at its core. Our engineers are present at the drill site and work closely alongside our clients rather than simply supplying equipment and stepping back. Our field engineers have decades of experience and understand every element of the pilot hole drilling operation. Our downhole tooling sales and rental support have built up significant experience over several years, from Pilot hole bits, mud motors, to large-scale reamers.
It's a growing discipline too, according to Grand View Research, the global HDD market was valued at USD 8.18 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 16.08 billion by 2030, driven by rising demand for underground utility installation that causes minimal surface disruption.
As that demand grows, so does the need for experienced teams who can deliver on it consistently. Guidance hardware enables centimetre-accurate positioning of a drill bit, but it's the engineers' reading of said data in real time that determines whether a crossing succeeds. That combination of proven technology and experienced people is the standard we've built our reputation around.
Expertise at the Centre
At Prime Horizontal, our engineers are what set us apart. Trained entirely in-house, they bring decades of underground infrastructure experience to every project, and they've handled many different scenarios in many countries.
We deploy skilled engineers across all our key regions, cultures and backgrounds. We take pride in supporting the client’s operation with experienced professionals.
This people-first philosophy goes back to our roots as a guidance services company. We've always believed that even the best technology in the world only delivers results when it's in the right hands. That's why we invest heavily in our people, because on every HDD project, it's our engineers who make the difference.
The Same Standards, Wherever the Project Takes Us
“Prime Horizontal is a key partner of HDI, contributing to some of the most complex and world-class projects delivered in our history”- Camila Sanchez Prado, Horizontal Drilling International
With offices in the Netherlands, America, Australia and most recently the UK, our teams support projects across the globe. The ground conditions vary, the geographies change, and no two projects are quite the same, but the standard of service our clients receive stays consistent regardless of where in the world the work takes place.
Whether it's a coal bed methane intersect, a gas infrastructure crossing beneath a major waterway, or a utility bore in a congested urban corridor, clients working with Prime Horizontal know what they're getting each time. We take pride in utilising a proven multifunctional guidance system, experienced engineers, and a team that approaches every horizontal directional drilling project with the same level of care and accountability.
Have a Challenging Project Coming Up?
If you have a project on the horizon, or one that ran into difficulty elsewhere, we'd genuinely like to hear about it. Bring your toughest questions and your most demanding ground conditions. That's exactly where Prime Horizontal does its best work.
Get in touch with the team today.