Tricone & PDC disruption in NZ

New Zealand has some of the most varied and challenging geology in the world. This brings out creative and solution-oriented thinking in Kiwi drillers. Where we don’t see a product or solution that suits our needs; we adapt, pivot or challenge conventional thinking. This has made us resilient as a country, and is an integral part of how Blick operates.

 
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Down hole tooling in New Zealand

During the 1990’s, the majority of down hole tooling was supplied by American or European companies. These products were often driven by oil and gas industry specifications. They were excellent quality - but expensive. The tools were potentially over-engineered for New Zealand drilling requirements, where the bores could be shallower and less critical than oil and gas drilling.

To drive their competitiveness - many drillers looked to Asia for down hole tooling, as it was generally much cheaper than European and American products.

There was trial and error - drillers tried some products that were fantastic, and some that weren’t. They ran into inconsistent products, had to pay in advance, and had to manage their own stock levels against long sea freight lead times.

 
 

Tricone market disruption

Blick came to the market in 2020 with a tricone and PDC bit solution - designed specifically to help you drill successfully in New Zealand conditions. 

After extensive research within our network of offshore manufacturers, we gradually formed relationships with recommended Chinese suppliers. This has led to the extensive range of quality PDC’s and tricones we stock today. We have regular shipments, manage the logistics and currency, and we stand by our products. 

Our tricones & PDC’s include premium features:

  • Tricones in steel tooth and TCI feature sealed roller bearings, shirt tail hard facing and TCI inserts on the shoulder

  • PDC’s feature a deep wing design - reinforced with hard facing and large PDC inserts to reduce wear. Precisely aligned cutting PDC’s ensure rapid and straight progress.

The solution

Drillers have enough shifting demands and challenges to face day to day. Worrying about sourcing a quality bit at short notice doesn’t have to be one of them. Let us deal with sourcing consistent products, foreign currency exchange and shipment arrivals. 

We love working with drillers and talking through solutions. Our team is happy to help. Give us a call, or pop into our warehouse to find a tricone or PDC option to best suit your requirements.   

Clay Adams

Bits, (mountain) biking, and banter. Clay can talk about drilling fluids all day long. 

Clay serves the North Island markets as our Technical Sales Manager. Clay leads the business's construction and tunnelling side and focuses on HDD, waterwell and geotech.

He likes to understand how things work, thinks about the bigger picture, and loves producing great results.

If he’s not on-site, you’ll find him catching a wave or up a mountain.

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