SOUTHERN ROTARY DRILL
CASE STUDY
HEAT TRANSFER SOLUTIONS FOR SOUTHERN ROTARY DRILL
Since 1998, Southern Rotary Drill (SRD) has supplied and serviced drilling equipment to an array of industries throughout the U.S. and abroad. Founded by brothers Dennis Stephenson (President) and Corey Stephenson (Vice President), the company has evolved in its 20 years of business.
For the first 15 years, SRD would buy, sell and service drill rigs for a variety of OEMs. During this time, Dennis and Corey became familiar with MESABI® Radiators, as they were a component of Reedrill drill rings.
“Today, Reedrill is under Caterpillar® Drill,” said Corey. “But having the Reedrill and Caterpillar® Drill in our dealership allowed us to become familiar with MESABI® Radiators.”
Following a brief stint in the coal industry, Dennis and Corey shifted their business structure to focus on the manufacturing of their own machines.
FOSTERING FAMILIARITY WITH L&M RADIATOR, INC.
Serving as a dealer and servicer for OEM drill rigs allowed Dennis and Corey to become familiar with L&M Radiator, Inc. 30 years ago. In this time, Dennis and Corey discovered the unique serviceability and repairability of MESABI® Radiators.
“The first thing that appealed to us was the core design,” said Dennis. “The ability to replace one tube at a time is a great serviceability benefit.”
“Repairability is key to us,” said Corey. “If you lose a tube in the field, you can pull it out, patch it up and go back to operating while losing very little production.”
Being a part of the drilling industry for more than 20 years, Dennis and Corey know when an experience feels right.
“The engineers are excellent to work with,” said Corey. “We know a lot of the same people in this industry, and from design to attention to detail, they’re great.”
TREATING HEAT IN TROPICAL CLIMATES
Despite potentially challenging environments, MESABI® Heat Exchangers have proven successful for Dennis and Corey to keep their equipment on the job.
“We have machines in some very tropical environments, like Miami, for example,” said Dennis. “Not just hot, but tropical conditions. We’ve had good success keeping the temperature of our equipment where it needs to be.”