HammerHead® Trenchless, a Charles Machine Works Company, of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, manufactures and delivers a unique combination of rehabilitation, replacement and installation equipment and consumables for the underground construction market.
HammerHead products are sold and serviced in more than 63 countries, including the United Kingdom, with worldwide sales, support, service and parts through a network of authorized dealers.
The company was established as Earth Tool Company in 1989, just a few months after co-founder Jon Haas consulted with his friend Rob Crane, a Harley–Davidson experimental mechanic, about designing a better earth piercing tool. Crane in turn invited his coworker Steve Wentworth, a Harley–Davidson product design engineer, to join him for a hands-on look at a piercing tool Haas had on hand at the time.
Although piercing tool technology had been used for many years, little had been done to improve its original design. Crane and Wentworth discovered the legacy piercing tool couldn’t be taken apart. They set about building a tool that was easier to use, maintain and rebuild with greatly improved performance and reliability. The result was the HammerHead Mole®, the namesake of what is now the industry’s most complete offering of trenchless pipe installation, replacement and renovation systems from a single source.
The first company headquarters was a converted chicken coop near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, which moved to larger facilities in town shortly thereafter to accommodate the company’s almost immediate commercial success. The new company doubled its market share each consecutive year from 1990 to 1995.
Meanwhile the design team set out to develop and improve other trenchless products such as pipe ramming tools, bursting tools and purpose-built winches and rod-pulling machines. Each reflects the fundamental principles of HammerHead’s winning formula: designs focused on quality, durability, ease-of-use, ease-of-maintenance and low cost of ownership with the ability to rebuild components for longer service life.
However, design improvements and the efficient manufacturing processes the three developed were not solely responsible for HammerHead’s remarkable success. One other reason was HammerHead leadership’s penchant for skillfully allying the company in mutually beneficial partnerships with established distribution networks that gave customers the greatest access to their quality products. In 2010, HammerHead Trenchless was acquired by The Charles Machine Works, a family of brands dedicated to the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of a range of equipment for the underground utility construction industry.
HammerHead Trenchless relocated its operations to Lake Mills, Wisconsin, having outgrown its Oconomowoc facilities due to continued growth since its founding.
Today HammerHead Trenchless solutions include a wide array of equipment and tools to install, repair or replace fiber, communication, water, sewer and gas lines with minimal disruption to landscapes, structures and traffic flow. HammerHead now offers customers the most complete array of equipment, tooling accessories and consumables for use in:
- Earth piercing
- Pipe bursting
- Pipe ramming
- Horizontal-direction-drilling (HDD)
- Pneumatic HDD boring
- CIPP pipe lining and CIPP point repair
In 2019 HammerHead announced it had formed a partnership with Per Aarsleff Pipe Technology, of Aarhus, Denmark. The agreement makes HammerHead the exclusive producer and distributor of the Bluelight LED curing system for cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) outside Europe and Russia, where Per Aarsleff Pipe Technology will continue to sell the Bluelight product under the Bluelight brand name.
Perhaps the most important ingredient of HammerHead’s success is its people. Decades of closely working alongside the trenchless industry have given HammerHead engineers and technicians the experience and knowledge to serve as expert application consultants. HammerHead’s dedicated team is committed to helping customers choose the right solution for their job and will customize a given solution to the project. The company’s 24/7 responsiveness means customers can rely on expert assistance throughout the project cycle, pre-bid to completion. A global network of HammerHead dealers is ready with industry-leading support by phone, in your office or even at your side in the field.
Additional details regarding products, events, special financing, videos and other informative features can be found on HammerHead’s official Facebook® and Twitter® pages. For more information about HammerHead Trenchless products, please call your local dealer, or +1 (920) 648-4848. You may also visit us on the web at www.hammerheadtrenchless.com.
HAMMERHEAD, HAMMERHEAD MOLE and HAMMERHEAD LOGO(S) are trademarks of Earth Tool Company LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.
