The History of Huss Drilling
Florida Environmental Drilling
The path that led to the opening of Huss Drilling Inc. is longer than one might expect and this is a brief synopsis of that evolution. In the late 1950’s after retiring from the Florida DOT, Ben’s grandfather opened a materials testing business in Clearwater, Florida. His business thrived with the growth of Pinellas County and after few years of being in the business Ben’s father left college to aid his father due to his health and the size of the business. It was shortly after that time that two businessmen decided to purchase a drilling rig to perform soil borings and other foundation tests in association with their rapidly growing materials testing business. During the early 1960’s the Huss business Florida Testing Laboratories Inc., expanded into exploration drilling which included coring and exploration for mines and foundations for various structures. To handle the growth they started another company and called it Girdler Foundation and Exploration Inc., The companies thrived with the growth of Florida in the 1960’s and 1970’s to the point that they opened a supply business to handle the large quantity of supplies needed to keep them functioning. The businesses did very well in those years but Ben’s grandfather’s health declined and he pasted away in 1972. Ben’s father decided a few years later to sell the businesses and in 1975 he left Clearwater, moved to Brooksville and went to work for Florida Mining and Materials Inc. where he managed their exploration division.
Florida Geotechnical Drilling
During his youth Ben would spend time working at his father’s shop doing various tasks like washing sample jars, cleaning drilling rigs and crew trucks etc. Ben also traveled to jobsites with his dad when not attending school. When Ben was a teenager he would work for Florida Mining during the summer as a helper behind an exploration rig. Ben entered college, continued working summers with various drilling companies and obtained his degree in Geology. These summer jobs gave Ben some valuable experience working with various types of rigs and locations. After graduation Ben went to work for an engineering firm in Tampa working as a geologist and managing their drilling department. The company he was working for was bought and sold several times so Ben decided to open his own drilling business in the spring of 1990.
Florida Exploration Drilling
Ben started with one drilling rig that he had refurbished in his back yard and in ten years was operating five drilling rigs and employing fifteen men. In 2001 Ben felt the need to expand to meet his growing business demands so he merged with Diversified Drilling Corporation. In the five years of the merger the environmental and geotechnical division that Ben managed doubled in growth and opened multiple offices. In December of 2006, Ben went back into business on his own. This was due to his desire to return to a smaller more efficient operation and concentrate on quality services rather than growth. Today, Huss Drilling operates six drilling crews and maintains the company headquarters in Dade City, FL.
