Population booms across the Southeast are pushing aging infrastructure to its limits, creating a steady stream of work for contractors who can handle tough installations. From Florida's loose sandy soils to Georgia's cramped urban job sites, these projects demand crews who know their equipment and can adapt to whatever the ground throws at them. For T B Landmark Construction Inc., meeting these challenges head-on has turned them from a small utility contractor into one of the region's go-to infrastructure specialists.
What started in 1999 with a vision to handle any job that came their way has grown into an operation running more than 200 pieces of equipment, including 15 drill rigs. Based in Florida, T B Landmark crews now tackle projects throughout the Southeast, from Florida up through Georgia, the Carolinas, and into Maryland.
"The Southeast is experiencing significant population growth as people migrate from the west and north," said BJ Bourgholtzer, Operations Manager at T B Landmark. "This isn't just creating demand for new systems. Existing infrastructure needs upsizing to handle increased capacity."
T B Landmark's HDD fleet is built to handle whatever the job calls for. They run Vermeer D10x15 S3 and D20x22 S3 units for residential service work, step up to Vermeer D36x50 and D40x55 S3 machines for medium-sized utility installations, and bring out the Vermeer D100x120 and D100x140 S3 rigs for larger infrastructure projects. When the going gets really tough, they have Vermeer D330x500 and D1000x900 maxi rigs ready to roll. The D100x140 S3 has emerged as their go-to machine.
"The D100x140 delivers its best performance on 1,500-foot runs with 16-inch to 20-inch product," Bourgholtzer said. "You can count on it day in, day out. In good ground conditions, we can push it to 3,000 feet with 12-inch diameter pipe, but our bread and butter is really those 1,200-foot to 2,000-foot shots."
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T B Landmark aims to keep their set ups consistent to maximize productivity.
"We carry about 2,400 feet of drill rod for each of our D100x140 S3 drills," Bourgholtzer explained. "That's our standard set up. We want every machine to be fully equipped with that length capacity."
The company keeps multiple D100x140 S3 units in their fleet — two running full-time, one at half capacity, and another ready as backup. These machines are putting in work 50 weeks a year, showing just how much demand there is for infrastructure contractors.
For challenging ground conditions requiring large-diameter pipe installation, they use the D330x500 equipped with specialized rock tooling. When projects require maximum power for extended bores, they deploy the D1000x900.
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T B Landmark cut their teeth in Florida's tricky sandy soils, but they did not stop there. As word of their expertise spread, they began taking on projects across the Southeast, adapting their techniques to handle whatever ground conditions they encountered.
"In the Jacksonville [Florida] area, we typically maintain mud viscosities between 60 and 80 seconds for optimal performance," Bourgholtzer said. "When challenges arise, such as lost or inadvertent returns, we adjust our mix to 90 to 100 seconds to help seal the bore."
This kind of know-how has allowed the company to push into new territory with different soil conditions.
Managing drilling fluid is just as critical as the drilling operation itself. T B Landmark operates a fleet of mud recycling systems, including Vermeer R250C, R600T, and R9x12T models. These units help control drilling fluid costs while ensuring environmental compliance, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas where proper fluid management is crucial.
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The Southeast's rapid growth has created diverse infrastructure needs, and T B Landmark has positioned itself to serve multiple markets across the region.
"Forced mains and sewer mains remain our primary focus," Bourgholtzer said, "but reclaimed water systems have become increasingly important, especially in central Florida where water conservation is crucial. Over the past five to six years, reclaimed water lines have become our second most common installation type, followed by standard water lines."
Recent work north of Jacksonville saw crews efficiently complete multiple 1,200-foot to 1,500-foot shots of 8-inch steel gas pipe. Their compact equipment setup allows for quick transitions between sites, maximizing productive drilling time.
In urban environments, equipment choice becomes critical. The D100x140 S3 has proven particularly effective for city work.
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"The machine's footprint is really efficient," Bourgholtzer said. "You've got baskets that hold 180 feet of rod that you can double stack, giving you 360 feet before needing to change baskets. Compare that to larger maxi rigs where you're loading rods one by one and need a much bigger setup area."
A recent project in Savannah, Georgia, demonstrated T B Landmark’s expertise in tight spaces. The team successfully installed 13,000 feet of 24-inch sewer force main despite challenging ground conditions and tight working quarters.
"For these infrastructure jobs, they're not giving you a whole lot of room," said Curt Curtis, Drilling Superintendent at T B Landmark. "We are usually looking at a 12-foot right of way, 300 feet to 400 feet from access."
T B Landmark keeps the work in-house, from HDPE fusion to steel casing welds — no waiting on subcontractors to show up. Their crew count runs between 80 and 120, scaling up or down depending on what is hot. When a big pipeline job comes in, they have the bench depth to staff it right.
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Being able to move equipment efficiently between jobs has been key to their success.
"We've successfully deployed this equipment across North Carolina, South Carolina, and we're preparing to move it to the panhandle. It's proven effective across all these applications," said Doug Tyus, Fleet Manager at T B Landmark.
While others chase the fiber market, T B Landmark stays focused on infrastructure work.
"The fiber market is quite saturated. Anyone with a small drill can enter that space," Bourgholtzer said. "We've chosen to focus on infrastructure, which presents more substantial opportunities."
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Municipal contracts keep T B Landmark's crews busy handling emergency repairs and upgrades, like when a city is dealing with burst pipes or systems that cannot keep up with demand.
As the Southeast keeps growing, T B Landmark's combination of experience, equipment, and expertise puts them in prime position to keep delivering results. Their focus on infrastructure projects, particularly in water and wastewater systems, means they will be keeping busy for years to come.
