Excavation for the installation of a new joint trench.

In the background, an Accu-Bore worker operates a Ditch Witch directional drill to install new gas service for a residence.

MDR Inc., dba Accu-Bore Directional Drilling, Inc. (Accu-Bore), has operated as a certified Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) in California since 2006. Together, business partners and owners Billy Kilmer Jr. and Mike Robirds possess over 30 years of experience in the industry, enabling them to lead a highly skilled team of superintendents, foremen, project managers, equipment operators, as well as field and administrative personnel. From federal government projects to public utility projects, the directional drilling and utility installation contractor works within a variety of contexts and budgets to build strong, long-lasting client relationships.

“My Air Force training provided me with perspectives that have stimulated the development of our corporate culture,” says Robirds. The primary values of Accu-Bore reflect and expand on the Air Force’s core principles of integrity, service and excellence that Robirds adopted while stationed in Arizona and Colorado.

Robirds’ 10% service disability under the DVBE certification stems from his deployment overseas to Afghanistan and Pakistan, which resulted in long-term hearing loss. “I lost a portion of my hearing while building a shelter for a Predator aircraft in Pakistan,” says Robirds, “but I don’t want the focus to be on me. I’d much rather it be about the team we have in place and the efforts they exhibit to provide a variety of solutions for our clientele.”

A Team-Oriented Company

Accu-Bore has approximately 250 employees spread throughout the state of California, supporting both gas and electric utilities. “I’m proud that we have a diverse group of employees who come from a broad variety of backgrounds,” says Robirds. Individuals from the military, as well as from the private and commercial sectors, comprise the Accu-Bore crew.

“Creating a preeminent utility construction company means having people with a shared vision, under a common mission, and with a good set of core values to cohesively complete assignments,” says Robirds. “We unite to solve our clients’ problems.”

He adds: “This group of folks labors tirelessly to get jobs done. That, to me, is the story of who we are.”

The team includes individuals hired directly out of engineering school and those who have worked in the industry for 30 to 40 years. As a result of its veteran-hiring initiative, Accu-Bore employs several veterans—including some who also have military service-connected disabilities. The firm also partners with other businesses that have a DVBE designation.

Not Your Status-Quo DVBE

California’s DVBE program, a subset of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), provides that those with the certification receive at least three percent of the state’s contract dollars annually. There are about 2,110 DVBEs in the state—and these firms encompass all forms of enterprise.

“My Air Force training provided me with perspectives that have stimulated the development of our corporate culture.” Mike Robirds, Owner, Accu-Bore Directional Drilling, Inc.

Because of the program, doors have opened for Accu-Bore. However, the firm prefers to let its labor—not its DVBE status—open most opportunity pathways.

“We have a DVBE certification, but we do not lobby that or use that to get contracts,” says Robirds. “We want to make sure that our work and our team motivates people to hire us.” Robirds wants Accu-Bore’s efforts to stand on their own so that he can tell customers, “ ‘Oh, by the way, we’re a DVBE.’ Not, ‘we’re a DVBE and we should do your project.’ ”

Directional Drilling Component

Accu-Bore has the capability to self-perform 90% of the work on most projects, which is unique to the underground utility market. The corporation concentrates on directional drilling, a distinctive type of expertise that requires a specialized skill set with specific equipment.

Drilling is a single component of the overall solution that Accu-Bore offers. But it is a very important factor because few directional drilling companies exist. Ventures include larger long-linear excavation for gas and electric, and for what’s called joint trench—electric, fiber and telecommunications. The company also performs horizontal drilling involving smaller tasks all the way up to larger diameters in environmentally sensitive areas.

“We are able to offer the services of a smaller entity while competing against the larger million-dollar companies,” says Robirds.

Award-Winning Project

The firm has won a variety of awards for its project efforts throughout California. “We received the United Contractors’ Community Impact Safety Award in 2015 for the Stony Point joint-trench installation in Santa Rosa, Calif., our most rewarding project to date,” says Robirds. The project involved converting overhead utilities to 17,500 linear feet of underground, joint-trench utilities comprised of communication systems, natural gas and electrical installation work. Horizontal drilling minimized the impact on the surrounding roadway.

Up to that point, Stony Point was the largest project, by a far margin, of any assignment that Accu-Bore had undertaken. The organization was also smaller at the time, a third of the size it is now, with under 100 employees. “We assembled a great staff and brought in outside resources. We operated very closely with the municipality and other stakeholders in the project and got the job done on budget and on time,” says Robirds.

Finishing on time critically affected the project’s next phase, allowing the contractor that came in after Accu-Bore to get its part done in a timely manner as well. Despite the exceptional constraints of the project, which required significant interfacing with many different stakeholders, the outcome pleased the interested parties.

“The Stony Point project was the launching point for our successes over the last two years,” says Robirds. “It compelled us to bring in several employees and it opened up new lines of business.”

Maintaining a High Level of Excellence

Accu-Bore is selective on the kinds of services it offers today. “There have been projects that we have tried and failed, or in hindsight did not achieve the level of success that we could have, and so we made the strategic decision to no longer operate in those spaces,” says Robirds. Learning from the past has been an important part of business development activities.

The corporation focuses on areas that it can execute at a high level while making sure project work is performed safely. “Directional drilling is first and foremost,” he continues, “and our Excavation Safety Awareness program is important as well. We value the welfare of every person on the team. We make personnel safety and eliminating damages our main priorities.”

Because excavating around underground utilities is a dangerous element of Accu-Bore’s work, company team members have participated in a variety of excavation safety panels across the U.S.

Robirds concludes: “I attribute much of my professional experience to my Air Force background. While that certainly is a component of our success, the main point is that we always give credit to the team that we have in place.”