Welcome to Surface to Surface, Inc., your location to get dependable and efficient mixing systems. When we started StS in 1992 we leveraged the previous 25 years of contracting experience to solve contractors mixing problems. Over these past 25 years we have listened to our contractor customers. We repeatedly heard common issues: they needed better ways to fast mix bentonite for horizontal directional drilling, more efficient ways to mix and recycle drilling fluids for diamond drilling, to solidify vacuum truck liquid wastes and better ways to deal with the construction site liquid waste on work sites. They also told us that they needed systems that would reduce water usage and protect sensitive wetlands from liquid waste discharges. These customers operate their contracting businesses all across Canada and the United States. They work on building new infrastructure, and also upgrading old, with major operations in Ontario, Québec, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Australia, and in Europe, among others. Construction company owners, project managers, and cost estimators all know that StS mixing systems save them time and money.
Contractors using horizontal directional drill systems (HDD) needed mixers that were fast and efficient to mix sodium bentonite and water with no lumps and no separation. Sodium bentonite is a powder with incredibly small particles. Each particle has to be coated with water in order to work properly. StS developed and patented the “four-point shearing system” which can mix up to 750 gallons in less than 10 minutes of fully hydrated bentonite fluid. These customers, small and medium-sized contractors, operate horizontal directional drills for the preferred method of installing pipe under roads, rivers and watercourses, and use bentonite slurry as a lubricant when they pull pipes back through the drilled holes. Contractors use this system for water-main and sewer-main road crossings, and natural gas pipe crossings. It is used extensively in the oil and gas industry and pipeline collection systems in the oil and gas fields. It is particularly useful when infrastructure is being built or upgraded in highly congested areas. StS customers operate all over North America, from Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Miami, where efficient operations in congested areas is crucial. Construction company owners, job organizers, contractor cost estimators, and contractor service managers setting up support trucks, all find that Surface to Surface mixers save them time and money.
The MAC’s were developed for diamond drillers exploring for gold, precious metals, copper, both on the surface and in underground mines, often in remote and very dry areas. StS used its proprietary “Four-point shearing system” mixer and developed a small particle removal system and a unique fluid handling and storage system. This ensured that the bentonite and polymer drilling fluids could be mixed quickly and recycled at least twice. By doing so, this mixer saves the drillers over half of their fluid costs, and at the same time reduces water use by over half. The StS MAC’s have a small footprint for underground use, are durable and rugged, and there is a helicopter portable unit. Many drillers in the dry Nevada gold fields have found time and money savings, as well as in the Yukon, Alaska, and Northern Ontario gold fields. It is being introduced into the dry desert areas of the high Andes in Peru, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, and environmentally sensitive mining areas in Northern Europe. Drilling contractor company owners, cost estimators and drilling supervisors all know that the StS MAC’s make a difficult job easier, save time, money, and water. They like the smaller sump sizes and reduced environmental footprint size.
Vacuum trucks create liquid wastes when they use water jets to safely excavate around underground utilities like natural gas mains, buried electrical cables, and water and sewer mains. Their job is to suck up the liquid slurries that they just created. These liquid wastes, other construction site liquid wastes, and bentonite HDD slurries all need to be safely and responsibly disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. Our contractor customers have been finding the number of approved disposal sites trending to fewer locations, typically farther away, at increasing costs. Another issue they face in many of the infrastructure and replacement jobs done in congested high traffic areas, is that the trucks headed to disposal sites are getting stuck in transit for hours. StS developed the FL-243 solidification system that will solidify these wastes, from very light 10-pound mud through almost solid materials. The system accepts the variability as it comes, and can solidify on-site. The solids can be used for site remediation, or moved off by dump truck when traffic is lighter. As part of the solidification solution, StS participated in the development of its FLAILBOND® solidification powder. It is highly sheared into the mix with the counter rotating chain flailing system, giving solidification within 15 minutes. Contractors tell us that areas with high vacuum truck concentrations, high water stress, serious traffic congestion, and high disposal costs are where the FL-243 Solidification System saves the most cost and time. Contractors and vacuum truck operators in Toronto and other Ontario cities, like Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver can benefit by using this system, as well as in Southern California cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. These systems are also being introduced in Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, New York City and New Jersey metropolitan area, Washington and Chesapeake metropolitan area. The United States south east coast, and the Gulf Coast areas can all benefit from the use of this system as well. Vacuum truck owners and their cost estimators, contractor owners and their cost estimators, construction job project managers, liquid receiving sites owners and cost estimators, and Pipeline project managers can all make a difficult job faster and less costly using the FL 243 Solidification System.
