Written by Rich Maxwell, Independent Content Writer / Editor, Shawnee Kansas USA
Tony D’Addio’s journey in HDD began in 1999, during his last year at Nueva Esparta University when he started a machinery transportation company. One morning, he happened to meet Robert, who worked for Vermeer – HammerHead. Robert offered him an opportunity to support the sales of pneumatic tools (piercing tools). Tony accepted and began traveling through many cities in Venezuela, performing piercing and pipe ramming projects. In mid-2000, Rafael Rivero Jr., better known as “Toro,” from Rivertec (Vermeer Venezuela), formally asked Tony to join the company. Toro was not only Tony’s boss for several years but also one of his best friends since childhood. That year, Tony was invited to what would be the first of many visits to the Vermeer Corporation factory in Pella, Iowa, and HammerHead University in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
From 2000 to around 2004, Tony worked on small and medium-scale projects and installed numerous pipelines using the bursting and ramming systems across Venezuela. Denny King, Vermeer’s Latin American Regional Manager, recalls, “I met Tony when he worked for Rivertec, S.A. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, HDD was in its infancy in Latin America. Tony and Toro were fearless, so Rivertec was at the forefront of HDD technology.” King, a 20-year HDD veteran now retired, says, “What I like about Tony is his ‘can-do’ attitude, genuine smile, and love for his work.”
In 2005, Tony’s passion for HDD was truly ignited. On a visit to a challenging oil pipeline river crossing at the Orinoco River near Puerto Ordaz in eastern Venezuela, Tony accepted the challenge. Over the next few weeks, which turned into months, he learned to operate large excavators, locate drill paths, and understand the wide variety of tools and accessories.
Tony tells it this way: “I started as a laborer, assisting with general support activities, digging manually, and transporting materials. Weeks later, I learned to operate excavators and helped with all aspects of guided drilling using a wireline system and walkover locating, thanks to meeting my dear friend Julian Perez from DCI.”
Tony also started working over at the mixing tank. He remembers, “I was at the mixing tank, adding products without fully understanding their purpose. Toro would radio me and say, ‘Tony, add X number of bags labeled Quickbore, X amount from the yellow containers (Quik-Trol), X from the ones with the white caps (No-Sag), X amount of lubricant (Penetrol), and let it mix.’ I simply followed his instructions. Days later, Mr. Frank Canon himself from Baroid arrived on-site. With his engaging teaching style and his well-known deck of cards, he imparted knowledge and shared personal anecdotes that I still apply in the field and HDD schools today. Frank used a deck of cards that he always carried with him to explain how platelets are cut and how bentonite is mixed through the Venturi mixing system.”
One of Denny King’s lasting impressions of Tony was the effort he put into attempting to complete the nearly two-mile (10,236.220 feet) PDVSA bore in eastern Venezuela. “Although the bore was never completed, Tony always displayed a never-give-up, positive attitude on the months-long effort, no matter the setbacks encountered. And there were many.”
Over the next several years, Tony completed numerous projects in Venezuela and Colombia for government entities and private clients using D33x44, D16x20, trenchers (both chain and disc), compactors, block-making machines, and pipe ramming and bursting equipment.
Russell Novello, a design engineer for Vermeer at the time, first met Tony in Colombia around 2009. Tony was the operator on an HDD crew training to run a new rig on an underground HDPE crossing. Novello says, “Tony was always smiling, and always excited about new challenges.” Over the next five years, Novello and Tony spent time together on several job sites in Venezuela, Colombia, the USA, and Mexico.
From 2010 to late 2012, Tony worked mainly in different cities across Colombia for various companies, operating rigs such as the D750x900 and D1000x900. He also attended his first of many drilling fluids courses at Baroid, Halliburton, in Texas. That same year, he returned to Vermeer Corporation for the Pipeline Service and Underground University training.
Back in Venezuela in 2012, Tony continued working on various undergrounding projects. This was also the year he acquired his first HDD rig, a D6x6, which was put to work in multiple Venezuelan cities. But Tony’s career turned more to Maxi Rigs in 2014 when he traveled to Mexico for two weeks in an on-site advisory role for one of Vermeer Mexico’s clients using a D1000x900 HDD rig on a major crossing in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico.
Tony says, “One day I walked into the operator’s cabin and met a man named Jared who was handling the drilling guidance. I mentioned that he reminded me of a friend I used to know. He asked, ‘Who do I look like?’ I responded, ‘Frank Canon.’ With a big smile, he replied, ‘Haha, that’s my dad!’”
Back in Venezuela and Colombia, Tony continued supporting and operating various Maxi Rigs projects until 2017. That was the year Tony, his wife, and his son decided to move to Mexico, where he was invited to work for Vermeer Mexico as an HDD specialist. When Vermeer Mexico asked Novello for a recommendation, he reported, “Tony is an expert in HDD, loves the HDD industry, and continues to be the kind of person that fits in easily on any jobsite.”
Between 2018 and 2019, Tony completed Vermeer’s Train the Trainer certification and again visited Baroid – Halliburton in Texas for additional drilling fluids certification. Back in Mexico, Tony helped, together with Rosa Morales and Jeff Rethmeier, establish the HDD School at Vermeer Mexico after Vermeer Mexico acquired one of Vermeer’s HDD simulators—the HDD virtual reality simulator that creates the ideal learning environment for transforming operators and supervisors into professional drillers.
At the beginning of 2023, after seven years of working as an HDD Specialist for Vermeer Mexico, he decided to make his own way and founded his own HDD consulting and product distribution company, HDD WORLD LLC. Seeing the growing demand for trained operators, the HDD School was also established throughout America. HDD World also represents Underground Magnetics and ProAction Fluids in Mexico, Central, and South America.
“UMag locators got into my blood years ago when I used a UMag8 for the first time,” Tony says. “I had no idea how to use it, so I downloaded the manual online and was surprised at how intuitive it was. Later, while conducting another training for a different client, I had the chance to work with UMag again.
The ‘bore to’ function is one of my favorites. I simply place the equipment on my drill line, and the operator can see in real time where it’s heading and make the necessary corrections. Another advantage of the XPro is that its 75XF transmitter allows for deeper crossings over long distances, even through areas with heavy active and/or passive interference.”
In August 2024, in Costa Rica, Tony remembers, “I woke up one morning thinking, ‘I need to introduce this technology to my colleagues and demonstrate not only its ease of use but also its accuracy.’ Determined to contact a UMag representative, a few days later, I connected with none other than Mike Young (President, Underground Magnetics Inc.), who invited me to visit their factory in Iowa. There, we met, toured the facilities, and even had time to ‘play’ with the equipment. Every time we finished a drill rod, Mike would walk over and show me how to use the UMag X Pro—an incredible experience! The rest is history!”
Reflecting on the past 25-plus years in HDD, Tony is quick to express his deep gratitude for mentors like Toro, his best friend since childhood, and job site meetings with Denny King, Frank Canon, and Russell Novello, who generously shared their time and knowledge—lessons Tony still applies today.
In Tony’s own words, “Every project has a story to tell. Challenges bring both highs and lows, but staying calm and listening to the team’s opinions and ideas is key. When working as a team, the results are always better. This might sound unusual, but one practice I have adopted in all my HDD projects is asking Mother Earth for permission—seeking to drill in the most respectful way possible and leaving everything as I found it.”
Amen, Tony
