NPR has today a great story about the people behind the drilling.
When the miners were found in August, many feared that they might not be rescued until Christmas.
So Brandon Fisher, president of drill bit manufacturer Center Rock, convinced that a shaft could be drilled faster contacted the rescue operation, and Center Rock supplied several of its pneumatic drilling systems.
They spent 37 days in Chile.
This private company based in Berlin, Pennsylvania (staffed with 74 employees) deserves a lot of credit for an innovative pneumatic-based drilling system that uses four hammers instead of one and was able to drill through as much as 40 meters of rock per day.
Center Rock’s CEO Brandon Fisher was there with his team, and they are, too, real heroes.
(In the Jorge Saenz/AP picture Brandon Fisher with colleague Richard Soppe at the San Jose mine.)
Tags: Brandon Fisher, Center Rock, Chilean Miners, Richard Soppe, drilling