Horizontal Directional Drilling & Patented Tooling Manufacturing | Winder, Georgia
Hardrock HDDP was founded in 2002 by Cary Cooper, a directional drilling specialist who had spent eight years with Ditch Witch of Georgia before launching his own company. Two years later, he developed an improved percussive drill bit designed for the hard rock common across the Southeast.
That invention became the foundation of a growing patent portfolio and an in-house manufacturing operation. Roughly half of Hardrock's business came from horizontal directional drilling, consulting, and equipment rental, while the other half came from manufacturing and selling the patented bits and reamers designed by its founder.
Hardrock was the only directional drilling contractor in the Southeast that manufactured its full drilling tooling in-house, testing products on its own live rigs. Its newest patented reamer consistently drilled through rock about 33% faster than competing tools while using substantially less water.
After 35 years in the industry, Cary Cooper was ready to retire. His two sons worked in the business and wanted to stay, but neither wanted to become the company's owner.
Any transaction therefore needed to provide a clean exit for the founder, create a secure future for his sons, and preserve the company as a single operating business rather than splitting the drilling and manufacturing divisions apart.
The company's hybrid structure created an unusual challenge. Heavy construction services and precision manufacturing often attract very different buyer groups, and many interested parties wanted only the drilling operation or only the manufacturing business.
Sunbelt Atlanta, with the transaction led by Dealmaker Doreen Morgan, positioned the drilling services, patented product line, and manufacturing capabilities for strategic acquirers, private equity firms, and family offices. More than 100 qualified buyers engaged under strict confidentiality.
That process generated five letters of intent and allowed ownership to hold out for a buyer willing to acquire Hardrock intact. Sunbelt Atlanta also negotiated employment agreements and rollover equity for both of the founder's sons, along with a long-term royalty agreement covering the patented drill designs.
Ownership selected Beach Road because its family-office model centered on long-term ownership rather than a quick resale. Unlike many bidders, Beach Road wanted both Hardrock's drilling operation and its manufacturing division, with plans to expand the manufacturing side while preserving the company as one integrated business.
Beach Road saw an opportunity to professionalize and grow a trades business with a differentiated technology platform. Hardrock's patented drilling tools had already been proven in real-world conditions on the company's own projects, giving the buyer a credible foundation for expanding production and distribution.
The defining feature of this transaction was not just who bought Hardrock, but how the deal was structured around the founder's family and intellectual property.
Hardrock served customers across water and sewer line construction, road and highway construction, and heavy engineering. Long-term demand drivers included transportation investment, Southeast population growth, aging utility infrastructure, and telecom carriers' 5G network build-outs.
Those trends supported growth on both sides of Hardrock's model: more directional drilling work and more demand for tooling that could perform that work faster and with less water.
Hardrock's story shows what's possible when the transaction structure is designed around more than price—from keeping a hybrid business intact to protecting family members and preserving value from patented technology. Sunbelt Atlanta runs confidential, competitive sale processes with no upfront fees.
Since 1998, Sunbelt Atlanta has helped business owners across Georgia and the Southeast sell their companies confidentially and on their own terms. With more than 1,250 businesses sold, a no-upfront-fee, success-driven approach, and experience across industries including horizontal directional drilling, utility construction, and specialty manufacturing, Sunbelt Atlanta's Dealmakers guide owners through every stage of a sale, from valuation through closing.
Owners of directional drilling, utility construction, and equipment manufacturing companies who are considering a sale, whether now or a few years down the road, are welcome to begin with a confidential conversation about their options.