Eric Boll, Bryce Bjerke, Vince Falk and Bob Stirling have started two new businesses in Hankinson. Their jointly-owned companies specialize in geothermal drilling and the installation of geothermal heat pumps throughout the tri-state area.
Hankinson Businesses –
Digging for energy savings
By Pat Schaffer
The practice of digging wells is rooted in antiquity, with the earliest known well, discovered during an archeological excavation in Israel, estimated to be at least 10,000 years old.
While methods of well drilling have remained basically unchanged through the centuries, Vince Falk, Bob Stirling, Bryce Bjerke and Eric Boll have started two new businesses in Hankinson, putting a cutting-edge twist on this ancient business.
Their jointly owned companies---Falk Groundsource Technologies Inc. and FGT Drilling and Excavating Inc.--- specialize in drilling holes to install earth-coupled ground loops and installing geothermal heat pumps in large, historic churches, new commercial buildings, schools and family residences located throughout North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Since 2005, the four owners/partners who make their homes in southeastern North Dakota, and their companies have created 18 new jobs in Hankinson and have become well-known throughout the region for their quality work, installing super-energy-efficient geothermal heat pumps. Their companies specialize in all aspects of the installation of vertical loop fields and ground-source heat pumps in the tri-state area.
Vince Falk and his partners, Bob Stirling, Bryce Bjerke and Eric Boll are no strangers when it comes to geothermal drilling and the installation of geothermal heat pumps.
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In Vince's case, you could say he grew up in the business. His father, Pat Falk, started Pat Falk's Well Drilling in 1958 and in 1962 Pat's brother, Jim, teamed up with him and started Falk Brothers Well Drilling. In 1979, they pioneered the installation of the first geothermal heat pump in the area in one of their shops.
So, it was no surprise that Vince would study refrigeration and heating at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton. After graduation, he returned to work for the family-owned business.
In 2005, with Pat Falk's pending retirement, Vince Falk, Stirling, Bjerke and Boll decided to buy the geothermal division of the business. The men, who were friends and coworkers at Falk Brothers, formed a new company, Falk Groundsource Technologies Inc.
"At first, we teamed up with other contractors and well drillers to complete the jobs," Vince explains. As their business grew, they found it was often difficult coordinating work. As a result, in 2006, they started a new company, FGT Drilling and Excavating Inc., and began offering "turnkey" proposals to prospective customers.
Pulling warmth from the ground
Groundsource, or geothermal heat pump, systems are designed to take advantage of the earth's heat. By drilling down 150 to 200 feet, the systems circulate fluid through a layer of earth where temperatures average 50 degrees
According to Falk, geothermal systems typically will have a 35 percent price premium over a conventional heating system depending on the complexity of the system. But even so, Falk's calculations show a payback of three to five years for residential homes and seven to 10 years on commercial buildings.
With fuel at record prices and increasing, the demand for geothermal heat pumps has "really taken off," he says.
While large public buildings are obvious candidates for these systems, he says homeowners can also take advantage of the savings. "We just installed a system in a new 1,600square-foot home," he says. |
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Their largest job, to date, is the huge $1.6 million geothermal heating project at the new Circle of Nations School in Wahpeton.
FGT Drilling and Excavating Inc. installed the vertical ground loops consisting of 445 holes drilled at a depth of 200 feet at Circle of Nations School, a boarding school for American Indian students. Falk Groundsource Technologies Inc. teamed up with several contractors to install the entire heating system for the various buildings throughout the campus. Nearing completion, this huge project has been under construction for 17 months.
FGT Drilling and Excavating Inc. just finished drilling geothermal wells at Harr Motors' new car dealership headquarters building and at Simmons Middle School's new addition which are located in Aberdeen, SD.
According to Vince Falk, the retrofit market has really taken off. Because most churches have an older boiler system fueled with natural gas or fuel oil, their savings are tremendous, he explains. Both companies teamed up and recently retrofitted the heating system at the Basilica of St. James in Jamestown, and Sacred Heart Church in Aberdeen, S.D.
Falk says, "We take special pride in maintaining the architectural integrity of these historic churches and they appreciate that."
Attention to detail pays off
Because of their reputation for quality work and attention to detail, they are becoming known as geothermal heating experts throughout the three state region.
"We don't do much advertising, except through our Web site," Falk explains. "Most of our jobs come through word of mouth. Many times, building engineers working on a project come to us for information and we appreciate that."
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