Boart Longyear

Boart Longyear

Company type	Private
Industry	Mineral exploration, drilling machinery, tooling, exploration solutions
Founded	1890
Founder	Edmund J. Longyear
Headquarters	Salt Lake City , United States
Area served	Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa
Key people	Richard O'Brien (CEO as of 2013)
Products	Drilling machinery, high-performance tooling, exploration solutions
Owner	American Industrial Partners (since 2024)
Number of employees	5000+ (2018)
Website	www.boartlongyear.com

Boart Longyear is an international company specializing in mineral exploration, established in 1890 and based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its operations span Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, offering drilling machinery, high-performance tooling, and exploration solutions mainly for the mining sector. Additionally, the company supports industries including water exploration, environmental analysis, energy, and oil sands. As of 2018, Boart Longyear had a workforce exceeding 5,000 employees and has been under the ownership of American Industrial Partners since 2024.

1880s to Early 1900s

In 1888, Edmund J. Longyear, a mining engineer and the company's founder, introduced diamond core drilling techniques in the Mesabi Iron Range. He launched a contract drilling business in 1890 to meet the demands of the burgeoning U.S. iron ore and steel industries. By 1903, Longyear collaborated with John E. Hodge to establish Longyear and Hodge, expanding their scope to include contract drilling, shaft sinking, mineral investments, and consulting services.

The year 1911 saw a merger between Longyear and Hodge and Longyear’s independent drilling enterprise, resulting in the formation of E.J. Longyear Company. By 1912, the firm offered nineteen different drill models capable of reaching depths from 750 up to 5,000 feet. Initially utilizing steam engines for power, they transitioned to internal combustion engines during the 1920s. The company experienced rapid growth both domestically and internationally; between 1912 and 1916 it conducted copper drilling operations in Cuba—its first project abroad—and began providing diamond core rigs to Phelps Dodge Corporation in Arizona by 1914. In 1919, Boart Longyear executed a major drilling assignment in China’s Yunnan Province.

1920s to 1930s

By the 1920s, approximately fifty percent of the company’s drilling projects were located outside the continental United States. Robert Longyear, Edmund’s son, assumed the presidency in 1924, ensuring family leadership continued for another four decades. In 1929, the company sold nearly US$1.5 million worth of drilling equipment to other organizations. The following year marked the establishment of its inaugural foreign subsidiary in Canada and its first copper ore drilling contract in Africa. The economic downturn caused by the 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression reduced profits to $79,000 by 1933. Nonetheless, Boart Longyear participated in the Golden Gate Bridge construction by providing core sample drilling services. Technological progress included adopting industrial-grade African diamonds ("boarts") for drill bits. In 1936, Anglo American created Boart Products South Africa (later known as Boart International), which developed affordable mechanically-set diamond core bits using less costly materials compared to traditional Brazilian diamonds.

1940s to 1950s

The company’s fortunes improved throughout the 1940s amid increasing worldwide mineral exploration activities. In 1949, it entered into a strategic marketing partnership with Christensen Diamond Products (CDP), merging Christensen’s expertise in diamond technology with Longyear’s drilling proficiency to launch dependable surface-set diamond bits. During the 1950s, their operations extended into Japan, France, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, the Philippines, and Costa Rica. By 1967, Canadian operations had expanded to $10 million in revenue and fostered innovations such as the patented wireline core retrieval system (Q Wireline System) introduced in 1958, which significantly improved efficiency and safety during diamond drilling processes.

1960s to 1970s

In 1960, Vincent N. Burnhart assumed the roles of President and CEO as Longyear broadened its international reach. By 1964, the company divested 25% of its family-held shares to FACTS, a Luxembourg-based holding entity co-owned by Boart International and Christensen Diamond Products. FACTS increased its stake to 50% by 1967, while the Longyear family maintained a 30% share and employees held the remaining 20%. Annual revenues hit US$15 million by 1965, leading to expansion of the Minneapolis facilities. In 1969, Longyear centralized its headquarters and U.S. manufacturing operations at a single location. Sales escalated to US$40 million by 1970. Following the deaths of Robert Longyear in 1970 and Burnhart in 1971, John Hoffmeister was named president and chairman. The FACTS partnership ended when Boart International—then a wholly owned Anglo American subsidiary—acquired Christensen Diamond Products’ interest in Longyear.

1974 to 2000

Capital investment from Boart International in 1974 propelled Longyear to become the foremost global producer of diamond bits. Engineers based in North Bay, Ontario secured a dependable supply of high-quality synthetic diamonds, facilitating the creation of the impregnated-diamond bit. This innovation embedded synthetic diamonds uniformly within a composite matrix, enabling faster drilling through tougher materials compared to surface-set bits. By 1980, impregnated bits represented 75% of Longyear’s Canadian output, with production spanning more than eight countries.

In 1975, Longyear acquired manufacturing rights for Chicago Pneumatic’s CP-65 compressed air drill designed for underground applications and began supplying parts for existing units. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified beyond mineral exploration into construction markets by applying diamond bits for concrete drilling and sawing. In 1977, it secured rights from Drillistics to produce concrete saws and commenced diamond blade manufacturing in Salt Lake City during the early 1980s.

Between 1983 and 1994, Longyear pursued growth through acquisitions including Utah-based Lang Exploratory Drilling; Cushion Cut, specializing in diamond concrete tools; Morissette for diamond drilling; Brainard-Kilman offering civil engineering equipment; ChemGrout producing cement grouting systems; Slope Indicator Company providing geotechnical instruments; along with Northern Air Supply, Campbell Pacific Division, WTD Environmental Drilling, and North Star Drilling focusing on sonic drilling technology.

On January 2, 1995, Boart International merged with Longyear to form Boart Longyear Limited under a unified corporate brand. By the mid-1990s, international operations dominated both revenue generation and workforce size; U.S.-based activities employed roughly 1,000 personnel producing $130 million in sales compared to $600 million globally.

2000 to Present

Although held by Anglo American for over three decades, Boart Longyear remained a non-core asset until private equity firms Advent International, Bain Capital, and management investors acquired it in 2005. The company relocated its headquarters to Salt Lake City. Subsequent ownership transitions included Advent divesting to Macquarie Bank in 2006; Macquarie then took Boart Longyear public on the Australian Securities Exchange in April 2007 through an A$2.3 billion initial public offering—the second largest IPO in ASX history. During this period, the company introduced the patented Stage waterway bit featuring an extended crown length of 25mm.

Starting in 2008, Boart Longyear expanded via acquisitions such as Eklund Drilling, Britton Brothers, Aqua Drilling, and Westrod Engineering while launching innovative products including the Quick Descent Core Barrel Assembly. CEO Paul Brunner retired early in 2009 and was succeeded by COO Craig Kipp.

In 2010, the firm unveiled pioneering drilling equipment like a heli-portable surface drill integrating rod handling capabilities alongside patented surface set bit technology. Revenue reached $2 billion by 2011.

Confronted with industry downturns in late 2012, Craig Kipp stepped down as CEO; chairman David McLemore assumed interim leadership. CFO Joseph Ragan resigned shortly thereafter. In April 2013, Richard O’Brien—formerly CEO of Newmont Mining—was appointed CEO.

On July 15, 2013, Boart Longyear divested its Environmental and Infrastructure drilling services division to Cascade Drilling. That August, founder Edmund J. Longyear was nominated for induction into the International Mining Hall of Fame.

In January 2024, Boart Longyear entered into an Arrangement Agreement with private equity firm American Industrial Partners for a take-private transaction that was completed in April 2024.

Bibliography

• Edmund J. Longyear and Walter R. Eastman, Longyear: The Mesabi and Beyond, Gilbert, Minnesota: Iron Range Historical Society, 1984.
• Carol Pine, "Around the World with Longyear," Northliner, January–February 1977, pp. 30–33.
• Heidi Swinton, Longyear: The First 100 Years, Minneapolis: Longyear Company, 1990.
• David Walden, "Boart Longyear Company," featured in Centennial Utah: The Beehive State on the Eve of the Twenty-First Century, edited by G. Wesley Johnson and Marian Ashby Johnson, Encino, California: Cherbo Publishing Group, 1995, pp. 112–113.
• Funding Universe
• Answers.com

External links

• Official Boart Longyear Website Home 2023
• Boart Longyear (BLY) on the ASX [1] (Australian Securities Exchange)