How to Evaluate Drilling Rig Manufacturers: The Checklist We Use Before Buying Epiroc Drill Rigs

How to Evaluate Drilling Rig Manufacturers

I've spent the last nine years sourcing drill rigs and attachments for mining and excavation contractors. In my role coordinating equipment for a mining contractor, I've handled more than 200 rush orders, ranging from a hydraulic breaker needed in 36 hours to a full rock drill replacement before a blasting deadline. Those situations taught me a lot about which manufacturers can be trusted and which ones just talk a good game.

The checklist below is how to evaluate drilling rig manufacturers the way I've learned to do it, whether I'm looking at Epiroc drill rigs or comparing rock drill suppliers from different regions. It's not a brand-loyalty argument. It's a set of checks that has saved us from costly mistakes, and it should work for your operation too.

The machine is only as good as the next spare part.

The Checklist

1. Check Parts Availability Before You Check Price

First thing I do? Check parts availability. Not the brochure, not the horsepower, not the paint job. If a drill rig breaks down on your site, every hour it sits still is a crew on standby, a blasting schedule slipping, and a contract deadline breathing down your neck.

That's why I start every evaluation with a simple question: if this breaks on a Thursday, can I get the replacement part by Friday? If the supplier answers with 'it depends,' that's already an answer. Some manufacturers treat emergency parts as an exception. Others treat it as a standard service. You want the second group.

For Epiroc, this means verifying that the local dealer network can access genuine parts through the Epiroc parts system. You don't have to take their word for it. Ask for the dealer locator, call a branch, and ask a specific question about a part you know you'll need. The official Epiroc website is a good starting point for dealer information, but the phone call is what actually verifies it.

2. Define the Rock Conditions in Writing, Not in Generalities

This is where I made one of my most expensive mistakes. I said 'hard rock' to a manufacturer. They heard 'medium-hard rock.' Result? The rig we ordered had too little percussion power, and the drill rate came in almost 30 percent lower than the spec sheet promised.

We were using the same words but meaning different things. Discovered this when we tested the rig on site and watched the penetration rate crawl. Since then, I refuse to evaluate any drilling rig manufacturer until the rock conditions are written down with numbers: unconfined compressive strength, abrasivity, fracture presence, groundwater, target depth, and hole diameter.

Don't just send a manufacturer a rock sample and ask 'will this work?' Send them a technical questionnaire and make them commit to expected outputs. If they hesitate to put numbers in writing, that's a red flag.

3. Evaluate the Full Tool System, Not Just the Rig

A drilling rig is half the story. The other half is the industrial tools and attachments: the hydraulic breaker, rock drill, rods, bits, shanks, and all the small components that make the system work. If you're looking at Epiroc drill rigs, you'll find a wide catalog of Epiroc industrial tools and attachments. That's a sign of a mature manufacturer. The wider the rock drill catalog, the more likely you'll find the exact match for your application without custom adapters and long lead times.

When I'm triaging a new supplier, I ask to see their full rock drill catalog. Not just the flagship rig, but every attachment and consumable that fits it. If they hand me a two-page list, I know that spare parts will be harder to source than if they give me a reference manual with detailed specifications.

4. Test the Supplier's Emergency Response Before You Need It

This one is uncomfortable, but I do it with every supplier I evaluate. I call their service line with an urgent scenario. Not a fake order, but a plausible one: 'One of our drill rigs is down, we have a hydraulic breaker that needs a replacement part, and we're on a deadline. What can you do?'

How they respond tells you more than any PowerPoint deck. The best response I've gotten: 'Give me the serial number. I'll check the parts in our warehouse and call you back in 20 minutes.' And they did. The worst response: 'I'll have someone call you back' — and then nothing for two days.

I've done this with more than a dozen suppliers. The ones that fail the test usually aren't dishonest. They just haven't designed their operations for urgent requests. Based on our internal data from 200+ rush jobs, that's a bigger risk than a slightly longer lead time or a higher price.

5. Verify Training and Documentation Before the Machine Arrives

This is the step most buyers skip. They compare horsepowers, torque curves, and prices, then don't think about how their crew will actually learn to operate the new machine until it's parked at the site.

I only believed training logistics mattered after ignoring it once. We ordered a new rig from a smaller manufacturer because the price was right. The machine arrived on time, but the dealer's trainer was booked for another two weeks. So we had a brand-new rig sitting idle, a crew getting paid to wait, and a superintendent asking me why I hadn't checked the training schedule.

Ask these questions before you commit: Does the manufacturer provide on-site operator training? Are service and maintenance manuals available for the specific model? Is there safety documentation in the language your crew reads? If telematics are included, who sets up the account and how long does that take? A reputable manufacturer should also be able to demonstrate compliance with relevant ISO standards and provide technical documentation for installation, operation, and maintenance.

6. Check Compatibility With Your Existing Fleet and Tooling

The last check is often forgotten because it's unglamorous. Does the new drill rig actually fit into your existing operation? The mounting points, hydraulic pressure range, hose connections, rod lengths, and bit threads all matter. A rig that uses a different size rod than the rest of your fleet will create a second inventory system and a third level of confusion.

If you're comparing different rock drill suppliers, ask them to fill in a compatibility table for your existing attachments and consumables. If one manufacturer can't match what you already use, count the cost of switching. Sometimes paying more up front for a compatible machine is cheaper than changing all your tooling.

What's Changed in the Drilling Rig Market—and What Hasn't

Let me be honest: I have mixed feelings about how much emphasis is put on brand names. Brand reputation matters, but it is not a substitute for doing the checks above. The market has changed. What was best practice in 2018—buying the most common machine from the nearest dealer and hoping for the best—doesn't hold the same way in 2025. As of 2025, a serious manufacturer should be able to provide digital technical documentation on demand, and many publish detailed product catalogs online.

But some fundamentals haven't changed. A drilling rig still has to survive the ground under your site. Its parts still have to be available when the machine breaks. Your crew still has to know how to run it safely. The surprise isn't always the price difference between two manufacturers. It's how much hidden cost shows up later in downtime, freight, and training delays.

Three Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Choosing based on the brochure numbers. The real performance metric is meters drilled per shift in your ground conditions, not the machine's theoretical maximum.
2. Assuming all genuine parts are the same. OEM suppliers like Epiroc invest in validation and quality control. That doesn't make the brand the right choice for every project, but it means you should ask for traceability of the parts you're specifying.
3. Skipping the after-hours test. Dealers work during business hours. Mines and construction sites often don't. If the supplier's service line doesn't answer after hours, know that in advance.

Bottom Line

If you're about to buy a drill rig, use the checklist above. Start with parts availability, get the rock conditions in writing, check the full rock drill catalog, test the service line, verify training, and confirm compatibility before you sign the contract.

The payoff isn't just the machine. It's knowing that when something breaks—and it will break eventually—you won't be meeting your supplier's emergency response for the first time. You'll already know who they are.