September 15, 2000 | Jill Lerner, Journal Staff

WAREHAM — After five years working as an engineer overseeing drilling projects, Carrie Collins suspected many of her contractors could dig a little deeper.

She thought as much, not only in the literal sense, although Collins would eventually custom design her own powerful drill rigs, but also in terms of customer service.

"The problem with some drilling firms is that when the engineer turns around, they start cutting corners," said Collins, 31.

So the engineer partnered with one of her former contractors, and in 1996 founded DRAGIN Drilling Inc. to bring other engineers the level of service she had always desired.

Since then, DRAGIN, which is an acronym for Deep Remedial And Groundwater Investigation Needs, has provided drilling services to projects including the Big Dig, Metrowest tunnel and the cleanup effort at the former
Otis Air Force Base, now the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod.

During its first two years, the 13-person, Wareham-based company brought in
approximately a $1 million in revenue each year. This past fiscal year ending in June,
DRAGIN finished with overall sales of $2 million, up from $1.5 million the previous year,
according to Collins, who said the company is on track to bill $2.5 million this year.
Collins hired four of her employees this year, and added a fourth rig to her fleet in June.

But while DRAGIN is in the midst of rapid growth, the company was once little more
than a small, family affair.

Dad, Doug, who is a master welder, was Collins' and co-founder David Quagliaroli's first employee.

Collins' brother, Todd, a former employee of Quagliaroli's, signed on soon after as a driller, and mom, Dianne, completed the family circle two years ago when she joined as bookkeeper.

"We had to start somewhere, so I started by recruiting my family," said Collins, who is president and chief executive officer of the company.

The arrangement works well for Collins, whose typical 13-hour workdays leave little time for visiting relatives.

After graduating from University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Collins went to work for the now-defunct Camp Dresser & McKee Federal Programs Corp. in Boston as an environmental engineer. Her first project brought her to Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, where she oversaw drilling operations.

The environmental cleanup called for remedial investigation that required drilling for environmental data. As an engineer, Collins determined where to install wells so that drillers could take soil and water samples for testing.

Collins also was in charge of hiring drilling companies, which is how she met Quagliaroli, then vice president of operations for
Wallingsford, Conn.-based drilling company East Coast Thomas Environmental Inc.,
which had 13 rigs on the site.

When Camp Dresser & McKee lost the contract for the base, Collins moved to winning
bidder, Baton Rouge, La.-based firm Stone & Webster Engineering Corp., and continued
working at the base. Given the opportunity, Collins again hired Quagliaroli's firm, because
she said his rigs could reach deeper, more than 300 feet, than could rigs from many
other drilling companies. In the case of Otis, that was particularly important as the contamination had penetrated deep into the sand.

As their friendship evolved, so did the possibilities for pooling their resources.

"We thought we could do something better with his drilling experience and my engineering background," Collins said. "We tossed it around for a couple of months, and decided we had nothing to lose."

DRAGIN's first job was at the former Air Force base Collins and Quagliaroli knew so well. The team used rented equipment on that project, then pumped the proceeds into building their own fleet. Soon after they built a custom-designed fleet of vehicles, including a rig that allows the company to drill to depths of up to 350 feet.

"They designed their own rig and I really liked it," said Edward Pesce, former project manager for remediation, design and construction at Otis, who hired DRAGIN.

Pesce, who now works as an environmental engineer with Sandwich-based
environmental engineering firm Horsley and Whitten Inc., continues to use DRAGIN
on projects when he can.

"They're really a great team to work with. If you run into a problem, they're good folks
to have with you," Pesce said.

High praise also comes from Michael Plumb, a civil engineer with theLowell office of
Hartford, Conn.-based environmental firm TRC Environmental Corp., who currently
employs DRAGIN for the cleanup of an old chemical manufacturing facility in
Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Plumb said he has been so impressed with DRAGIN's work installing a dozen
groundwater recovery wells, used for the purpose of pumping out contaminated
water, that he plans to hire the company for an upcoming project at a pharmaceutical plant in New Jersey.

"I think their service is tremendous. I've never dealt with anyone better," Plumb said. "Usually, you get the type of driller who just stands there and if you don't hold their hand, they don't do anything more than they're supposed to. These guys show up and it's like instantly they're part of your company."

DRAGIN recently opened a residential well division to include service for drinking water and irrigation wells, and Collins said her company plans to continue working on the Air Force base cleanup, among other large-scale projects.

Although her company is government-certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Collins, who has begun work toward a master's degree in geotechnical engineering, does not believe she has received significant preferential treatment because of quotas.

Rather, she said, DRAGIN's success is more likely the result of its unique insight into the engineering and drilling professions.

"It's nice to have, but it doesn't help that much," said Collins, referring to the certification.
"In general, I don't think we get a lot of work because we're a woman-owned
business. I think we get it on our merits.