The Story Of The Rhino

In 2008, Robert Hather heard a speech by Rotary International president D. K. Lee which focused on the approximately 25,000 deaths of children under age 5 occurring each day from preventable disease; for which the leading cause was the lack of potable water. This speech inspired Mr. Hather to rally his Rotary Club in San Luis Obispo to back a project to help bring potable water to more children throughout the world.

Assembling the resources of the nationally acclaimed School of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and teams from various humanitarian organizations, he sought to design a water well drilling system especially equipped to overcome the challenges found in developing countries.

Following Cal Poly’s proof of concept design, the stage was set to develop a commercially viable drill rig to put into action. To accomplish this, Lifewater Drilling Technology was formed to redesign, improve and get the rig into use. Today our cable tool drilling rig, LDT 360 is the product of this long journey.

In 2020, Robert Hather retired and entrusted Lifewater Drilling Technology to Winchester Tool, a longtime producer of cable tool drilling bits, located in Winchester, Virginia. In 2021, we re-named the drill to the LD Rhino Rig, to evoke its tough demeanor and its drilling style! Today we proudly produce the LD Rhino, and associated accessories, for the domestic and global markets.