Our Viper^TM Story

In the late 1990s, near the beginning of the HDD industry, John English, the founder of Horizontal Technology realized something others did not. While most folks were content with the status quo, John saw a flaw limiting the current tools used to install pipes beneath the earth. He was not just the founder of Horizontal Technology, he was a visionary, and he knew the industry could do better.

John partnered with Kent Reeves, a kindred spirit in engineering and Manufacturing, to make the industry better. Together, they crafted a tool that would change the industry – the Low Torque Hole Opener. It was modular, efficient, and it allowed contractors to swap cutters in the field, building different-sized hole openers with the same body. It was versatile, cost-effective, and unlike anything the HDD world had seen.

But John was not satisfied.

The Low Torque Hole Opener had a weakness. Its cutters were secured only at the base, and designed to go in one direction, making it risky if you reamed in the wrong direction or backing out of the reamer, there was a risk of cutters unscrewing and staying in the hole, this was not good enough.

So, John and Kent went back to the drawing board. What emerged was the Rock Reamer Hole Opener – a tool that did not just match the Low Torque’s versatility but surpassed it. With arms securing the cutters at both the top and bottom, the Rock Reamer could ream forward or backward with confidence. Cutter losses became nonexistent, the lowest risk of loss in the industry. Contractors saved time, money, and headaches. The Rock Reamer became the gold standard.

Still, John was not done.

He envisioned something even stronger, faster, and more durable. Thus began the evolution of the Viper™ Rock Reamer. Once again, John and Kent joined forces. They changed the angle of the cutter seating, allowing for greater shirttail clearance and created up to 65% larger diameter cutters meaning the ability to rotate up to 52% faster. Bigger cutters allowed for up to 50% bigger bearings. Bigger cutters and bearings means longer life more weight on bit and faster rotation—translating directly into better production.

Then, in 2018, a new chapter began. CCI Inc. acquired Horizontal Technology to add to CCI’s ability to move the industry forward. Like John, CCI believed they had a responsibility to give back to the industry, move it forward, make it better. They did not treat it as a side business—they made it a focus. With engineering excellence and a drive to innovate and improve our product, CCI brought Viper™ manufacturing in-house in 2024 ensuring quality and unlocking new possibilities for design improvements and quality.

Together, CCI and Horizontal Technology are carrying forward John English’s legacy of using better ideas, better quality and better service to provide a product for our customers that exceed their expectations, not only tooling for soft to extremely hard but the service , support ,engineering , project management,  pilot hole planning , construction feasibility, and full reaming plans . CCI and Horizontal Technology are with you from the start to finish.  

And we are not finished.

Through maintaining our quality system throughout our design process, testing our products in-house, manufacturing with an ISO 9001 facility to our specifications and listening to our customers to ensure our tools are meeting and exceeding their needs.

The story of the Viper ™ is not just about a tool. It is about a relentless pursuit of improvement – being better. It is about visionaries who saw what could be and made it a reality.

Stayed tuned in 2026 for our Viper™ II product, our redesigned bodies as well as other new products that will change the HDD industry.

Because at the heart of it all, one belief remains:

“To be better.”