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Everything you need to know about starting a tunnel boring company in 2014

If you’ve got a history of running successful construction companies, but you think it’s time for something a little more ambitious, starting your own tunnel boring firm could be the ideal solution in 2014. You’re obviously going to need a lot of startup capital, and so this opportunity is probably only open to people who’ve just sold a previous business for a large profit, but the potential for earning a positive return in a short period of time is immense. You see – there’re only a few companies out there who specialise in this activity at the moment, so you won’t have to worry too much about fighting competitors to gain a significant market share.

Tunnel boring firms are used for lots of different applications nowadays including: building underground rail networks, excavating large city sewers and helping to make way for foundations of large buildings. So, you should be able to find work in many different countries once you’ve started to gain a good reputation for timely, quality completed work. Sound appealing? Then let me tell you a little more about how you get such a company up and running…

Purchasing relevant equipment

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that you’re going to need some tunnel boring machines to make this business idea work. Unfortunately, there are only a couple of companies in the world who make such machines, and so prices are astonishingly high. So high in fact, that a few new tunnel boring firms have found it to be cheaper to have the machines designed and built themselves. Now, which solution you find most appealing will depend upon how willing you are to enter into tasks of this magnitude.

Also, any workers you employ will need safety devices, torches, etc, and so you should probably get it touch with a reputable supplier like SA Equipment and see that deals they can offer you.

Finding suitable team members

Though you might not think it, you only need a few specially trained team members to operate a tunnel boring machine properly and safely, so don’t worry, you’re not going to need lots of cheap labour like other construction companies. You want to employ only the very best candidates, because any mistakes they make during the early days will reflect badly on yourself, and the business.

To find the best employees, it’s probably a good idea to speak to any associates you have in the industry and ask them to recommend people. Opting to list jobs like this on government run job boards is pointless, and will only create more hassle for you, so make sure you avoid doing that at all costs.

Obtaining lucrative contracts

As I mentioned a moment ago, there are only a small handful of companies in the entire world who specialise solely in tunnel boring, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to attract business. You’ll need to spend some time working out who’s most likely to use your service, and then arrange meetings and pitches to win them over. At the end of the day, if you can find a way to undercut your competitors on price, nine times out of ten you’ll win the contract.

There’s no real point in advertising your company through traditional means, because your potential client base is so incredibly small. That said, it’s still possible to turn over millions each year from a single customer.

So, now you’ve had time to read through all the information, you should know a little more about what it takes to make it in the tunnel boring game. If you decide this is a viable business idea and choose to plough ahead, I say good luck to you.

Wishing you the best of success!

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