Omnant at NDA Drill Expo 2026: Takeaways From Nashville

The National Drilling Association's Drill Expo filled the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville on September 17 and 18, and Omnant exhibited, with founder Chad Dunham at the booth. According to The Driller's coverage, nearly 500 drillers, manufacturers, and other industry professionals attended, and the show had more than 30 vendors. Here's a look at the show and what it says about the data behind every drilling project.

A Show Built for Geotechnical and Environmental Drillers

The NDA is a nonprofit trade association of contractors, manufacturers, and affiliated members representing the geotechnical, environmental, and mineral exploration sides of drilling. Drill Expo is its annual conference and trade show, and this year's program mixed education, equipment, and networking.

Rob Jones, a retired U.S. Marine and Paralympic medalist, delivered the keynote. The sessions were planned around geotechnical drilling, exploration and testing, underground utility liability, workplace safety, and operating costs, along with the challenges facing environmental and geotechnical drilling companies. Between sessions, attendees walked the trade show floor and rig showcase and caught up at events like the Casino Night mixer.

Starting With What's Underground

Two talks stood out in The Driller's recap. Gregg Piazza of Terracon walked through case studies on mapping borehole locations and simplifying projects around timelines. The biggest takeaway, according to the recap, was a set of cautionary tales meant to help young engineers and drillers understand not just the subsurface but the entire terrain. Grant Piraine followed with a similar theme, focused on the drilling side and on understanding what's below before work begins.

Both talks point to the same idea: good project decisions start with understanding the ground. For geotechnical teams, that understanding lives in boring logs, samples, and lab results, and it only helps if it reaches the final report intact.

Where Omnant Fits

That handoff, from the rig to the lab to the report, is where Omnant spends its time. Omnant's BoreDM integration keeps subsurface data flowing between logging and the rest of the testing workflow, so the logs in a report's appendix and the lab data in its tables come from the same connected source. Field inspections capture data where the work happens, and lab testing and reporting carry it through to the finished report without anyone re-entering it.

Chad said the show was a chance to meet the people at the start of the data chain.

"Everything a geotechnical team delivers starts with what comes out of the ground, and that information is only as useful as the report it ends up in. We went to Drill Expo to spend time with the people who collect it every day and to show how Omnant keeps it connected from the field to the final report."

Another Perspective From the Show

Joshua Clark, CEO of 5 and 2 Marketing, also attended. He said it was "great to see so many people having conversations, learning from one another, and looking for ways to improve their businesses." He also expects AI to change how customers decide who to call over the next one to three years, and he thinks companies that adapt early will be better positioned.

Talk With Us About Drilling Data

Thank you to the NDA for putting on the show. If we didn't get a chance to connect at the booth, or you'd like to see how Omnant keeps field data, lab results, and reports connected for drilling, geotechnical, and CMT teams, schedule a demo.