Clayton Collier

Feature Story

Continued from "Local Lumberjacks Mean Business" story.

Hydrex Environmental

Environmental consulting, engineering and professional drone services
for government, commercial, industrial and private entities

Clayton Collier
Clayton Collier, president and senior environmental scientist at Hydrex Environmental, initially used a machete to carve out the north extension of the Lanana Creek Trail next to protected wetlands in Nacogdoches. Not pictured are the blue heron and coyote watching from a distance.

Glen Collier '95 launched Hydrex Environmental in 1994 to help municipal solid waste clients address stricter environmental regulations for landfills. Today, the company employs 32 people in a newly remodeled building that was previously home to J.E. Kingham Construction on Banita Creek. It also has a satellite office in Houston, and SFA alumni make up 90% of the company's workforce.

While at SFA, Glen's son, Clayton, explored majors in geology and business before landing on environmental science.

"SFA helped me figure out my calling in life," Clayton said.

He regularly returns to the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture to help faculty and staff run labs, speak at events and attend the college's Drone Day. He also keeps an eye on a Shumard oak he planted in 2003 near SFA's North Street entrance.

At work, Clayton specializes in wetlands as well as drone and geographic information system, or GIS, mapping projects.

In 2015, the Hydrex Drone Division was established to provide lidar and topographic surveys of sand mines, volumetrics and inventory for aggregate production operations, thermal imaging inspections at industrial facilities, and fugitive emission leak detection and waste volume calculations at landfills.

The company's geologists, biologists and engineers measure the volume of waste at landfills by using drones and special photogrammetric software to stitch together aerial photographs and produce high-resolution 3D models of sites. From these models, the company's employees can measure how much airspace is consumed at a landfill during a certain period. They also monitor groundwater at 40 landfills in Texas.

After more than 40 years of combined service at Hydrex, Clayton and Trae Scarborough '00, vice president and senior hydrogeologist, bought the company from Glen in 2017 and continue to provide personal, accurate and fast service to clients in multiple states.

Clayton said he is particularly proud of his company's involvement in the 2.5-mile northern expansion of the Lanana Creek Trail in Nacogdoches.

The project was funded with a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and financial support from The Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation. The trail runs through an area of wetlands Clayton has been researching using his fleet of drones to create 3D images and map water flow.

"We've got more plans for this area, so stay tuned," he said.

hydrexenvironmental.com
1.888.9.HYDREX
info@hydrex-inc.com
312 Old Tyler Road

Owners

Clayton Collier '05
President and senior environmental scientist

Trae Scarborough '00
Vice president and senior hydrogeologist