Obituary: TT Technologies’ Mike Tjader

Long-time trenchless technology industry veteran Mike Tjader, 69, of TT Technologies passed away on March 3.



Tjader grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and attended vocational school in Minneapolis. He worked at Tjader Highstrom for many years and then started his own company, Mike Tjader Construction (MTC). After some years, he and two other contractors formed BorMor Corp.

Tjader was a pioneer in the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) industry, developing some of the first commercially successful directional drilling units in the United States, and receiving patents for his designs and innovations.

For the past 16 years, Tjader worked at trenchless equipment manufacturer TT Technologies, Aurora, Ill, doing research and development on various trenchless applications and equipment.  Again, he received numerous patents for his designs and recognition for his work as a leader and innovator in the trenchless industry.

According to his family, Tjader loved everything about his job at TT Technologies — it was a world of ideas, designing, attending tradeshows, building relationships, earning patents, and most of all, being a part of a special group of people across the country and throughout the company itself.  He was admired by his colleagues and co-workers and will be greatly missed.