EXHIBIT 32(1)


                    CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER


      I, Andrew B. Schmitt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Layne
Christensen Company (the "Company"), do hereby certify in accordance with 18
U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002, that:

            (a) the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly
      period ended April 30, 2004, which this certification accompanies, fully
      complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities
      Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

            (b) the information contained in the Company's Quarterly Report on
      Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 30, 2004, which this
      certification accompanies, fairly presents, in all material aspects, the
      financial condition and results of operations of the Company.



   Dated:   June 7, 2004                  /s/ A. B. Schmitt
                                          --------------------------------------
                                          Andrew B. Schmitt
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer