Max STREICHER GmbH & Co

German ingenuity

German-based MAX STREICHER GmbH & Co KG aA, with headquarters in Deggendorf, is represented by many local branches in Germany and Europe.

The company competently partners public facilities and private companies alike, executing ambitious projects around the globe. Specifically, STREICHER’s business activities fall into four key areas.

In the pipeline and plant construction division, the business undertakes major construction projects not only for the oil and gas industry, but also for chemical, pharmaceutical, vacuum coating and electronics industries as well as metallurgy. Furthermore STREICHER carries out local network construction projects and horizontal directional drilling services. The company’s mechanical engineering division is specialized in plant and apparatus engineering, process engineering and drilling technology. In a third business sector, various company-owned gravel extraction and asphalt mixing plants are providing raw and construction materials for the fourth pillar, the civil and structural engineering department in which STREICHER carries out road and civil construction; bridge construction other civil engineering jobs.

The individual corporate divisions are specialised in their business fields and more than 2700 employees work with expertise and distinctive customer orientation to fulfil briefs. Each unit co-operates as necessary to ensure the smooth execution of the projects, aided by a tight organisational structure. This synergetic project execution approach leads to cost effectiveness, which is all the more relevant in light of the challenges posed by the global financial crisis.

The STREICHER Group’s success is based on many years of experience, quality management, solid capital resources and motivated employees. The companies of the STREICHER Group work on a high technological level; at the heart of STREICHER’s development is regular investment in machinery and the qualification of their employees.

STREICHER Drilling Technology acts as a competent partner for all services in regard to the exploration of crude oil, natural gas and geothermic resources. Its origins can be traced back ten years ago, as Andreas Beck reveals: “We started in 2000 when we acquired by drilling contractor DrillTec GUT GmbH Großbohr- und Umwelttechnik. We started by servicing and repairing their horizontal drilling rigs. After two years of being active in Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology, we decided to build our own horizontal drilling rigs because we had seen that there were technical problems with the existing equipment.

“In 2004, we adopted that technology from horizontal drilling – drawing on our extensive know-how and the practical experience of DrillTec – and did several tests on rigs. We developed the first vario-rig (a multi-purpose rig) and invented a pure vertical drilling rig concept on that basis. Seven years ago we started designing our own equipment. We were a very small group in the beginning with ten to 15 people. Now, we have about 150 staff at STREICHER Drilling Technology.”

Today, DrillTec is a globally recognized drilling specialist and with its practical feedback the innovations of STREICHER Drilling Technology have set new standards in drilling rig technology. STREICHER has focused its efforts on modularity and automation, which is a design concept that has caught the attention of onshore and offshore rig operators. Andreas comments: “Our key customers are drilling contractors and at the moment we see a strong focus on the offshore sector. In the offshore market, they always need a high level of technology and automation.”

Discussing the company’s drilling concept, Andreas adds: “The key element is the rack and pinion drive, which is for our hoisting system. This results in excellent control – better than standard equipment – and less wear, so a good rack and pinion lasts for the machine’s entire life.”

Besides technology, the quality of its workforce is integral to STREICHER’s accomplishments. The organisation’s high standards are based on the unique ability level of its staff. “One of our strengths is our broad knowledge of all the disciplines, from steel structures to hydraulics to electronic software, so everything is in-house,” Andreas observes. “We’re very flexible, so we customise products as requested. We have a very high level of quality.”

To ensure the wellbeing of its employees, the STREICHER Group maintains an Integrated Management System (IMS) that covers all fields of health and safety, and environmental and quality control management. This is partly in response to increasing expectations of the consumer market. Internal and external audits are undertaken within the scope of its IMS, meaning that the implementation of the legal specifications is not only ensured within the company, but also by the company’s subcontractors.

Of equal importance is STREICHER’s machinery and technology, as modern machinery and technical innovations are central to the Group’s efficiency. With the acquisition of SATVIA Maschinen- und Bohrgeräte GmbH in April 2009, the business has furthermore acqired expertise in mobile drilling rigs. Complementary to its modular on- and offshore deep drilling and its HDD rigs, STREICHER now also offers mobile deep drilling rigs for exploration and production wells in crude oil, natural gas and geothermal applications, alongside movable drilling rigs for well construction, geological investigation and superficial geothermal drills.

“We are finalising our first offshore modular rig currently,” Andreas reveals. “It is almost fully assembled on our test location. Commissioning will start in May and it’ll be ready for sending out at the end of June. It will be operating in the North Sea, in either the British or the Norwegian sector. A slanted drilling rig is also in development, in the lay-out phase, and we want to start realising that by the end of 2010.”

Speaking about how the business will move forward, Andreas concludes: “Last year was difficult due to the financial crisis but in general there’s a huge market, especially offshore, for the modular rig design. The idea is to hop from one platform to another to drill a certain amount of wells and then move to the next platform. This means that the operator doesn’t need to have a huge storing rig on-board that stays there for 20 years or more. We are dedicated to achieve our aim of becoming one of the key players in drilling rig manufacturing in the next five years.”

Max STREICHER GmbH & Co
Products: Drilling rig technology