Stettler Oil and Gas
On its own, Stettler Oil and Gas (SOG) is a very strong manufacturer; add in the support of its parent company and sister companies, and SOG is unstoppable. The company manufactures above-ground production equipment for natural gas, such as separator packages, tank/separator packages, group /test separator packages, wet metering skids, header packages, line heaters and dehydration packages.
Stettler Oil and Gas deals directly with oil and gas producers or with engineering firms. Keith Hambrook, technical sales representative, says the company is benefitting from the increased demand for equipment to produce liquids rich gas. This comes after a decreased demand for gas processing equipment that lasted through 2009. Hambrook says the cost to produce natural gas compared to its lower selling price reduced the demand for gas equipment.
“For the production of liquids there has been an increased demand for our equipment,” he says. “To respond to their needs, we have made slight design changes, like increasing the diameter of the piping for liquids. We work with our customers closely on each order to meet their specific requirements.”
In its first year, the company produced $1 million to $2 million worth of equipment and continued to grow steadily from there. It was acquired one-and-a-half years ago by Foremost Universal LP (FULP). This year the company is expected to finish with $40 million in sales, and with the recent purchase of a manufacturing facility, SOG’s 2012 target is set at $60 million in sales.
Moving In
“We bought a new facility Sept. 1 in Stettler, Alberta,” Hambrook says. “It’s a very large shop – 75,000 square feet – and that’s a big deal when it comes to manufacturing separator packages. It gives us a really unique capability to handle large multiple package orders and to stock inventory for quick delivery times. We can have several multi-package orders under construction at the same time without juggling equipment on the shop floor. We can also complete all aspects of manufacturing inside.”
Stettler Oil and Gas’ new facility allows the company to compete with better quality for the same price as the competition. The space allows the company to manufacture and assemble all its products indoors, including larger products such as satellite packages and horizontal separator packages. The controlled environment is preferred over the Alberta elements, which can be particularly harsh in the winter. Depending on the product, delivery times range from same-day shipping to 26 weeks. The standard 24-inch separator package can be ready for delivery in two to five weeks. Since the move, SOG has increased staffing in estimating and project management, as well as on the shop floor to maintain the highest level of service.
“Our new shop is really going to give us an opportunity to build the best equipment on the market,” Hambrook says. “We don’t charge more than anyone else, but we can deliver product faster than anyone else and produce a better product than anyone else.”
It’s not just the facility that gives Stettler a competitive advantage, it’s also the resources that keep it a step ahead. Hambrook says that FULP provides strong financial backing. The new facility justifies that claim along with the purchase of a large tank shop in Bonnyville, Alberta, earlier this year. Along with its sister companies, Stettler enjoys an overlap of knowledge, 500,000 square feet of combined space and a larger stock inventory. “By working with Maloney, Universal, Peaceland, Brahma and Corlac, we have so much experience to draw on and more parts inventory to draw on,” Hambrook says. “There’s nobody else out there that has that.”