OTC in Houston could not come at a better time for mechanical engineering specialist EnerMech which last month acquired Louisiana-based cranes and lifting business Diversified Oil Field Services Inc (Diversified).
EnerMech will use the acquisition as a platform for the rapid expansion of its existing cranes and lifting division in the Gulf of Mexico and it plans to open a new base in Lafayette, which is strategically situated between Houston and shipyards in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Mobile.
Vince Kouns, president of EnerMech’s US operation and his deputy Alan Sweeney, will be at OTC to demonstrate to clients the enhanced US capabilities of the Aberdeen-headquartered business.
The new Lafayette operation will complement EnerMech’s well-established Houston facility and Diversified’s 17,000 sq ft base at Slidell, and will help reduce mobilisation and transport costs in servicing GoM projects.
The Diversified acquisition follows on from a £13 million investment in the Americas region, which included a new hydraulics workshop in Houston, new process and pipeline equipment and opening the company’s first Mexican base in Villahermosa.
Vince Kouns said: “When we commit to something we do it wholeheartedly. Bringing Diversified in to the fold means we now have more of our own people on the ground and situated close to key markets in Pascagoula and eastern Gulf coast.
“Our international template is to invest in local infrastructure and have the ability to quickly deploy people and equipment from local resources, instead of shipping in expertise and assets. We believe this is critical in building long term relationships and winning work and it is proving as successful in the US and Mexico as it has in other regions where we operate.”
On top of cranes and lifting, EnerMech has already established its Process, Pipeline & Umbilicals (PPU) and hydraulics business lines in the US market and its four other specialist services will follow.
Key project awards by major Gulf of Mexico operators and contractors, including BP, Subsea 7, Williams and Anadarko, have confirmed EnerMech is a valued service provider in the US oil and gas sector.
Kouns added: “Clients appreciate that we are investing capital and manpower and we have a long term commitment to GoM and Central America, and that is underlined by the type and size of contract we are now bidding for and being awarded.”
EnerMech has 120 staff in-region and expects that to grow to over 400 in the next 24 months. The enlarged US cranes division is forecast to add an extra £5.96 million ($10 million) to group revenues and overall revenue in the States is expected to exceed £60 million ($100 million) in the next two years.