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APRIL 2013 Volume 14, Number 2 www.oilgas.net

www.winters.com

12 Oil & Gas Network, April 2013

One WOulD tHInK tHat turnIng 60 PreSentS all sorts of challenges. you may find yourself slowing down a bit, craving simplicity—and maybe even becoming slightly more predictable.

not quite for Winters Instruments, which has been manufacturing instrumentation for the industrial market in over 80 countries since 1953. Marking its 60th year in business has actually signaled a sense of vigor and expanded purpose, thanks to an increased demand for its products in emerging energy, oil and gas, mining, chemical and other markets worldwide.

Winters has been aggressively campaigning to the oil and gas market by showcasing what it does best--making it easy for customers to invest and benefit from their instrumentation technologies.

according to Jeff Smith, Winters’ President for the past nine years, the strategy is paying off. With the company’s participation in some of the world’s biggest energy and construction projects, such as The burj Khalifia in the united arab emirates, a 42-facility oil and gas project for Fushun Petrochemical in China, and the Irving Oil refinery in Canada, they’ve been successful in winning over customers operat-ing in the toughest economic and geophysical and engineering conditions.

While instruments themselves have proven to provide solid solutions in the field, it’s Winters’ exten-sive client training and responsive service that shore up any lingering doubt.

“We make it a point to provide training to the distributors of Winters products, from the engineer-ing firms and the contractors who use our products to create custom equipment, to the employees in a remote site,” says Smith. “Our engineers who developed the instruments are the trainers. This guarantees that professional standards drive health and safety as well as productivity.”

The dozen instrumentation and mechanical engineers also take the time to solve sometimes hidden issues for clients.

“We were recently involved in two large oil projects where the lead engineering firm had specified the incorrect instrumentation,” Smith adds. “Our engineers quickly recognized the need to re-specify the requirements. We showed them the correct alternative and we were able to help them push through the project to completion”

another essential service provided by Winters is the gauge audit Program. an existing facility is given an extensive overview to record all instrumentation equipment and materials. It also analyzes if everything is working correctly, and makes recommendations for improvements to fit the application.

“These audits have been very successful and well received, saving clients a lot more money than they expected,” says Smith. “It’s something that a facility normally wouldn’t spend the resources to audit”

The significant dip in energy production worldwide had done no small favour to client revenue gen-eration, but in retrospect, Smith says it has given the industry a chance to catch its breath, restructure and plan for the much anticipated surge in activity.

“People are getting ready for major movement in the next three years,” he states. “Companies are mak-ing significant improvements to field equipment. Managers and employees are streamlining infrastruc-ture and production. We all know there will be a significant investment in the upcoming turnaround. Corporations want to make sure they do it right and responsibly, with a healthy return.”

adrian Syme, Winters’ Western Sales Manager based in Calgary, says major players such as Suncor, Canadian natural resources, and Cenovus have depended on Winters at the beginning of projects to ensure consistency and quality, as well as a tight and trusted service relationship.

Our clients are forward thinking and bold, and even when the turndown came in 2008, they were still moving ahead in a soft market,” Syme says. “now that the players are gearing up for action, they appreciate that we’ve been there since the project plan was put in place.”

He cites Winters’ relationship with Devon energy as a prime example of a client that has expanded its operations to become a sizeable contributor to the energy sector in Canada.

“They kept their eye on the prize and focused on the tasks of bringing in the most reliable technology at the ground level,” he says. “We’ve been the primary instrumentation source for the past five years, starting with Jackfish 1. now we’re helping them move into Jackfish 3, and other projects.”

Syme says it’s not only the global corporations that have Winters on speed dial. Junior companies that have waited for the right investment opportunity are now getting the green light to proceed with new capital projects.

“We’re seeing a significant rise in the amount of small and medium players needing our equipment for upcoming oil and gas, engineering, energy and mining projects,” he says. “They like the idea that their investment with us is durable and proven. Winters is always prepared to make sure that we are internally and externally able to support that rapid growth.”

greg Formanski of Spartan Controls says with exceptional support from Winters, they were able to provide a long-time client with a Winters solution to a long-term problem.

“For the past several years, one customer was using a ‘band aid’ solution on a high temperature appli-cation for local pressure indication at multiple monitoring points,” he says. “On short notice, Winters used their wide array of products to provide a proper solution for this high temperature application. It exceeded the customer’s expectations.”

The company’s anniversary wouldn’t mean much without acknowledging the support of the 480 fac-tory workers, technicians, engineers, administrators and sales reps worldwide. Jeff Smith points out that employee satisfaction is greater than with most companies, including one technician who has been with them in toronto for 48 years.

“Winters has a great reputation for being a proactive and great place to work,” says Smith. “We’re all over the world including Canada, u.S., asia, africa, South america, europe and the Middle east. I think it sends a positive message that we nurture our employees with expert training, recognition and a great benefits package. We also connect employees with face-to-face technology to help keep in touch across the globe. This keeps our relationships with co-workers real, accessible and personal.”

So what will drive Winters to even more success in the next 60 years? Smith quickly replies with the words “innovation and integrity”.

“The core competency of Winters will always aim to produce superior instrumentation,” he says. “all our pressure gauges, thermometers, diaphragm seals, transmitters, pressure switches and related acces-sories are designed and tested for accuracy and safety, and we are proud to continue to receive accolades, approvals and certifications.”

It’s the company’s high standards of integrity that make Winters unique to the marketplace.“There have been so many instances where Winters would come across an issue where there is a lack

of integrity,” Smith cites. “We have always committed ourselves to take the high road, even at a cost. The reward is that our people see that the company maintains ethical and professional standards. The more you promote this, the higher quality of employees and clients we attract.”

For more information about Winters Instruments, visit www.winters.com. Visit them at the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Show (ISA), Calgary, April 17-18 (Booth 119), Offshore Technology Conference, Hous-ton, May 6-9 (Booth 5962) and at the Gas & Oil Expo, Calgary June 11–13, (Booth 1503).

Instrumental Success: Winters Marks 60 Years as Essential Global Supplier