Released to Print - Forum Energy Technologies

A PUBLICATION OF FORUM ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
3
Proud to be Public
5
Customers Approve of Davis-Lynch
8
Summer 2012
Division Spotlight Makes Debut
Open Forum
Summer 2012
Volume 2 Number 2
C E O
Open Forum is published for Forum Energy
Technologies VIPs — our employees and
our customers.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue.
If we missed something you sent — or news you
wished you’d sent — please let us know. We’ll
be glad to include it in the next issue.
Submit company news tips, human interest
stories, community involvement information,
photos and other items of interest to the Editor:
Donna Smith
Director of Marketing & Communications
920 Memorial City Way, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77024
[email protected]
281.949.2514
Contributors:
Javier Aguilar, Mandy Atchison, Kevin Clothier,
Jeff Ewen, Pierozak Gauthier, Melissa Joseph,
Dennis Lee, Lucas Matos, Mardy Mattson, Ron
Mayes, Danielle Newcomer, Jennifer O’Neal,
Alexandra Papenfuss, Rick Pearce, Angela
Pickering, Steve Stepinoff, Justin Stewart
IN THIS ISSUE
15 New Intranet Improves Connections
15 Elmore City Changes State Law
16 OJS Goes Global
17 Facilities Expand to Meet Demand
18 Spotlight Shines on Valve Solutions
10 New Technology Launches
11 Safety for Life Starts Here
12 Mohawk Meets the Titanic
13 FET Newsmakers Shine
14 Giving for Good
15 Forum Employee Rocks
15 In Memoriam
C O R N E R
Welcome to this issue of Open Forum. We have recently
celebrated our second anniversary as a combined company
and have come a long way since August of 2010.
• Head count has increased from 2,200 to over 3,300
• Our revenue has grown to $1.2 billion
• We have added two business lines: Downhole Technologies
and Flow Equipment
• New offices have opened in Beijing, Brazil and Australia
• We became a publicly traded company on the NYSE under the symbol FET
So far 2012 has been a very busy year. Much of the first half of the year was spent
preparing for and launching our initial public offering. We have successfully held
two earnings conference calls and completed the quarterly filings that are necessary
as a publicly traded company. I realize how much work it takes to complete these
tasks and would like to thank everyone involved, from the accounting group in the
corporate office to the field locations that helped close the books in record time.
As a publicly traded company, it is even more important that we live by our Core Values.
We are also now subject to more public scrutiny. Our agreements with customers,
vendors, employees and agents are subject to review. Our board of directors has
more responsibilities, and the Securities and Exchange Commission sets out rigorous
controls and reporting standards we must meet. Luckily, we had been preparing for
these standards and are well prepared. We also have added two new directors to our
board. See this issue’s cover story for more information on what going public means
to Forum and to you as an employee.
We have focused on building a company for the future and the IPO was an important
milestone on that path. Now it is back to the business of building the infrastructure
and putting the procedures in place to support our continued growth. I hope you
are as proud as I am of the progress we have made in two short years.
Sincerely,
ABOUT THE COVER
Cris Gaut prepares to ring the opening bell at
the NYSE on May 18 surrounded by FET’s board
of directors and members of the executive team.
See the story on page 3.
FORUM ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
920 Memorial City Way, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77024
t
Cris Gaut, Chairman and CEO
“Our IPO is not the end of the story —
it is only the beginning.”
We’re a Public Company — What Does That Mean?
When a private company gets to the
point where it is successful enough, the
next step is often going “public” and selling shares of its stock on a stock exchange.
Going public is one of the most important
decisions a company will ever make and
should not be taken lightly. Many consider
going public as a sign that their company
has “made it.” As you may recall, one of
our goals when FET was formed in August
2010 was to go public when the timing
was right.
The prestige associated with being a
public company can provide a competitive
advantage when dealing with lenders,
customers, distributors, suppliers, vendors,
and employees. It also means increased
scrutiny, expenses and employee time associated with ensuring regulatory compliance.
Raising Capital
By allowing the public to purchase stock,
a company increases its access to capital.
As a result, the company has the resources
it might not have had earlier to pursue
growth initiatives. In our case, we used the
proceeds from the IPO to pay down the
debt we incurred to make acquisitions in
2011. A company’s ability to raise additional capital is often enhanced after going
public. Selling stock increases the net worth
of a company and improves its financial
stability, often enabling the company to
increase its ability to finance future growth
initiatives. If the company and its stock
perform well, the company can return to
the market at a later time and sell additional
shares to the public.
Chairman and CEO Cris Gaut checks out the sophisticated computer system used to track stock
transactions.
Easier Acquisitions
It is often easier for a publicly traded
company to acquire other companies. If a
public company is looking to expand and
purchase another company, it generally
has more flexibility available to it than a
private company in how to pay for the
acquired company. It also may facilitate
the negotiations process with potential
acquisitions as we may be perceived as
a more credible acquirer.
Attracting Employees
Public companies sometimes have an
advantage in attracting better talent than
their private counterparts because they
are more well known and often perceived
to be more stable. In addition, public companies have the ability to entice potential
employees by offering a combination of
salary and company stock options. A public
company usually is perceived as offering
greater opportunities for advancement.
Prestige and Publicity
A company that chooses to go public will
most likely see an increase in publicity as
a result of its greater exposure. This can
provide the company with business opportunities it might not have had in the past.
Publicly traded companies and their information disclosures are followed by industry
analysts and others in a position to publicize the company. Additional customer
awareness often results from the successful image and publicity received as a result
of the public offering and afterward if the
stock does well. Forum’s IPO was closely
watched since the markets were coming
continued on page 4
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Forum Goes Public, continued from page 3
Online Compliance
Training Launched
FET Director John Schmitz and other FET guests listen to a trader explain how orders are placed on the
trading floor.
off a period of instability and few IPOs
had been launched in the previous year,
especially in the oil and gas sector. We
were the most successful of the five initial
public offerings launched that week, and
our reputation as a stable and well-run
company was greatly enhanced because of
the investor interest we attracted during
the IPO.
Life as a Public Company
Our IPO is not the end of the story—it is
only the beginning. As we face far greater
public scrutiny, we must meet a range of
continuing obligations. Luckily we had
been preparing to go public since our
inception in 2010, creating an internal
audit department and putting the legal
and financial procedures in place that a
public company needs. A substantial
amount of employee time will now be
spent on proactively complying with
Securities and Commission (SEC) rules
and regulations, including:
• Registration of the company’s securities
and the filing of periodic company reports
(Forms 10-Q, 10-K, 8-K, etc.) under the
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Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “’34
Act”) and SEC rules.
• The preparation and mailing of proxy
materials prior to a shareholder meeting
or written shareholder vote on a matter,
and the filing of such materials with the
SEC pursuant to the ’34 Act.
• Filing of certain shareholding reports
by all “insiders” (for example, directors,
officers and owners of more than 10%
of the company’s outstanding stock) to
report ownership and changes in ownership as required by the ’34 Act.
• Abiding by SEC rules regarding insider
trading, company transactions in our
stock, the sale of company stock by
affiliates and other matters.
• General duties of the company regarding
timely disclosure of material information.
• Additional registration of company stock
for stock option plans, acquisitions or
other purposes.
When a company becomes more well
known, it is subject to greater exposure
to legal liability for the company, its officers
and its directors. Public companies must
Because we are now a publicly traded
company, it is even more important
that all employees understand and abide
by our policies and all applicable laws,
such as employment non-discrimination
and immigration laws, the United States
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
and the United Kingdom Bribery Act.
Given our global workforce, presenting
this information online was determined
to be the easiest method of distribution.
Forum’s online compliance training
is designed to promote safety, ethical
and legal behavior, environmental
responsibility, and respect for our fellow
employees. By preventing and detecting
violations of law, regulations and company policy, we will cultivate an ethical
business culture throughout our organization and create a company culture of
which we can all be proud. Our Corporate Compliance program is a shared
undertaking for all employees, from
the highest level of senior management
to the most junior employee. Several
modules have been introduced online
and Code of Conduct training will be
launched this fall.
manage their reputations by communicating regularly with investors, analysts, and
the financial media to maintain a fair
image, and make sure their story is being
told accurately. The public’s perception of
a company has a direct effect on the value
of its stock. Life as a public company also
means getting comfortable with the rhythm
of quarterly and annual reporting requirements, their content and costs.
This is a new and exciting chapter for
Forum.
Davis-Lynch Earns
Customer Approval
Forum’s Davis-Lynch downhole cementing
and casing products placed first in ten
different categories in EnergyPoint
Research’s 2011 Oilfield Products &
Services Customer Satisfaction Survey.
These include:
• Downhole Drilling Equipment, a
category Davis-Lynch has won every
year since 2004
• Downhole Cementing Equipment,
a distinction held since 2008
• Engineering & Design, top ranked
for four consecutive years
• Performance & Reliability, also
a first-place winner in 2010
• Product Availability & Delivery
• Specialty Providers
• Shale-oriented Applications
• Post-sale Support
Forum Launches New Intranet Site
Our new and improved intranet site is
being rolled out in conjunction with FET’s
domain migration, which is scheduled to
be completed by the end of the year. Built
in SharePoint, the new ForumConnect
offers flexibility and interactivity. In
addition to news and document sharing,
Team Sites are available for groups to
share schedules, calendars and documents
that are applicable to their team only. Only
those Team Sites you belong to will appear
when you open the home page.
Department sites share information with
everyone in the company and include
Human Resources, IT, Marketing, HSE
and Finance. If you don’t find what you
need, contact one of the people listed
on the department page contact list. To
discuss creating a new Team site, please
create a ticket in the IT help desk section,
and SharePoint Administrator Alex Mayer
will contact you. Please send general
comments on the site to Donna Smith,
Director of Marketing & Communications.
The annual Oilfield Products & Services
Customer Satisfaction Survey has been
conducted by EnergyPoint since 2003.
Founded in 1947, Davis-Lynch was acquired by Forum Energy Technologies in
July 2011 to offer a world-class downhole
completion and cementing product line.
Elmore City Impacts Oklahoma Transportation Law
On June 18, 2012, Oklahoma Governor
Mary Fallin officially signed OK Bill
SB1537 into law. The bill was proposed
by the Forum Elmore City transportation
department to simplify the state’s permitting process for truck transportation of
oversized equipment.
According to General Manager Gauthier
Pierozak, the Elmore City transportation
department suggested ideas to improve the
tedious and expensive permitting process
to State Senator Susan Paddack and Representative Lisa Billy. The bill was so well
received that it was approved unanimously
by the Oklahoma Senate and House of
Representatives.
“This bill will not only improve Forum’s
business, but also all of Oklahoma and outof-state companies that have to deal with
difficulties when requesting a permit for
oversized loads going through Oklahoma,”
Gauthier said. “As a result, it is expected
that overall business for hotels, gas stations,
restaurants, etc. related to transportation
through the State of Oklahoma will also
increase. It is a win-win situation for
everyone. We would like to thank Senator
Paddack and Representative Billy for their
tremendous support.”
Witnessing Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
(seated) sign Bill SB1537 are (from left) Sales
Manager John Ferris, General Manager Gauthier
Pierozak, Transportation Manager Jake Ferris
and Representative Lisa Billy.
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5
OJS Stays Busy on the International Scene
e next time you’re heading to another
country to conduct business for Forum,
there’s a good chance Offshore Joint Services (OJS) has already been there. Part of
the Forum Subsea business line, OJS has
gone truly global, establishing a widespread
international clientele and meeting the
challenges that come from working in
remote locations away from home.
OJS has become known as a world leader
in applied protective coatings for subsea
pipeline field joints, spools and structures
since it was established in 1986. is year
has been especially busy for OJS, with
projects under way in Australia, Azerbaijan,
Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Mexico, Nigeria, ailand, Turkmenistan,
Vietnam and the Gulf of Mexico.
Two OJS employees apply coating to pipe before it becomes part of a pipeline.
More than 100 OJS technicians coat pipe,
either onboard pipelay vessels or onshore
at pipe assembly sites, for customers such
as Technip, Subsea 7, McDermott, Nippon,
Saipem, SapuraAcergy and Clough.
vessels, where the average cycle time is
four minutes. Once a pipelay vessel starts
production, it’s 24 hours, seven days a week.
With some vessels costing $500,000 a day,
saving 30 seconds in applying each coating
can bring great value to our customers.”
“We’ve never been so busy on the international scene,” said Subsea Technologies
Director of Sales Dennis Lee. “We have
the largest pool of technicians and are
enjoying the highest ever equipment
utilization. Customers keep demanding
higher quality coatings and faster application cycle times, especially on their pipelay
As an applied products provider, OJS’
overriding challenge is to plan and mobilize
equipment, materials and personnel for our
customers’ vessels or sites in all corners of
the world. Site conditions vary significantly,
adding to the difficulty, and maintaining
consistent HSEQ procedures is paramount
to ensure our crews stay safe and protected.
“Reliability is very important,” Lee added.
“To reduce downtime risk, OJS provides
100 percent redundancy in equipment.
Based on global demand for our services,
OJS must be doing something right. Our
recent Australian and Brazilian awards
have provided our new corporate entities
Forum Australia and Forum Brazil with
their first trading contracts. We look
forward to increasing our market share
in some of these regional locations as the
subsea market grows and opening doors
for all of Forum.”
UKPS Wins Investors in People Bronze Award
Forum’s United Kingdom Personnel Service
(UKPS) unit in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk,
has won the prestigious Investors In People
(IIP) Bronze Standard Award. Recipients
of this special award are leading public,
private and civic organizations that range
in size from less than ten to thousands
of employees.
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Supplying technical staff to the offshore
industry since 1985, UKPS has built an
impressive track record of providing
qualified and experienced personnel
across a wide range of disciplines.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous
achievement,” said Forum Subsea Technologies Senior Vice President Mick Jones.
“Our employees are central to the success
of our business. This award validates our
commitment to develop our workforce, and
continually improve and grow our business.
Our clients rely on us to provide high
caliber specialist personnel consistently,
reliably and at short notice. We pride
ourselves on delivering the highest service
quality possible.”
facilities updates
Forum facilities keep expanding in square footage and sheer number around the world to keep up with oilfield
demand and the company’s rapid growth. Here’s an update on some recent projects.
Alberta, Canada
Overcrowded didn’t adequately describe
the former 6,000-square-foot facility that
had housed Forum employees from the
OBI and SPD shops since they combined
in 2009. With them also came drilling
product inventory — lots of it!
“As Forum’s sales grew, we quickly realized
we needed much more inventory in order
to better serve our customers,” explained
Canada Operations Manager Justin Stewart.
“We were to the point that even all our
warehouse floor space was full. That
presented both efficiency and safety issues
because of how congested everything was.”
This spring, Forum moved out of the Gauge
Plus building into a leased 35,000-squarefoot facility complete with an environmentally friendly rainwater collection system.
“One of the biggest plusses of this facility
is that we are proud to bring customers
through it without them having to step
over inventory,” Justin added. “Now we
also have proper loading docks, so loading
and unloading trucks are much safer.”
Williston, ND
Our Flow Equipment group has recently
rented a facility in Williston, ND, that
will allow them to perform tests, repairs
and recertification services for customers
working in the Bakken Shale Oil play.
It also will be a stocking point for selling
parts. While a recertification crew already
is working out of the facility, the office and
shop interior will be built out over the
next few months. Plans call for the Valve
Solutions group to stock and sell valves to
this market from the Williston location
as well.
As we reported in the Winter 2012 Open
Forum, Drilling Technologies already has
a new sales and distribution space serving
the Bakken 48 miles east of Williston in
Tioga, ND.
Villahermosa, Mexico
Drilling Technologies has opened a small
sales office and warehouse in Villahermosa,
Mexico, near Ciudad del Carmen to better
serve the busy Mexican oilfield. Forum
field service and sales engineers are already
in place, with inventory to follow before
year-end. Please welcome new employees
Alex Zanella, field service engineer, and
Adriana Reyes, inside customer service
representative. Forum Villahermosa has
already sold its first Iron Roughneck to
Drilling Supply Tools in Ciudad del
Carmen, as well as 10 twin limit units
valued at $900,000.
Far left photos: FET’s Alberta,
Canada, warehouse space
trades 6,000 square feet for
a 35,000-square-foot facility,
improving safety and efficiency.
Top: Our Williston, ND, Flow
Equipment group is ready for
Bakken Oil Shale business with
this new testing, repair, recertification and parts facility.
Below: Business is brisk at
Drilling Technologies’ newly
opened sales office and warehouse in Villahermosa, Mexico.
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division spotlight
Spotlight On: Valve Solutions
by Ali Papenfuss
Editor’s Note: This is the first story in a new series introducing Forum’s business lines across the board and around the world. Forum
has grown so fast that keeping up with all our products has been challenging. Watch for the spotlight to shine on your business line in
future issues.
Very rarely do you see market
conditions line up so perfectly in
the valve world, but according to
the growth in our Valve Solutions
group, that is exactly what has happened this year. With the aging of
pipelines and other infrastructure
used to transport resources, the
increased production of hydrocarbons
across the country, and the construction of
new chemical plants and facilities due to the
lower price of natural gas, Valve Solutions
has found itself in the middle of a boom.
The Valve Solutions group is comprised of
four well-known brands: PBV, Quadrant,
ABZ and DSI. Each of the brands is focused
on a unique set of valves and serves a
different market. PBV offers ball valves
for the on and offshore oil and gas market.
Quadrant’s ball and butterfly valves are
promoted as the safest and most contemporary quarter-turn valves in the industry
and used for on and offshore oil and gas
applications. ABZ’s high performance
butterfly valves are designed for industrial,
chemical, HVAC and food and beverage
applications. DSI’s gate, globe and check
valves are used in the refining and petrochemical industries.
Building new pipelines and other infrastructure across the US has helped fuel
business for PBV, which recently received
orders worth several million dollars from
some of the largest natural gas and electric
utility companies in the US. These orders
are for long-term pipeline integrity projects
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PBV trunnion valves:
three-piece (left),
two-piece (center) and
trunnion with actuator.
spanning the next three to five years. “The
midstream and gas utilities market will be a
key focus area for PBV in the coming years
as it has a limited number of competitors
and is not affected by the price of hydrocarbons,” said Valve Solutions Vice President of
Sales and Marketing Maury Mills.
Over the past months, Quadrant has seen
a significant sales growth in its three-piece
and seal-welded ball valve lines. Due to
the increase in demand of these products
in the Bakken and Marcellus Shale plays,
Quadrant’s significant inventory has given
the company an advantage for critical lead
time orders. Also, with the market now
trending toward a safer and fully compliant
product, Quadrant is in the perfect position
to obtain this business by addressing these
new safety and code-compliance issues.
Continuing business from large end users
has been steady, with numerous project
opportunities on the horizon. Over the
next few years, Quadrant will continue
to concentrate heavily on increasing its
exposure globally.
“ABZ has experienced nearly 40% growth
over the past year, and our bookings are
almost double,” said ABZ Brand Manager
Jason McClelland. “This can be attributed
to many things, but the diversity of the
markets we serve is one of the main reasons.”
Forum Valve Brands
Valve Solutions brands — PBV, Quadrant,
ABZ and DSI — are some of the best
known in the industry. PBV ball valves
and Quadrant ball and butterfly valves
are used in the on and offshore oil and
gas business. ABZ manufactures highperformance butterfly valves for industrial,
chemical, HVAC and food and beverage
applications. DSI’s gate, globe and check
valves are designed for the refining and
petrochemical markets.
Quadrant floating ball valves.
Founded in 1977
DSI cast steel gate, globe
and check valves.
ABZ high-performance
butterfly valve with actuator.
Unlike most of Forum, ABZ valves are
used for applications beyond oil and gas.
This year ABZ won a $400,000 project
with NASA, supplying valves for a test
rocket launch pad. The valves will control
steam that will be used to simulate altitudes of up to 100,000 feet. With the help
of the other Valve Solutions brands, ABZ
is looking to expand deeper into the oil
and gas market in the future.
DSI also is seeing a surge of new business
due to low natural gas prices, which are
causing a significant amount of construction for chemical plants and industrial
applications across the US. “Any expansion
in the chemical marketplace will provide
Founded in 1975
growth opportunities for DSI,” said Brand
Manager Doug Smith. “The shale plays also
are offering many opportunities as construction increases for gas processing facilities and crude and condensate pipelines.”
This year DSI has received several projects
from two major midstream companies in
the Eagle Ford region.
Founded in 1989
The future looks bright for our Valves
Solutions group as more projects are won
and new customers are gained. With the
potential for new technology and geographic expansion on the horizon, Forum
looks forward to many great things from
Valve Solutions.
Founded in 2000
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new technology
Subsea Technologies and Drilling Technologies Expand Portfolios
Recent new additions to Forum Energy Technologies’ continually expanding product line include the Blowout
Preventer Actuation Tool (BOP-AT), Perry T-1200 Trencher and the Wrangler™ Roughneck 80 (WR-80).
Blowout Preventer Actuation Tool
(BOP-AT)
Designed to be operated by a workclass
ROV with speed and accuracy, our BOP-AT
closes the blow out preventer remotely,
delivering over 300 liters of fluid per
minute at pressures up to 7500 psi. It fully
actuates most BOPs in under 45 seconds,
safely and effectively sealing the wellbore.
When a problem occurs in an offshore
well and underground pressure forces oil
and gas into the wellbore, a BOP is the
first line of defense to stop the flow of
formation fluids and prevent damage to
surface modules and the surrounding
environment. Forum’s tool offers one
option to actuate the BOP using a ROV,
which must have the capacity to deliver
fluids at very high pressure to operate
quickly and safely.
Designed for speed and accuracy, FET’s
BOP-AT can deliver the required flow
using various types of fluids, such as
seawater, mineral oils or glycol, through
Blowout Preventer
Actuation Tool (BOP-AT)
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the actuation port of a BOP. Our BOP-AT
provides sufficient pressure to activate the
BOP Ram, enabling the BOP to shear and
seal the drill pipe.
Perry T-1200 Trencher
Forum’s Perry T-1200 Trencher is a heavy
trenching system capable of producing a
trench to a depth of three meters in all
seabed conditions, from sand to stiff clays.
Deploying non-contacting water jetting
tools with back wash and educator debris
clearance systems, this cable and pipe
burial ROV can carry an optional backfill
and pipe following tool.
Wrangler Roughneck 80 (WR-80)
Developed for ultimate performance
and reliability on the oil rig, the WR-80 is
used to make up and/or break out drilling
tubulars at well center and in the mousehole. It is pedestal mounted and rotated
with ease to effectively reach both locations.
Compact, lightweight and hydraulically
powered, the WR-80 spins up tubulars
Perry T-1200 Trencher
Open Forum
with high torque spinning motors. Its
unique design features an adjustable
clamping force on the gripping cylinders,
which substantially reduces the potential
for egg shaping the connection and galling
the threads when the clamping pressure is
limited. It also provides a thread compensation system with 1 1/2 inches of travel
while spinning in or out.
Among the WR-80’s many benefits are:
jaws don’t have to be changed when going
between different sizes of tools and tubulars, eliminating downtime and HSE risk
of hands performing this procedure; oil
coolers on each unit help cool the hydraulic
fluid, extending life of the equipment and
components; dump valves are a standard
feature, eliminating the risk of over-torqueing a connection; air bags can be added to
make the WR-80 fully floating, reducing
damage to tools or threaded connections;
units can be supplied with extension beams
equipped with lift jacks to support tools
without cranes, forklifts or slings.
Wrangler Roughneck 80 (WR-80)
S A F E T y
F I R S T
Elmore City has implemented a new hire
mentoring program, reassigning experienced employees to oversee the safety and
quality of less-experienced coworkers.
Mike Vaughn, a Forum tank shop welder
for nearly five years and a mentor, has
contributed to the program’s success.
Suggesting safety improvements for
grinding by using simple pieces of movable
4 x 4 wood to block the sparks and reduce
flying particles, he also came up with the
idea of a banner, “Safety for Life.” To help
celebrate 90 days without a recordable
injury, this slogan was printed on a banner,
which was displayed and signed by all
employees during the celebration luncheon
as a symbol of their commitment to safety.
Employee feedback has been overwhelming,
and visitors have frequently added their
names to the banner as well.
Forum HSE has just started an Automated
External Defibrillator (AED) program for
all Drilling, Downhole and Subsea locations.
Aimed at continuously improving our HSE
t
P&I Safety Director Kevin Clothier (left), Tank
Shop Welder Mike Vaughn (center) and Elmore
City General Manager Gauthier Pierozak show
off Mike’s “Safety for Life” banner brainstorm.
process, the program includes installation
of an AED unit at each location and First
Response training, which will teach employees how to perform adult CPR and
use an AED in an emergency. A cardiac
science instructor will visit Forum locations to conduct the First Response
training. The three-hour course includes
lectures, videos, a question and answer
session,and hands-on training on mannequins. Headquarters completed its
session in early August, resulting in 14
employees being AED/CPR certified.
Forum Energy Asia Pacific (FAP)
achieved an important milestone — 100,000
man hours with zero incidences — in
August. Equally important is that FAP’s
Lost Time Incident record has stood at
zero since January 2011. The team doesn’t
intend to rest on its laurels, planning to
raise these milestones, as it believes there
is always opportunity for improvement.
Through consistent Health, Safety &
Environment (HSE) awareness training,
encouraging all staff to report any unsafe
acts, and having the necessary corrective
actions in place, there is no limit to how
high these two safety indicators can go.
This emphasis on safety and prevention
helps FAP maintain a safe working environment for everyone in keeping with our
core values of “A good place to work” and
“No one gets hurt.” General Manager Jeff
Ewen and HSEQ Manager Wally Chan
would like to thank the staff, especially the
Safety Committee, for their contributions,
which helped Forum Energy Asia Pacific
achieve this commendable performance.
Repair and Field Services (RFS) Expands Pump Package Sales
RFS has been busy completing pump
packages for customers around the world,
recently shipping a unit to Sub-Consult,
the Canadian buying arm for an Iraqi
drilling company, and another to a
drilling contractor in Australia.
The first package included a new Gardner
Denver™ Model PZ-10 pump rated at
1350 hp powered by a remanufactured
Caterpillar Model 3512 engine and
National style C300 Torque Converter.
The balance of the components are new.
The second package consisted of a new
Gardner Denver Model PZ-8 pump
powered by a new Model MTU2000
engine and a remanufactured Allison™
DP8962 Transmission.
The RFS team in Victoria, TX, sold,
packaged, designed, fabricated and tested
these units. Other RFS locations include
Liberty and Houston, TX; Broussard, LA;
and Red Deer, Alberta. All locations service
and repair most brands of drilling equipment with the ability to travel worldwide
to complete field service jobs. In addition
to customer repairs, they maintain Forum
manufactured equipment with a group
of factory-trained technicians.
This recently completed pump package includes a
new Gardner Denver Model PZ-10 pump rated at
1350 hp.
A drilling contractor in Australia gets this RFS
pump package with a new Gardner Denver Model
PZ-8 pump and Model MTU2000 engine.
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Before Mohawk, There was Argo
by Steve Stepinoff
to tow this ROV from a surface vessel.
Mohawk provides high quality video for
inspection work and has the capability
to run underslung tool packages, such
as tree valve torque tools, high pressure
water jetting pumps, and small hydraulic
or electric manipulators. Mohawk uses a
small diameter main lift cable, reducing
launch and recovery system requirements
and vessel deck space. When compared
with the size of the original ARGO, the
small footprint and capabilities of the
Mohawk are truly amazing.
On that fateful night of April 14, 1912,
there were 2,235 souls crowded aboard
the R.M.S. Titanic. The frigid, dark sea
was calm, like a plate glass mirror beneath
the star-spangled heavens. It was an hour
before midnight on a starry, moonless
night. While the band played on in the
first class lounge, the greatest maritime
tragedy in history silently awaited in the
ice-strewn waters of the North Atlantic.
Survivors recalled a gentle shudder that
briefly shook the 900-foot-long vessel.
It came and went so quickly that nobody
gave it much thought. Except for the
occupants of the Bridge — who in the split
seconds before that collision had seen the
towering iceberg ahead. The helmsman
swerved to miss the iceberg, but would in
fact have been better off to have struck it
head on.
When the Titanic swerved, it brushed the
iceberg’s iron underside on the starboard
side of the bow, slitting a quarter of an
inch wide opening, just enough to cause
the six watertight compartments to start
taking in sea water. In just two hours, the
“unsinkable ship” was gone.
Of the 2,235 occupants, 1,522 met their
death in those dark waters, including most
of the men, the third class and the crew, as
well as the entire band. Only 713 people
were rescued.
In 1985, a team led by American oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard and French
diving engineer Jean-Louis Michel made
the incredible discovery of Titanic’s final
resting place, nearly two and a half miles
(4 km) below sea level. An ardent geologist,
Dr. Ballard developed the unmanned
ARGO-Jason remotely operated vehicle
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Open Forum
The Mohawk on display at the museum in Belfast.
(ROV) to locate and videotape underwater
objects. Towed from a surface vessel, it
was capable of operating at depths of
6,000 meters (20,000 feet). The original
ARGO used to find Titanic was 15 feet
long, 3.5 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide, and
weighed about 4,000 pounds. It had an
array of cameras looking forward and
down, and strobes and incandescent
lighting to illuminate the ocean floor
while taking wide-angle film and
television pictures.
Imagine how different things might have
been if Dr. Ballard had used one of Forum’s
technologically advanced Observation
ROVs from Sub-Atlantic. Our fully electric
Mohawk ROV, for example, is a compact,
high-performance system that can perform
a variety of underwater tasks, including
observation, survey, NDT inspections,
tooling and well…finding the Titanic.
The Mohawk delivers exceptionally high
thrust in all directions from Sub-Atlantic’s
reliable AC power thruster system. No need
Dr. Ballard secured financial support from
the US Navy for ARGO’s testing, agreeing
in summer 1985 to search two Navy nuclear
submarines sunk since the 1960s for nuclear
reactors and weapons. Secret mission
accomplished, Dr. Ballard and ARGO
sped to the Grand Banks to find the
Titanic. The Navy gave him 12 days.
Narrowing his search to 50 square miles,
he ordered ARGO to make sweeps one
mile apart. Nine days flew by and hopes
were dimming when ARGO’s operator
finally spotted debris at 12:48 a.m. on
September 1, 1985. Dr. Ballard had
discovered the Titanic.
Forum Energy Technologies is very proud
to announce that the newly opened Titanic
Belfast®, the World’s Largest Titanic Visitor
Attraction, has placed a Sub-Atlantic
Observation ROV (Mohawk) on permanent display to help tell the story of R.M.S.
Titanic, as well as showcase the technological advances made in ROV equipment.
Had Dr. Ballard launched a Mohawk
instead of ARGO in his Titanic quest, we
might well be celebrating the discovery
a full week earlier.
N E W S M A K E R S
t
Send your tips about newsworthy FET employees and facilities to Open Forum Editor Donna Smith. See page 2 for contact information.
Carl Daniel Named Senior VP
Carl Daniel has been
promoted to Senior
Vice President of
Production Equipment
from manager of the
Broussard Plant,
which manufactures
tubular handling and
well intervention products for Drilling
Technologies. Prior to joining Forum
in August 2010, Carl spent 20 years with
Baker Hughes in various management
and cross-functional positions, including
senior director of Eastern Hemisphere
Manufacturing & Global Screen Operations.
During his tenure with Baker Hughes, he
led several global supply chain strategy
teams, established manufacturing centers
of excellence, implemented lean systems,
and developed supply chain locations in
Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle
East and Africa. Carl holds a bachelor of
science degree in Industrial Management
from Northeastern State and an MBA
from the University of Louisiana.
Patrick Connelly Returns to SCF
Patrick Connelly has
served as our Vice
President of Strategic
Development since
our inception in
August 2010. In this
role, he has worn many
hats, including supervising and coordinating
acquisitions, integration, marketing, our
IPO and most recently investor relations.
He will return to SCF Partners, our largest
shareholder, as a Managing Director to
work on new investment initiatives. We
wish him well and would like to thank
him for his two years of service during
this crucial period in our development.
Former Company Director Honored
Lib Snell displays the honorarium
presented by (from left) Forum CFO Jim
Harris, Chairman & CEO Cris Gaut, and
Director David Baldwin recognizing her
late husband, former Forum Oilfield Technologies, Inc. board member Robert Snell,
for his contributions to Forum.
A member of the board of directors from
September 2007 until shortly before he
passed away in January 2010, Robert also
served as Audit Committee Chairperson
during Forum’s formative years.
Helping instill many of the core values
that Forum stands for today, he understood the importance of maintaining the
highest level of integrity, especially when
doing the right thing might not be easy.
Forum is forever indebted to Robert for
his dedication and service, which is best
exemplified by his attendance at Forum’s
board of directors’ meeting just one month
before he died.
Rachel Metcalf Learns
Rewarding Lesson
Rachel Metcalf,
logistics coordinator
at Kirkbymoorside,
didn’t realize when she
started her studies for
an Advanced Certificate
in International Trade
two years ago that she
would end up with far
more than a certificate.
So far, Rachel has
won awards for earning the highest scores
in two of the course’s four modules —
The Business Environment in 2010 and
Finance of International Trade in 2011 —
and is still awaiting results for the International Physical Distribution module after
passing International Marketing. Neither
of her award-winning modules were lightweight. For example, The Business Environment covered economics, market
structures, international trade, and the
legal environment such as contract law.
Finance of International Trade included
business finance, risk management and
international payment methods.
The course, directed by The Institute of
Export, was run on a long-distance basis,
which according to Rachel, involved a lot
of weekend studying. “The course has
been very rewarding,” she said. “I feel
one of the greatest benefits from this work
was to learn how all departments interact.
From a shipping department perspective,
this is extremely useful.”
Way to go, Rachel!
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C O M M U N I T y
F O R U M
t
Forum Energy Technologies believes in giving back to the communities in which we work. Watch this space in each issue for news of our
civic involvement, and send your stories to Editor Donna Smith.
Texas Oilmen Ride & Fish for Charity
The Texas Oilmen’s Hill Country Invitational Ride in Bandera, TX, has been raising
money for charitable organizations that care
for US soldiers and their caregivers for eight
years. Sponsored by Forum and other oil
and gas companies, the ride raised more
than $112,000 this year, with the majority
of the money going to Houston Military
Moms, the Wounded Warrior Project and
LA Cares. These organizations use the donations to send care packages to soldiers, as
well as to provide rehabilitation services and activities to wounded military and their
caregivers, making the transition to civilian life as easy as possible. The next invitational
ride will be held April 18-20, 2013.
Forum’s Robert Dugal, treasurer for the Oilman’s
Hill Country Invitational Ride, and other members
of the board present checks for $10,000 to Houston
Marine Moms and $40,000 to Wounded Warrior
Project representatives.
This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Texas Oilmen’s Charity Invitational Fishing
Tournament in Matagorda, TX. Hundreds of oil and gas company representatives participated in this annual event that has given $3.8 million to needy charities so far. Forum
had two teams in the tournament consisting of Drilling Sales Account Managers Brandon
Weed and Nick Pinto, as well as tent sponsors. Inside the tent, cooks from Forum Broussard
and Houston prepared 1,000 mouthwatering pork chops for the fishermen as they finished
the tournament each day.
Bowl-a-Thon Benefits Junior Achievement
Forum employees came out again this year for Junior Achievement, spending an afternoon
eating pizza and seeing who could bowl the most strikes at the May 23 JA Bowl-a-Thon in
Houston. Prizes were given for the best bowling style — using the other arm and bowling
backward, for example — along with door prizes just for participating. Downhole Tools
Senior Vice President Lyle Williams, who sits on the Board for JA Houston, commented on
the importance of the Bowl-a-Thons, which
contribute the majority of the money raised
annually for Junior Achievement. “Participation by Forum employees in this Bowl-aThon provides meaningful contributions to
JA, as well as an opportunity to meet and
interact with fellow employees from across
the country,” he said.
In the days after the Bowl-a-Thon, Forum’s
Houston offices competed to see who
could raise the most money for JA. The
Forum Subsea Katy office emerged as the big winner, with Jennifer O’Neal putting on a
fabulous fundraising event that included pizza, bingo and loads of door prizes. Thanks
for all your hard work, Jennifer.
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FET Invitational Fishing Tournament team
members help Forum put its best foot forward
(from left): Brandon Hess, Roque Castillo,
Danielle Newcomer, Courtney Fremin, Robert
Dugal, Brandon Dobbs, Rebecca Privat and
Nate Wyrick.
Houston-area employees participating in the
Bowl-a-Thon take a break from the action.
forum after hours
in memoriam
Meet Justin Stewart, Celtic Rock Star
Justin Stewart is
a guitar-playing,
kilt-wearing,
Scottish/Irish rock
musician. That’s his
part-time gig. Full
time, he’s Canada
Operations Manager, based in Alberta,
for Forum Drilling Technologies.
he joined Forum and the band seven
years later.
Besides guitar, Justin plays the mandolin
and sings lead and back-up vocals for a
six-piece Celtic rock group called St. James’
Gate that has been together for more than
10 years and has produced four CDs. Justin
joined the band in 2007 around the time he
started working for Forum as QA manager
at the Red Deer Pipe Wrangler Facility.
According to Justin, all six members
perform “whilst” wearing kilts. “Our
genre is Celtic, and although we play a
lot of Irish tunes, almost all of us have
Scottish backgrounds. I love this genre
of music. It’s what I grew up on. And the
boys in the band are my best friends!”
“I’ve been playing music longer than I
can remember,” he said. “I have a musical
family. Where I come from, almost everybody sings or plays music. I have always
played Celtic music, which is what we play
today. I’ve been friends with the guys in
the band for years. I decided to join them
when one of the guys sadly passed away
in a car accident. We got together to play
some music shortly after and liked the way
it sounded. And here we are now!”
Justin hails from Cape Breton Island in
Nova Scotia, Canada, where he was born.
He moved to Red Deer in 2000, and built
custom fire and rescue vehicles until
The group plays musical instruments
ranging from typical rock band instrumentation — drums, bass, electric guitar — to
classic Celtic bagpipes, accordion, mandolin,
Irish whistle and didgeridoo. The combination produces a unique sound.
St. James’ Gate has done shows all over
Canada, playing lots of festivals and
corporate functions, as well as a few
pubs, and has even been flown to Maui
for a performance. All six members of
the band have families and careers so
they confine their playing to two-three
times a month to avoid burn-out.
Trevor Shields
Perry Slingsby Systems
Mechanical Fitter Trevor
Shields, 55, based in
Kirkbymoorside, UK,
passed away unexpectedly
January 23 aer working with the
Company for nearly a year. Living and
working in the local community all his
life, he was well known for his keen interest
in football and motor clubs, especially
scooters. He is survived by his wife, Hillary,
son Joshua and daughter Jessica. Trevor
was an excellent addition to the Sub-Outfitting Bay team and will be missed by
those who knew him.
Forum Shines at Global
Petroleum Show
As for his full-time job, Justin’s a big fan: “I
love Forum, the products and the people!”
Check out the group’s website at
www.boysofstjamesgate.ca for more info
and see them in action on YouTube,
www.youtube.com, under St. James’
Gate.
In June Forum made its debut at the 2012
Global Petroleum Show in Calgary. With
over 63,000 attending, this year’s event
was the largest to date, welcoming visitors
representing 95 different countries. Forum
representatives from our Flow Equipment,
Drilling Technologies and Downhole Technologies demonstrated the breadth of
products we provide to professionals
throughout the oil and gas industry.
The boys of St. James’ Gate get the audience on the dance floor.
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FORUM ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
920 Memorial City Way, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77024
T H E
L A S T
W O R D
t
ProTech Performance Sparks Customer Compliments
When customers take time to compliment,
you know they have received truly outstanding service. These comments about
ProTech, Forum’s valve distributor in
Canada, came from Florian Bernardo
at Suncor Energy Services.
“We have just finished Firebag’s 2012
Spring Outage and I wanted to express my
sincere thanks for the support your team
has shown. We’ve had many challenges
during execution and success wouldn’t be
possible without the cooperation of our
suppliers including ProTech. I would like
to personally recognize Jeff Sundle [Suncor
Lead/ Inside Sales] for his untiring efforts,
understanding, expertise and swift action
when required. His hard work and dedication to customer service resonated to the
success of the shutdown and we appreciate
this very much.
“As we are going to have a busy summer
with some other minor shutdowns,” he
concluded, “we look forward to working
with you and expect continued prompt
and dedicated service to Suncor.”
Jeff Sundle, ProTech star.