We caught up with ML Crane’s President Caroline Asimakopoulos in an executive airport lounge, on her return to company headquarters in Denver, after visiting some of the group’s strategically located 11 branches.

She explains how ML Crane—a part of ML Holdings which includes ML Utilities, ML Distribution Group, and ML Environmental Group—began in 2007 through the acquisition of two Crane Service Inc. locations in Albuquerque and Bloomfield, New Mexico. ML Crane grew solidly over the next 11 years by opening greenfield operations in areas such as Sweetwater, Texas, and through six additional acquisitions across Texas, Illinois, Colorado, and Maryland.

Reaching across industry
Although ML Crane is indeed a crane rental company, it is much, much more, with considerable expertise provided by its 500-plus employees. The company’s specialties include heavy lifting, rigging, heavy hauling, alternative movement, and warehouse / storage solutions, and it serves a broad range of industries with customized solutions and skilled operators.

Included in the spectrum is the renewable energy sector, as well as the refining and petrochemical sectors; power generation and distribution; HVAC / mechanical; infrastructure / maintenance, and building construction; and government, commercial and residential.

Asimakopoulos says that, last year, ML Crane’s business comprised 20 percent wind, 30 percent petrochemical, 40 percent construction, and 10 percent other.

“We want to continue to diversify both geographically and through our end-market segmentation,” she says. “Our recent expansion in renewables and petrochemicals has been as much about diversifying the type of work we are going after and geography, as it has been about the end-market segmentation.”

Cranes are used in refineries, which periodically must be completely shut down for maintenance and repair. The last major one the company serviced was in Illinois and used 38 cranes.

In the oil fields, cranes are used to build the drill rigs and for fracking, and on wind farms cranes are used not only to install the towers and blades, but throughout the life of the wind turbine on the farm. They are required when blades, gearboxes, and generators must be replaced or general maintenance done on the turbines.

“There are so many needs and uses for cranes. It’s an exciting time for us. There is a huge emphasis on renewables right now and we’re there to help that industry, but we also know oil and gas is not going away so we continue to invest there as well,” she says.

A part of something
Appointed President of ML Crane on August 5, 2021, Asimakopoulos had joined the company in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and operations.

She had begun her career working for a smaller company “that was very entrepreneurial, but then we were bought out and became part of a large public company, and I didn’t want that,” she explains. “I wanted to be in a company where we could make big things happen, where we could make decisions and grow it.”

Following advice from a mutual friend, she interviewed with ML Holdings owners, Bob Matz, Chair, and David Matz, President. By the end of the interview, she knew she wanted to work with them, much of her decision to do with the entrepreneurial opportunities that were available.

“I wanted to be part of building something. My background and experience were a great fit to help move the company from being a series of branch-centric siloed entities, to an aligned company focused on growth, excellence, and customer service.”

Aligning an industry
Over the last three years, ML Crane has been on a journey to align under one vision and one set of core values.

“Our vision is to be the best partner for our customers and an employer of choice. The intent behind the multiple acquisitions had always been to capitalize on the strength of a larger company with more talent and equipment. However, we needed to stop treating each other as competitors to get there,” says Asimakopoulos.

“Today we are rebranding under ML Crane, and we partner with each other to give our customer the highest quality service experience. The result is that we can meet all our customers’ needs, whether setting a small air conditioner or moving a 600,000-pound transformer,” she explains. “We are not a crane rental company or a transport company. We are the partner that will help our customers find the best solutions for their lifting and transportation needs.”

ML Crane’s culture is focused on core values of safety, integrity, accountability, collaboration, and respect, which Asimakopoulos says are “not just on a poster on a wall.” It is the company’s firm expectation that leaders and team members will make decisions using those values. “That means,” she says, “there’ll be times when we make a choice that’s not the choice our customer wants; however, we’ll never compromise on the safety of our employees.”

Diversity pays dividends
In keeping with the company’s vision of being the best partner to its customers and employer of choice, she says it comes down to hiring the best people in the marketplace and this is where diversity comes into the equation. The company does not spell out a diversity policy, but always looks for talent from diversified backgrounds and perspectives. That can include different industry or business experience, gender diversity, and ethnic diversity.

While the crane industry does have fewer female employees than many others, that has changed in the last few years, and Asimakopoulos notes that the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) recently announced they have launched a women’s executive round table.

“Research shows that companies with diverse leadership have better performance and our vision and goals will require that we continue to find the highest quality people regardless of gender,” she says.

The company owns most of its own equipment, which includes approximately 300 cranes across its network. When the cranes go out, they go with a qualified operator. Eighty-five percent of the company’s locations are unionized, which means employees are trained through the apprentice program at what Asimakopoulos calls “fantastic, state-of-the-art training centers.”

To ensure that the remaining 15 percent of non-unionized employees also receive training and achieve certification, the company has just opened a training center at its Albuquerque location, which includes training in rigging, signaling, and crane operation.

“In my experience in the automotive industry, specific continued training and certification is provided as part of the normal operations, but this is something the crane industry has not done well. People in the crane industry have said to me that they don’t want to pay for training because they had to pay for their own and don’t want to pay for someone who may leave their company to work for another. But we flipped that upside down. We are going to pay for people while they train, and to the industry people who say, ‘but what if they leave?’ we say, ‘what if we don’t train them and they don’t leave?’”

Re-connecting
As pandemic restrictions lift, Asimakopoulos is pleased that company representatives are now attending trade shows, something in which ML Crane had only limited participation until industry veteran John Rowe was hired as Chief Commercial Officer and Marilyn Wilkes joined as Marketing Specialist.

“There are probably hundreds of conferences and shows we could attend,” Wilkes says, “so we need to make sure we get out what we put in and go to the ones that will benefit us, the ones where we can build solid relationships. Typically, we attend about eighteen annually, in the Gulf Coast and Mid-Atlantic Regions,” she shares.

“As well as meeting customers, you also make strong industry connections,” she adds. “We are in competition with a lot of other companies at the shows, and yet there are times when you have to reach out to your competition for help and they may need to reach out to you as well. Industry events are a very good way to make these connections and build strong relationships.”

The future is bright
The company has outlined a three-year plan intended to double its size, to be accomplished through both organic growth and acquisition. This involves geographical expansion, such as the two new greenfield locations in Houston, Texas, which recently opened, and Iowa, which is coming soon, and the development of new divisions.

Renewables, heavily focused in Colorado, have already tripled the company’s wind-energy business since last year, while the Capitol Projects division will focus on complex engineering projects, including construction of structures such as bridges and airports.

At ML Crane, all the pieces of the business puzzle—acquisitions and diversification; training and education; relationships and customer service—are interlocked, ensuring success for this company which is building the future.

The post A Nationwide Lift for the Crane Industry<p class="company">ML Crane</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Creating a better world requires environmental care and green efficiency in all businesses, especially when confronting methane emissions. Unfortunately, it’s an ever-present by-product of energy-business operations, with thousands of tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) methane released into the atmosphere every day.

The substance in question – which has 80 times the warming capacity of CO₂ in the first two decades after entering the atmosphere – must be removed from a pressurized system before a pig launcher is opened at a natural gas processing facility, or before an isolated section of pipeline is removed and replaced.

This usually means flaring or venting of the gas which releases methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG) directly into the atmosphere.

The fix is ready
WeldFit has a fix with ReCAP, a gas recovery system that ensures a constant transfer rate, allowing for quick and easy gas recapture and making ESG targets attainable. Environmental audits reveal that the ReCAP Emissions Recovery System reduces methane emissions by up to 99.99 percent when compared to venting or flaring.

“Sustainability to us in the gas industry is moving product from wellhead to consumer,” says Adam Murray, Vice President, WeldFit Performance Products.

Traditionally, when companies must take down a line or a piece of equipment, they lose a bit of product, that being natural gas. “By using the company’s ReCAP emissions reduction system, it allows them to capture even the remaining percentage of gas, recompressing that and keeping it in the system.”

ReCAP employs technology that does one simple but critical task in support of ESG-driven methane emission reduction goals: During routine pipeline operations, it reduces the need for voluntary natural gas flaring or venting commonly associated with blowdowns.

“ReCAP, at its core fundamental design and function, allows our customers to reach their sustainability goals,” says Eric Heinle, President, Pigging and Performance Products. “It safely and efficiently prevents voluntary venting of emissions into the atmosphere.”

For a lot of WeldFit customers, those emissions reductions and goals are part of their long-term and near-term/current strategy, and ReCAP allows them to achieve those.

Focus on the pipeline
“WeldFit, in general, is focused on the pipeline, so our mission statement is we want to make pipelines more productive,” says Heinle. “We also pride ourselves on being reliable and ready to serve as well as being very innovative.”

By recapturing gas from pipeline sections that have been isolated for depressurization, and quickly transferring it to a nearby pressurized system, pipeline operators can safely and easily minimize methane emissions.

Additionally, thanks to ReCAP’s Straight-Line Performance – a patent-pending technology from WeldFit that generates a near constant and predictable depressurization rate from start to finish – the crucial work that follows can be started on time.

“Every emission occurrence we can eliminate has a meaningful impact because methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere,” says Murray. “This also enhances the safety and well-being of the people that live nearby and of our operators. It’s important for us to be environmental stewards, but it also helps with moving forward our license to operate.”

To date, the company has saved more than 18,000 metric tons of CO₂e, or more than 42 million standard cubic feet of natural gas, an amount that will grow exponentially in the next few months, making a significant impact.

“Over the past 30 years, oil demand has gone up 66 percent, and natural gas production is up 96 percent. In that same time methane intensity dropped almost 20 percent,” says Murray. “A drop like that during stagnant production would be great, but to do it with such gains has been just incredible. As bad as the industry gets picked apart, what we’ve done is remarkable.”

Sustainability is a vital part of the company’s mandate, one built into its core and one it continues to impress on its clients.

“We’re about the six Cs, and common sense and customer-focused are two of them. Our customers are certainly wanting to move into the more environmentally friendly space,” says Murray. “With a lot of our products we do have some inherent environmental advantages built in to that and ReCAP only enhances all of those.”

A changing world
That environmental awareness is being seen across the industry as changes are implemented daily.

“There are new rules to curb methane emissions in particular,” says Murray. “At the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow, 100 countries took the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions. That’s pretty significant.”

In fact, the U.S. led that initiative aimed at reducing methane emissions by 30 percent in nine years, mostly through tougher legislation governing methane leaks from oil and gas operations. Many of the techniques are aimed at averting large-scale leaks.

“The Build Back Better Bill, whether it passes or not, has carbon fees and methane-emission fees built into it that could severely impact the economics of methane emissions,” Murray adds. “It’s just a matter of following the technology that we already have. I think our industry has a mandate to make a meaningful impact on the environment.”

Another big challenge WeldFit faces is creating awareness and helping to bring its customers’ operations in compliance with regulatory requirements in the industry as the market evolves at a rapid pace.

“I’m sure more and more of those regulations are going to come out and as companies are now being mandated by local and state jurisdictions, obviously it would be great to have federal regulations emerge. But, state by state, they’re starting to release these regulations which will allow ReCAP to do that,” says Heinle.

WeldFit spent an incredible amount of time on awareness early on when commercializing ReCAP, which launched in September 2021, says Murray. Much was given to letting people know about ReCAP’s abilities and how it can be used to keep the gas in the pipeline.

“We spend a lot of time trying to help our customers navigate these new regulations and understand how this can apply to their current operations with minimal disruption,” adds Heinle.

Hard value, easy choice
“In some regards, this is viewed not only as perception but, in reality, as a cost or time matter. We’re trying to make sure they understand not only the social responsibility value of recovering the gas but the actual hard value of not venting or flaring that gas, of keeping it in the pipeline, and also doing it in a way that doesn’t slow down their operations and still allows them to be very efficient,” says Heinle.

ReCAP’s innovations and abilities have recently been recognized: It won the Innovation Award at the PPIM (Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management) conference this year. The fight to create awareness isn’t done yet, however.

“Because every state has different rules and regulations, keeping up with those ever-changing targets is tough,” Murray says, and WeldFit is taking its task seriously.

Chief Strategy Officer Todd Sale recently became a certified ESG expert and sustainability officer. “He graduated from the Energy Workforce and Technology Council ESG certification program,” says Murray. “So, we’re not only committed to helping the environment where we can, we’re investing in it with our products and with our people. We mustn’t be just saying this stuff; we’re doing it and we’re acting on it.”

The key is the people, Murray adds. “We care. Everyone in the industry is outdoorsy and active. It’s a culture we go by and that’s what sets us apart. It’s all about the right people in the right place.”

And the people are up for the challenge of facing the industry and the ESG movement’s rapid change which makes it so demanding to keep up and stay ahead.

“The good news is WeldFit is privately owned and very people-focused,” says Murray. “They allowed Todd to get his ESG certification, and they allow my engineering group to help create products that make an immediate impact, rather than these big glacial companies that move very slowly.”

Much more to be done
The result is a big impact in a short time, he says, but there’s still a lot more to be done. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA) still vents or flares almost 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

There’s good news, however: Every day companies are seeing the importance, and the benefits, of reducing methane – the same companies that WeldFit talked to maybe two months ago, and are talking to again today, says Heinle.

“They’re evolving every day and becoming more inquisitive and more receptive to the technology, whether it’s because they’re being told to or just because they’re adopting it. We’re seeing more and more acceptance across the board, which is good.”

WeldFit will continue to partner with its clients to understand their needs and challenges, developing solutions to help them achieve environmental goals with minimal disruption to operations while continuing to be profitable and effective.

“Creating that awareness is key, making sure folks understand that the solution and the technology are there and that the process is something that should be recorded and celebrated positively, versus it being just another thing they have to do,” says Heinle.

The ReCAP technology, Murray adds, is very innovative, safe, fast, efficient, and effective. People have been searching for a solution like this, and almost every day WeldFit comes upon a new application by which this technology can help the environment.

“I do think our solution is resonating,” says Heinle. “ReCAP specifically is resonating in the market because of those points. We partner with our clients, and our technology is differentiated in that it allows them to be more efficient while they’re doing all of these things. It’s pretty exciting stuff.”

The post Moderating Methane: Sustainability Through Emissions Reduction<p class="company">WeldFit</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Sol-Ark’s solar engineering team is touted by Chief Executive Officer Tom Brennan as offering the top customer support and satisfaction rates in the solar industry. The company listens to its customers and continuously improves its software and products as well as its support and knowledge base. “We innovate faster than our competitors,” Brennan describes. “We are the standard that everyone gets compared to.”

Last year, Sol-Ark sported a single hybrid family of products. Today, it is introducing five hybrid families, including a varied line of hybrid inverters, micro-inverters, and load management software—the most powerful in the industry, according to Brennan. Of the new hybrid families, some are focused specifically on the Latin American market, a population that is very invested in low-cost solar solutions and three-phase power. For example, one of the products for the area is focused on being a whole-home backup solution for residential power, while another is focused on light commercial buildings like pharmacies or fast-food restaurants, an aspect of the solar power industry that Brennan feels has been greatly under-served.

Sol-Ark has also installed hundreds of kilowatts worth of solar power at its facility, including on a nearly one-hundred-square-foot building, as well as a massive array of solar panels. It has done this for two reasons: to reduce electricity use and overall dependence on the electric grid and to use the same items for testing, characterization, and development, simultaneously but in different ways. The company stands firmly by its solutions and has the inventory and results to back it up.

Brennan observes that, in 2022, customers in the solar industry continue to want bigger and better ESS systems to run more appliances and charge cars. Homes are energy-intensive, and more recently, home builders have been installing fewer natural gas systems in favor of purely electric-powered as these homes are easier and cheaper to build and install. To meet this demand, the hybrid ESS kilowatt size is growing. However, when the size of the inverter grows, so too does the size of the battery, and this can have a heavier cost.

Customers considering solar power are not only concerned with dollars and cents. Most homeowners who are thinking of going purely electric want to know if they can unplug from the grid, and if the grid goes down, can run everything they want to in their house. The answer to both currently is no, due to the expense of hybrid ESS systems, but Sol-Ark is changing that through AC-coupling in smaller hybrid and battery systems with AC-coupled micro inverters.

This will allow powering electric appliances during the day, as well as allowing for per-panel optimization and monitoring, rapid shutdown to quickly de-power solar panels for safety. It will also provide power during the day at one-sixth the cost of an ESS system. The price of an extra few thousand dollars to back up every piece of hardware might be, in retrospect, more ideal given how less resilient the grid is becoming.

Thanks to load management, Sol-Ark can also double the power of the ESS systems for both day and night at one-tenth the normal cost. Overall, Sol-Ark can triple the size of an ESS system while saving tens of thousands of dollars.

The biggest challenge in the market right now, according to Brennan, is the matter of backing up power, since what customers want is either too expensive or simply unobtainable. Sol-Ark is doing what it can to bring the cost of the hardware down by half, which has led to the development of larger inverters that offer twice as much power.

Brennan remembers how the company used to piece together batteries and other products from different companies in its earlier days, and installers might go to a single-provider solution such as Generac or Tesla or pick a solution with multiple vendors. Typically, installers want easy, single-provider solutions, which is why Sol-Ark provides customer support and an array of products. With these, it can provide a complete solution and support it from engineering to warranty.

Solar power has revolutionized the energy industry, but Brennan feels that there is currently not much innovation in the sector, with many businesses offering more of the same solutions. There also seems to be an increase in Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) use, meaning that some solar power companies are putting big brand names on equipment that is either not directly owned by them or coming from overseas.

However, there is a bit more innovation occurring in load management and especially in batteries, as the latter is seeing many newer technologies. Lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries were once the standard for solar power use and are still regularly used but recently, rechargeable flow batteries are being relied upon as they can last for up to thirty years compared to the ten-to fifteen-year lifespan of LFPs. The solar industry was based on innovation, and that is still alive and well if one knows where to look.

In 2022, Sol-Ark will debut its eight products including hybrids, microinverters, and its new load management solution. The expansion across Latin America continues, as the company has hired around twenty-five bilingual solar engineers in just the past quarter. Development into optimizers and rapid shutdown technology is ongoing.

In 2023, Sol-Ark intends to move into a building at least three times as large as its present roughly 300,000-square-foot space to better house its engineers and products, with plans for more expansion in the future.

“It pays for itself over time. It’s one of the best investments you can make. It keeps your power going when there is no grid,” Brennan says of the state of solar power and its value today. “While a lot of things depreciate in value over time, solar power is known to increase in revenue. I think it’s a no-brainer.” As renewable energy becomes more desirable year after year, companies like Sol-Ark lead the way to a more sustainable future.

The post Leveraging New Inventory and Technology to Offer Renewable Power at Lower Cost<p class="company">Sol-Ark</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

As an electrical engineer, Boudreau wanted to work under his own power in the mining industry and did not wish to continue relying on out-of-town experts for process control and automation. He saw an opportunity to create a niche business in northern Ontario to offer process control and more to the mining industry. He also wanted to create great jobs that would live in the community and provide exemplary engineering services to the market.

In his time as CEO, Boudreau won many awards and distinctions for the company’s innovation and now serves as one of the business’ visionary leaders. FROSKR, a sister organization to BESTECH, was born through an association between Boudreau and FROSKR President Kati McCartney. Having built the BESTECH business on relationships and communities within mining, FROSKR was founded in early 2020 as an environmental consulting and technology firm to supplement the services of its partner business.

McCartney cites the unique symbiotic relationship between the two, which allows the combined businesses to show clients a great deal of vision with mining projects. This is thanks to the roles played in permitting, consulting, planning, and proprietary technology for both mining outfits and various other companies outside of the mining sector.

BESTECH Vice President of mining transformation, Samantha Espley, details how BESTECH integrates technologies with automation, process control and wireless communication to bring cost savings and safe solutions into mining operations. An example of this is the control of ventilation flows by directing air to only areas of operation. This saves energy in not sending air to inactive areas and, in turn, millions of dollars compared to the less energy-efficient practices of the past.

Another example of integrated solutions is FROSKR’s HyLoENVIRO real-time environmental monitoring system, used in Sudbury for over 17 years. Mining companies use the system to remotely monitor air quality and manage smelting processes to meet production targets while preventing harm to the environment and meeting legislative requirements, including transparent data sharing and the licence to operate.

In addition to its technology, BESTECH has also recently developed a new mining team with mining engineers, geologists, and geotechnical engineers. This team, a mix of veterans and new talent, is already inventing keen new mine designs and new mining methods. The current workplace focus is shifting toward electrification—removing diesel technology—and working with original equipment manufacturers and collaborators to help mining steer towards greater sustainability.

Espley feels that the mining industry can be prone to ‘siloed’ thinking and that many companies need to think more broadly about the mining process and the environment. This thinking also includes rehabilitating mining land to its original form. Espley adds that one can design much smarter with the Whole Mine™ approach. This can include processes like design electrification, waste reduction, and working with local communities in taking a holistic approach to mining solutions.

To this end, BESTECH and FROSKR aim to further apply Industry 4.0 technologies to mining and designing mines in a smarter fashion, referred to as Mining 4.0. The company seeks to achieve environmental and social responsibility, especially with the industry already moving in that direction. This includes assessing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering carbon footprints. McCartney adds that FROSKR and BESTECH are all about advancing any client’s environmental stewardship and sustainability goals and the protection of the natural environment.

Climate change and its relation to mining is an important topic to both companies, as each wants to encourage a net positive environmental impact. McCartney observes that much of media coverage around the industry is concerned about the adverse environmental effects of traditional practices like oil spills, smog, or acid rain, so it is crucial for those outside the industry looking in to understand the rise in demand for material that can only be achieved through mining.

Even initiatives to solve climate change involve materials made by mining, so extraction cannot continue in archaic or irresponsible ways. Rapid technology development is needed.

Major players in a new energy economy are helping to find ways to extract minerals like nickel and work with communities to find more efficient and sustainable mining methods. Work is also being done to source critical mining strategies from around the province of Ontario to offer manufacturing closer to home and not to take advantage of globally disadvantaged areas.

BESTECH and FROSKR are eager to welcome employees who align with the culture and encourage multidisciplinary growth and training. “We are driven to building long-standing relationships,” McCartney says of both clients and employees. “We grow because of who we attract and who we work with.”

In the past few years, both companies’ projects and portfolios have grown and diversified, respectively, concentrating on mining partnerships. One such collaboration saw the companies invited to support Mine Connect in Nevada, a cross-border collaboration of mining firms in an evolving mining jurisdiction. Other opportunities include working with North American companies to design-build cobalt refining process plants across two jurisdictions, as well as a liquid sulfur dioxide plant in Timmins, Ontario. Growth is also measured by the company’s ability to recruit and retain top talent and position itself in local communities, especially Indigenous communities.

With some contracts spanning seventeen years of company history, BESTECH and FROSKR are not so much interested in gaining projects as they are in fostering relationships and positive conversations around mining. “Mining is invasive and changes the environment,” McCartney explains, “but supporting clients involves adopting and understanding responsible mining practices and resource sharing with clients.”

Espley feels that mining has an aura of being an industry that is slow to change, but it is, in fact, in the middle of acceleration in terms of accepting new technology. Currently, the sector is at something of a crossroads as underground mining is embracing wireless technology, allowing operations to be done more cheaply, safely, and sustainably. Mining clients have also begun to immediately ask for technology roadmaps to follow these trends.

BESTECH and FROSKR are expanding work into Nevada currently and will also ramp up a focus on diversity, tapping into the expertise of women in the mining industry to fill in gaps in an already-skilled workforce. Throughout the year and beyond, the companies will continue to provide support with innovative mining approaches, as both companies look to define ways to push a step-change in all areas, especially the environment.

To meet global demand, mining must be done in an environmentally responsible manner. The collective vision of BESTECH and FROSKR is sustainability for the environment and future generations, with mining needing to step up to leave a net-positive impact and use the Whole Mine™ approach. McCartney observes that mining needs to adapt to meet the effects of its society and the demand it faces. Technology plays a crucial role in reclaiming mining from environmentally unsustainable practices, but it cannot be done in a vacuum. “The future of mining is collaborative. There is no other way forward.”

The post A Collaborative Approach to Sustainability in Mining<p class="company">BESTECH and FROSKR</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Creating a better world requires environmental care and green efficiency in all businesses, especially when confronting methane emissions. Unfortunately, it’s an ever-present by-product of energy-business operations, with thousands of tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) methane released into the atmosphere every day.

The substance in question – which has 80 times the warming capacity of CO2 in the first two decades after entering the atmosphere – must be removed from a pressurized system before a pig launcher is opened at a natural gas processing facility, or before an isolated section of pipeline is removed and replaced.

This usually means flaring or venting of the gas which releases methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG) directly into the atmosphere.

The fix is ready

WeldFit has a fix with ReCAP, a gas recovery system that ensures a constant transfer rate, allowing for quick and easy gas recapture and making ESG targets attainable. Environmental audits reveal that the ReCAP Emissions Recovery System reduces methane emissions by up to 99.99 percent when compared to venting or flaring.

“Sustainability to us in the gas industry is moving product from wellhead to consumer,” says Adam Murray, Vice President, WeldFit Performance Products.

Traditionally, when companies must take down a line or a piece of equipment, they lose a bit of product, that being natural gas. “By using the company’s ReCAP emissions reduction system, it allows them to capture even the remaining percentage of gas, recompressing that and keeping it in the system.”

ReCAP employs technology that does one simple but critical task in support of ESG-driven methane emission reduction goals: During routine pipeline operations, it reduces the need for voluntary natural gas flaring or venting commonly associated with blowdowns.

“ReCAP, at its core fundamental design and function, allows our customers to reach their sustainability goals,” says Eric Heinle, President, Pigging and Performance Products. “It safely and efficiently prevents voluntary venting of emissions into the atmosphere.”

For a lot of WeldFit customers, those emissions reductions and goals are part of their long-term and near-term/current strategy, and ReCAP allows them to achieve those.

Focus on the pipeline

“WeldFit, in general, is focused on the pipeline, so our mission statement is we want to make pipelines more productive,” says Heinle. “We also pride ourselves on being reliable and ready to serve as well as being very innovative.”

By recapturing gas from pipeline sections that have been isolated for depressurization, and quickly transferring it to a nearby pressurized system, pipeline operators can safely and easily minimize methane emissions.

Additionally, thanks to ReCAP’s Straight-Line Performance – a patent-pending technology from WeldFit that generates a near constant and predictable depressurization rate from start to finish – the crucial work that follows can be started on time.

“Every emission occurrence we can eliminate has a meaningful impact because methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere,” says Murray. “This also enhances the safety and well-being of the people that live nearby and of our operators. It’s important for us to be environmental stewards, but it also helps with moving forward our license to operate.”

To date, the company has saved more than 18,000 metric tons of CO2e, or more than 42 million standard cubic feet of natural gas, an amount that will grow exponentially in the next few months, making a significant impact.

“Over the past 30 years, oil demand has gone up 66 percent, and natural gas production is up 96 percent. In that same time methane intensity dropped almost 20 percent,” says Murray. “A drop like that during stagnant production would be great, but to do it with such gains has been just incredible. As bad as the industry gets picked apart, what we’ve done is remarkable.”

Sustainability is a vital part of the company’s mandate, one built into its core and one it continues to impress on its clients.

“We’re about the six Cs, and common sense and customer-focused are two of them. Our customers are certainly wanting to move into the more environmentally friendly space,” says Murray. “With a lot of our products we do have some inherent environmental advantages built in to that and ReCAP only enhances all of those.”

A changing world

That environmental awareness is being seen across the industry as changes are implemented daily.

“There are new rules to curb methane emissions in particular,” says Murray. “At the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow, 100 countries took the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions. That’s pretty significant.”

In fact, the U.S. led that initiative aimed at reducing methane emissions by 30 percent in nine years, mostly through tougher legislation governing methane leaks from oil and gas operations. Many of the techniques are aimed at averting large-scale leaks.

“The Build Back Better Bill, whether it passes or not, has carbon fees and methane-emission fees built into it that could severely impact the economics of methane emissions,” Murray adds. “It’s just a matter of following the technology that we already have. I think our industry has a mandate to make a meaningful impact on the environment.”

Another big challenge WeldFit faces is creating awareness and helping to bring its customers’ operations in compliance with regulatory requirements in the industry as the market evolves at a rapid pace.

“I’m sure more and more of those regulations are going to come out and as companies are now being mandated by local and state jurisdictions, obviously it would be great to have federal regulations emerge. But, state by state, they’re starting to release these regulations which will allow ReCAP to do that,” says Heinle.

WeldFit spent an incredible amount of time on awareness early on when commercializing ReCAP, which launched in September 2021, says Murray. Much was given to letting people know about ReCAP’s abilities and how it can be used to keep the gas in the pipeline.

“We spend a lot of time trying to help our customers navigate these new regulations and understand how this can apply to their current operations with minimal disruption,” adds Heinle.

Hard value, easy choice

“In some regards, this is viewed not only as perception but, in reality, as a cost or time matter. We’re trying to make sure they understand not only the social responsibility value of recovering the gas but the actual hard value of not venting or flaring that gas, of keeping it in the pipeline, and also doing it in a way that doesn’t slow down their operations and still allows them to be very efficient,” says Heinle.

ReCAP’s innovations and abilities have recently been recognized: It won the Innovation Award at the PPIM (Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Management) conference this year. The fight to create awareness isn’t done yet, however.

“Because every state has different rules and regulations, keeping up with those ever-changing targets is tough,” Murray says, and WeldFit is taking its task seriously.

Chief Strategy Officer Todd Sale recently became a certified ESG expert and sustainability officer. “He graduated from the Energy Workforce and Technology Council ESG certification program,” says Murray. “So, we’re not only committed to helping the environment where we can, we’re investing in it with our products and with our people. We mustn’t be just saying this stuff; we’re doing it and we’re acting on it.”

The key is the people, Murray adds. “We care. Everyone in the industry is outdoorsy and active. It’s a culture we go by and that’s what sets us apart. It’s all about the right people in the right place.”

And the people are up for the challenge of facing the industry and the ESG movement’s rapid change which makes it so demanding to keep up and stay ahead.

“The good news is WeldFit is privately owned and very people-focused,” says Murray. “They allowed Todd to get his ESG certification, and they allow my engineering group to help create products that make an immediate impact, rather than these big glacial companies that move very slowly.”

Much more to be done

The result is a big impact in a short time, he says, but there’s still a lot more to be done. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA) still vents or flares almost 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

There’s good news, however: Every day companies are seeing the importance, and the benefits, of reducing methane – the same companies that WeldFit talked to maybe two months ago, and are talking to again today, says Heinle.

“They’re evolving every day and becoming more inquisitive and more receptive to the technology, whether it’s because they’re being told to or just because they’re adopting it. We’re seeing more and more acceptance across the board, which is good.”

WeldFit will continue to partner with its clients to understand their needs and challenges, developing solutions to help them achieve environmental goals with minimal disruption to operations while continuing to be profitable and effective.

“Creating that awareness is key, making sure folks understand that the solution and the technology are there and that the process is something that should be recorded and celebrated positively, versus it being just another thing they have to do,” says Heinle.

The ReCAP technology, Murray adds, is very innovative, safe, fast, efficient, and effective. People have been searching for a solution like this, and almost every day WeldFit comes upon a new application by which this technology can help the environment.

“I do think our solution is resonating,” says Heinle. “ReCAP specifically is resonating in the market because of those points. We partner with our clients, and our technology is differentiated in that it allows them to be more efficient while they’re doing all of these things. It’s pretty exciting stuff.”

The post Moderating Methane: Sustainability Through Emissions Reduction<p class="company">WeldFit</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Having “survived the worst of the worst,” in his own words, Geoffrey Joseph, President and Chief Executive Officer, understands the transportation industry inside out. With years spent in a market that is most certainly not for the faint-hearted, he knows how to calmly handle adversity.

To this end, the company seized an opportunity to enter the fuel transportation business while that sector experienced severely reduced traffic volume during the COVID-19 crisis. It hung in there tenaciously, and today, the leap is paying off in lucrative ways. It also acquired, amongst others, a sister company specializing in food-grade tanker transportation. Back in its original Joseph Haulage firm, it continues to focus on moving construction materials with an equally fast-growing focus on tanker transportation of chemicals.

“Joseph Group is coming out bigger and stronger than ever. We are actively engaged in multiple acquisitions. We have a very strong growth strategy,” Geoffrey says.

As the company only buys firms with “proven successes,” the group is always eager to learn about how these companies do things in ways that can improve its overall performance. “We acquire good businesses,” Geoffrey says, noting that the first hundred days after an acquisition is used as a “learning period,” in which no changes are made but the company is studied to discover what makes it good. “Then we start to look at the best scenarios from both companies: ours and the acquisition company. Sometimes we see great things,” he adds. These approaches are then incorporated into the group. “So we’re ever-evolving.”

He is quick to admit that the group has an incredible staff. When it comes to marrying new teams with existing ones, it is important to continuously “improve the happiness of our new [and existing] family members.”

Joseph Group Canada is synonymous with accountability and service, and as a result, its growth and evolution have been able to hit an entirely new direction. Since we last spoke in 2021, the company has focused on training its teams as well as establishing Joseph U. Its in-house university is dedicated to instilling its culture and ethics and offers leadership training and improved safety programs for its clients and staff.

Nothing about Joseph Group is traditional, and that includes how it applies technology within the organization. This push has led it to next-day billing, increased remote work opportunities, and paperless systems.

As part of this drive, its trucks now have rear and forward-facing cameras, tremendously improving driver and cargo safety. Geoffrey tells me that drivers are beginning to realize the benefits of being able to prove their innocence during disputes.

“Footage is never viewed unless there is an incident, and when that incident does happen, the driver is also present during the [review] of the footage. Our drivers see the value, and they don’t want to go to work unless their cameras are working,” Geoffrey says.

Electronic logging devices have been becoming standard in the transportation industry. Always ahead, Joseph Group already kitted out all its vehicles with the latest equipment to track and follow cargo in real time and has been keeping it updated.

The company also makes a point of listening to its drivers. In addition, its custom truck program rewards drivers by letting them personalize and choose their trucks’ extras. These include leather seats, sleeping quarters, and microwaves. Drivers even get to put their names on their trucks. “The program is about the sense of pride that our drivers have for their and our equipment,” he says.

All the investments meant swiftly adapting to the changes brought about by COVID-19 was easy. Not only could the company go into remote work mode almost overnight, but it also ensured that its people had all the support they needed. “We put people before profit. We made sure that our managers understood empathy,” Geoffrey says, underlining that parents working from home could not always be available during traditional office hours if they had to take care of children while working. The leadership team touched base regularly, “ensuring that people were adjusting well to working remotely.”

Joseph Group did not lay off staff and continued paying people during the shelter-in-place period to guarantee their financial security. “We put a couple of million dollars into that program and said that when we come out of this, we are going to have a stronger buy-in from our team because we stuck by them during COVID.” Geoffrey points out that the staff members of some of the company’s competitors were not as lucky since job losses and salary cuts were commonplace in the industry during this time.

All of its hard work and dedication have returned in meaningful ways, and the company has been the proud recipient of several awards, including Trucking HR Canada’s Top Fleet Employer. It has also made consistent appearances on the Canadian Business Growth 500-list, amongst others.

Joseph Group’s heart is even bigger than its fleet of over three hundred vehicles and trailers, and the company is particularly dedicated to charities supporting children. The team takes around one thousand inner-city children to the cinema every year. It also issues scholarships that include books and whatever technology they may need. This has led to great success stories already.

“Last year through COVID, we gave out about ten X-boxes and PlayStations to various kids. We couldn’t get enough of them, so my son ended up donating his X-box. We did home visits with people. Charity is a big thing for Joseph Group,” says Geoffrey, who says that if the company can change one child’s life, “That’s enough of a reward.”

Looking toward the end of 2022 and into 2023, the company has plans for new headquarters. The building will be constructed at a new location in its home town. “We’ll have an open and very exciting workspace. There will be a coffee shop in the restaurant, and a very open, light, and bright work environment,” he says.

Further ahead, the goal is to do even more for existing customers than before, doubling both profitability and revenue. The plan to get there is deceptively straightforward. “Zero accidents, zero injuries, service failures, zero turnover, and one team, one call, one voice, number one drivers, and number one staff,” as Geoffrey puts it. While the company continues to acquire more companies to join its portfolio, steady, organic growth remains its aim.

The post Rolling Out Safety & Service Across Canada<p class="company">Joseph Group Canada</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.