Bonnyville– Attending oil and gas shows is paying off with sales and exposure for Kenilworth Combustion Ltd., a company that manufactures innovative and reliable combustion products in Vermilion.
The company showcased two new transport loading safety devices at the Bonnyville & District Oil and Gas Show that were developed from contacts made at the Lloydminster heavy oil show last fall.
The latest products are a new a gate valve safety device and a ball valve safety device that are designed to bolt directly to the gate and ball valves commonly used on oil storage tanks.
The safety devices make it impossible for truckers to disconnect before they have closed the valve.
Kenilworth president and product developer Heine Westergaard demonstrated how to connect them for show goers at the Centennial Centre, in Bonnyille June 17-18, and spoke about where he got the idea from.
“We were approached last year at the Lloydminster oil show by a local customer who said this is an issue in the industry not just for them where there’s been several spills caused by hoses being disconnected either by accidental release or people simply getting complacent in their tasks,” he said.
“They’ll do these connections a hundred times a day and what happens is sometimes you just get sidetracked.
“So, this device is put in place, so there’s no physical way you can have that hose come off.
“It simply slides over so they can’t have an accidental disconnect on their hose causing a spill so it’s a spill elimination product.”
Kenilworth had installed 780 of the gate valve units up to the oil show since they came on the market on Jan. 1 this year.
“On the ball valve device, we just started putting the first 100 of those on and they’ve had zero incidents and spills since they were installed with that company,” said Westergaard.
One of the main selling points of the devices is that the install time is quick and requires no down time.
Kenilworth is best known as a developer and manufacturer of burner systems for the oil and gas industry from 25,000 to 20 million BTUs as well a few other innovative products in emissions capturing systems for tank odours.
“It’s a never-ending game of development,” said Westergaard who has been improving burner and oil tank skim systems for over 20 years.
As for the effect of the downturn of business, he said,” We’ve seen there’s been a definite decrease in sales, but there’s lot of good optimism out there.
“We’ve hit several trade shows this year with very optimistic results from each one.
“We’re at quoting stages; we’ve got orders coming in and sales are happening.
“The number one selling product for us right now is the transport loading safety devices as well as our floating stainless steel skim systems.
“They’ve been moving the most and we’re just seeing the burning systems sales starting to pick up now.”
Westergaard said booking a booth at the Bonnyville oil show was a no-brainer based on past sales results at the show for his company.
“Bonnyville has also been a solid place, a good community and there’s lots of good support around it. As well, it’s been a very active oil and gas industry for several years,” he said.
“It has seen a bit of a slowdown, but we want to be in the forefront of everyone’s minds when everything picks up again.”
Westergaard notes that he definitely gets full value for the money he invests in the show.
“The show board does an excellent job of putting every together and they really cater to the exhibitors and they try their best to bring people in for the show,” he said.
One of the major benefits for exhibitors is the oilmen’s room, a reverse networking opportunity to make face to face contacts with representatives from the major producers in the region.
This year, Canadian Natural Resources, Osum Oil Sands, Husky, Devon and Imperial Oil sponsored the oilmen’s room that Westergaard is always prepared for.
“So, basically I kind of refer to it as speed dating with oil companies, so I put together a small presentation of a product or products that are relevant to that company’s operations,” he said.
“It’s very specifically geared to them and then I have just a few minutes to wow them as what we can do product-wise and service-wise.”
At the 2013 show, Westergaard recalls speaking with the vice-president of Osum and some procurement people from Husky and Imperial.
“It’s just the matter of opening that door and giving us that opportunity, and by the show board putting together the opportunity up there, it’s a huge benefit to come into this show,” he said.
“What we get out that is the initial introduction and we will take a contact for a follow up meeting after the fact.”
Exhibitors like Kenilworth get about five minutes to speak with each of the producers in the oilmen’s room and those who wing-it may pay the price.
“Preparedness and things that like is what they look for, as well as professionalism and product availability,” said Westergaard who was eager for his turn.
“The key to a successful presentation is to be direct and forward as to what product is applicable to that oil company, so that you are not wasting their time or your own,” he said.
“I did market research on the company and what their operations are and what product I have that will specifically meet their needs today.”
Westergaard said the reps in the oilmen’s room will bring the information pitched by exhibitors back to their folks in procurement and then they’ll have further discussions from there.
“Basically, we want to spark the interest in our company with them and let them know this is the product we have specifically geared for them for that application,” said Westergaard.
