| Newpark Mats and Integrated Services: Hyper Consolidation |
| Utility | |
| Friday, 30 November 2007 | |
 Serving the oil and gas E&P industry isn’t easy, but this company brought five smaller operations together to create a one-stop shop. Newpark Mats came into existence through the consolidation of Soloco, Composite Mat Solutions, Batson Mill, International Mat of Canada, and Dura-Base de Mexico. Together, they primarily serve the oil and gas E&P industry in the Gulf Coast by providing temporary work sites and access roads using the Dura-Base composite mat system or three-ply interlocking hardwood mats. The company also offers work site closure and remediation, oil well hookups, and equipment maintenance.  Sean Mikaelian, President Creating culture The hardest part of merging five companies was creating an integrated culture. Each company had been divided into manufacturing, service, sales, accounting, procurement, and distribution silos, all acting as standalone businesses. It was Sean Mikaelian’s job to tear down those silos and give employees something they had been previously lacking: a vision for the future. The first step was getting everyone to embrace change. People tend to be resistant to change, and that’s particularly true in the E&P industry where new technology is rare. Mikaelian, president of Newpark Mats, made change a living, breathing organism when he introduced town hall meetings, began sharing financial information with employees, and engaged employees in discussions about the future of the company. Right away, Mikaelian began searching for the company’s mushrooms: people who were kept in the dark and not promoted, despite possessing the skills and talents required. He and his team assessed every employee and created opportunities for them to move into positions that are more inline with their skill sets. They also searched for talent outside the company to bring in fresh ideas. Newpark Mats’ culture today is open and collaborative. There are different work styles, but everyone has a shared set of values and embraces the new vision. Most importantly, people are not afraid to challenge each other. One person does not have all the answers, so it is important to openly challenge each other to find the best solution, Mikaelian believes. Superior safety When Mikaelian became president of Newpark Mats, although he had a lot of work to do on culture, he was thrilled to see a superior safety record. Protecting every employee is very important to him and his team. His philosophy is that every worker should return home in equal or better condition than when they came to work. Newpark Mats’ safety department reports directly to Mikaelian rather than the company’s chief operating officer, creating a system of checks and balances. Every quarter, the safety department holds a training session for each site, including a barbecue and a presentation on the company’s financial performance. In addition, the program My Brother’s Keeper helps employees feel responsible not only for their own safety, but also the safety of others. New employees are required to wear different colored safety equipment to identify them as less experienced, and they are watched over by assigned mentors. Expansion and diversification With the a solid culture in the making, Newpark Mats has turned its attention toward a strategic plan based on geographic expansion and concentric diversification. The company has taken an aggressive stance with geographic expansion with the recent purchase of Grand Junction, Colo.-based SEM Construction Company, a full-service oil and gas well site construction company. SEM’s offerings, including permanent road construction and storm-water discharge, complement those of Newpark Mats. Colorado terrain is mountainous and dry, so the requirement for mats is limited; this contrasts with the marshy Gulf Coast region, where the need for mats is more prevalent. The acquisition of SEM accomplishes both goals set forth by the strategic plan: it brings the company into a new geographic area, thus reducing its susceptibility to the rise and fall of activity in the Gulf Coast, and expands its capabilities without diverging too far from its core competencies. |
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American Executive is a RedCoat Publishing publication.
American Executive is a RedCoat Publishing publication.
