Global Expertise. Local Manufacturing.

Expanding what we manufacture locally

Much of our drilling equipment has traditionally been manufactured at our facilities in Germany and Oman, and shipped to customers around the world. Now, for the first time, we’ve brought much of the manufacturing of our proven BENTEC catwalk design into Saudi Arabia, combining our global engineering and manufacturing expertise with the capabilities we’ve built locally.

This new manufacturing capacity will complement our existing facilities, which remain an important part of our manufacturing footprint.

Shawn Tkatch, Vice President, Aftermarket Solutions, explains why this is an important step for our operations in the Kingdom.

“Localisation is increasingly important in Saudi Arabia. Building more of our equipment closer to where it operates allows us to work more closely with our customers, respond faster to what they need and provide stronger technical and aftermarket support throughout the equipment lifecycle,” he says.

“The catwalk was assembled and commissioned by our local Saudi national workforce, which is an important part of this story. We’re building local technical expertise and manufacturing capability while supporting our customers’ localisation objectives and strengthening the supply chain here in the Kingdom.”

And while more is happening locally, the project is still very much a global BENTEC effort.

Hussein Hamdan Senior Manager, BENTEC Saudi Arabia, highlights how the project brings together capabilities from across the business.

“It’s about making smarter use of the capabilities we already have across BENTEC. Our teams are working together across locations, sharing knowledge and expertise while building more capability here in Saudi Arabia.

“That gives us the best of both worlds. We can be closer and more responsive to our customers in the region, while making better use of our wider manufacturing network and creating capacity elsewhere for specialist projects and new opportunities.”

From proven performance to local value

This isn’t the first BENTEC catwalk operating in the Kingdom. Earlier this year, we delivered a unit manufactured in Germany, giving our teams valuable operational experience in Saudi Arabia and helping pave the way for the move to local manufacturing.

For the latest unit, that experience has also helped us refine the equipment around the realities of operating in the Kingdom.

“This locally manufactured catwalk will replace an existing third-party unit that has experienced performance challenges for our customer. Our solution is designed to improve uptime, speed up tubular delivery to the drill floor and simplify maintenance, helping reduce NPT and improve overall operational efficiency,” Shawn says.

“We’ve also learned from having our equipment operating here. Saudi Arabia’s extreme temperatures place very specific demands on equipment, so we’ve incorporated an upgraded cooling system into our catwalks for these conditions. It’s a good example of what being closer to the operation gives us. We can take what we learn in the field and use it to keep improving the equipment.”

Building for the future

This first locally manufactured BENTEC catwalk is an important step, but the bigger opportunity is what comes next.

“By combining the capabilities of our Saudi Arabian operation with the engineering, technology and manufacturing expertise across BENTEC, we have the potential to manufacture more equipment closer to our customers and continue building local capability across the region,” Hussein explains.

“We’ve made real progress, and I’m looking forward to building on it. We’ve shown what we can deliver from Saudi Arabia, and now we can look at where else localisation makes strategic sense. Both for our customers and for BENTEC, as we continue to grow our capabilities across the Middle East.”