Global Solutions for Business - 9

Oil and Gas | Business Focus

SCOA Teams Up with HOWCO for Oil Field Materials and More
A longstanding business relationship that SCOA's Houston tubular business unit had
with a supplier led to its successful investment and business expansion into the
supply of oil and gas exploration equipment.
Equipped For Business
In 2006, after years of doing business together, Sumitomo joined forces with HOWCO, a metals
distributor with added value manufacturing for oilfield equipment, and established a trusted supply chain
for oilfield equipment that could meet the demand in North America and beyond.
HOWCO's management recognized very similar management
values within SC from the beginning, helping foster
the close relationship they have today.
As a metals distributor, HOWCO Group provides
value-added services including manufacturing for
oilfield equipment and service companies such as
Baker Hughes, Halliburton, FMC, Cameron, and
others. The group's expertise developed across
the production spectrum, from providing Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) with high
strength, high corrosion resistant materials through
to the manufacture of the finished products, including
raw material for subsea/surface wellhead and completion
equipment. HOWCO began supplying the U.S. market from their
base in Scotland in the mid 1980s, opening their first dedicated service center
in Houston, Texas, in 1996. They now operate North American-based
facilities in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alberta, Canada.
Performances In High Stress Environments
OEMs source both HOWCO-supplied raw material and semi-finished products to the
down-hole and surface/subsea markets. These products travel down the well or are
used in surface equipment, and HOWCO supplies products used in the most rigorous
and demanding environments. For example, high temperature and high pressure
environments require nickel and super-alloys that are now used in critical environments down the well, a core segment of HOWCO's business. Additionally, the current
rise in energy-oriented exploratory technology for oil & gas exploration in the U.S. has
been beneficial for HOWCO, in which they have begun providing significant volumes of
raw materials to this market in recent years.
HOWCO expanded its global footprint by establishing facilities in Europe, Dubai, China &
Singapore and in early 2015 will be opening a new state of the art factory in Malaysia while at the
same time supporting increased capability and capacity for precision machining in the U.S.
An enhanced inventory management strategy now aligns with Global OEM customers' requirements
and expanded focus on the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, giving HOWCO the opportunity to
subcontract out the product machining process in high-demand markets outside the U.S.
HOWCO and SCOA hope to see their supply chain management evolve, by providing metals and value-added
services through to fully finished and manufactured parts in North America and globally to the international
oil and gas market.
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Global Solutions for Business

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