Bell Industries says it stands out among the competition by distributing name-brand products to the oil and gas fields of North America.
At Bell Industries, success isn’t about having the largest inventory or the broadest-reaching distribution network, but rather the right mix of supplies that perform well in the oil and gas production and industrial sectors, General Manager Kirk Pflughaupt says.
Since 1962, the Edmonton, Alberta-based manufacturers representative has been supplying cleaning, filtration and oil and gas production products mainly to large supply stores throughout Northwest and Southwest Canada. They, in turn, sell these products to some large industry players.
Bell holds long-term agreements with recognized name-brand product manufacturers in many categories in the industry, including Fisher-Stevens Harbison-Fischer, Joe’s Products from Kleen, Nowata Filtration and EnviroClean, as well as its own brand of high-temperature stuffing box packing available in cone, ring and vee styles. Popular items include lightweight industrial products such as soap sticks, stuffing box packing, cleaning products, filters and tube fittings.
In these economic times, where suppliers try to maintain the minimum inventory necessary to remain competitive, Bell Industries has become a resource its clients can depend on when they need items quickly. Bell recognizes that customers want to buy more products from fewer distributors. “The value we bring is to consolidate and stockpile items in our warehouse that supply stores need, but may not have the space for on their shelves,” Pflughaupt says. “We allow [customers] to have a more just-in-time inventory approach, and I think that’s become very valuable. We can typically get things shipped the same day or next day from the time they request it.”
“Supply stores do not want a lot of value on the shelves, and many of the larger supply chains have more smaller, localized supply centers, and when you consider an industry like the oil patch, there’s only so much product you can stock,” he notes.
Even though it intends to stick within the oil and gas sector, Bell still has growth potential. “We are always looking for something new, and for ways to expand the portfolio of products that we currently have, but we’re not going to venture far from the oil and gas industry,” Pflughaupt maintains. “We’re always open to working with someone who needs product representation.’”
One way the company intends to grow is by increasing its sales force and territory. “We want to expand the sales force, but we have to do so in a meaningful way,” he notes.
Clean and Green
Today, environmentally sensitive cleaning products are sweeping through the industry and off the shelves at supply stores. In 2008, Bell invested in EnviroClean Products LLC, a specialty chemical company that develops products for spill clean-up and surface washing. EnviroClean is a water-based, biodegradable product that can emulsify hydrocarbons and grease almost instantly, suppress VOC vapor release and reduce the amount of water needed in applications in oil field operations.
“In the Fort McMurray oil sands, there is a movement toward using more green products; some companies are even only purchasing products that have a green quality to them because of their sensitivity to the environment,” Pflughaupt notes. Although product development is still in its infancy, he expects demand to grow as new markets adopt stricter environmental standards. “We see this product as having a huge amount of potential and growth in the future, but it’s got to do its job,” he notes.
Making Adjustments
Volatility among oil prices in the market has slowed business to some extent, requiring Bell to “get leaner on the shipping and receiving side of things,” Pflughaupt says. “We have not had to cut back as much as others, but we have reduced our hours in order to keep all of our people on board.”
Bell emphasizes improving customer relations when times are slow, he adds. With several years of experience in the energy industry working as a project manager with a major energy transportation company based in Edmonton, he knows communication and customer service are an integral part of the industry. “More than ever we are working hard to maintain the relationships that we do have, and we are empathetic to the issues that our clients face,” he continues. “As things get busier, I would like to think that these customers will remember that we were there for them regardless of the tough times.”
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