Three Years of Climbing to Success

Posted: Friday, Nov 21st, 2008

BY: AMBER SAWYER

Redi Services, LLC, headquartered in Lyman, began with an asset purchase by Gary Condos and Jay Anderson in 2005. Since then, the company has expanded – both through acquisitions and internal growth.“In the past three years, we’ve surpassed every expectation,” chief financial officer Jay Anderson said.

Redi encompasses the wrench turners of the oil, gas and mining industries. They handle the routine maintenance, primarily in industrial settings. Their services include waste management, electrical services, above- and below-ground power line construction, painting and sandblasting, industrial cleaning, non-destructive digging, insulation, mechanical services, valve repair and engineering consulting services.

They have also positioned their offices to cater to the industry. With field offices in Pinedale; Evanston; Meeker, Colo.; Vernal, Utah; and Elko, Nev., among others, they are able to service companies working the hot spots in natural gas and mining.

In late 2006, they were awarded a five-year $5.5 million per year contract servicing Exxon Mobil with routine maintenance, office support, roustabouts, and electricians.

Anderson credits the success to this point with a robust market and a great business paradigm. They developed operating principles with a commitment to safety, meeting and exceeding customer expectations, continuous improvement, environmental and regulatory compliance, and management leadership with commitment and accountability.

“As long as Gary and I have any voice in the company, we will not deviate from our five operating principles,” Anderson said.

They have a fair share of competition with most of their services, but competition makes them better, keeps them fine tuning their services, Anderson said.

“We would like to think we have a favorable name,” Anderson said.

They have a motto of being “one call – one shop,” with the comprehensive range of services they offer.

“We are profoundly focused on being customer orientated,” Anderson said. “We’re only as good as what we did yesterday for our clients.”

Following their first operating principle, Anderson said they have a top of the line safety team, and a “robust safety culture.”

They track safety data, and learn from “near-miss reports,” so that everyone goes home in the same good condition they came to work in, Anderson said.

“The assets of this company are its employees,” Anderson said.

In order to provide the specialized services, Redi has to attract competent personnel to do the jobs, which is a challenge. However, Anderson said having a reputation as an employer of choice by offering good benefits with a good pay structure helps. They seek to hire the right people, and then put them in an environment that they can succeed.

The purchase of Project Response in 2007 led them to a union affiliation with electricians. They have also hired an engineer and drafters for consulting, as a compliment to their existing services. This year, they brought on valve service technicians to service the air, water and pressure valves their clients have.

Also in 2007, they began dehycleaning, which cleans out build up that accumulates when dehydrating natural gas, and hydroblasting which can clean out gas and power plants, refineries and mines with water that is pumped between 10,000 and 40,000 pounds per square inch. This industrial cleaning launched the servicing of gold mines in Elko, Nev., where they are now looking to expand with increased mining of gold.

While growing externally, internal existing services have grown, with continued growth on the drawing board. Anderson said the area around Cortez, Colo. is a hotbed for natural gas, and they are looking at providing services there.

Their paint booth, also in Lyman, can sandblast, paint and top coat tanks and other large pieces of equipment. They also have a portable unit. They are looking at adding a paint booth in Riker, Colo.

“Virtually every one of our major lines has gone through internal growth,” Anderson said.

Their waste management line is growing, currently offering potable water hauling, septic pump trucks, as well as about 1,000 port-a-johns, and about 200 roll-off dumpsters.

“It’s a remarkable time to be involved in the business that we are in,” Anderson said. “We feel like we’re destined for success.”

Still, Anderson said they meet every prospect of expansion with caution.

“We need to do it smart, so we don’t outrun our headlights,” Anderson said.