Field Joint Pipeline Coating Supply

Field Joint Coating Supply

     I've now been involved in the pipeline field joint coating industry for fourteen years.  My family has been involved in it for just about forty years.  I am constantly amazed by the channels through which some field joint coatings are purchased.  Below are just a few examples.

• I've seen cases where our Covalence shrink sleeves will pass through as many as five different hands before reaching their final destination!  Imagine that for a second....five different mark ups - all along the way before hitting the end user.  What was the final price??!? 500% what I quoted?  It is incredible!  Granted, it is fantastic for the economy (think trickle down economics), but wow.  There are people out there who think a basic WPCT shrink sleeve costs $100 each...because they've apparently paid that before!
• I've seen situations where someone in the buying chain has never had any experience quoting or discussing pipelines, pipeline coatings, shrink sleeves or really anything to do with the oil and gas industry.  
• I've seen cases where a middleman doesn't want anything to do with finding the correct product to offer for a job; he just wants the 'cheapest' one. 
• I've seen cases where a middle man doesn't want anything to do with finding the correct product to offer for a job; he just wants the 'most expensive' one.

      I could probably list a few others as well!  Of course for every "dangerous" situation I've listed above; I've encountered 20+ cases where a reseller genuinely takes their job seriously; wants to offer the right products; is willing to dig deep into a specification to make sure they are offering products in the best interest of their customer -- and is genuinely working very hard to be a value adding link in the supply chain of field joint coatings.  Those are wonderful partners to have in the business world and, while we are grateful for ALL of the business opportunities that come our way - we are very appreciative of those who have the same commitment to quality, service and technical expertise that we do.