Front Cover: A decade united and stronger than ever

Specialty Welding and Turnaround Services

If there is one thing that can be agreed upon, it's that transformation is inevitable. In our industry, people are well acquainted with the ongoing need to adjust, learn, adapt and grow in response to the shifting climate and conditions.

Challenges can arise unexpectedly, and new processes are introduced every year to enhance the safety and ease of workers' lives. The industry is in a constant state of evolution. Although new developments may initially pose some difficulties, they also present opportunities for growth and reflection on past successes to improve current practices. Specialty Welding and Turnarounds (SWAT) not only embraces progress but has leveraged it to drive itself forward.

Dominance and growth

"We pride ourselves on having started as a specialty contractor and having remained a specialty contractor," said SWAT CEO Shane Bellanger. In the last 10 years, SWAT has accomplished many great things, transforming a 10-person team into a multimillion-dollar revenue business. Solidifying its position as a premier provider of highly specialized turnaround services, the company expanded its reach across 18 U.S. states and ventured into international territories. With a nationwide craft labor database of over 10,000 skilled professionals and master service agreements with more than 50 U.S. facilities, including some of the world's largest oil refiners and petrochemical suppliers, SWAT has established multiple touchpoints across its crucial customer relationships. This growth has been accompanied by the identification of similar needs across new service lines, such as catalyst, alkylation (alky) units and cooling tower services, allowing SWAT to deliver its expertise throughout the U.S. SWAT's headquarters are located in Gonzales, Louisiana, with additional offices in Baytown, Texas, and Signal Hill, California. It also maintains a prominent presence in the Midwest and Southwest, namely across the region spanning from the Greater Los Angeles area to Arizona, to the Texas Golden Triangle market. With a commitment to ongoing innovation and expansion, SWAT shows no signs of slowing down.

An elite power

Upon its inception in 2014, SWAT's founders identified an industry need for better execution, quality and technical expertise during turnarounds. Turnarounds require a different skillset and work experience than everyday maintenance. Turnarounds are fast-moving, stressful, critical-path projects that require more knowledge, skill and experience. That's precisely why SWAT has focused on assembling a strong crew specifically tailored for turnarounds over the last decade.

Bellanger has been with SWAT for almost four years, previously serving as CFO. In his experience, he has noticed that the key to success lies with a very simple, scalable strategy — the people. "Hire the best individuals who are elite, qualified craftsmen and give them the tools and every evolving best practices and procedures to be successful," he said. In fact, the "elite" status that SWAT strives for is due to the turnaround teams that are committed to working hard and going above and beyond on every project. They understand what needs to happen to complete a project on time, as well as what pitfalls to avoid.

SWAT President Spencer Moak has been with the company since March 2018 and for the past eight months, Moak has served as COO as well. His main priority has been ensuring SWAT meets the expectations of its customers and employees. "We want to continue working effortlessly to be best in class in safety, while maintaining SWAT's culture and reputation," said Spencer Moak, SWAT's COO. "We have gotten better every year since 2014."

Catalyst work

In 2021, SWAT began its Catalyst Services division. Just last year, the company celebrated the opening of its Baytown, Texas, facility which is continuing to further its catalyst work. The current operation uses advanced processes, procedures, modular equipment and technology to safely remove spent catalyst and load fresh catalyst into process vessels. This expertise helps to seamlessly transition between different project phases, eliminating common delays and improving efficiency. That said, SWAT is the exclusive provider of the Hydropac® high-performance denseloading system. Hydropac® is optimized to handle a higher ΔP, a measure that describes the pressure difference between two measured values that can be measured at different times or at different locations in a system. Hydropac® distributes catalyst in a uniform pattern and at just the right speed — slow enough to let the particles settle, fast enough to streamline loading. This process occurs in a manner that delivers better performance and prevents catalyst attrition while also ensuring operational safety. SWAT's catalyst work delivers services safely and efficiently.

Catalyst services offered are as follows:

  • Loading dense loads
  • Wet dumps
  • Dust free
  • Load software
  • Inert entry
  • Video inspections
  • API inspections
  • Full line of PPE and life support trailer

The current manager of operations for the Catalyst Services division is Matthew Peterson. While he is new to the company, Peterson already has many high hopes for the future of SWAT and its catalyst work. "I would like to see us strategically grow our catalyst handling operations and open more locations across the U.S. to be able to better support our customers," he said. His top priority to ensure that SWAT's success endures well into the future requires "ensuring that team members are adequately trained to perform their duties in a safe and quality manner."

Safety standards

SWAT goes beyond everyday compliance protocols to adopt a mindset of continual safety improvement on each and every project. The company dedicates extensive training, rigorous key performance benchmarking and the best safety equipment and technology money can buy to keep everyone on its team safe. SWAT makes safety the most important part of every task it performs. Using a top-down safety approach, SWAT leaders ensure their teams are doing absolutely everything to stay safe. As the corporate safety director of SWAT, Cody Puma has been drawn to the company's unwavering commitment to its people. The competitive spirit is matched by a dedication to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every employee.

"Our team is packed with skilled, experienced folks, but because our work involves inherent risks; it's crucial to maintain a high level of diligence," Puma said. "We aim to keep our employees engaged and aware of these hazards, ensuring they maintain discipline in following our safety processes. This way, we can consistently deliver topnotch service to our customers without compromising the well-being of our employees." Boasting an exceptional safety track record is another achievement SWAT proudly claims. This standing can be attributed to the emphasis placed on safety over the past decade within the company. Its safety success is deeply rooted in the expertise and experience of its employees. "We've assembled a highly skilled workforce with extensive industry knowledge, fostering a strong personal commitment to safety," Puma said. Continuous improvement is key for SWAT. "Safety revolves around recognizing that people aren't infallible and can make mistakes," continued Puma. "To cultivate a culture that prioritizes safety, we need to actively involve our workforce, drawing on their experiences to focus our efforts on areas that could potentially harm our employees."

Consistent in service

SWAT offers a wide range of specialized services to cater to the diverse needs of its clients. Its highly skilled welders and pipefitters are equipped to handle complex pipe welding and fabrication, convection tube and radiant tube welding, as well as critical work scopes such as boiler repairs, piping, furnaces, overlay and more. In addition, SWAT provides general mechanical services to support clients' facilities planning activities for both new and existing fixed equipment installation and modification. These services encompass tower replacements, tray replacement, exchanger replacement and repair, general valve replacement and more. Furthermore, the company's offerings extend to catalyst handling services, alky services for hydrofluoric acid units, sulfuric units and acid plants, as well as cooling tower rental installation, inspection and repair services.

The people of SWAT

There is a common theme of unity at SWAT, and it all boils down to the dedicated crew working day in and day out. The company continues to enforce a referral-based hiring policy, ensuring only the industry's most skilled and hardworking personnel join the company's ranks. "Our company produces the best workforce in the industry. It's all the people. We believe in taking care of them and giving them whatever they need to be successful." — SWAT President Spencer Moak The company culture is deeply rooted in the pursuit of excellence. SWAT has also developed a highly structured personnel system that allows the company to mobilize quickly and put employees onsite almost immediately. "There's an unparalleled sense of pride, commitment and dedication to service that sets us apart from other companies," Puma said. "We're constantly challenged to adapt to various situations, often unfavorable, yet we consistently demonstrate resilience, ensuring the safety of our workforce, maintaining the quality of our work and meeting the schedules set by our customers without wavering." "SWAT's core leadership team is securely in place and SWAT is as strong as it's ever been," Moak confirmed.

Reflecting on the past, redefining the future

As the company celebrates a decade of unity and strength, it is reminded of the history that has propelled it forward. Whether it's providing services in welding, turnarounds, torquing, tensioning, machining, catalysts, heat exchangers or otherwise, SWAT guarantees excellence from start to finish. Together, the team will continue to redefine what it means to be a leader in the industry, united and stronger than ever before.

For more information, visit swatservice.com or call (225) 644-1200.

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