BE Ad Feature Business edge

Innovation and excellence in manufacturing is the guiding motto of Tankstore Ltd., a community-based, team-driven Alberta company dedicated to constructing top-grade, cost-efficient and technologically superior fluid storage tanks for the Western Canadian oil and gas industry.

“We are committed to turning out the best possible product,” says company president Thomas Chadwick, a veteran of oilfield servicing and manufacturing.

“It’s our belief that our product is superior because of our commitment to turning out high quality.”

Tankstore Ltd. president Thomas Chadwick and his team in Halkirk can help your organization.

Based in the farming community of Halkirk, about 30 kilometres east of Stettler, Alta., Tankstore began operations four years ago, with staff members and community residents serving as primary stakeholders, to develop and build innovative storage systems that meet the changing needs of the energy sector. These include such revolutionary items as:

* The G55 Shallow Gas Production Unit, a package specifically designed to meet the needs of shallow gas well producers. With a total capacity of five cubic metres for water and methanol, the unit features a high capacity vortex separator and an evaporation system that reduces the amount of produced water for disposal.

* Heated Secondary Containment Tanks. The distinctive feature of these units is a patented catalytic heating system that efficiently heats the fluid in the tanks through a thermal siphon process, without using the pumps.

* Coal-bed Methane Production Units. Using a combination of tanks, separators and gas-measuring equipment, these specialized systems are custom-designed to meet the specific needs of coal-bed methane applications.

“We are committed to constant, never-ending improvement, and strive to create the best possible product designs available to meet our customers’ needs,” says Mr. Chadwick.

Operating on a system of value-based management within a supportive rural community, Tankstore Ltd. has set out to provide a humane and fulfilling work environment for its employees – where all are treated with dignity and respect – and to promote a sense of team spirit among the employees that makes success a shared achievement.

“The definition of success that I have is meeting the world on your own terms and doing the best possible job that you can do,” says Mr. Chadwick.

“And it’s not just one person who makes this happen. We are a team – we have our office and administrative staff, our quality control unit and our production crew. These are the people who do all the work and make everything happen. In this way, we meet the world on our own terms.”

Up to now, Tankstore Ltd. has been supplying many of its innovative products to other manufacturers, who do the finishing work on the products and then market them to the oil and gas industry. As a result, Tankstore has kept a relatively low profile within the industry itself – something the company is now in the process of changing. “We want people in the energy industry to know that we provide excellent products and services for the end user,” says Mr. Chadwick. “When you contact us, we will show how we can be of service to you and your organization.”

Tankstore has grown by leaps and bounds since it started operations.

Beginning with 4,000 sq. ft. of rented space, the company acquired an additional 50 acres, constructed manufacturing buildings and an office, purchased forklifts and cranes, built up the staff component from the initial four to the current roster of 40 employees, and grew the business from $1.2 million to $3.5 million in annual sales.

The success of the company, says Mr. Chadwick, has been built on teamwork.

“Our greatest strength is not our creative ideas or innovative products, but the fact that we have a tremendous group of people here at Tankstore. The great team we have put together is the key to our success.”

Methodical documenting of all stages of the manufacturing process, from initial order to final product, is another key to the company’s efficiency and success. This way, if a key person is temporarily missing from work due to illness or other factors, another person can look in the job file and immediately determine the status of the job. “We have set up the operating system and the management system of the company so that anyone can step in and pick up where we left off whenever a key person is absent,” says Mr. Chadwick.

Ultimately, it’s all about creating a work environment that provides many positive benefits for staff, and a win-win situation for suppliers and customers. “We can only do this by going beyond what customers expect to provide the best possible service for them, and meet a need in the marketplace.”

To find out more about Tankstore, visit the website at www.tankstore.net, phone 403.288.2001 or e-mail cturigan@tankstore.net.