A long way to go before the wake (of Ølen)

Published: 03.01.12

Oil Service: "Everyone" thought the Norwegian continental shelf was drying up. Florist, Jorunn's Blomster (Jorunn’s Flowers) in Ølensvåg, are rejoicing over this year's giant discovery.

Facsimile from Finansavisen, 30 December 2011

ØLENSVÅG/ØLEN: As the sun goes down, the heavens open. The floodlighting from "West Elara" and "Scarabeo 8" projects reflections of the two drilling rigs on the water, making Ølensvåg reminiscent of New York skyscrapers at night.

“This is unusual weather on the West Coast,” proclaims Westcon CEO Øystein Matre, while the rain pours down on his helmet and boiler suit. The yard is located 120 nautical miles from Aldous Major/Avaldsnes, and Norway's largest oil discovery in 30 years can make any rig yard owner enthusiastic.

“For years, people have talked about the oil industry as an industry that is winding down, so this year's oil discovery is simply amazing. It has created a renewed optimism for the future of the Norwegian shelf,” says Matre.

On a first name basis

Westcon is the heart of Ølen, a town with 2400 inhabitants. Currently, approximately 2000 employees are working at the yard. Both the North Atlantic jack-up rig, West Elara, Saipem’s drilling rig, Scarabeo 8, and Ocean rig drill ship, Corcovado, are being equipped for new assignments. The five largest companies in the town that borders Rogaland and Hordaland, with a combined expected turnover of approximately seven billion this year, are Westcon, Omega, Ølen Betong, Fatland Ølen and BergeSag. In addition, there are smaller companies, such as Jan's Hydraulics, Bear Boat & Motor, Kiwi and Europris, which all do well in this area of high activity. Jorunn's Blomster in Ølensvåg sells roses, orchids, flowers and shabby chic decorations for a couple of million per year, thanks largely to the local business activity. Maria Hettervik, who works in the flower business, is excited about the renewed optimism on the Norwegian shelf.

“We don’t see much of the Polish people, but all the companies here are good at rewarding their employees. That is good for us,” she says.

Potluck

The Matre brothers’ father settled in Ølensvåg in 1963, where he started out with a small dock. First there was the rebuilding of old ferries to boats transporting sand, before Ølen Skipsindustri (Shipbuilding) also went into the production of parts for tankers. 1981 was a breakthrough year. Several mechanical companies in the region joined forces to deliver their services to Statoil’s Kårstø development. When the stock market crashed and the world economy went into hibernation six years later there were some companies that went under. The Matre family decided to buy what was left and establish what today is Westcon, with offshore vessels and drilling rigs as their specialty. The first floating production platform docked at the same time that Norway hosted "the best Olympic Winter Games ever" in 1994, and since then the yard has repaired and equipped almost 100 rigs. Over the last year, Westcon invested 160 million in a third pier, a new 160-tonne crane and the improvement of depth and special pillow supports on the seabed to accommodate jack-up legs.

“When things looked bleak during the financial crisis, we decided to press on hard, partly because we saw that prices were favorable, and in spite of knowing that these things always go in cycles. It means that we are very well positioned for the upturn in the offshore and shipbuilding industries we now see coming,” says Matre.

Turning point in 1994

As a student in Stavanger, Sigmund Lunde drove a bread delivery van while he built his own house close to his childhood home. It was just the beginning. In 1987, Sigmund left Haugesund Mekaniske Verksted (Haugesund Mechanical Workshop) to start Kåta Data. The name was first changed to the more neutral K-Data, and later to Futura Datasenter.

“When I look back at what we did in the beginning, it was a little crazy; software, networks, and we even dabbled with our own hardware. In 1991 we decided to focus more seriously on the oil industry,” says Lunde.

The company received the name Omega. His brother, Tor Erling Lunde, joined the company with a solid network of skilled engineers engaged in the oil industry. Petroleum engineers and software developers worked together to produce effective database solutions, designed to keep track of projects. Omega did not have to go far to find their first customers: Ølen Betong (Ølen Concrete) and then Ølen Skipsindustri (Ølen Shipbuilding).

Stolen in Africa

The Omega founder came across the slogan "Big enough to deliver – small enough to care" on a trip to Kilimanjaro.

“I saw a billboard and thought that the slogan actually fit very well with what we stand for. I think it was a telecommunications company that was advertising, but because Kenya is so far from Ølensvåg I decided to adopt it,” he says.

It took another seven years before Omega passed 100 employees, but since then the company has grown at record speed. Today, 895 people are on the payroll, and turnover is set to pass one billion NOK this year.

“We have not been particularly eager to explore outside Norway, but clients have challenged us to deliver almost worldwide,” says CEO Petter Aalvik, listing offices in Houston, Perth, Canada and Singapore as examples of Omega’s international presence.

“International endeavors happen when we have brave people who take initiative,” he says.

Housing Crisis

In addition to providing project management, software, and hiring out consultants to the oil industry, Omega builds houses.

“When we were building new offices for ourselves, it was almost impossible to get carpenters. One of our employees wanted to take on something different for a while and was given responsibility for building our offices, at the same time we recognized there was tremendous pressure on house prices for the local community and for everyone who comes to work here,” says Lunde.

The company created Kvassatunet, and has since completed 30 houses. Omega has built at its own risk and expense to increase housing capacity in the area.

“The housing situation here really is a disaster. We have an employee who was just told that their rent was going up from 4500 NOK to 9000 NOK; he had no choice but to move,” says Lunde.

In order to keep its intelligent people, Department Managers are equipped with a comprehensive tool kit that includes a system for following up employees, events focused on professional development and teambuildings.

“This tool kit ensures we don’t overlook the details, for example, thanking our employees with flowers,” says Lunde.

Kirsten Steinsland works for her daughter-in-law at Jorunn's Blomter. She confirms that the company orders a lot of orchids.

“Omega is very good at sending flowers to their employees,” she says.