From stove pipe to drilling rig

SIF in Roermond has been manufacturing equipment and thick-walled pipes for the (petro)chemical and offshore industries for more than twenty years now. The company is a leading supplier to the offshore industry. This branch of industry had a joint turnover of around 4.8 billion guilders in 1991, 70 percent of which was in export sales. SIF Group Holland has a turnover of 70 million guilders and employs a staff of 200, including 150 in permanent service.

"Large streams from little fountains flow, tall oaks from little acorns grow". How appropriate these lines seem when thinking about the history of SIF. Father Schmeitz, a lathe operator by trade, started the company in 1949 to manufacture stove pipes and toys. Meanwhile, mother cooked and kept house for their eleven children, sometimes, by dint of incredible effort, producing meals for 25 on two gas rings.

The company and the family progressed apace and, from the initial, relatively simple sheet and welding work, it developed its capacities to the point where, in 1966, it could begin to manufacture reactors and columns for the petrochemical industry and thick-walled (up to 200 mm) heavy pipes for the support and attachment of offshore drilling and production platforms.

Frank Delsing, company president and son-in-law of father Schmeitz, tells the story of how they got an order for a huge vacuum tower from BP in 1976. The specifications called for a tower of 12 meters in diameter and when BP came to call they noted that the plant itself could not contain such a monster.

Nonetheless, SIF obtained the order and built the tower. They then put a floor in it and held a party (with orchestra!) for the clients and the whole company.
When you see these gargantuan towers and pipes on flat loaders by the dockside or on the desert sands, the image is that of a fantasy world with structures reminiscent of Star Wars or 2001. Man is miniscule beside them.

Frank Delsing, with his Mickey Mouse tie, seems to take it all in his stride. Although this is a nuts-and-bolts business, or more properly a welding torch business, it does seize the imagination - and it requires imagination to encompass it.

The figures involved are also astronomical, One of SIF's steel structures can set you back 10 million guilders, with transport alone costing a million and a half. Quite something, especially when you recall that Pierre Schmeitz, who is now one of the ruling triumvirate which also includes presidents Theo Schmeitz and Frank Delsing, was initially hired for 1000 guilders a month and had to be happy with a 50 guilders rise.

Be that as it may, there has been virtually no staff turnover and 60 percent of the employees have been with the company for more than 15 years. The whole operation is a quality production. From the preparation of the plates, all cutting and bevelling is programmed. Rolling, though normally cold, can also be hot. Welding procedures are governed by recognized codes and standards and quality control meets international quality assurance standards (ISO 9001).

This Limburg family firm has by now become so proficient that it is able to load its vast products onto barges and ship them via canal and the port of Rotterdam to the Far East. However, with the increasing importance of the Pacific Rim in world trade, SIF has decided that the time has come to move closer to the South China Sea.

Their next move will be to set up a manufacturing plant in Malaysia. This small Limburg firm is getting ready to lead the way into the 21st century.

LIM February/March 1994
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