TOM MAST Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Friday, February 1, 2008 12:00 am
A firm that sees a bright future in sucker rods has won the 2007 Business Plan Challenge in Casper.
Rocky Mountain Rod, located at 2105 Oil Dr., operates a sucker rod inspection and guidance business.
Oil field services giant Schlumberger describes a sucker rod as "a steel rod that is used to make up the mechanical assembly between the surface and downhole components of a rod pumping system. Sucker rods are 25 to 30 feet long and threaded at each end to enable the down hole components to be run and retrieved easily."
Company president Dan Groves said the challenge in drilling is to keep a sucker rod centered in order to reduce wear.
"The mean-time between failure is what makes the economics," he said.
And on that score, Groves said his company excels, using a plastic material in a design that dramatically increases the time a rod can stay in service.
The company's rod guide, called the Channel XL, is injection molded onto the rod body. It has 20 percent to 30 percent more erodable wear volume without sacrificing by-pass area.
"Technically, we think this is superior to anything else on the market," he said.
Groves said Rocky Mountain Rod has 10 employees, but if a distribution deal is struck with a Canadian company, a second shift may be needed.
Announcement of the Business Challenge winner was made Thursday at the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce. Four new and emerging businesses competed for prizes worth $53,750, mostly in the form of in-kind services.
Lori Becker, chamber executive director, said the Rocky Mountain Rod entry covered the business concept, business plan, marketing and financial considerations.
Selection of the winner was made by a panel of judges outside Casper.
Steve Elledge, manager of field operations for the Wyoming Business Council, said the idea for the Business Challenge originated in Cheyenne and has been replicated in other towns. This is the fourth year of the program in Casper.
The Business Challenge is a joint project of local chambers of commerce and the Wyoming Business Council.
Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.