A family business, Inland & Offshore Contractors Ltd was established in 1996 by CEO and Founder Phillip Pollonais and his two sons, Scot and Jason. It’s become a true story of courage and family strength, where the patriarch of the family and business sold the shares he had in another business to set up on his own, with his boys. What began as an oilfield service company, with just a couple of trucks, transformed into a company comprised of a fleet of 40 boats and an expansive fleet of trucks for moving oilfield equipment around Trinidad & Tobago.

WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

KEEPING IT TOGETHER

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INLAND OFFSHORE CONTRACTORS LTD 001 868-677-2093 WWW.IOCLTT.COM

“In our pumping and hydroblasting department we have high-volume pumps that provide pumping services and high-pressure water blasting, which work with offshore

rigs, providing high-pressure water blasting from 10,000 to 40,000 psi.”

THE STATE OF THE OIL INDUSTRYThe price of oil has dropped dramatically and while this has

created a sluggish pace for the industry, it has become the time when businesses have focussed on development and internal growth. IOCL, who have always had a positive and strong-headed approach to business, are taking things in their stride.

“Our market comprises the local and foreign companies that operate within our country’s oil and gas industry. Despite the price drop, the industry is still considerably active at the moment and we hope it will continue to be for the near future. We have contracts for our vessels with most of the major players such as Petrotrin — which is our national oil company —BHP Billiton, and Baker Hughes. Our trucking department has an existing contract with EOG Resources too.”

Of course, the opportunities aren’t limited to Trinidad and Tobago and there’s so much going on in the area that the Inland & Offshore Contractors Ltd is looking at further expansion.

Phillip says, “There is a high level of activity occurring in the Suriname/Guyana region, and we are seeing growth opportunities.”

With 300 employees, Phillip explains that, presently, the workforce is a mix of permanent and non-permanent professionals,

“Since our marine department is our largest business operation, the majority of these staff are employed in this area,” he says. Apart from managerial and administrative staff, they also have their own mechanics, electricians and a vehicular body repair shop to support their trucking department.

He goes on to add that in assuring quality service to their clients, they also endeavour to ensure that their staff are sufficiently skilled and experienced, “All our positions have minimum requirements for hiring that maintain a standard of quality even upon entry into our team,” he says, “Subsequent to this we have ongoing training especially in the area of HSE and Marine certification.”

At IOCL, all applicants have to meet certain basic requirements, especially with regard to positions in their operational departments, which help to ensure that they are capable of completing the tasks assigned. This training is ongoing and with good reason, as with all industries requiring a high level of experience and understanding for machinery being the best trained is never a hindrance.

With this in mind, staff are encouraged to develop their skills and to gain new ones; Phillip explains that his company’s success is attributed to the two way road that is the commitment and skill of all of their employees and the company’s similar dedication to them. With this in mind they give full support to each staff member’s personal development, “We work with them to aid in their career advancement and we encourage employees to continue learning because it increases the effectiveness of not only themselves but the organisation as a whole.”

Even with growth and development, Inland & Offshore

INLAND OFFSHORE CONTRACTORS LTD

Divided into three main departments, IOCL focusses on marine transport, inland transport and pumping and hydroblasting. The marine department supplies crew boats and platform supply vessels for transporting personnel, fuel, water and oilfield equipment to offshore platforms in the waters around Trinidad & Tobago, while the trucking department includes tractor trucks, trailers and hydraulic crane trucks which work with the companies that operate land rigs and move their oilfield equipment around.

INLAND OFFSHORE CONTRACTORS LTD

Contractors Ltd is very aware of the needs of each and every one of their clients and due to the nature of operations within the oil industry in which they operate, these clients have come to expect a level of service that is reliable and essential, while also adhering to HSE standards and guidelines, “We work very hard to develop and maintain close and amicable relationships with our customers,” he says, “So we are always knowledgeable of their needs and expectations which enables us to better serve them. We believe that in the provision of quality service we will be able to maintain those business relationships and stay ahead in the transport industry.”

As one of the major players in this market, Inland & Offshore Contractors Ltd has a number of strategies in place to ensure things continue that way. Of this, Phillip says, “This we can attribute our success to the dedication of our management and staff in the provision of quality service and equipment. We believe in continuous improvement so we are always upgrading our asset base and seeking ways to better ourselves.”

There are always three main pillars of business; customers and employees are the pair that everyone is aware of but the third, and often time most vital, are the suppliers. For IOCL, the relationships with their suppliers is just as important as those with their customers and Phillip highlights how the flow of information

from clients helps them communicate better with their suppliers in regard to their internal needs, “Today we have several major suppliers locally and internationally who are very familiar with our business operations and this helps in communicating clearly with them,”

He adds with deep respect and gratitude, “Our major suppliers have also always been very supportive of us.”

2015IOCL’s main focus for this year is to continue upgrading

their fleet of equipment to include newer and more marketable equipment, as Phillip explains, “We believe that this objective will help us to remain operational and marketable in the long term,” he adds that he would also like to add another newly built platform supply vessel to their fleet this year, although the downturn in the oil industry has forced them to take a more conservative approach to investments of this kind.

“We are also presently working to begin development of some waterfront property that we own in Chaguaramas,” he says, “which will enable us to have our own port and will allow loading and offloading of vessel cargo and help with our crew changes. These plans are underway although actual work has not yet begun on the site.”

INLAND OFFSHORE CONTRACTORS LTD

Trinidad Hose Company has been supplying Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean with Industrial and Hydraulic Hose, Fittings and Belts. In the early years, our primary focus was on the oilfield and agricultural sectors, however as our product mix increased over time, we developed into the market leader supplying all major industries both locally and regionally.

Trinidad Hose Company represents only the most reputable brands such as Continental Contitech, EATON, Aeroquip Hydraulic Hose and Fittings, Dixon Valve and Coupling, Penflex Flexible Metal Hose Products.

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Trinidad Hose Company Ltd. 33-35 Cipero Road, Cross Crossing, San Fernando, Trinidad W.I.Phone: (868) 657-2766, (868) 657-2009, (868) 657-1275, Fax: (868) 657-5733