WRITTEN BY JACK SLATER

After three years of limited activity at TOFCO Unlimited Yard at la Brea, four hundred jobs have recently been created.

ALL GO ONSHORE& OFFSHORE

Established specifically to serve the offshore industry off the coast of the island nation of Trinidad, TOFCO (Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Unlimited) is expanding internationally. After nine years of business, theyve gained enough experience and

knowledge to best capitalize on their positive situation and more

onto the next phase.

To aid with this, TOFCO have hosted a number of government

officials from the nations mentioned above to have a look at the

business model utilized because they want to find a way to adopt it. If

imitation is indeed the highest form of flattery then this is good news

for this nine-year-old industry leader.

The current level of activity in construction industry can be

described as a bit buoyant, Javed reveals, As it relates to the Global

downturn in the sector. Again, while the competition may be a bit

aggressive for the limited available work, TOFCO still maintains its

competitive edge due to its experience, safety record and high quality

products.

Focussed on fabrication and construction projects on offshore

platforms and other facilities serving the oil and gas industries

TOFCO has taken aim and is heading towards a target of being the

best in the region with a worldwide reputation for the highest safety

standards and quality of work.

Founded on the 17th April 2004, over the last nine years TOFCO

have successfully completed major oil and gas fabrication projects for

TOFCO

Early in 2013, we introduced TOFCO to our readers, a joint venture between Chet Morrison Contractors, a subsidiary of Morrison Energy Group, and Weldfab Limited from Trinidad, TOFCOS relationship with Morrison Energy Group maximized its ability to provide integrated solutions for its valued clientele. Now, powered by a dynamic and goal orientated team, TOFCO has positioned itself to become a major competitor in the international market and once again we spoke with Acting CEO Javed Mohammed.

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Endeavour Magazine | 41

Since 2004, TOFCO has completed five major offshore platform

jacket and deck fabrication projects for BP Trinidad and Tobago

(Cannonball, Mango, Cashima, Savonette and Serrette) one for BG

Trinidad and Tobago (Poinsettia Deck-The largest built to date in

Trinidad) and two for EOG Resources Inc (Oilbird Deck and Jacket,

Toucan Deck).

Benefiting greatly from the companys two Facilities totalling

37-acres, TOFCO has its main

Yard 1 a 21-acre waterfront

facility and Yard 2 with another

16-acre in La Brea, Trinidad,

with the ability to easily ship

completed decks and other

pieces for customers to

assemble offshore. The facility

includes a dock with a 30-

foot water depth; a 600-foot

bulkhead, 2000 p.s.f. ground

capacity and is complimented by

its fleet of six crawler heavy lift

TOFCO

various operators in Trinidad and Tobago as a joint venture of Chet

Morrison Contractors LLC., a Houma, LA based and Weldfab Ltd. of

Trinidad. The company stems from BPs drive to do more projects

locally. At the time local firms lacked the expertise to perform the

sort of projects they wanted and so invited international contractors

with the skills in offshore platform work to team up and share their

knowledge.

Importantly, while TOFCO

maintains ownership ties to its

parent companies it functions

as an independent company and

performs its own projects and

procurement having developed

solid, reliable relationships

with suppliers. As a company,

still new in comparison to their

competitors, the suppliers

feeding into the projects

form the foundation on which

TOFCO operates and develops,

While the competition may be a bit aggressive for the limited available work, TOFCO still maintains its competitive edge due to its experience, safety record and high quality products.

cranes, five mobile groove cranes and other pieces of equipment. This

is subsidized with a twenty four hour delivery schedule.

TOFCOs recent work includes a number of smaller maintenance

and fabrication projects in support of oil and gas customers including

procurement, fabricating, blasting, painting, storage, equipment

rentals and consulting work to clients.

Engaged in a programme of diversification, TOFCO originally

focussed totally on the offshore business, but over the years have

branched out into working on refineries and petrochemical plants.

An applicable agility allows them to fabricate and process whatever is

applicable to their model which has opened up a number of industries.

An interesting aspect of TOFCO comes from its initiative and

approach to treating and training employees. Typical of the region it

nurtures its community ties encouraging an approach of Being your

brothers Keeper.

The company employs a youthful but skilled workforce of welders,

fabricators, riggers and others whom it cross-trains across several

disciplines. This youthful presence was a result of their start up story,

as in 2004 when they first started they were the new arrivals to

the area and so the existing workforce was hesitant to join them. In

response they took on young

employees, under the age of 25

and groomed them to work with

them. This sort of investment has

resulted in a strong loyalty from

their staff.

Outside of its fabrication

facility, TOFCOs employees

Assist residents of La Brea

with community development

programs to organizations but

not limited to schools, a local

orphanage and home for the

elderly.

This theme of corporate

altruism is common in this region

where the businesses have

grown up in the community and

have never lost their roots, it

is a refreshing business model

that is proving to be highly

efficient in growing not only the

businesses through the influx

of loyal employees and staff but

also from the levels of education

and training available to these

employees prior to joining the

workforce.

2014 will be bringing some

opportunities for TOFCO and all

its main vendors and contractors.

We are anticipating work on deck

and jacket fabrication as well as

some modularized work. There

will be some additional facility

upgrades to be undertaken

looking at completion 4th

quarter 2013. Javed concludes.

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