Trading Places
Zenith Expands its reach
 Inverurie is well known for many things – as home of Europe’s biggest livestock market at Thainstone, which is thriving, for its locomotive repair works, long since gone and its more recently departed paper mill.
However less well known is that Inverurie is the global centre of expertise for the oil industry’s artificial lift technology. At its heart is Zenith Oilfield Technology Ltd, winner of a Queen’s Awards for Enterprise last year for its achievements in international trade.
What is also surprising is that although it sits on the Don which flows into the North Sea virtually none of its business is done on the oil province on its doorstep.
Keith Kettlewell, one of the founders of the company, explained to Business Bulletin why Inverurie is its HQ and why the Middle East and Far East are its principal markets
Its roots lie in the original company, Phoenix, which was formed in the mid 1980s by some friends who initially worked from home developing advanced technology, downhole gauges specifically, for artificial lifts - artificial ways of increasing the flow of oil from a production well.
Their success allowed them to move into premises on a nearby industrial estate and develop into a multi million pound company making Inverurie the world’s hub for artificial lift expertise.
In 2001 the company was bought by the oilfield services provider Schlumberger.
In 2004 Keith and three colleagues, who preferred not to work for such a large organisation, left to start Zenith and several colleagues followed.
Three years later when Schlumberger closed its Inverurie operation because it was cheaper to manufacture elsewhere other key personnel joined Zenith which now has a staff of around 80, half of them in Inverurie, and a turnover of £14 million last year, an increase of 30% in the teeth of a recession.
“We have grown even this year as we have every year,” said Keith, who suggests there is no single factor for Zenith’s expansion.
“If you look back at any success in history you find groups of people working well together as individuals with different expertise and that is what it is. There is not one factor for success. We have good products which are reliable and cost effective and that is down to the guys who design and build them. We also have an experienced sales force who know how to do business overseas. Our success involves everyone from the person who answers the phones right through to the managing director.”
He says Zenith has not chased work in the North Sea primarily because efforts elsewhere are more rewarding.
“The North Sea operators award their contracts to the major service companies which will use their own product first, regardless.
In our sort of business in the North Sea you are probably talking 10-20 wells a year but internationally there are thousands of wells a year and lots more opportunities.
“I believe the service companies are dominating the oil companies in the North Sea. Also operators overseas are much more likely to listen to you and help you. There is no question it is easier to do business overseas than in the UK.”
Keith said that many of their overseas clients visit the North-east but Aberdeen city centre is not one of the destinations on the tours they organise for them.
“We typically take them on castle trails and things like that and show them the heritage of Scotland rather than Aberdeen city centre for which there would be no reason to visit other than shopping.”
He is also critical of the city’s air links which he describes as “appalling”.
On his wish list of improvements which would help the Inverurie business, in addition to better links with the Middle East and Amsterdam, are the speedy construction of the Western Peripheral route and more affordable housing in Inverurie.
Zenith says that the support it is has received from the Chamber of Commerce has been significant in helping its rapid overseas expansion.
Zenith has been a member of the Chamber since the business was started and Greg Davie, the company managing director, said he has been impressed by the level of support from the Chamber’s international documentation service as it speeds up the processing of legally required paperwork.
“We have clients all over the world and we need to be able to provide certificates of origin for every piece of technology that we export. The Chamber provides an excellent service as it offers an online site where we can type in our product details and the destination and we are provided with a certificate of origin as required by law. This service has proved to be doubly useful as the Chamber checks that all the information is accurate and it flags up any discrepancies before the technology is shipped abroad.”
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