Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) has sent its first shipment of the company's specialised Class G (oil well) cement to Latin America. The 300-tonne shipment destined for Colombia, left via the Port of Point Lisas on Tuesday with an estimated arrival date of May 21.Earlier this year, TCL's general manager, Satnarine Bachew, announced at the company's 60th Anniversary Interfaith Service that plans were afoot for the company to enter into the Class G international market in a significant way. Four months later, this goal has become a reality. "TCL has been manufacturing oil well Class G cement for the last 20 years and has focused mainly on supplying the local market. This shipment to Columbia is the first step in the journey to developing a global brand. It has the potential to expand to Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil and Africa. The potential is huge," Bachew said.
TCL's recently-appointed group strategy implementation manager, Andres Pe�a, shared similar sentiments saying: "The first shipment of oil well cement to Colombia is an important step inTCL's strategy to expand our frontiers in the sale of cement. Entering the Colombian market means that our oil well cement has the quality and price expected by oil service companies."By entering this new market, we will build confidence with service companies such as Tucker, Halliburton and Baker and Hughes for them to consider TCL as a reliable option in Colombia and other Latin American markets."He added that TCL's "growth strategy in Colombia is based on quality, pricing, service and local operation. We will also have one debagging plant in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, and are already working on a second device to be located in Villavicencio, Meta. Having debagging plants in Colombia will allow us to respond to the needs of our customers while growing our sales."
TCL's marketing manager, Rodney Cowan, expressed delight at the company's accomplishment."I am extremely excited at the opportunity of putting our local company on the global stage. This is an excellent way for us to add shareholder value and for our employees, it sparks a sense of pride as we break out into a competitive, yet lucrative environment," he said.Cowan said a major element of TCL's five-year plan includes conversion of 75 per cent of the company's export market from Premium Plus (Pozzolan) cement to Class G cement in an effort to exponentially increase profitability. He added that the first major leap toward this goal was achieved when a partnership was forged between TCL and its Colombian-based service providers, Tucker Energy Services, Baker and Hughes, Superior Energy, Halliburton and Schlumberger. "This breakthrough offers us the opportunity to further establish ourselves in the Latin American market, which is currently an area of growth," Cowan said.While hopes of retaining a long-term relationship with Colombia remain, TCL is simultaneously working toward expanding its market in other South American countries such as Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. The company is also looking at securing brand awareness and forging a solid market base on the African continent, in countries such as Angola and Nigeria.
Oil well cement, or Class G as it is referred to in the oil rig servicing industry, is ideal for use on oil rigs due to its high temperature and sulphate resistant capacities. Leading global cement manufacturing companies produce this specialised cement to the American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications 10A. TCL's business development specialist Ryan Lee Isava said: "TCL is also a certified API manufacturer of Class G, and consistently produces cement which exceeds API standards."While there are inevitable challenges for companies seeking to compete with global industry giants, TCL is very optimistic about attaining success.