Estevan Meter has 35 people working out of Estevan, and a further six working with sister company Virden Meter in Virden, Man.
鈥淲e cut back a couple of positions a few have been left unfilled through attrition. Our overall volume is down somewhat. Our profit margins are down significantly,鈥� Doug Martens, Estevan Meter president, said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e primarily maintenance driven. Construction and distribution of new product is down significantly. Some of the maintenance as decreased slightly as well. Our margins have been hit substantially. We鈥檙e hoping to end the year slightly in the black.
The company has been around since 1967. Martens joined in the 1990s and became part of the ownership in 2000. So while the company was around turning the big downturn in 1986 that many in the business have compared the current one to, Martens said, 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 old enough to care in 鈥�86.鈥�
In a broader context, he said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone鈥檚 giving consideration for future global demand and global population increase.鈥�
In 1986, there was a substantial over production of oil compared to today.
鈥淚ncrease in oil production is very proportional to increase in population. We need oil to survive on the planet,鈥� he said 鈥淭here鈥檚 an additional 50 million people on the earth every year, and they all want to drive cars.鈥�
鈥淭he U.S. is able to bring on cheap and large volumes in short order. Peak oil 鈥� where did that go? It鈥檚 a finite resource. Everyone鈥檚 looking at how much oil we鈥檙e making. But how do you quantify demand?鈥� Martens said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e now in the information age. In 1986, you had to read the newspaper to get information. It didn鈥檛 flow as freely as it does now. I think some of us have difficulty processing that information. There鈥檚 just too much of it.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e buggy-whip salesmen. There鈥檚 a need for our product.鈥�
As for reacting to the shift in the industry, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a balancing act. We need to react to it. It鈥檚 important for survival. But you don鈥檛 want to overreact. It鈥檚 a day-to-day assessment.鈥�
鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 full survival mode, and you have to react as quickly as you can, or need to, but at the same time, you don鈥檛 want to overreact.鈥�
For Estevan Meter, they are dealing with a seasonal and cyclical business. The last quarter of this year is looking very bleak, but next May there will be seasonal demand again, he noted. The challenge is to retain their skilled workforce.
The company first saw a change when they were forced to give price concessions at the end of 2014. Activity levels started to decline. The summer maintenance season helped, but that鈥檚 coming to an end. They鈥檝e reached out to potash mines and power plants, looking to expand their horizons.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for and finding efficiencies,鈥� he said. Some of that comes from software improvements in their invoicing. 聽
