"The business was simple," according to Derek Neher, co-owner and company spokesman, "If they could not fix it in the field, they would load it up and bring it into the shop for repair," he said.
The 1980's saw a number of significant changes for both the oil and gas business and S&W. Foremost among those was the death of founder Bill Neher in 1985. The company was purchased from his estate by his brother David Neher, who then partnered with brothers Sammy and Rodney to continue the business.
In the late 70's the company began building generator sets to offer as prime power for drilling rigs, construction sites, rock crushers and others. But a decline in drilling activity resulted in fewer and fewer rigs to service as the oil patch dried up in the early 80's. A bigger change had to be made.
"In 1986, there weren't as many rigs around to service, so we had to change something." Neher said. That change, based on a design by Sam and David Neher, allowed S&W mechanics to convert a 6 1/4 bore Caterpiller diesel engine to natural gas operation, fabricating almost all the parts needed in-house. S&W had a new product and new markets and transformed over the next few years until officially became S&W Power Systems and Engine Service, Inc. in 1992.
By the end of the 1980's, S&W Power Systems annual revenues grew significantly and the business quickly offered not only converted engines, but remanufactured engines for exchanges or outright sale as well. Business continued to grow as S&W's remanufactured engines served the construction, marine, irrigation, mining, dredging, power generation, and transportation industries. The company saw further growth in the early 90's when the 6 1/4 bore gas engine became the primary driver for the expanding gas compression industry. "We were fortunate gas compression really took off in 1990," Neher said.
For S&W, the largest growth over the last five years has come from natural gas generator set sales, as units go into service for Prime Power Applications for oil and gas operations. Many oil and gas producers now realize the savings in the lift cost by producing their own electricity. It makes simple sense when you have your own free fuel supply of natural gas at the well head.
Today, S&W Power employs over 50 people and sells worldwide from our Oklahoma City base. We rebuild and remanufacture in a main complex of 130,000 square feet which includes a parts warehouse, machine and electric shops, a 40,000 square foot storage building, and an engine dyno load test center. In addition, we boast a fabrication shop with four full time welders. This allows us to fabricate mud pump drives, chain cases, custom skids, genset enclosures, and many of the parts we require.
S&W has diversified to work, rebuild, and service all types and makes of industrial engines, including Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, White Superior, Waukesha , John Deere, Perkins, Lister, and more. True to our roots, S&W stil offers the services of six field mechanics for repair calls primarily in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, though we are happy to offer on-site services wherever our client may specify.
As we look to the future, we aim for continued sales and inventory growth through our exchange engine program, while also expanding generator set package sales in the many fields of construction, oil and gas production, and commercial emergency standby power. Though the business climate may change, S&W Power Systems and Engine Services plans to continue rolling, growing, and adapting with the changes to maintain our success for the long haul. |
