There is a buzz – or rather a rumble – in western Pennsylvania. For years, local citizens became used to being part of the rust belt. Job loss became the new normal before unemployment grew throughout the rest of the United States. But the energy gods parted the clouds, and provided the region with Marcellus Shale. It has been stated that western Pennsylvania holds the largest-known deposits of clean-burning natural gas in the world. Local landowners are benefiting, and the state’s economy is growing its tax base – all the while supplying clean energy for our country. Job opportunities abound throughout the surrounding counties for strong industrious workers.
However, because of the size and scope of the many drilling sites, environmental issues are a number one priority. Guiding principles have been instituted by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC). “As a coalition, it’s our responsibility to develop this resource the right way,” says MSC chairman, Ray Walker Jr. “Our core values include the safety of our employees, our landowners and the communities where we work, environmental stewardship, transparency, and a commitment to best practices. Most importantly, while this is complex technology, we need to keep things simple, and we are committed to doing things right.”
MSC president and executive director Kathryn Klaber adds, “The MSC’s ‘Commitment to the Community’ underscores the industry’s steadfastness to ensuring that this generational opportunity is done right, so that the nearly 12 million Pennsylvanians, and beyond, realize its overwhelmingly benefits.”
PIRTEK Monroeville takes these commitments very seriously, and follows the OSHA regulations when manufacturing hoses on-site. PIRTEK has been busy meeting a variety of new businesses flooding the area over the past three years. It’s a service company willing and able to react within the hour, traveling with GPS mounted in each van to farmlands and ridges deep in mountain passes, providing many tool-pushers with the needed hydraulic hoses to keep their drill rigs running and minimizing their downtime.
Besides the actual drilling companies in the area, there are many support services that benefit. Contractors prepping the drill sites, asphalt companies paving back farm roads to enable the heavy equipment to enter, rental equipment transporting needed machinery, and holding pond and pipeline erection are providing construction companies new diverse opportunities. Multiple suppliers of industrial supplies and tools of every description are establishing storefronts, and an explosion of hydraulic hose suppliers all are sharing in the natural gas pie.
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