Oil and Gas Archives | Big Top Manufacturing

S&B Modular Operations is a long-established module fabrication company serving the oil and gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries. As a reliable source of quality modular products, including pipe racks and metering skids, which are delivered fully assembled to their clients all over the country, S&B Modular Operations has enjoyed outstanding success. And with success comes expansion.

The company’s base of operations sits on 52 acres of land in Texas, but not all of that land is developed. Rather than make a heavy investment in building a new permanent facility, S&B Modular Operations reached out to Big Top for a solution. We were able to design a structure that meets their expansion goals, and we were able to build it in a fraction of the time that a permanent building would have taken.

Maximizing Available Space

Two key benefits of a Big Top fabric structure are that it can be built to nearly any size and anchored to nearly any type of foundation. These benefits came into play when designing the new module assembly bay for S&B Modular Operations. We created a structure that is 85 feet wide, 280 feet long, and 38 feet tall by installing a fabric structure on shipping containers that were stacked three high and seven rows long. Thus, we were able to expand the client’s usable space by 24,000 square feet. And, because there are no internal columns or guy wires, the entire interior can be used for production.

The new facility is large enough to accommodate cranes, a 100-ton mobile gantry, drive-through access for loading and unloading materials, and full-size pipe, skid, module, and pipe-rack fabrications. The shipping containers provide an additional 4,480 square feet of usable space for offices, tool rooms, storage for materials and parts, and training rooms.

Protection from the Elements

Open-air production is dependent on the weather — a sudden afternoon storm can swiftly halt operations. But this is no longer a worry for S&B Modular Operations. The new covered shelter offers superior protection from wind and rain. And, thanks to the UV-reflective fabric roof, the company’s staff, modules, and equipment are safely sheltered from damaging radiation caused by sun exposure. As a result, rain-outs are a thing of the past and employees remain comfortable throughout the workday.

As a matter of fact, the fabric roofs in Big Top structures repel up to 99.95 percent of harmful UV-A and UV-B radiation, with a UPF rating of 2,000 and a conventional rating of 50-plus. This helps to maintain a comfortable interior temperature that is an average of 15 degrees cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the outside temperature, without the need for an HVAC system.

A Naturally Illuminated Facility

Another key benefit of the fabric roof is that it is translucent. The entire production area under the cover of S&B Modular Operations’ new facility is fully illuminated by natural sunlight filtering through the translucent roof. This will help the company save on energy costs month after month, a return on investment they will enjoy almost immediately.

To learn more about how the features and benefits of a Big Top covered shelter can work for your business needs, contact us today and we’ll be happy to provide more information.

Searing Heat and Heavy Rains

Constantly battling high heat and heavy rains in the Lagos region of Nigeria, Sonergy needed a solution in which they could concurrently fabricate two sections of an offshore oil platform. For previous projects during the six-month rainy season their employees would constantly have to stop work and cover sections of a project and repeat the sand blasting and paint process. Their steel shot and steel grit needed to stay dry but was stored outside in bags that were often found torn. This was a frustrating, expensive and inefficient process.

Big Top Provides Protection in an Unforgiving Climate

Now two 90’ x 80’ Big Top structures towering at 45’ tall with large access end panels allow Sonergy to fabricate the massive platform sections and easily roll them out when complete. The sections are out of the rain and dry while workers are out of the sun and cooler. The Big Top structures can withstand the steel abrasive media and contain it. Efficiency is up and Company X can now produce platform sections at an unprecedented rate.

WHEN IT CAME TO VEHICLE MAINTENANCE, O-TEX NEEDED COVERAGE

O-Tex Pumping is an aggressive service company that provides unrivaled primary and secondary cementing and specialty pumping services throughout most major shales. O-Tex quickly became the largest independent cementing service company in the lower 48 by investing heavily in advanced technologies, dual-fuel fleets and customized cement programs for primary and secondary applications. But with all that success came a problem: they were losing a great deal of time and money traveling back and forth from jobsite to office, performing maintenance on their vehicles. They needed a solution to make their operation more efficient and cost-effective.

A BIG TOP STRUCTURE IS THE RIGHT CALL

O-Tex enlisted the help of Big Top, and soon they had a strong, durable, all-weather fabric structure in the field to serve as a facility for vehicle maintenance. No longer did they have to travel back and forth repeatedly between headquarters and job site. In addition, Big Top’s custom heating systems kept the interior of the fabric structure warm, making for happy employees when working in colder climates. Yet another advantage was the durable PVC fabric that is translucent enough to allow light flow to enter the fabric structure, eliminating the need for costly additional lighting during daytime hours.

O-Tex solved their problem quickly and easily with the help of Big Top, and now they can get back to growing their business while keeping their employees and customers satisfied.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: Big Top Fabric Structures provide for safe, comfortable shelter for a large workforce in a remote location – boosting team morale and maximizing efficiency.

ENR TOP 100 CONTRACTOR HELPS AN ENERGY COMPANY GROW

When this leading construction GC does something, they do it big. They are the largest construction and engineering company in the United States, and the 4th-largest privately owned company in the country. So needless to say, they have a large number of employees doing some very big jobs. They were selected for a five-year project to build and expand one of the world’s largest facilities for receiving and re-gasifying liquefied natural gas. The one thing they didn’t have was a structure big enough to not only conduct safety meetings, but to provide lunch and break time for their large number of employees, since their location was in a remote area. The jobsite lay in the Deep South, near the Gulf of Mexico, where the weather can be brutally hot and humid.

BIG TOP GIVES THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM A BREAK

The construction firm called on Big Top to help them solve this oversized challenge. In a very short period of time, they had a fabric structure large enough to conduct meetings, training, and provide lunch for their entire crew – hundreds of workers. The oversized structure was completely weatherproof, creating an oasis from the hot sun in a cool, climate controlled environment. And the translucent fabric allowed enough natural light in during the day to prepare food and eat, eliminating the need for costly additional lighting during daytime hours.

Thanks to Big Top’s affordable yet durable solution, the company was able to ensure the maximum efficiency and safety of their large onsite workforce.

Equipment Storage Building | A Case Study in Oil & Gas

Keep Your Bottom Line Heathy With an Equipment Storage Building From Big Top Fabric Structures: A Case Study in Oil & Gas

Thanks to recent technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the oil and gas industry has been able to tap into energy resources that were previously unavailable. For companies trying to capitalize on this growth, vacant land is a necessity – and so is the need for infrastructure for drilling to take place. We’ll take a look at how a Big Top equipment storage building helped one such company maintain its bottom line.

Our story takes place out in the open plains of Texas, where our client had land to drill but no infrastructure. They couldn’t exactly leave thousands of dollars of equipment and materials out in the open to rust and be damaged by the outside elements. This posed a problem because the construction of a conventional metal warehouse would have been time-consuming and expensive, and it would have delayed the project and significantly impacted capital.

The company made the right choice by contacting Big Top. We planned out an equipment storage building that was 65’ wide by 140’ long by 32’ tall, which was enough room to store all the company’s weather-sensitive assets. It was complete with two 14’ by 14’ metal doors, so equipment could easily enter and exit the structure. Plus, this warehouse building was installed much faster than a metal building would have been, so our client was up and running faster.

If you are interested in purchasing an equipment storage building for your business, contact the experts at Big Top today. Another great feature that our buildings have to offer is that they are portable – they can be disassembled for relocation and, with the addition of a crane-lifting package or another type of mobility kit, they can be moved as whole units.