Gerry Cantwell
Workshop Supervisor

When did you join Team DeltaTek?
June 2019
Prior to joining DeltaTek, tell us a little about what you’ve been up to?
I have been in the oil and gas industry for 30 years. I am a time served mechanical engineering fitter, and in my mid-30s I reinvested in myself by completing N.C electronics. I’ve gained experience in completions, interventions, cementing, maintenance and pipe isolation.
My first experience in the oil and gas sector was with a company called Teleco Sonat, an MWD and drilling company. I worked as a technician in the repair and maintenance of the tools in Nigeria, Australia and Singapore. Telco Sonat went on to become Baker Hughes Inteq.
My next adventure was joining Petroleum Engineering Services (P.E.S). I worked as a test lab technician and supported the development of new tools and designs. I worked on the SmartWell system, building and testing the tools. It was in this role that I met Dave Shand, our Chief Operating Officer.
I joined Dril Quip and worked as a maintenance fitter on machine tools, maintenance, installation and alignment of horizontal borers and lathes. I was promoted to charge hand and took care of the mechanical and electronic technicians. I would normally troubleshoot, fault find and direct the techs to the issues that needed repairs.
I then went on to join STATS group as a lead technician in the remote systems department. It was a small department that I was involved in building up to a team of 9. I was promoted to remotes supervisor. In this role, I wrote and implemented workmanship standards and tech training programmes. I was involved in mentoring the techs of various skill and ability levels.
Joining DeltaTek has allowed me to have a varied role for me with different exposure points than in previous roles. It allows me to work in a new side of the industry and learn about the cementing processes while using my transferable skills to manage the workshop and our team.
What does your job entail?
The job is very broad, which I like. Each day, I can be speaking to customers, going to machine shops to get parts made, looking at machinery or setting up the workshop and supporting the operations team with workshop and hand skills. Often I am involved in training the new team members about the products and helping develop the tools and best practices in the workshop.
The job has no limits, there is a lot of freedom to make the role my own and that’s helped by the trust that exists within the team. We like to make sure that we are having “fun along the way”.
Have there been any highlights since joining DeltaTek? What do you enjoy about working here?
I see the company moving forward all the time, especially with the addition of a presence in Houston and Norway. All of the little wins make big ones in time. I enjoy the positive vibe and energy; it really is the team of people that make DeltaTek. Everybody in the team brings a different strength to the table and there’s a lot of mutual respect and comradery in the team.
Is there anything that you’ve learned about the tools, technology or company that has surprised you?
The tools are not complicated, they are cost-effective to maintain, can be turned around quickly and are operator friendly. It doesn’t get any better is my opinion.
This benefits us and ultimately our clients too. Our tools are definitely “saving rig time” for our clients (and money too) in a big way!