WorldWide Drilling Resource

35 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MARCH 2014 Small Business Adapts and Thrives Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Companies and workers from out of town have flooded into parts of Pennsylvania located on top of the Marcellus Shale formation; but out-of- towners aren’t the only ones who want in on the oil and gas boom. Locals have also stepped up to work with the indus- try in surprising ways. Seth Alberts knows a lot about em- bracing change. He is Vice President of Ralph S. Alberts, a family business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which has been making custom molded poly- mers for use in just about anything from roller coaster seats to medical training mannequins for half a century. Through involvement with the local chamber board and economic develop- ment board, Alberts began to hear about all the companies benefiting from the development of the Marcellus Shale formation running beneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Ohio. “About five or six years ago when the gas boom started to hit the area, I began thinking about what we could do to get involved without moving out of our comfort zone,” said Alberts. This led him to finding a need for secondary containment liners to hold the various fluids stored on drilling sites. Applying his chemistry background, Alberts adapted the plastic upholstery used to cushion bodies on carnival rides into a sprayable, impermeable barrier for gas well sites, designed to protect the environment from spills. Alberts and his father Edward formed the subsidiary Alberts Spray Solutions L.L.C. to work with the shale gas boom. This business now accounts for around 20% of the company’s rev- enue. Business leaders often cite the Alberts fami ly as the type of local entrepreneurs who have evolved with the shale gas boom. “The majority of people here in central Pennsylvania are huge proponents of the Marcellus,” said Alberts, who is sensitive about efforts to slow the natural gas industry. “We are big believers in what’s going on here.” As a native Williamsport corpora- tion comprised largely of employees who love the land and are committed to protecting it, Alberts Spray Solutions is working with oil and gas companies to minimize the impact of exploration and production on the local environment. The Alberts’ system “creates a higher level of containment that goes above and beyond the regulatory require- ments,” said Mary Wolfe, a spokes- woman for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., an Alberts Spray Solution customer and the largest drilling company operating in Pennsylvania’s forests. Seth Alberts believes the Marcellus gas boom has brought unique opportu- nities to his hometown and he is com- mitted to making the most of them. “We’re the seventh fastest-growing city in the country, and I’m convinced that if the [oi l and gas] industry was not here, we’d be struggling like other areas in the country are,” said Alberts.