Pumped Up Growth at Valiant Artificial Lift Solutions

After putting together a team of industry-leading experts, founder Gareth Ford quickly built a flourishing business providing innovative and reliable oil field equipment to the energy industry. Four years into the endeavor, he found demand far outpacing the company’s capacity in both manpower and production space. Ford knew this was an inflection point and wanted to ensure future growth was strategically aligned with his corporate vision. For advice, he turned to Sharon Harrison, a manufacturing extension agent with the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, a NIST-MEP network affiliate. In the past, Harrison had worked with several members of Valiant’s leadership team and was considered a trusted advisor.

Sharon Harrison met with company leaders and began the process of developing a wide-ranging plan for strategic growth. First up, Harrison worked with city and regional officials to secure a new, larger manufacturing facility. Harrison then joined with applications engineers from the Manufacturing Alliance to create an efficient plant layout. The new factory and streamlined production helped meet Valiant’s rising customer demands. Harrison expedited the creation of a training program and then secured state incentives that facilitated employee hiring.

Other business-expansion projects are underway including engineering efforts related to new product development and state partnerships working to secure a pipeline of manufacturing talent.