Ceca Supply & Services: Supportive Services
Energy Solutions
Written by Ashley McGown   
Ceca Supply & Services: Supportive Services
The team at this supply company recognizes the connection between satisfied vendors and satisfied customers, and it works hard to maintain long-term relationships with both parties.
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Ceca Supply & Services, a Houston, Texas-based supplier of drilling equipment and parts, works principally with customers in the Algerian and Libyan markets. Maher Touma, president and founder, established the company in May 2002, immediately penetrating the two African markets.

In preceding years, working at a different company, Touma had targeted the same two markets; the experience made him confident Ceca would prove successful. In addition to the strong relationships he had built with several businesses, he was familiar with the regulations and market trends in both countries, as well as the unique cultural aspects that influence daily operation.

“We work directly with the drilling and production companies in both countries, supporting the oil and gas markets,” Touma said. “However, the equipment and products we sell are manufactured in North America. This ensures they’re of the very best quality, which is something all of our customers demand.”

Ceca Supply & Services: Supportive Services
Maher Touma, president and founder
Despite an operation that spans multiple continents, Ceca’s team consists of just 24 employees. According to Touma, a large overhead is unnecessary and would prove cost-prohibitive. For the most part, Ceca works with the same vendors today as it did when it was first established. By relying on long-term relationships, the organization is able to remain strong without carrying a large sales team.

Of course, long-term relationships with clients are influenced by the customer service Ceca provides, but they’re also impacted by the products it provides, which means Touma and his team have to carefully select the suppliers they partner with.

“We have exclusive arrangements with our customers, and to keep them happy, it’s important that we have strong relationships with our suppliers,” Touma said. “When we get a request to bid a piece of equipment, we don’t go out and shop; we go to the manufacturer we represent and work out the best deal so we can give our client the best deal.”

Although upgraded equipment has been introduced throughout the years, Touma said drilling rig technology hasn’t changed much in the last two decades, and as a result, new products are few and far between.

“As improvements are made, we introduce them to our clients, but for the most part, the equipment our manufacturers are making are the same as they were 20 years ago,” he added. “Our business is focused on traditional, land-based drilling.”

Communication on both ends
The success of Ceca’s business relies on the satisfaction of its suppliers as well as its clients. Both sets of relationships directly affect the other. Touma said the balancing act is maintained by open communication.

“We’re one of only two or three companies our customers go to because we deliver what we say we’ll deliver,” Touma said. “The suppliers we represent are great partners, and that’s why we’ve kept them for years. On the other hand, we’ve done a good job for them, and that’s why they keep us as their exclusive agents, allowing us to serve as the name and face of their business.”

To support its operation in Algeria, the team at Ceca recently invested in a 50,000-square-foot base. The facility, which was purchased in February, is home to the company’s regional office and serves as living quarters for Touma and his team when they travel to the region.

Prior to the investment, Ceca had offices and living space in Algeria, but it didn’t have space for a warehouse. The additional space is going to help the company penetrate the equipment rental and service business—a market Touma is excited to enter.

“We believe that future growth will depend heavily on our entrance into the rental and service business,” he said. “We’re just beginning to get involved. There are certain tools that companies need but don’t want to purchase, so if we can rent those, we can generate an additional revenue stream.”

For now, the team at Ceca plans to market the services to its current client base. According to Touma, government-owned companies operate 90% of the drilling rigs in Algeria. In Libya, only 35% of the rigs are operated by government-owned organizations. Because of this, the team plans to focus on the Libyan market when introducing the rental services.

“The foreign drilling companies tend to use outside services a lot more than the government-owned organizations do,” Touma said. “We believe we’ll have more success with the rental and services business if we target them.”

Right now, Ceca’s team is working with a handful of clients, trying to see how many are interested in obtaining rental contracts. Once the organization is able to get a feel for the amount of demand present, it will move forward with the operation.

In terms of the current economy and its effect on the coming months, Touma isn’t worried. “To date, the economy hasn’t really affected us,” he said. “The cost of production is a lot lower in the countries we work in than it is in the US. Oil and gas are 80% to 90% of these countries’ GDPs. They have to keep producing because it’s what they live off of. We plan to continue to support the operations as we have been.”
 
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