Growth in the oil and gas industries has led to the need to keep all those new facilities and pipeline crossings in the Coastal Bend region secure. One company benefiting from that need is D&C Fence Co., which has placed a renewed focus on commercial and industrial installation and service to meet the growing demand for oil-field safety.
“We’ve always done both home and industrial,” said Richard Hanner, estimating manager for oil field and related industries. “But the oil-field boom has kept us extremely busy these days.”
Oil-field needs are usually met with chain-link fencing and remote-control gates, but some sites require eight-foot, game-proof fences and/or razor-wire tops.
“It all depends on the purpose of the fence,” Hanner said. The objective of industrial fencing and security gates can be to keep people and animals from wandering into danger zones or to keep equipment from wandering off site. The oil industry reported a loss of $1 billion in stolen property in 2013 alone. According to reports from South Texas law enforcement, drug cartels have gotten into the business of stealing equipment as well as syphoning off product in South Texas and the Permian Basin. Fencing and security can make a difference.
While fencing usually goes up and stays solid for years, security and remote-control fences need maintenance and care. D&C Fence Co. keeps a three-person service department on 24-hour call to help its customers. Large companies with dozens of gates and operators can need service day or night.
“Those guys spend a good deal of time in the refineries,” Hanner said.
Because of security concerns, employees at D&C Fence Co. go through extensive background checks and are drug tested.
COASTAL FENCING FUNCTION
What it takes to build a good, strong fence differs along the coast from other parts of the country.
“You have to go with deeper foundations for the deeper wind loads,” Hanner said. “The closer you are to the coast, the ground is heavier, and that can be both good and bad.”
When compact sandy ground starts to dry out because of a long drought, posts can become loose and unstable. Again, deeper holes and longer fence poles are needed for a fence that can withstand the heat and winds of the Coastal Bend.
Materials also make a difference in durability.
“We only go with heavy galvanized materials,” Hanner said. “You can go with aluminized or galvanized coating in Austin or elsewhere, but here, salt resistance is paramount.”
D&C Fence Co. is locally owned by three Corpus Christi businessmen: David Crossland, Cody Schuchert and Tom Kinberger. The company has been in business 21 years and is located at 1029 Savage Lane in Corpus Christi.
You don’t need to go on site to buy a fence, Henner said. You can call the company at (361) 289-8277, and it will send someone to you for a free estimate.
“We feel we are the best in the business at what we do,” Hanner said. “We’re here to provide service and get things done for people. We’ll bend over backwards to make that happen for our customers.”
