GETTING THE RIGS READY

Monday, 07 November 2011 08:51

Name of company: East Bridge Welding Ltd.
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
City: Blackfalds, Alta.
Year established: 2008
Number of employees: 1

Rob Oostenbrug claims to be just a guy with a truck. He’s also the owner and sole employee of East Bridge Welding Ltd. And he’s a very busy guy.

Right now he can be found at a facility doing rig-up—getting drilling rigs ready to go into the field. As a welder, he specializes in oilfield fabrication. He welds just about everything on these rigs, from installing motors and generators to complete fabrications and building mud tanks.

After the manufacturer builds the rig, Oostenbrug helps get it ready to for the customer. “There’re always a few little details that are missed, or they want changed, or that don’t work,” he points out. “As good as engineers are, they can’t foresee everything.”

The rigs he’s working on now will be shipped to the United States, but he’s worked on rigs that have been shipped as far away as Australia. Some day he hopes to see them again, but a trip to Australia will have to wait.

So, where did a name like East Bridge come from in a town small enough not to need distinctions for its bridges? East Bridge is the English translation of the Dutch word Oostenbrug.