A Robert Gordon schooling with a view to university, followed by a high-flying career of some sort? Ideal? You might think so.
But that was not Kenny Murray’s take on life aged 16.
He wanted out; didn’t want to grind through higher grade exams at Robert Gordon, compete to get into university and then spend three or four years in the company of peers before attempting to get on to the career ladder.
He wanted to start at the bottom and he wanted a wage, and he succeeded in securing both quickly. His first job was sweeping the yard of an oil service company in Aberdeen. That was the early 1990s, when the North Sea was emerging from the 1986 oil price crash.
“I went to work for a gentleman called Barry Buchanan at Bon Accord Oil Tools as a yard boy; to learn the ropes, start picking things up,” he said.
“I wasn’t paid much but it was money.
“It was an enjoyable place to work and I learned a lot because Barry worked in a different way to the big companies of the time. He would go to the yard sales of big operators and buy acres of junk for millions of pounds. Invariably, one or two items were worth three to four times what he paid for the job lot. It was an eye-opener.
“But then I was lucky enough to meet Bob Kydd at Aberdeen Tool Rental, which later developed into International Tubular Service.
“I learned a lot there as an inspector, prior to going offshore for Global Marine as a roughneck, working in the southern North Sea, travelling back and forth between Great Yarmouth and Holland.”
That was followed by spells in the Alwyn and Murchison fields, the latter working for the drilling company Nabors. These were good times for Murray. But then KCA bought Nabors.
“The pecking order on the rig floor changed, pushing me from the top of the tree to down near the bottom. That was around 1997.
“So I made a decision to come back to the beach where I was fortunate enough to meet Larry Kinch at Knockhill racing circuit.
“Larry suggested I joined him, starting in the workshop.
“I liked the idea and so joined Petroleum Engineering Services, starting out by sweeping floors for the second time in my life.
“But Larry gave me a chance. It was a case of work hard, keep your head down and you can go as far as you want.”
The move ensured a period of working with first-class people, deploying top-notch innovative technologies with clients and climbing the ladder – with training thrown in as a life bonus.
“One of the nice things was that Larry, owner of a company with 180 employees, knew the names of the wives and girlfriends and children of most. There was a family feel about the place.
“I then moved into an offshore operations co-ordinator role – the first time I had dealt directly with the clients.
“However, Halliburton bought PES in 2000, and I stayed in that role for several years more, eventually progressing into a senior business development account rep’s role, looking after the former PES completions and intervention market.
“I had a stint in global sales too, looking after a large product line with a boss based out of Dallas. Halliburton was very good to me, but I wanted something else.
“However, around 18 months before parting company with Halliburton, I decided that it was time for me to go it alone.
“OK, I couldn’t do it with a (well) completions product line, because the cost of developing systems would be too high and it’s very hard to get into that market with brand new tools anyway. It’s exactly the same with intervention. So I looked more on the drilling side, which is when I started to focus on well-bore clean-up.”
This is when the seeds of Coretrax, the Aberdeen company he founded barely two years ago, were sown. Murray knew he was walking into a market dominated by brands like Weatherford, Baker and MI Swaco Schlumberger, but beneath which were few serious niche players.
Time to act. The year was 2008. The world was going to hell in a handcart. Headlines screamed recession.
“I’m fortunate in that my father, Ken Murray too, was the senior partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (in Aberdeen), so financial and set-up advice was in-house, so to speak. This also gave me access to his network.
“Also, my father-in-law, Geoff Wilkinson, was business manager for the Clydesdale at the time. Having the two of them together like that for advice was outstanding.”
After the best part of six months putting together various plans, it was mid-2008, and oil prices were starting to come off their near $150 per barrel peak. Murray had three plans: (and still works three to this day) optimum, current and what happens if work slips.
“We pitched several banks – RBS, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and the Clydesdale. And all of them liked the idea.
“I found that the Royal offered the best deal; they didn’t really want to know about the business, going straight to the balance sheet. A couple of weeks later and they said they would like to support me.
“RBS had by far the best deal on the table. Bank of Scotland offered, but were awkward to negotiate with, while Lloyds placed a decent offer on the table and Clydesdale’s was middle of the road. The only differentiator was that they wanted to know everything in detail.
“The choice came down to RBS or the Clydesdale. We went with RBS. One Friday in November 2008, several days before signing, I took a call. RBS was withdrawing its offer. I asked what the problem was and the reply was that the bank was going to pass on this occasion.
“That was the strangest phone call I’d ever had. I was worried, so I got in touch with the Clydesdale immediately and said I’d like to accept their offer. I went in the following week and signed with them.”
Two or three days later, news of the RBS crisis broke.
Murray insists that what he was asking of the banks was not a tall order. He was putting £60,000 of his own money in and needed access to a further £140,000, which was ultimately achieved with the Clydesdale through the small firms’ scheme.
“It was wonderful; the family wasn’t at risk, it was me that was at risk. I took out a five-year lease on the current premises. It was just me and a workshop guy. That was it.
“In the first year I had been planning to pay myself about £30,000 but didn’t; the workshop guy was on about £24,000. I had already paid a lump sum into my mortgage and bills. My wonderful wife funded our living.”
Work started to arrive, best of all a contract from Halliburton, or so Murray thought. But neither had bargained on oil prices plummeting the way they did in early 2009, and Halliburton put the promised work on hold.
“I thought I was kissing goodbye to the £60,000 that I’d put in and would have to apologise to the bank. But we kept working. Something I learned when working at PES was to differentiate and challenge yourself.”
Murray and his tiny team at Coretrax got exactly that sort of chance.
The ultimate client was Petro-Canada, They had a troublesome well and wanted Coretrax to work in conjunction with Halliburton to fix the problem.
“We were asked if we could come up with a solution based on an idea that had literally been drawn on the back of a cigarette packet.
“There was a five-week window, the client needed something field proven which did not even exist.
“So we came up with using three or four different types of field technology, drew up a plan, did all the engineering, then manufactured and deployed – all inside the five weeks.
“It saved Petro-Canada’s well and, in turn, kept our company going for the next three or four months. Then the delayed well-bore clean-up work for Halliburton came to fruition.
“Talk about running things close; I couldn’t have run any closer. Since then, we haven’t looked back. But the Halliburton contract was essential to that.”
Proof of success lies in the fact that Coretrax appears to be growing locally and branching out overseas. As well as people currently working out of Aberdeen, the firm has another nine in Saudi Arabia.
The first year’s turnover target was £250,000. Murray had planned for a loss and made one, but the £30,000 was way less than had been planned for. In fact, Coretrax turned £1million during its first 18 months, and Murray expects to do at least £1million during the current year. The actual target is £1.7-£1.8million.
“I’ve known since leaving school where I wanted to get to,” said Murray.
“We’re looking at bigger facilities in Westhill; also there’s a warehouse a few doors away that’s twice the size of this place.
“But, for the first three years, I’m mindful that, while we’re doing well, we don’t know what’s around the corner and we need to be careful, keep a level head and not grow too quickly.
“And I will never forget that people and equipment makes money, but premises cost money.”