Jereh poised for a gusher of growth in US

The booth of Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group is seen during the 12th China International Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology and Equipment Exhibition in Beijing, China, March 20, 2012. [Photo/dfic.cn]

Private Chinese oil equipment company establishes a presence in the United States to grab market share, reports Du Juan from Houston

About 19 kilometers northeast of Houston, 39 acres (about 16 hectares) of office buildings and factories hold a dream for a Chinese-Amercian business team to establish a brand in the United States.

Yang Li, a Chinese-American in her 50s, used to be the owner of a construction company in the Texas city, but now the company is in her husband's hands.

Yang joined the private Chinese oil and gas equipment manufacturing and engineering company - Jereh Group - in 2011, when Jereh decided to enter the US market by establishing office in Houston - a place that is a must for any oil-related business.

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"I hope Jereh can become a brand that is accepted and rooted in the US even though it will take time and the path is not easy in such a competitive market," she said.

Headquartered in Yantai, Shandong province, Jereh sold its first set of equipment to the US in 2005.

When the shale gas revolution boomed in the North America three years ago, the company seized the opportunity, becoming the first Chinese company to import shale gas fracturing equipment to the US.

To better serve clients and find new buyers, the company decided to expand in the US by hiring Yang as deputy general manager of American Jereh International Corp.

As a world-famous oil city, Houston is home to about 5,000 energy-related companies. In addition, up to 45 of the top 200 listed oil and gas companies in the US are headquartered there.

"It's a place full of resources and opportunities for oil companies from all over the world," said Yang.

"However, compared with strong local players with 30 to 50 years' history in this business, we need to work harder as a newcomer," she added.

Due to a perception that Chinese products are of low quality, user error can has sometimes been considered to be a manufacturing problem, which has led to disputes.

"Whenever that happens, we send our engineering team to provide free training to the clients' operators," said Yang. "As a new Chinese oilfield equipment producer and a newcomer in the US market, we need to remove any concerns on the part of clients by giving them a clear signal that we are devoted to the market and will always be there when the products they bought from us have any problems to solve.

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