Radville – When pipe inspection outfits mark a pipe with a red band, it’s done. It can no longer go downhole. But Schindel Ironworks of Radville brings it back to life, not in oilfield applications, but as cattle wind breaks, feeders and bale rails.
The company is a family affair, with father Mel Schindel, son Dan Schindel and son-in-law Chris Johnston. Kevin Hoey is the one person not part of the family.
Dan said of Mel, “He’s 77 years old this year, and he’s still working with us. Still going, can’t stop him from going. I call him an Ironman.”
“He works all day here. He has an acre and a half of lawn at home, he cuts his grass, plants a few potatoes, and comes out here and does his day then plays ball with the kids on the lawn at five o’clock, with my little guy.”
“The wealth of knowledge he brings here, holy, when we get into big projects, it’s nice to have him,” Dan said.
“We’re still creeping along with the cattle stuff. Prices are down a little. We’re still getting the oilfield used tubing. We’ve done a few projects in the last little while – the Ceylon plant update, where they changed things over. Usually we get one or two decent-sized jobs a year, and that keeps us rocking,” he said. “Other than that, we serve the farmers and the ranchers.”
They also do minor work in the oilpatch with a local oil company.
The region around Radville has been incredibly dry all summer. “I’ve been busier as a firefighter than as a businessman,” he said.
Schindels has a shop in town and three welding trucks, one in Weyburn. They also have a service truck with a picker.
They have a new-style windbreak for cattle which uses all-steel instead of wood. “We use tubing for the frame,” he said.
They also make railed bale hauling racks out of tubing, allowing a flatbed semi to more easily haul round bales. Their cattle feeders also use surplus oilfield metal.
That surplus tubing can be scarce. “We’re on waiting lists all over,” he said. They’ll travel further to get material, but there comes a point where going to far cuts too much into their margins.
The downturn in the oilpatch has affected their ability to get materials. For instance, there is less staff out there, so they have to pick up the material on the days they know someone will be on site.
