DELIVERING CONFIDENCE IN CASING INSTALLATION
Consistently meeting its customers’ needs, the solutions of Volant Products Inc. are vital to enriching oil and gas recovery across North America and around the world. Dan Shute, President and CEO, updates us on the company’s commitment to delivering tangible results in casing installation and well construction
Writer: Lucy Pilgrim | Project Manager: Scarlett Burke
We are increasingly offering a set of integrated tools and products that work together to deliver solutions rather than just populate a toolbox.”
Since last speaking to Dan Shute, President and CEO of Volant Products Inc. (Volant), in December 2022, the growing complexity of the well construction sector across North America means it is becoming increasingly necessary for operators to seek out efficiencies and reliabilities in their processes.
This is where Volant – an industry leader in casing system installation technology for the oil and gas sector – shines most brightly, as its deep engineering knowledge of casing installation and well construction positions the company meaningfully to help operators understand how best to leverage its solutions.
“This feeds the goal of increasing the consistency, efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of oil and gas discovery and recovery. By the latter, I mean getting the job done right as opposed to just getting the job done,” he adds.
This translates into effectively landing casing at the desired target depth without damaging the pipe body or connections.
“If we are able to tailor a solution to a specific need, then we are able to optimize the operator’s required spending while delivering their project goals, which in most cases is correctly landed casing,” Shute details.
CORE VALUES
Volant strives to live out its core values, or performance pillars, in all it does.
“Discovery reflects the ability to recognize expensive problems
that we have the capacity to solve. This also applies to how we think about solutions to those problems, manufacture the solutions, and deliver what we’ve developed,” Shute describes.
Furthermore, the company continually analyzes how best its solutions can be utilized or altered to be most advantageous to customers, or if there is even a use case for them in the first place.
“If what we could bring would not actually save money or improve safety and reliability, we wouldn’t pursue it. But, where there is a strong safety, technical, or economic benefit to the operator and it falls into the sphere of expertise where we could actually provide a valuable solution, that’s the sweet spot of the discovery space.
“Integration of our diverse skills means depending on each other
to deliver on each of our areas of expertise to form a highly effective workforce,” Shute adds.
In light of such commitments, customer service continues to be a key performance pillar for Volant. Customers have a deep appreciation for the company’s level of service and ability to solve complex challenges, emphasized by the number of returning customers and their ongoing appreciation for topteir support.
This, in turn, builds solid partnerships, creating a strong foundation of trust.
“As much as we do our best to deliver excellence, sometimes things go wrong, and when they do, we have found customer care goes a long way toward building relationships and delivering a solution,” Shute observes.
CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE REORGANIZATION OF VOLANT’S EXECUTIVE TEAM AND HOW THIS HAS BENEFITED THE BUSINESS?
Dan Shute, President and CEO: “The reorganization has allowed us to focus more on our true strengths.
“As CEO, I was working in the strategic space, interacting with the board and key customers, and leading a team that ranged from executive-level staff to technical project leaders.
“However, we recognized that we had technical leaders who think broadly and were already starting to function at an executive level. Therefore, we elevated Dan Dall’Acqua, Vice President, Engineering Solutions, and Martin Kaefer, Vice President, Product Engineering, from technical leadership roles to executive leadership.
“This has narrowed my required bandwidth and enables me to focus on strategic and future-oriented activities. It also brings more focused management activity to product development and commercialization operations, which are to the benefit of our company and customers.
“Duane Cuku was promoted to Vice President, Sales, Business Development, and Marketing while Sheraly Cunningham continues to bring strength and stability as Vice President, Corporate Services.
“Brad Kwasnycia was promoted to COO, and in that role, the rest of the executive team reports to him. Kwasnycia and I work as a leadership duo where he is looking after the operational and day-to-day activities within the business, and I’m working in the visionary space. We support and challenge each other, so it brings some nice balance to our leadership.”
“All this is underpinned by a humble pursuit of excellence, and we celebrate when people have contributed to that. The alignment of our staff hinges on our ability to communicate with everyone what matters most, and that’s the power of a great team,” he gleams.
IMPROVING FUNCTIONALITY, LOWERING COSTS
Volant continues to evolve its flagship product line – the mechanical casing running tool (CRT).
“For well completions, customers can now use a single CRT to run mixed casing string configurations.
“One example that is becoming increasingly popular is a mixed string design that combines a 6-inch casing string with a 5 or 5.5-inch casing below it. Before we developed this tool, you would have needed two
“WHEN EVERYONE IS PULLING IN THE SAME DIRECTION, IT’S A TREMENDOUSLY POWERFUL FORCE”
– DAN SHUTE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, VOLANT PRODUCTS INC.
tools on location and rig one out at the crossover point and rig the other one in.
“This takes time, and owning two tools for a single job instead of just one increases capital requirements. Therefore, by redesigning the product, we’ve increased the functionality while lowering the total cost of operations for the service company and operator,” Shute outlines.
This new CRTe-2.0X external grip – where the ‘X’ refers to the tool’s extended stroke function – is able it to grip varying outside diameters with
the same die set.
Its patented extended stroke function is the key enabler for no longer requiring two different tools on location and has been an operational game-changer for the company’s clients.
In response to a market segment that values a hydraulically actuated tool, Volant has additionally built on its core technology by stepping into the hydraulic CRT space.
The company has built its industryleading brand and reputation on the global success of its mechanical CRT technology.
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The decision to add a hydraulic CRT offering to Volant’s product portfolio was not taken lightly, and the company knew the product couldn’t be another ‘me too’ technology; it needed to provide adequate value and live up to the expectations that come with using a Volant CRT.
“We have developed a tool that is hydraulically actuated but mechanically energized, so it takes the best part of our mechanical CRT technology and combines it with the desired features of those who still prefer hydraulic CRTs,” he elaborates.
Elsewhere, the company has recently launched a wireless torque monitoring sub (TMS) – a specialized tool that fits between the top drive and CRT, measuring torque, hook load, and rotation, among other parameters.
“There are other wireless TMSs on the market, so before we developed it, we asked ourselves whether the
“VOLANT VIEWS DATA AS THE NEW DISCOVERY SPACE, AND THANKS TO OUR DEEP ENGINEERING UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CASING INTERACTS WITH WELLBORES, WE CAN TEACH AI MORE
EFFICIENTLY
AND EFFECTIVELY, ENABLING IT TO PROVIDE BETTER OUTCOMES”
– DAN SHUTE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, VOLANT PRODUCTS INC.
world really needed a similar tool. In this case, we realized that having wellsupported, reliable technology would in fact fill a gap in the industry.”
Moreover, in order for the TMS to be useful to customers, it needs to be able to interface effectively with torque-turn measurement software. Once again, Volant questioned whether it should develop its own software or enable its electronics to be compatible with other interfaces
that already exist in the market.
The company consequently enabled its TMS to connect universally to any software – a decision that has been very well received by customers.
This same mindset is applicable to the company’s VolantRED™ software – an advanced planning, monitoring, and learning tool that measures data directly from a rig and uses it to conduct engineering calculations in real-time.
Committed to Quality & Service
Hi Tech Heat Treating Ltd. (Hi Tech) is a family-owned and operated, ISO 9001-certified commercial heat-treating company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Since 1996, we have provided reliable heat-treating services to every customer. We are committed to delivering consistent quality and exceptional service through documented quality management systems focused on process control, consistency, and compliance with customer specifications.
Hi Tech values its relationship with Volant Oil Tools, which has been built on years of
mutual hard work, dedication, and reliability. Both companies prioritize dependability and quality service, working together to ensure Canada has access to only the best in the energy industry.
Some of the services Hi Tech offers include gas nitriding, gas carburizing, stress relieving, through hardening, age hardening, normalizing, annealing, tempering, flame hardening, glass beading, and hardness testing – all with the goal to work with customers to provide quality finished products.
Hi Tech Heat Treating Ltd. 4515 82 AVE NW EDMONTON, AB, T6B 2L9
Phone: 780-462-6700
Email: documents@hitechheattreating.ca www.hitechheattreating.ca
This capacity enables operators to successfully land casing in long and complex wells with the confidence that they did not damage the casing string during the installation process. The tool generates live insights
for customers and allows them to compare the results with their initial targets, therefore facilitating better decision-making in the field.
VolantRED™ measures the effectiveness of all casing installation
improvement efforts, whether or not they’re supplied by Volant. This enables customers to gain a deep understanding of their technologies and the impact they are having, allowing them to continuously learn and improve based on what has and hasn’t worked on previous runs.
“We are enhancing our customers’ ability to evaluate the impact of technology on casing installation,” Shute surmises.
NEXT-GENERATION DATA DISCOVERY
As part of its continued evolution, Volant is leveraging state-of-theart technology and electronic tools to help make its own internal operations more efficient.
Indeed, the company continues to leverage enterprise resource planning (ERP) to streamline the work of its staff, therefore reducing the risk of human error and improving reliability.
This can be seen in Volant’s approach to using artificial intelligence (AI) across different areas of the business.
“AI is absolutely a huge part of everybody’s world, and learning to use it well is really how we’re approaching this opportunity.
“We seek to use AI as a team member, not as an oracle to which we outsource our thinking. We use it to improve the way we think, not to replace staff,” assures Shute.
Externally, the company recognizes the opportunity to use AI and machine learning (ML) to deliver value to customers and envisages using these tools to explore its growing dataset of casing interactions with wellbores.
“Volant views data as the new discovery space, and thanks to our deep engineering understanding of how casing interacts with wellbores, we can teach AI more efficiently and effectively, enabling it to provide better outcomes,” he explains.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
As the global energy supply landscape continues to evolve, oil and gas is increasingly being recognized as a necessary part of the long-term energy transition. This message is continually communicated to Volant’s employee base, who believe in and are committed to the overall company mission.
“It’s important for our staff to understand they are not employed in a sunset industry – they are employed in a sector that has a decades-long runway.
“Our customers’ willingness to pay for what we provide is on a firmer foundation knowing that what we are doing is necessary and not on the decline,” Shute impassions.
The company also strives to recognize staff wins in real-time and has a recurring segment in its quarterly business update that acknowledges and celebrates employee successes, particularly honoring those who have lived out Volant’s performance pillars.
“When everyone is pulling in the same direction, it’s a tremendously powerful force,” Shute smiles.
Continuing into 2026, Volant is striking a balance between investment in groundbreaking technology, improvement of core product lines, and the commercialization of new products.
“By balancing our technology portfolio, we have the ability to deliver what our customers are asking for now and what they will need as they drill and complete increasingly long and complex wells,” Shute concludes.
Tel: +1.780.490.5185
info@volantproducts.ca
www.volantproducts.ca