Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Glynn.
Peter, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey with SandBox Logistics started in January 2014, shortly after Josh and John Oren founded the company. Josh served as the CEO and John as Chairman. My role was Chief Commercial Officer and the other members of the management team were Thomas Massalone (COO) and Merril Cummings (CFO).
SandBox was formed to solve the many problems associated with moving the large volumes of sand required by the Frac Industry…… almost 100 Million tons per year.
In 2012, as demand for frac sand was taking off, the Orens formed a company called PSI Frac Logistics to deliver sand to well sites using traditional pneumatic bulk trailers. They quickly realized that this method of transporting sand was highly inefficient, requiring multiple product transfers along the supply chain. Additionally, pneumatic transfer caused serious environmental / health hazards by creating high levels of silica dust. It became apparent that a radical new approach was needed to solve these problems and that the solution was containerization.
SandBox was designed from scratch as an end-to-end solution for transporting frac sand and managing its delivery to well site operations. It is based on modular containers (SandBoxes) that hold up to 25,000 lbs of sand. Sandboxes are transported special trailers that can be loaded and unloaded by forklift. Because of their modularity, sand can be pre-delivered to well site operations, eliminating demurrage costs and reducing the delivery time per load from over an hour and a half to just 4 minutes.
At the well site, SandBoxes (up to 4 at a time) are loaded by forklift onto a special conveyor system that can deliver up to 25,000 lbs to the well while virtually eliminating silica dust. SandBox represents a radically new process innovation that dramatically lowers costs, increases efficiency and improves safety. The novelty of this innovation is reflected in the fact that we obtained over 50 issued patents covering the equipment designs and methods of use. For more information on SandBox please see our website: http://www.sandboxlogistics.com
Our business model consists of a bundled offering comprised of equipment rental, transportation and wellsite delivery operations. SandBox began operations in mid-2013, adding several new customers over the following months. Then, in mid-2014, the price of oil collapsed. While this was an extremely difficult time for Oil & Gas Operators and Service Companies, it set the stage for an acceleration of growth for SandBox, as the industry became desperate to find new ways to lower costs.
One challenge to the growth of Sandbox is that it is highly disruptive to Oilfield Service Companies since we effectively unbundle, and provide independently, a significant service that they, for years, provided to Oil & Gas Operators. The following two years saw much drama and intrigue as a new paradigm unfolded for frac sand logistics. The stories involving this period are extremely interesting but would likely take a book to fully describe. Suffice to say that the system proved unbeatable and we continued our hard-won growth.
By 2016, we realized that a market rebound was imminent and that to leverage the strong foundation we needed to be prepared to dramatically accelerate our growth and expand our footprint. We began a process to identify strategic partners and in late 2016 agreed to an acquisition offer by US Silica, the leading supplier of frac sand in the country. This transaction allowed us to provide an end-to-end (mine to wellhead) solution for frac sand delivery. It was a great move at the right time.
Since the acquisition, SandBox continues to grow. In four short years, we grew the company from our initial 5-person management team to an organization employing over 1500 awesome people. Much more could be said about the SandBox story. But overall it was a phenomenal success created by the most amazing people I have ever worked with. In August 2017, having completed my transition duties following the acquisition, I left SandBox to pursue other interests
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The kind of success achieved by Sandbox is never without challenges. We disrupted an entire industry dominated by titans like Halliburton and Schlumberger. Standing up well site operations in the weather of -40 degrees with blinding snow, floods, remote locations and manpower shortages was incredibly difficult.
What were you like growing up?
I was somewhat of an athletic introvert. I attended boarding school at Deerfield Academy and went on to college at Duke University. I always like science and philosophy. Tennis and skiing are my sports. I always loved travel and have been to over 70 countries. I have studied at Bristol University in England and at Bocconi University in Milan. I have also spent over one year living in each of Israel, Egypt and Pakistan.
I moved to Houston from London in 1998 to take a job at McKinsey & Company. Since moving to Houston I have been very involved in the Arts. I served on the Board of what is now The Catastrophic Theater for 5 years and was founding Board President of Spacetaker (now part of Fresh Arts).
I currently serve on the Board of 14 Pews, a non-profit organization dedicated to Film. I also am very involved with Ecclesia, which has been my church and faith community for almost 20 years.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3200 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1310
Houston, Texas 77027 - Website: http://www.sandboxlogistics.com
- Email: peter@phglynn.com
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