In the Northeast region of the United States, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia have honed in on oil and natural gas resources spread throughout the region since about 2008. With shale oil and gas right below the feet of millions in this tri-state region, the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays are booming with new and up-and-coming companies.
These businesses range from the actual upstream companies extracting the shale oil and gas out of the ground to the midstream folks pushing these resources to market and to every other ancillary company in between.
Ancillary industries do come into place when we are talking about the industry. As a result of the shale
oil and gas growth, the region is seeing an economic trickle-down effect where ancillary industries are
reaping the so-called produced fruits.
Talking about ancillary businesses, MAC Safety Consultants, Inc., comes into focus and is a full-service safety company that provides a wide array of cost effective safety solutions. MAC Safety, an expansive safety provider that is heavily involved in the shale oil and gas industry, made an appearance at Shale Media Group’s January Elite Energy Event (E3), the shale industry’s premium monthly networking event.
The E3 was hosted at the Holiday Inn in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, lying east of Pittsburgh on the skirts of where there shale oil and gas industry is receiving buzz. Chris Miranda, President and Founder, grabbed the audience’s attention and conveyed, “We provide on-site safety training and consulting. We staff numerous sites in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.”
In order to staff these job sites, MAC Safety’s origin remains in their headquarters, which sits in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, near the bank of the Ohio River, also where Shell’s property of the proposed
ethane cracker rests. Speaking of their roots, MAC Safety has always been a safety provider. Expanding,
the company grabbed hold of the shale oil and gas industry and leveraged foothold for the Marcellus and Utica.
“We started with experience in manufacturing steel mills and chemical plants,” stated Miranda. “That
has allowed us to move into the shale oil and gas on-site construction facilities. This has made the
transition much easier for having our full-time safety professionals provide for our customers.”
Economically speaking, even with the oil market taking a downward turn in late 2014, MAC Safety hasn’t
seen business slowing down. The safety professionals continue on with momentum and are doing business as usual. Miranda makes a note of their ties in shale oil and gas and how this niche safety market can fluctuate. “We are not just oil and gas. We have the ability to move into steel mills, chemical plants, and other on-site construction facilities,” expressed Miranda. “Oil and gas is a strong section of the business right now, but the market also allows us to move into other strong avenues.”
Continuing the conversation, the steel and chemical industries circle back to the shale oil and gas
industry in some way or another. To hydraulically fracture shale, upstream companies need steel piping to drop down into the wellbore. Also to hydraulically fracture shale, upstream companies need to get their hands on various chemicals and additives to produce frac fluids.
In relation to these shale oil and gas companies actually forcing oil and gas to the surface, MAC Safety is there along the process, whether it be in between Step A and B or Step Y and Z. “Our process is family-driven. We’re not your average safety consulting company,” relayed Miranda. “We provide solutions and embrace an energetic work environment to get the job done. Our safety experts incorporate a seamless transition for our customers, where no one really knows you’re a MAC Safety employee.”
MAC Safety’s family-driven culture, instilment of energy, and upkeep of long-standing relationships is what sets them apart from the bunch. Miranda continued, “The oil and gas industry has to be proactive. Our approach encompasses that proactivity. When it comes to safety, you can’t be reactive.”
Inevitably, accidents and injuries do happen on job sites. Piecing the puzzle together, MAC Safety solves
the safety problem before it actually occurs. MAC Safety sees their horizon being filled with continuous
growth. Across the board, MAC Safety’s core drills down to the philosophy of safety proactivity and workplace enthusiasm.
Shale Media Group (SMG) is the news, information, and education resource dedicated to the shale oil and gas industries by messaging across video, Internet, publications, events, and radio. For more, check out ShaleMediaGroup.com to access all platforms, including SMG’s latest news delivery system–Shale Energy Business Briefing (SEBB), an ad-free subscription based service, where subscribers receive a real-time, daily email, featuring concise, hard hitting shale news 7 days/week, 365 days/year. To sign up, go to sebb.us. Adam Larson is a Staff Writer with Shale Media Group. Contact him at