Peter Borgards
Real people, real stories
Peter Borgards, Chief Commercial Officer, Berg Pipe
What is Berg Pipe?
We are one of the largest manufacturers of pipe in the U.S. and have been in business for 40 years. We originally started in Panama City, Florida, and expanded to Mobile, Alabama, in 2008, with another state-of-the-art mill. We are the only company in the U.S. that offers both longitudinal seam-welded pipe and spiral seam-welded pipe, which allows us to cover a very large size spectrum.
What does your partnership with Keystone XL mean to your company?
TC Energy committed a few years ago to build the U.S. portion of the pipeline with American made quality steel and it is rewarding to see that KXL chose Berg as their quality supplier. This order will enable us to keep hundreds of our team members employed during these unprecedented times.
What does it mean to your local communities, where your employees live and work?
The impact this order has on our local communities is often not appreciated enough. We estimate that for every job at Berg, there is at least another job in the local community that is linked to us. Just think about machine shops, logistics contractors, restaurants, hotels, uniform services etc. We also source most of the steel from a producer located in Mobile, Alabama, which more than doubles the effect this order has on this region.
If there is one thing you would want to tell people about Keystone XL, what would that be?
While we all realize and support that the energy markets will eventually change, we will depend on traditional fuels for the foreseeable future. Our entire industry needs to do a better job explaining how projects like Keystone XL are vital for the energy independence of the U.S. Why would you prefer to import oil and gas from unstable regions in the world, if you can ship it safely from your northern neighbor?
Let’s talk safety. How important is safety to your team?
Safety is the most important value in our company. Our weekly management calls always start with a safety review of the previous week. We are proud to have an excellent safety record, but are always looking for ways to further improve. Safety is part of our culture, you can compare it to the cleanliness in our mills. How can you expect your employees to produce a quality product if their work environment is dirty?