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Rabby explains the difference between top drive drilling for oil and gas versus conven- tional, rotary table drilling: “Top drives have revolutionized the drilling industry,” he says. “Today, we put the drive at the top of the rig, as opposed to rotary table rigs where the drive was located at the base of the rig.We can drill faster and more efficiently with vastly improved safety. Combined with sensors and automation, downhole motors, telemetry, automated pipe handling, walking systems, improved fluids, drill bit advancements, completions tools – the technology and skill in this area has exploded in the past 20 years, and much of it has been developed in North America. In these tough times, our knowledge and technology allows North American companies to be competitive in a global market. And many countries around the world are looking at North American tech- nology and skill to help them stay competitive.” Rabby admits that his company was very for- tunate to have been at the forefront of top drive development in the industry. “That’s where our company really started to take off,” he states. “We developed some patented technology for top drives; we did a lot of work with early top drive manufacturers to get our equipment on their top drives when they were being made. And through that, we were exposed to the global drilling industry, because of the demand HI-KALIBRE EQUIPMENT LTD. for top drive technology worldwide. So, our equipment was getting international attention. From there, it continued to grow. Larger top drive manufacturers started to use our equip- ment offshore; we did a lot more work overseas, and we spent the last few years developing our service and support in all the countries where our equipment is working.” Hi-Kalibre’s main products are the different kinds of high-pressure valves that are used in various parts of drilling operations. For ex- ample: top drive drill stem safety valves are widely used for both blow out prevention and mud control during drilling; inside blow out prevention valves are used to control back flow or blow out when the drill stem safety valve is disconnected from the drill pipe; and ball valves are used in manifolds, choke, and kill as- semblies. In addition, the company also makes actuators that can turn its valves on and off,