Pipeline Inspection Company has been a leading brand of coating inspection, jeep meter and pig tracking equipment serving the oil and gas industry for 65 years. All of our SPY® brand products are highly regarded by many in the oil and gas industry as the best in class. Not only do we offer superior manufactured equipment & accessories, but we also offer the kind of solid expertise and support for our equipment that should be expected from a leading manufacturer for the oil and gas industry.
Pipeline Inspection Company was founded by George B Wren in Kansas City, Missouri in 1953. Mr. Wren graduated from the University of Kansas in 1941 as an electrical engineer. He began manufacturing holiday detectors for Standard Pipe Protection Co. of St. Louis (then known as Standard Pipe, Inc.). Standard Pipe salesmen were allowed to sell the detectors as they called on the entire pipeline trade. The detectors gradually became known in the field as “SPI” for short, abbreviating the Standard Pipe name. The equipment began getting a reputation of being superior to competing equipment in the market, at that time, because they were so dependable, reliable and durable that the demand quickly became more than what could be handled as a part-time operation. Standard Pipe Equipment did not want to go into the business of manufacturing holiday detectors and therefore allowed Mr. Wren to go into business for himself manufacturing that equipment. Their only request was to not use the SPI designation that had developed so he changed the product name to “SPY” and had it registered as a trademark.
The principal product of Pipeline Inspection Company is a holiday detector. A “holiday” is a term used in the oil and gas industry to denote a defect in coated pipe. The company later added additional products including Jeep Meters (Voltage Meters) and Pig Tracking Systems. The Pig Transmitters (which is part of the Pig Tracking System) is inserted in or attached to a “Pig” (a device that performs various maintenance operations in a pipeline) as it is being inserted into a pipeline, the Pig Tracking System is then used to track the movement of the pig as well as locating the pig should it become stuck and/or lost in the pipeline.
Pipeline Inspection Company has continued to grow since its inception. Due to the large volume of business in and around Houston, Texas, the manufacturing facility was moved to its present location in 1968. Since then Pipeline Inspection Company has become a global company with distributors located all over the world. Everyone at Pipeline Inspection Company is dedicated to providing the very best products, service and support in the industry.
