Celebrating 20 years of MDL

As MDL reaches the memorable milestone, CEO Derek Smith looks at what made the journey to 20 years in business possible - and the meaning of One Team MDL.

Wow… it’s hard to believe 20 years ago MDL was only a start-up. On one hand, it is difficult to speak of any celebration in a market that is still really tough… but the fact that we are still here, despite the adversity, despite the impact of the downturn is something of note. We are still keeping our head above water, and importantly, still keeping integral to our core values:

Driven by people – because without people who are driven, there is no progression. Challenge everything – we’ve not let challenges get in the way of a project’s success. Forward thinking – we continue to solve tomorrow’s issues – hence our ever-growing fleet. Keep it real – we’ve always been honest, straight-talking and down to the point.

The more I think about it, the more there is to celebrate really… The longevity in itself, 20 years from a standing start. On this day 20 years ago, there was nothing – not even a yard. Today, we have a strong organisation, whose name – through our people and our equipment – is reaching all corners of the world. It’s quite amazing, actually, and I certainly am proud of our people, our HSEQ record, our products and our brand.

If I could have a birthday wish… I would wish that everyone at MDL: the long-timers, and the newcomers, the qualified and the young – celebrate the fact that We Are MDL. More importantly, that we are One Team MDL.

Our 20/20 vision – our goal for marking our 20 anniversary in 2020 – is to bring the One Team MDL feel to more clients’ projects and businesses, helping them benefit from our two decades of experience and learnings, in line with our mantra: working together to win.

With all that said, I hope that the current feeling in the industry that things are maybe picking up does come to pass, because One Team MDL is revving to go, and I’d like to put that energy into good use.

Derek Smith, CEO