Gerald Grohmann

Gerald Grohmann serves as CEO of Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment (SBO), a Vienna-listed Austrian company that dominates the global niche of high-precision, non-magnetic drill string components. SBO manufactures non-magnetic drill collars, stabilizers, and housings for MWD (measurement-while-drilling) and LWD (logging-while-drilling) systems — critical components that allow drilling engineers to steer wells precisely to their target formations. Non-magnetic components are essential because the electronic sensors inside MWD/LWD tools need a magnetically clean environment to accurately measure wellbore direction and formation properties. SBO's components are machined from special non-magnetic stainless steel alloys to extremely tight tolerances. The company holds approximately 50% of the global market for these specialized components — a dominant position built on decades of metallurgical expertise and precision machining capabilities. SBO's business is cyclical, tied to global drilling activity (particularly horizontal and directional drilling, which requires more sophisticated drill string components than vertical drilling). The company has diversified into geothermal drilling components, benefiting from the energy transition's growing demand for geothermal energy. Key stock drivers include global rig count trends, horizontal/directional drilling activity, oil and gas prices (which drive drilling investment), geothermal drilling growth, order backlog, and the cyclical nature of oilfield equipment spending.