With decades of oil and gas industry experience, Richard Grifno of Houston, TX, has led an impressive career facilitating the oil and gas industry. His work optimizing current sand control screen technology, also known as well screens, has been most impressive. Grifno has cemented his legacy in changing the landscape of the industrial, oil and gas, and water well filtration technology with the development of new and improved well-screen products and the construction of a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, Delta Screens.

After receiving his B.B.A. in Management from Texas State University, Richard was appointed General Manager of the Howard Smith Screen Company, where he began acquiring his extensive knowledge of water well and oil and gas screen manufacturing. High-quality well screens are critical to efficient and sand free down hole fluid extraction operations, as they keep sand, gravel, and other debris out of the well pumps, which could cause a blockage, failure, and reduced performance.

An Oil and Gas Industry Collaborator

In the late 1970s, the Howard Smith Screen Company was acquired by Halliburton Company of Dallas to bring well screen manufacturing internally to support their sand control service business. Halliburton is one of the largest oil and gas exploration products, services, and integrated solutions providers. Under the umbrella of this corporate titan, Richard was appointed Plant Manager of Well Screen Products, overseeing daily production operations of the company’s wide array of sand control products that improve production rates and reduce damage to equipment.

Grifno contributed his significant industry expertise while at Halliburton Energy Services. His role grew to encompass not only the production side of well screen manufacturing but also the coordination of supply chain schedules, the planning of capital equipment expenditures, and the optimization of factory processes.

Desiring more opportunities to perform at a managerial level, Richard accepted a position as Vice President of Western Well Screen in 1995, which officially launched the predominantly water well screen business into the oil and gas well screen market.

After Johnson Screens acquired Western Well Screen Company, Richard was promoted to Houston Business Unit Manager. Johnson Screens is renowned for manufacturing high-quality stainless steel and PVC well screens for environmental, oil and gas, and water well equipment applications.

A Partner in Well Screen Manufacturing

In 2003, Richard Grifno entered into a critical partnership to transform well screen technology and leverage modern manufacturing techniques that have transformed the well screen industry. As Co-founder of BJ Well Screens, Richard took on the position of Business Unit Manager, a role that perfectly fit his dual manufacturing and executive oversight industry experience. 

At BJ Well Screens, Grifno was pivotal in building the business from the bottom up as opposed to the acquisition of a competing company. He and his partners brought over 60 years of sand control industry expertise to bear on their new and improved product lines. A programmable fully automated robotic welding system was employed to reduce labor by providing faster, extremely consistent, high quality welds. Their goal was to deliver higher quality well screens compared to current market technology and to leverage advanced manufacturing and automation techniques to boost production and QA.

In 2009, Richard Grifno became Co-Founder and President of Delta Screens, his latest venture which was also developed from the ground up and self-funded with private capital. The decision to construct a purpose-built facility designed in partnership with the same experienced team that founded BJ Well Screens has been pivotal to the company’s success.

To date, Delta Screens has been so successful that it is a leading, independent manufacturer of high-end screens for the oil and gas, water well, and industrial markets. The company concentrates on manufacturing high-quality sand control products and is laser-focused on providing on-time delivery, a factor critical to nonstop field production.

Published By: Aize Perez