Walter B. Reinhold

Walter B. (Beni) Reinhold spent his entire working career in the drilling industry, and was involved in the offshore industry from its earliest days. Working in his father’s small oil tool company, Abegg & Reinhold, he became known throughout the oilfield as an innovator and gradually transformed the company into the leading manufacturers of offshore drilling equipment. Beni held steadfast to the vision that offshore drilling would greatly benefit from automation. Convinced that major improvements in offshore safety and drilling efficiency would result from automation, he focused his efforts on promoting a steady stream of offshore technology from top drives to automated pipe-handling equipment. In the course of his career, he created Varco International, one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of offshore equipment. Almost all of today’s offshore fleet is equipped with Varco’s equipment.