Pros
1. A friendly, generally collaborative work culture. At certain plants and offices, they cater lunch and everyone from senior management to administrative assistants will eat lunch together. 2. Bredero Shaw claims to be the "global leader in pipe coating solutions" and this is very much the case. They will win the majority of major oil and gas pipe coating projects and this will look good on a resume. Lots of ambitious individuals at BS tend to use the company as a stepping stone to bigger oil and gas companies.
Cons
1. Their training and development program is nonexistent. Be prepared to learn on the job, through trial and error. If you cannot stomach making mistakes, this is not the place for you. 2. BS holds a virtual monopoly on major oil and gas pipe coating projects, so management tends to get complacent and there isn't much incentive to improve or streamline its processes. 3. Salaries are relatively low because while Bredero Shaw executes oil and gas pipeline projects by operators such as ExxonMobil and Shell, their contribution margins and revenues are in line with the salaries at manufacturers and as a result they cannot compete with the salaries meted out at higher end oil and gas service companies. Bonuses and raises are on the low end for mid to lower level employees. Again, high caliber individuals of the ambitious sort tend to jump ship after a couple of years. 4. The Board of Directors is very conservative, because ShawCor is a family owned company. Thus, you will be met with a very risk averse board if you are seeking to propose changes or any sort of aggressive expansion and growth. Virginia Shaw, the chairwoman of the board, has indicated her interest in selling her controlling shares. Though they explored a sale, this did not pan out so the sale of ShawCor is on hold for the time being.