Cathy Russell is amazed at the growth her homegrown business has seen in the past year.

Russell is the vice-president of marketing for Bendking Inc., an Alberta company owned and operated by she and her husband Kevin Russell. Sales of their patented horizontal pipe-bending machines jumped an estimated 103 per cent last year, she says, and the company made their first international sale in December, sending one of their machines to work in New Zealand's growing oil and gas market.

"I can't believe how quickly it grew," she said.

A successful business wasn't the goal of creating the world's first horizontal bending machine. Kevin Russell, a welder/fabricator by trade, was concerned about the apparent dangers of bending pipe vertically, and began working on a safer unit.

That was six years ago. The company was incorporated in 1998, receiving Canadian and U.S. patents in 2000. Kevin's horizontal bending machine has been sold to customers around Western Canada, including SaskEnergy, and still boasts a perfect safety record, says Cathy.

Horizontal bending is safer because the machine bends pipe on the ground, offering an unobstructed view of the work. As well, because of the location of the controls, it is impossible for the operator to injure their limbs.

In fact, the machine was examined last year by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety in Grande Prairie, Alta., and they could find no safety hazards, apart from putting a sticker on the unit advising no riders during transit.

"They just thought it was an awesome design," said Cathy.

The machine has also been tested by the U.S. Department of Energy at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Centre in Wyoming. Although the department could not give an official endorsement, Cathy says they can use the department's engineer as a reference to the safety of the machine.

Other benefits are ease of use. A vertical bending machine typically requires a well-trained crew to operate, says Cathy; their horizontal unit requires only a single operator and the learning curve is significantly smaller.

It is also easy to transport, she says, as the machines weigh roughly 5,000 pounds and can be moved using a one-ton flatback truck.

Originally, Bendking offered two models, the KB10 and KB11. The KB10 used an independent electric start 13 horsepower gas motor, with a self-contained hydraulic system; the KB11 was largely the same, except it was designed to quickly connect to an independent off-unit hydraulic power source.

The company recently upgraded the KB10 model, replacing most of the hydraulic hoses with tubes and an electric relief valve instead of a hydraulic valve.

The machine is designed to bend pipes from three inches to 10 inches thick, performing both regular and "S" bends within minutes.

Customer satisfaction has been very good, says Cathy, noting that most companies who rent their machines often buy them or become loyal renters. SaskEnergy itself said the machine paid for itself within a very short time, she said.

The company is hoping to break into new markets beyond Canada, including the lucrative U.S. market. Touchy political relations between Canada and the U.S. have made that difficult, but it's now looking very favourable, Cathy said.