Since 1986, ModuSpec has set the standard through its people, expertise and continuous innovation.
As part of our 40th anniversary series, we begin where it all started. Chairman Leo Nagtegaal and his son Hans, Director of Strategic Initiatives, reflect on how it all began, how the business has evolved and what has remained constant along the way.
Reflecting on 40 years
For many years, while working for Sedco on deepwater drilling rigs as a Subsea Engineer and later as a Drilling Equipment Engineer, I was surprised by the lack of a proper rig intake process within the industry. From first-hand experience, I understood the technical condition of the rigs and the significant risks associated with unplanned non-productive time caused by equipment failures.
It became clear to me that a thorough and intrusive inspection process could prevent many of these breakdowns before they disrupted drilling operations. The financial impact thereof was enormous. In the early 1980s, while drilling deepwater wells for Shell Canada, operating costs were approximately half a million US dollars per day. Preventing even a few days of downtime through proper inspection and preparation could save oil companies and drilling contractors substantial amounts of money.
What surprised me most was that many oil companies at the time were not primarily focused on improving operational efficiency or reducing operational costs.
At that time, Exxon was one of the few oil companies with a formal rig intake program, while Chevron operated a dedicated BOP inspection team. Recognising the gap in the market, I became the first in the industry to establish a specialised rig intake inspection service. West followed later, although they were initially focused solely on BOP inspections.
Over time, ModuSpec became widely recognised throughout the industry for conducting highly detailed, high-quality inspections. In fact, our rig intake process became so well known that clients would often refer to the activity itself as “conducting a ModuSpec” on the rig. That recognition was a reflection of the trust and reputation we earned across the industry.
The company culture we built was founded on several core principles: delivering quality, maintaining honesty and integrity, driving innovation and remaining fully client-focused. At the same time, we remained a family-run business, which meant we genuinely cared about our people and their wellbeing. This combination of technical excellence and strong values enabled us to become the largest and most respected company in our field.
I sold the company in 2008 and officially retired in 2012, after which the company name was changed. However, in 2017, at the request of my former management team, I returned to the industry and together we started again from scratch. Until 2024 we were unable to use the ModuSpec name, but after re-acquiring the company, we fully reinstated the brand. Today, we remain fully committed to maintaining the quality, innovation, and client focus that the ModuSpec name has always represented.
Growing up, ModuSpec genuinely felt like an extension of our family. In the early days, the Dutch office was literally based in our home. After school, I would sit and have tea with the office staff and we would often all have lunch together around our kitchen table. When surveyors or colleagues visited from other offices, they would sometimes even stay in our spare bedroom. Looking back, it felt less like a company and more like a close-knit community working toward a shared goal.
As the business grew, so did its ambitions and footprint. The office later moved to Meliskerke, a small village that became ModuSpec’s global headquarters. I still remember helping knock down walls and re-model parts of the building alongside Duco (current CEO), Wilco (current CFO) and other colleagues. It was a very hands-on period where everyone contributed however they could. Later, the company moved again to Serooskerke - a larger office reflecting a much larger and more international organisation.
One of the biggest changes has been the scale of the business and the industry itself. ModuSpec evolved from a relatively small entrepreneurial company into a global organisation with far greater reach, structure and complexity. Technology, systems and ways of working have naturally advanced significantly over the years as well.
At the same time, what stands out to me is that the sense of familiarity, warmth and camaraderie has largely remained unchanged. Even today, I still see colleagues supporting each other through challenges and building friendships outside of work. As I’ve travelled to different ModuSpec locations, the way people have welcomed and onboarded me has always made me feel at home - very much like the environment I grew up in alongside the company.
When I sold the company in 2008, we had become the largest and most respected company in our sector. Achieving that standard is only possible when every aspect of the organisation is aligned: strong systems, high-quality procedures and standards, and, most importantly, the best professionals in the industry.
Our surveyors are our ambassadors. On every assignment, they demonstrate why they are among the very best in the business. We support them with advanced tools such as our Argus Inspection and Compliance suites, but equally important is our commitment to listening - listening to our clients and to the industry itself.
Although I am well beyond normal retirement age, I remain incredibly proud of what we have built together over the past 40 years. It has not always been easy; this industry experiences significant highs and lows. Yet I still enjoy contributing every day, helping shape the company’s future strategy and continuously looking for ways to add value to the industry.
Despite all the growth and change, I believe the heart of ModuSpec has remained remarkably consistent: its people, its integrity and its strong sense of trust and accountability.
From the beginning, relationships were always built on honesty, quality and doing the right thing - both for clients and for colleagues. That people-first culture created an environment where individuals genuinely cared about one another and were willing to go the extra mile to support the team and deliver high standards of work.
I think that consistency has been incredibly important to the company’s success. Industries, technologies and markets will always evolve, but trust and reputation are built over decades. ModuSpec’s ability to maintain its values while continuing to grow globally is what has allowed the company to build long-term relationships and a strong reputation within the industry.
For me personally, having seen the company from both a family and professional perspective, it’s that balance of professionalism and genuine human connection that has always made ModuSpec special.
Today, 40 years after ModuSpec was founded, the industry is finally fully focused on reducing non-productive time and improving operational efficiency - exactly the vision that inspired me to start the company in the first place. That focus is embedded in our DNA and we are well prepared for the future.
We are fundamentally a company of engineers, which perhaps means we have not always spent enough time telling the industry how advanced our capabilities truly are. Instead, we have consistently re-invested our profits back into the business. As a result, we now operate one of the most advanced AI-driven real-time monitoring (RTM) systems in the industry, Argus RTM.
We have also developed the Argus Inspection & Compliance, digitising the entire rig intake programme, which has been fully adopted by several of the world’s largest international oil companies. Importantly, we work closely not only with operators but also with the major drilling contractors across the industry. Together, we share the same objective: creating safer operations while optimising equipment reliability and overall rig efficiency.
Looking ahead, we will continue investing in a safer and more efficient industry. Our focus remains on eliminating equipment failures by further optimising maintenance systems and advancing predictive and condition-based maintenance strategies. Through the use of real-time monitoring, AI and data analytics, and the extensive inspection history we have built over the last four decades, we are now able to optimise maintenance programs, reduce operating costs, and significantly improve operational efficiency.
In close co-operation with one of the world’s leading deepwater drilling contractors and one of the largest international operators, working as a team and successfully utilising our Argus RTM system, we have successfully kept BOP stacks subsea for periods exceeding 400 days on multiple occasions, without the need for intermittent retrieval to surface. This achievement demonstrates that both our systems and our people are fully prepared for the future of the industry.
Forty years on, what comes through clearly in both Leo and Hans' reflections is that the things that matter most at ModuSpec have never really changed. As the anniversary year continues, we'll be sharing more stories from across the business and the people who have helped shape it.
