Tapping Solutions started like so many other companies. Necessity is the mother of all invention. It all began in the early 80s when the gas company who Milton was currently sub-contracting for approached him about preforming a procedure. This procedure was called hot tapping. At the time hot tapping was not a new concept, but it was for Milton and for the regional clients.  Milton’s response was “absolutely”. He then took it upon himself to research and to find out what exactly a hot tap was.  Milton’s process started out very primitive in technique and in tooling. He knew there were many risks and hazards involved, making it imperative to think every step through carefully and methodically to determine what risks were and were not acceptable. He began to see quickly that hot tapping was a need that many companies had. It was a growing service, and a potential that could not be ignored. More so, he now had the knowledge and drive to fill that need.  So began the years of perfecting the craft and improving Milton’s process and ability to make hot taps of all variations as well as getting more and more experience along the way.

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Milton does not know the words “No we can’t do that”. Milton is the guy who if asked “Can you drill into a live gas line?” his response would be “When and where?”. Some might view Milton as a risk taker. To this he would not deny, but he always puts an intense mental process of consideration into the risk from every angle inside and out and front to back. He is a pro at his process to eliminate and manage risk. Milton Walker is old school through and through and is a firm believer in not only hard work, but also working harder, more efficient, and smarter than anyone else. Milton is guided by the principle, “everyone goes home each night”. Which comes from a heart driven by safety as the ultimate priority. Milton was fortunate enough to have his start in hot tapping when the industry was driven by the American Dream as well as Common Sense.

Hot tapping is very procedural, precise, and requires a vast amount of experience. Milton took and still takes every opportunity to observe, learn, and ask questions. “Do the hot tap, analyze, review, and improve the process.” These are the tools and principles that Milton lives by, and that Tapping Solutions thrives and builds upon.

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Fast forward to the late 80’s. Milton received some official training to further improve his ability in the craft. This was at TD Williams, the industry leader in hot tapping. During this time Milton was still contracting in other areas and not yet willing to make hot tapping a first priority in his business ventures. However, he continues to make a name for himself in hot tapping. He was known for being safe, not cutting corners, being dependable, and for being quick to get the job done. This led to more and more opportunities to serve the industry. It also gave Milton the ability to purchase more sophisticated and more capable equipment, leading to be able to perform larger and higher pressure taps to serve greater needs of more customers.
 

In the mid-2000s, due to the increasing demand of hot tapping, Milton hired an apprentice and officially formed Tapping Solutions. This allowed him to take better care of customers while at the same time diversifying his assets. As gas pressures and flow increased due to higher volumes, so did the stakes and risk that came inherent in the process. The industry began to see the need for operator qualification, drug testing, and increased insurance coverage for the safety and overall health of the industry. As the industry continued to shift, so did Tapping Solutions. Milton fully embraced that safety is paramount and truly spared no expense to ensure that only the safest equipment was used and employed the most qualified and best trained personnel.

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Milton counts himself blessed and fortunate to have been able to hire and train top tier employees over the years. The mid 2010’s lead to the adding of valuable members of the Tapping Solutions family.

Today Tapping Solutions is still a family run business operating out of Guymon, Oklahoma. They have less than 10 employees. But do not let size fool you, Tapping Solutions takes care of all of Oklahoma and Texas, as well as parts of Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. They have gone as far as West Virginia and many other locations. They take care of their customers and are not afraid to travel. Because of the size and the tight nit character of the company, there is little to no turnover, which allows for an increased focus on continuing education and training across the board.

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Tapping Solutions operates within ISNetworld, Veriforce, and others to ensure compliance with the ever-continuing standards of the industry.

 

• Tapping Solutions maintains continued in-house safety and procedural training as well as with Accurate Safety out of Oklahoma City.

 

• Tapping Solutions technicians have been through multiple class sessions through TD Williams Hot Tapping School.

 

• Tapping Solutions employees have been through Safe Land training.

 

• Tapping Solutions is always looking for opportunities to equip and empower their employees to succeed on the job and in life.

 

• Tapping solutions maintains MSA’s with several Oil and Gas Companies and holds tight to the belief that what’s good for the industry is good for the company and all those involved.

 

• Milton has stated that just owning a hot tapping machine does not make you a hot tapper. In turn he takes every opportunity to buy any tapping machine for sale to keep it out of the hands of an unqualified person.

 

• Milton has introduced safety issues with tapping manufacturers and helped improve and evolve their products moving forward.

 

• Milton has and will continue to impart his knowledge and ability to continue into the future.