With several dozen attendees, TFH Safety Solutions & Consulting, LLC, owner ClaraAnne Rippy took her business to the next level Friday with a ribbon cutting in a new location at 1213 N. West County Road.
Affected but undeterred by the pandemic, the business she opened on Sanger Street just 18 months ago expanded from four employees to seven.
“We’ve grown and we’re going to continue growing as fast as we can,” Rippy said. “I don’t think we ever slowed down. We just took a step back and regrouped.”
The new location has a more room for commercial driver’s license training, with the company’s assets including space and a truck in which students can practice.
“This is my opportunity to not only reach out to the Permian Basin and make a difference, but to provide the highest level training and education to oil and gas workers,” Rippy said. “Then, with our CDL school, we’re creating a network of jobs.”
Rippy and CDL instructor Ramon Lopez explained they have developed relationships with at least 15 local trucking companies taking advantage of the TFH driver training.
“We’re also reaching out to employers,” Lopez said. “We have our own truck that was donated.”
Oilfield service companies sometimes interview student drivers in anticipation of hiring them immediately after they complete their four-week course, Rippy said.
“A lot of (the companies) will reimburse them for their CDL training,” Rippy added, “so they get their CDL (license) at no cost to them.”
Previously, Rippy earned designation as a Certified Safety and Health Official from Texas A&M University.
“I grew up in a construction family, so safety has always been very important to me,” Rippy said. “I moved to Hobbs to work for Halliburton in 2015, then oil and gas took a tank, so I took a gamble on safety. It kind of found me and I’ve been in love with it ever since.”
The safety-oriented company offers much more than CDL training.
According to the company’s website, “TFH Safety Solutions & Consulting instructors are experienced in a variety of risk management and safety principles. We have combined experience in many levels of industrial safety, emergency response and environmental management. We provide technical training in OSHA, EPA, DOT and industry consensus standards, regulations, and municipal and local codes as applicable.”
Officials of the Hobbs Chamber of Commerce, the Hobbs Ambassadors, company staff and well-wishing family joined Rippy at her ribbon-cutting ceremony.
