Red Man History
Surrounded by gentle hills stretching toward the Ozark foothills, Tulsa lies along the Arkansas River. From its source near Leadville, Colorado, the river travels through Kansas, then through Northeastern Oklahoma crossing the state of Arkansas where it empties into the Mississippi River. Along the way, the river travels through rich oil and gas fields - a logistical dream for a successful pipe and supply company.
Just as rich as the oil and gas fields in which Red Man got its start, roots run deep at Red Man Pipe and Supply Company. Visitors can feel it when meeting employees in whom the true Spirit of Red Man is found. As its name attests, strong heritage comes to mind when walking through the impressive building that bares the Red Man name.
Spirit
The S pirit of Red Man started with its founder, Lewis Ketchum, a Delaware Tribe Native American Indian and is embraced by his descendents that still lead this proud company. With experienced gained while working for Bethlehem Steel for 19 years, Lew started Red Man Pipe and Supply in Tulsa, OK with a venture capital loan of $50,000 in 1977 after having obtained the distributorships of United States Steel Corporation and Lone Star Steel Company. Beginning as a distributor of oil country tubular goods, Red Man grew into the general oilfield supply business by opening its first supply store in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and its first sales office in Houston, Texas.
Growth
Red Man opened its second store in Morgan City, LA and in the early 1980’s opened Red Man Measurement Company in Tulsa, OK. Until 1987, Red Man operated four supply stores. The company then began an aggressive growth pattern searching for additional stores to acquire. In March 1987, the company acquired 22 supply stores from Superior Supply Company located across the Gulf Coast and in active markets throughout New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Red Man acquired two supply stores in 1988 from American Energy Tubular including inventory and fixed assets. In June 1989, Red Man acquired equipment and inventories from Arrow Pump Supply, Inc. Both companies were located in Oklahoma. Strengthening Red Man's placement of supply stores and improving its competitive position, in June 1990, Red Man purchased equipment and inventory items from Bethlehem Supply Corporation.
In March 1995, Red Man acquired the Supply Division of Vinson Supply Company, allowing Red Man to handle day-to-day requirements of both upstream and downstream customers as well as major projects. In 1999, Red Man grew their downstream business, providing additional locations, experienced personnel, and product offering, specializing in stainless steel products by purchasing the business operations of R. J. Gallagher Co., a privately held distribution corporation headquartered in Houston, TX. In November of 2001, Red Man purchased the assets of Mylon C. Jacobs Supply Company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Wesco Equipment was established as a subsidiary in 2002, and is the largest stocking distributor of Bettis actuators in the country, giving Red Man a leading advantage in the valve automation market. With operations throughout the West and Southwest United States, Wesco services the energy industry, petroleum industry, chemical plants, manufacturing facilities and many other specialty customers.
Continuing this growth initiative, in 2005 Red Man acquired controlling interest in Canada’s Midfield Supply, one of the leading industrial and oilfield PVF suppliers in North America.
Ever expanding their geographic coverage, in 2006, Red Man purchased Bear Tubular with locations in Philadelphia, PA and Portland, ME .
Industries Served
Red Man is a distributor of pipe, valves, fittings, industrial mill supplies, oilfield products and tubular goods. The company serves three distinct market segments within the oilfield, industrial, midstream, utility, and international industries. The first market is the distribution of pipe, valves, and fittings sales to downstream operations, including refineries, power plants, gas distribution companies, pipe lines, chemical plants and fabricators.
The second is that of consumable oilfield supplies consisting primarily of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) items. The third market served con-sists of oil country tubular goods which requires strategic stocks of inventory and strong relationships with several steel manufacturers.
Each of these markets is a decentralized business requiring distribution facilities to be near the local operations of customers. Consequently, a large number of facilities, or supply stores, is needed. Although these market segments are distinct in nature, the business focus is on the same customer base. The company's overall revenue base has historically been evenly divided between these three markets.
Red Man contracts on a daily basis with more than 14,000 vendors to distribute over 70,000 products through the company's supply stores. Red Man's product base consists of consumable PVF (Pipe, Valve, and Fitting) products, oilfield supplies, and tubular products manufactured by steel mills. The company operates solely as a distributor of finished products. The company's supply stores maintain an extensive stock of general consumable supplies.
Red Man operates 62 store facilities and six sales offices. The sales offices are primarily responsible for the distribution of oil country tubular goods, whereas the stores maintain inventories of consumable oilfield and industrial supplies which field crews and plant personnel purchase on a daily basis.
In July 2007, Red Man announced a merger of equals with McJunkin Corporation, headquartered in Charleston, WV.