Services/Suppliers

Lafayette, La., has appointed R.E. “Ed” Gee regional sales manager overseeing all aspects of Ambar Lone Star’s sales accounts and sales force in the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area and coordinating efforts for North and East Texas and Midcontinent regions. He previously served as Ambar Lone Star’s DFW sales manager. Prior to that, Gee spent 30 years with Dowell Schlumberger. He is a geology graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. Replacing Gee as DFW sales manager is Zachary L. Brazzel. He previously served Ambar Lone Star as a DFW executive sales representative and as a technical service representative for the Gulf of Mexico. Brazzel is a 2002 graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in business administration. Replacing Brazzel as DFW executive sales representative is P. Boone DuBose, who previously served as a technical service representative for Ambar Lone Star in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Barnett Shale area. DuBose graduated in 2004 from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in sociology.

Ambar Lone Star Fluid Services offers a complete line of drilling and completion fluids, with operations throughout the Gulf Coast, South Texas, East Texas, and Permian/Midcontinent regions. It is a subsidiary of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., the second-largest onshore contract driller in North America.

Robert I. Johnston, vice-president and division manager of Henkels & McCoy Inc., has been elected president of the Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) for 2008. Johnson has served as a PLCA director from 2000 to the present and was elected treasurer of the association in 2005 and vice-president in 2006 and 2007. Other officers and directors of PLCA for 2008 are First Vice-Pres. Don W. Thorn, Welded Construction LP; Second Vice-Pres. Brian L. Ganske, Snelson Cos. Inc.; Treasurer Christopher T. Leines, Minnesota Ltd. Inc.; and new directors Bernie Bermack, Associated Pipe Line Contractors Inc.; M. Daniel Murphy, Precision Pipeline LLC; and Ronnie F. Wise, Gregory & Cook Construction Inc. In addition, Robert H. Westphal has been appointed to the PLCA board.

Abanaki Corp.,

Chagrin Falls, Ohio, has acquired Chardon, Ohio-based Aerodyne Development Corp. Abanaki is the world’s leading manufacturer of industrial oil skimmers. Aerodyne manufactures dust collection systems equipment and solid materials-handling components. The deal—financial terms of which were not disclosed—marks Abanaki’s plan for growth in the solid materials-handling market.