Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1983)
■ vioi Kj^y, rvjyusi ZV, 'lVOO/in^ duhuh^mm , »s cal lain said, is, he shouldfc by talking wi it himself.Sou 1 solved withou , Balmain sin ance of sid i reputation i ore dealing* ng business ■ u don’t kno», eau is a non financed bv is or subscif iber businesse firms in tht fathering mes indirectly aid encouraginti sses do notc« bureau toefe ss practices, recommei' ay away froml Local economy boosted by oil by Tim Ward Battalion Reporter There is life after an oil oom. For the last two n | ■ Months, area drilling and oil ’ ■ ^ reduction has pic ked up and iusTC —Sryan^Wge on shoDDersi tatlon econom y 1S g ettin g ave trouble!, ron S er ever y da y- ;in ol1 wt ' 11 irvice company owner says. . u , Kim Landry, owner of !■ S ? U 0 an-Tex Services, said the ing usinessi ia j n reasons f or the activity am sain hntuil -ir- i i * t^v 7 re a new oilrield in Down- iwn Bryan and a renewed in- irest in the old oilfields of the ast oil boom. Landry said the new field as been profitable to him and ther oil-related businesses, he field is giving the Bryan- bllege Station economy a ood shot in the arm, he said. “The main pocket of oil is Downtown Bryan and be- L j fftuse the city owns some of em ahead ofij , e land> it is getting money om the royalities paid to it by auhasfilesm ic drilling companies,’ n many bum andry said. “The field has phone call: lot only produced a lot of oil nt a lot ofm . The bureau! >er is I NOvJ, OPEA/ WIDE A A/D 5AY "OIL.." t only pr : proaui his past month the Bryan- bllege Station area was said have the lowest unemploy- lent rate in the nation. You n thank the oil business for lat Bryan City Attorney Don olf said there are 72 pro- ucing wells within the city mils, but not all of them be- g and sefal n g t0 the cit y- The ci,; y leases ' hel; and to drilling companies |nd receives bonus money hd royalty money, he said. “Because of the extra “money, the city council has 11 een able to create several rojects within the budget hat they wouldn’t have been ere strictlyio Ible to have,” Wolf said, lace as hones. I The tremendous growth of n said. [the oil industry in this area be- ian when oil companies [apidly increased property asing and oil exploration |nd development. It resulted an “Oil Boom“. Landry said the drilling in rose days was in art oil forma- The people who hung on ire taking more o compleie. and stayed in business are the ones beginning to drill the “Austin Chalk” again, he said. “The old oil people who have survived the slowdown in the area are buying up the old wells and are re-drilling them,” Landry said. “There is a new hope and interest in the Austin Chalk.” Landry said even though drilling has picked up, he feels his decision to enter the maintenance and service part of the oil business was the right one. The businesses of that type are doing very well and are adding to the area’s economy, he said. “If you are solely depen dent on drilling, your business could become stagnate when the activity slows down,” Landry said. “If you have a business like mine, which de pends on wells that are already drilled, you’ll stay busy and business will be good.” Stan Tisdale, a employee with the Texas Oil and Gas Corporation, agrees with Landry. “I’m a Gauger for Texas Oil and Gas and it’s my job to take care of the wells and keep up production,” Tisdale said. “We’ve stopped drilling around here and are concen trating on the maintenance and the production of the wells we already have around here.” He also agrees that drilling has increased in the area, de spite his company’s decision to stop. “Texas Oil and Gas feels the wells in the Austin Chalk aren’t good,” Tisdale said. “They depreciate too fast and aren’t worth drilling. In spite of this, there is a re-newed in terest in the Austin Chalk.” The Texas Railroad Com mission reported Texas oil discoveries during the first half of 1983 were up by more than 35 percent, compared to the same period last year. Through June, there were 430 oil finds in the state. Last year’s total for the first six months was 317. tion called the “Austin Chalk". It runs throughout the Gid- dings, Caldwell and Bryan areas. However, the field did not turn out to be as profitable as everyone projected, Landry said. When the price of oil went down and the bottom fell out of the oil industry, many people and businesses went bankrupt, he said. Diversity key to success Small businesses give tips age systems® street lightini ng term pro* ing a mini-® eloping a p®J ilan and ere# itio in fror| )emand, transport * 1 * luke area gas prices by Gwyneth M. Vaughn Battalion Reporter iomparing the prices of gaso- je in College Station and i University!® us ton, a driver may notice don’t come Violetta te Zoning “We will gi't| tion to there Link are the be solved tl 1 de in what do it." price is nine cents more a jllon here than in the metropo- n city. Gasoline prices are higher in lyan-College Station because Ithe high demand and the cost I transporting the gasoline Im Houston, Preston Ruffino Producer’s Cooperative Asso- itionCityM® ttion, says. 11 said thee® Mary Alford of H&M Whole- icndations it lie, Inc., a gasoline distributor, hensivehel* id she thinks stations here arge a little too much some- g that is moil 1 ines, but adds, “We can’t con- lisfalloni 1 )1 what the station owners restudy or re arge. the whole pi' "Wejust keep prices competi- aid. “Theolh ve,” she said. “You’re not going ms will berfJbdrop it (the price) and lose the zed basis." s| im margin of profit.” ■Don Dabbs, another distribu tor, said the area had the lowest ices in the state this past nter. “We have to make a profit metime,” he said. Ruffino said he doesn’t see sed to give it J tory wonfiri] 3 Virginia f he National^ ;s Women jj competition I sed to accefj Gar-Field if ce Hart. how Houston stations can profit at the prices they are charging. He added that Houston has a huge surplus of gas the stations need to sell. A check of area stations on Aug. 5 shows most College Sta tion service stations are charging an average of $1.13 for regular gasoline and $1.19 for regular unleaded at self-service pumps. The average price for full- service pumps was $1.26 for reg ular and $1.32 for unleaded. Prices are one to two cents cheaper at some stations in Bryan, but prices at the other stations are the same as in Col lege Station. David Herrell of the National Energy Information Center said national averages, which include both full- and self-service, for May 1983 show: • $1.17.7, regular leaded gasoline; • $1.25.9, regular unleaded; • $1.24.3, overall average across the nation. He also said these prices are down from the 1982 prices: • $1.22.2, regular leaded; • $1.29.6, regular unleaded; • $1.28.1, overall average. Gasoline prices across the country have actually dropped in the last year, Herrell said. by Rusty Roberts Battalion Reporter Small business has a two-fold definition — it must employ less than 100 workers and gross no more than $4 million a year. Last year, almost 10,000 businesses fit that definition with more than half failing during their first year. However, John Kirkley, busi ness development consultant for the Texas Industrial Commis sion, says that in prosperous areas like Bryan-College Sta tion, consumers spend money less sparingly. Ron Treat, owner of Topps Office Supply, said having a convenient location has helped his sales. After two years of busi ness, being located on Texas Avenue is like working on “easy street,” he said. But Treat said location is only the first step. Adapting to a changing market has kept his small business from going under. Treat saw a market last year for selling teaching supplies. The inventory changes he made were risky, he said, but it was a chance he was willing to take. Now, Treat said, he has almost a monopoly on the teaching supp ly business in the Bryan-College Station area. Treat said his willingness to take chances and make sacrifices has made his small business suc cessful. Ben Hardeman, the out standing Texas businessman last year and president of OMC In dustries, a metal castiqg busi ness, said the sacrifices he made gave his small business added stability. “When I entered the foundry business 16 years ago, I was only making award and recognition plaques,” he said. “I’d put almost all the profits back into the company before I’d pay my self. I knew the company couldn’t survive if I kept those profits.” Hardeman’s business has sur vived as well as expanded. In 1967, OMC Industries’ gross earnings were $12,000. In 1981, the corporation reported earn ings of more than $2.4 million. Hardeman attributes that suc cess to diversification and hard work. After eight years, the business started making industrial casts for oil companies, he said. After two years of making oil valves and pumps, OMC purchased new casting equipment to make those same products more effi ciently. Two-thirds of OMC’s 1981 business stemmed from indust rial oil contracts. But, Harde man said things almost bot tomed out when the oil business slowed down. “In 1977 we made castings almost exclusively for oil com panies,” he said. “If we had in cluded the agricultural industry as well, overall business wouldn’t have declined so drastically when the oil business halted.” “We learned a lot from the ’77 diversification plans,” he said, “and we know we should have diversified into more areas.” There seems to be general agreement among owners that good planning and hard work staff photo by Mike Davis These businesses stand on University drive at Northgate. are directly related to success, while bad management and overbuying are definite indi cators of failure. But owners said having a business plan prior to making a loan or leasing property will make starting out much easier. Too many owners are unpre pared when they start a small business, Kirkley said. They only think about being the boss and never consider any of the financial complications. Having an “attack plan” is essential for any beginning busi ness, Kirkley said. The plan first considers utility costs, inventory costs and salaries and then pro jects expected revenues.. Owners who don’t plan in advance usually go under the first year, he said. The average life span of a small business is three years. The Bryan-College Station area has a service that helps small business owners design such a plan. The Service Corps of Retired Executives is a free service designed to help begin ning businesses get started. Last year, more than 60 new Businesses were started in the Bryan-College Station area. That number already had been reached by March of this year. Specially for You The Store with everything you’ve been looking for 3601 E. 29th Street YES WE HAVE: $^oo for doz. Balloon Bouquets Flexatards Gilda $ 15 ,MI - S 27 at the low of 00 Fashionable exercise wear. We do “Special” priced monogramming The Original Personalized Store Since 1979 — And so much more Come in & see for yourself Phone: 846-2797 10% off any item at Specially for You 3601 E. 29th, Bryan 846-2797 Good with coupon only till Sept. 30, 1983. BRAZOS VALLEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA announces its annual AERITIONS • The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra which presents five full concerts Including the annual “Brazos Pops” and “Nutcracker Ballet.” • Open to all individuals from the commu nity and Texas A&M University. • Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings — 7:00-9:30 at Bryan High School. • Openings in all sections of the orchestra (Brass, Woodwind, Percussion, Strings) • Supportive symphony society and board. For audition information please call: 775-3308 or 779-1914