Meet Don Ray

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"Don's been involved in the Oil & Gas scene for over 30 years,” explains Bill Gillette, LogiLube’s founder. “He's served in many roles and worked in Calgary and the U.S. Don's been on the front end of a lot of technology in oil and gas midstream compression and his experience aligns with our focus in the midstream sector. We are excited that Don's on board. With him, LogiLube will help the oil and gas industry increase equipment uptime, increase revenue and provide a better service for their customers."

 

Don has over 35 years of sales, sales management and executive level leadership in start-up and publicly traded companies greater than $5 billion in revenue with operations in multinational environments. He specializes in achieving phenomenal revenue growth with a proven track record of increasing revenue of up to 500% a year.

 

Don joins us after serving as CEO/president and board member of KW International, a privately held oil and gas production equipment sales and service company. In just two years, he oversaw significant revenue growth, nearly 250%, through expanded operations and strategic acquisitions.  

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What Does Don Ray Think About Joining LogiLube?

 

“I am very excited,” Don reported from his home office in Houston, TX. “Everybody in the industry is cutting costs, but this is a growth opportunity because of the difference LogiLube makes. When I was introduced to LogiLube and to what it can do, I got excited. Then, I saw customers get excited because LogiLube does what it says it will do. I knew I wanted to be a part of this team. It's fun to help customers!”

 

“Now, the main reason I wanted to come to this company is because in the oil and gas industry, most customers buy or lease things because they are required, either by regulation or in order to sell their products, they must buy processing equipment, compressors, equipment to clean the gas, all kinds of things are required and they don't have a choice. What's exciting about LogiLube is - they don't have to buy it. But they will want to buy it. We are truly helping our customers: this is a true win/win/win. We are offering the future and customers want to buy it because it will, without a doubt, increase revenue, decrease cost and improve the quality of the service they are giving their customer.”

 

What Will Don Focus on as LogiLube’s President?

 

“I will focus on phenomenal growth. I'm all about growth. I enjoy growth. I hate losing, I hate being number two, I hate not winning.

 

We’re going to provide phenomenal customer service. We’re going to listen to our customer and respond to what they say. We will send staff out to meet with customers and talk with them, learn from them, listen to them. It's important to talk about what we're doing, but we should be asking, ‘How can we help you?’ You gotta’ get in front of customers, learn how they manage their business, learn what are the opportunities where we can help them improve? My goal is that we become more than a vendor to them, but true partners.”

 

Why Did LogiLube Create this New Division and New Position?

 

“LogiLube’s founder, Bill, and his team set up a new position, president, and a new division called the North American Oil & Gas Division. Now we did that because LogiLube’s technology plays in all sectors, but it plays very well in the midstream natural gas area. We divide our industry into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream. The midstream sector involves gathering gas compression, non-gas liquid (NGL) separation, and gas conditioning and processing in advance of handing off through an outward facing custody transfer to the gas transmission or pipeline network. This is a fascinating sector that will continue to grow, to change and to improve. So, LogiLube created this new division to put strong focus on sales and services to this sector. Now, I’ve been involved in the oil and gas scene for over 30 years and I’ve served in many roles from Calgary throughout the United States. I’ve been on the front end of a lot of technology in oil and gas midstream compression. With my background in midstream, and position as president, LogiLube is now more aligned with our focus in this midstream sector.”

 

Don Ray’s History in the Oil and Gas Industry

 

Don Ray was born and raised in west Texas in the small town of Nox City. His dad was in the oil and gas industry there. But when Don left home, he left the oil and gas industry as well. Over time, however, it called him back. “Oil is in my blood,” Don says.

 

Don started his oil and gas career as a sales and service manager where he increased revenue to sixty million dollars per year and quickly became regional sales and service manager. He then accepted a role as divisional manager over a new territory for Smith Industries, where he increased revenue of that new territory to more than four million dollars in the first year and to more than twelve million dollars in the second year.

 

In 1992, Don accepted a new role at Smith Industries as international sales manager - eastern hemisphere. This included sales in Europe, Africa, the Far East and the Middle East. Working with sales agents internationally, Don's area increased revenue to seven million dollars in the first year and over ten million dollars in the second year. Hanover Compression bought Smith Industries, and Don accepted a role as sales manager overseeing Houston sales, as well as the Canadian market.

 

In 1998, Don transferred to Calgary, Canada to serve as the general manager of a new Hanover Canadian division, Collicutt Hanover. Collicutt Hanover quickly became the fastest growing division in the company history, exceeding twenty million dollars per year in revenue. When another Canadian Company, Maloney Industries (now Hanover Maloney), was acquired by Hanover, Don spearheaded all business operations, accelerating revenue from $18 million dollars per year to $65 million dollars per year – in just three years.

 

In 2004, Don returned to Texas as Hanover’s senior director, Gulf Coast manufacturing. Here he oversaw all operating aspects of their seven manufacturing plants, which had in excess of $750 million of revenue. In this role, Don led over 1,000 employees and was instrumental in driving manufacturing safety improvements, implementation of new manufacturing techniques and the acquisition of new tools (plate rolls, plasma burn tables and robotic welding unit) which improved manufacturing efficiencies by nearly 50%.

Hanover eventually merged with Universal Compression to become Exterran. Don was named senior product line director. Under his leadership, this division expanded in five years and increased revenue in North America, while simultaneously doubling the gross margin profits. Don determined the global strategy, trained the sales force, and oversaw new product development for his division.

 

Two years ago, Don became CEO/President and Board Member of KW International, a privately held oil and gas production equipment sales and service company. During the two years he was with the company, Don oversaw significant revenue growth of 243% through expanded operations and strategic acquisitions. 

 

On the Lighter Side

 

Don Ray lives in Houston, Texas with his wife. He says, “Houston is the heart of the oil and gas industry, like what the Napa Valley is to wine.” In his free time, he loves to hunt and fish. He also loves to cook. If you ever visit him in his home in Houston, we recommend you ask for the grilled salmon.