R&D Specialties was founded in 1983 by Roy Howell, who owned and operated numerous businesses in the Permian Basin related to both the oil and gas and water treatment industries. Roy operated the business with the assistance of his wife until 2010 when they sold to their children. Roy stayed on in a consulting position until his passing in 2016. The legacy continues under the direction of Brad Howell, President and Todd Mahan, Operations Manager. R&D Specialties began with Roy’s vision combined with the design and engineering capabilities of Tim Proctor, who has been with the company for over 30 years. The growth and success of R&D Specialties is greatly attributed to the many loyal and dedicated employees we have been fortunate to partner with, some who have been with the company for more than 20 years. The result is the strong customer base we have accumulated. With over 100 years combined experience in our field, we continue to provide excellent manufacturing and service of controls to the oil & gas industry.
In 2000 R&D Specialties became one of only two UL certified panel shops in the Permian Basin. Since that time, we’ve built over 50,000 UL certified panels. We’ve been very diligent to build good relationships with our customers and they’ve come to trust our attention to detail and excellent customer service. These established relationships allow us the opportunity to work together to design and layout the best fit for their specific panel application.
Since 2017 R&D Specialties has grown significantly and continues to expand with proven reliability. Due to excellent customer relations, R&D Specialties has taken the opportunity to expand in the oil and gas industries to include MCC (Motor Control Center) housing and rack integration R&D Specialties has manufactured over 150+ panel racks ranging from simple solar panel racks to large PLC panel racks complete with UPS, pump panels and disconnects. Our skilled assemblymen have the ability to work from rough draft sketches and/or engineered stamped drawings to design the complete rack. R&D Specialties has manufactured MCC buildings ranging from 25’ to 75’ in length. We’ve built and delivered 100+ MCC houses to date. Our ability to manufacture the houses in the Permian Basin allows local Oil & Gas Operators to save on freight and other costs. For example, Factory Acceptance Testing done locally allows engineers to save both time and travel expenses. The MCC skid mounted buildings and panel racks are assembled at our location in Odessa, TX under the supervision of licensed Master Electricians.
Every day, we continue to improve and expand our products and services. As a result, we have gained a loyal global clientele who realize they can rely on us to meet their needs.