Out of 26 million Texans, you may have an idea to change the world. You may have had several ideas to change the world. But only a tiny minority of you pushed through the U.S. Patent office from application to successful patent. We've seen Texans change the world many times over. Jack Kilby did it with Texas Instruments in 1958 with the integrated circuit, causing the start of the digital revolution, which, in part, is why you can read these words over your electronic device.
Over the last few years, Texas Business has brought its feature: Texas Business Patent of the Day. This list is of the ones that were either extremely clever, odd or strange. One thing becomes apparent from these patents and the patent that runs daily in Texas Business—Texans have a unique mind set.
Though the history of the Corn Dog is disputed, the State Fair of Texas claims to have introduced the Corny Dog sometime between 1938 and 1942. As a paean to that invention that now sits in the freezer section of every grocery store in the southwest, here are the fried foods the State Fair of Texas has introduced, or tried to introduce, in the last seven years.
Dead Texas musicians live on every time you hear their songs. Their songs play everywhere, so the dead Texas musicians appear to be immortal. Here's the short list.
Don't get caught up with John Wayne religion. For one thing, he's not Texan. He's in some fine movies involving Texas, most notably The Searchers, but none of his movies can make the best cut of Texas movies. Here's the short list.
Unsung Texas Business Journalists Mention that one is a reporter, and there's a spark of interest. Mention that one is a business news reporter, and watch the eyes glaze over. Except to the players, business and economic journalists are unappreciated. While many wish to become sports reporters when they grow up, most do not realize that business journalists cover the Real Game. Mention that reporter covers business, and watch the eyes glaze over. A toast to these below on the short list and the numerous unnamed ones slogging away. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Best Texas Mexican Food: The Short List No, we're not going to debate the difference between Tex-Mex, Mex-Tex, Mexican and Texican food. Just know these establishments are the pinnacle of Texas Mexican fare. No brag, just fact. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Best Texas Burgers Texas Burgers. . While a hamburger is merely sustenance and gratification for a meal, the memory a good Texas burger can give rise to Homeric odes. The short list. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Texas Business reports: Chemists, biologists and engineers at The University of Texas at El Paso are developing a treatment to remove endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in reclaimed water and drinking water.
Texas Business reports: Texas factory activity increased sharply in May, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, rose from -0.5 to 11.2, indicating a notable pickup in output.
NEW BRAUNFELS — Off a dirt road connected to ever-flowing Interstate 35, a little metal sign on a wooden fence is the only indication of what lies ahead. Nearby, Buckley Powder, a mining and construction supply company, stores large quantities of ammonium nitrate, the source of the explosion at a fertilizer depot that killed at least 14 people and injured hundreds more last month in West.
Full Story » Chris Hooks and Maurice Chammah for Texas Tribune
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS— CBI won a contract for the execution phase of an air quality control program for 13 existing coal-fired units at five sites.
Texplainer: Who Oversees Texas' Fertilizer Plants? Hey, Texplainer: Which state and federal agencies were responsible for overseeing and regulating the fertilizer plant in West that exploded last week, killing 14 and injuring at least 200?Full Story » Cody Permenter for the Texas Tribune
Texas Business reports: BUFORD, Ga.—Lund International Holding Company, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners LP, acquired the assets of Tradesman Truck Accessories LLC.
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS, Texas—Newpark Resources Inc. won two deepwater contracts. In Brazil, the company was awarded a two-year contract from a subsidiary of Total SA, to provide drilling fluids and related services for a series of wells planned in the Campos Basin.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—KBR was selected by a major supplier of agricultural products to perform turnaround services for their ammonia furnace revamp and expansion project in Borger, Texas.
Texas Business reports: Borusan Mannesmann Pipe will expand its manufacturing operations to the U.S. with a steel pipe plant in Baytown, creating 250 jobs and $148 million in capital investment.
Texas Business reports: SUGAR LAND, Texas—Arabian American Development Co. signed a contract with Gevo Inc. to extend toll processing services of the hydrocarbon processing demonstration plant at its South Hampton Resources (SHR) facility in Silsbee, Texas and build a second demonstration unit to provide Gevo with toll-processing services necessary to process up to 16,000 pounds per month of mixed octane materials produced on the existing isobutanol to jet demonstration unit.
Texas Business reports: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved penalties totaling $1,831,176 against 47 regulated entities for violations of state environmental regulations.
Texas Business reports: MCGREGOR, Texas—Behlen Mfg. Co., with headquarters in Columbus, Nebraska, announced a long-term lease subject to final approval of local incentives of the former Smead Manufacturing plant in McGregor.
Texas Business reports: REDMOND, Wash. and WAXAHACHIE, Texas—Univar, a distributor of chemistry and related services, and Magnablend, a Texas-based provider of custom chemical manufacturing, blending, and packaging solutions, signed a definitive agreement for Univar to acquire the company.
Texas Business reports: GARLAND, Texas— Navistar International Corporation announced that it intends to close its Garland, Texas, truck manufacturing operation as part of its efforts to reduce costs and optimize its manufacturing footprint.
Texas Business reports: Texas factory activity increased in October, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, dipped from 10 to 7.9, indicating slightly slower growth.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—The Prolamsa Group will build a $150 million manufacturing facility to produce pipe and tubular products to meet the growing demand of the U.S. oil and natural gas industries.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Inspection activities and repairs continue on the crude distillation unit at the expansion of Motiva's refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Owner Resource Group LLC acquired a majority interest in KMCO LP, KMTEX Ltd., and DOT Chemical Inc. from the McFerrin family.
Texas Business reports: TEXARKANA, Texas—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced grant awards from the brownfields redevelopment program bringing the total to $1.3 million.
Texas Business reports: Texas factory activity continued to increase in May, according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey.
Synthesis Energy Systems Announces India Coal Test Agreement Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Synthesis Energy Systems Inc. entered into an agreement with a large steel-making corporation in India for analysis of their high ash coal for potential use in SES' advanced fluidized-bed gasification technology in a number of planned coal gasification projects in India.Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Texas Business reports: Pittsburgh, PA-based L.B. Foster Company completed the relocation of its threaded products water well group from Houston to a new facility in Magnolia, Texas.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—New York’s Standard Motor Products Inc., an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor acquired CompressorWorks, a temperature control company, for approximately $37.4 million.
Texas Business reports: LONGVIEW—The Shaw Group Inc. won a contract to provide its proprietary technology and engineering services for a new Ultra Selective Conversion (USC) furnace for Eastman Chemical Company's ethylene plant in Longview.
Waste Control Specialists employees dispose of low-level radioactive waste at a facility in Fernalt, Ohio. A new low-level radiation landfill run by WCS will soon open in Andrews County. WCS Photo.
In a sparsely populated corner of West Texas near the New Mexico border, a private company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build the nation’s newest radioactive waste disposal facility.
Texas Business reports: CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Bonsal American, Inc., an Oldcastle company, acquired the TXI Package Products business of TXI Operations, LP, a subsidiary of Texas Industries, Inc., which is based in Dallas, Texas.
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS, Texas—CB&I won a contract valued at about US$300 million, by Williams Olefins LLC for a petrochemicals expansion project in Geismar, Louisiana.
Texas Business reports: PASADENA, California—Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. won a contract to provide Project Management Consulting (PMC) services for a new pipe rolling mill near Corpus Christi, Texas for Tianjin Pipe Corporation (TPCO).
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS, Texas—Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP will expand the Natural Gas Liquids Fractionator Complex at its Sweeny Plant in Old Ocean, Texas.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Global NuTech, soon to be renamed Texas Gulf Energy Inc. formed a new wholly owned subsidiary named Texas Gulf Electrical & Instrumentation Inc.
Texas Business reports: FORT WORTH—FWT LLC, a manufacturer in the design and fabrication of custom steel structures for the utility and telecommunications industry, plans to expand into Ohio through the purchase of a plant in the Village of Hicksville.
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS—Huntsman Corporation acquired EMA Kimya Sistemleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a polyurethanes systems house in Istanbul, Turkey.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Westlake Chemical Corporation is increasing the capacity of the previously announced chlor-alkali plant to be located at its vinyls manufacturing complex in Geismar, Louisiana.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Kirby Corporation bought a coastwise tank barge fleet of Seaboats Inc. and affiliated companies consisting of three 80,000 barrel coastwise tank barge and tug units for $42.3 million in cash.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—More than $3.1 million in Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds have been granted to four organizations in EPA Region 6 to aid in diesel emissions reductions. The organizations are the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Railroad Research Foundation, Leonardo Academy and Port of Houston Authority.
Texas Business reports: PASADENA— Kuraray America Inc. announced the approval of a project to increase its production capacity by more than 17 million pounds (8,000 tons) per year at a cost of $49 million.
Texas Business reports: ABILENE— Lauren Engineers & Constructors finalized the purchase of property near Bynum, Montana which will be used as a modular construction facility.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP broke ground this week on a new nitrogen liquefier at its air separation plant in Cleburne, Texas.
Braskem Completes Buyout of Two Texas Chemical Plants Texas Business reports: SAO PAULO—Braskem, a major resin producer in the Americas, announced the completion of its acquisition of the polypropylene business from The Dow Chemical Company.Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Texas Business reports: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a Texas site has been added to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites: the Falcon Refinery in San Patricio County, Texas. The EPA also announced the US Oil Recovery site in Pasadena, Texas, has been proposed to the NPL. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.
Texas Business reports: Texas City--Eastman Chemical Company completed the acquisition of Sterling Chemicals Inc., a single site North American petrochemical producer, for $100 million in cash.
Varel International Relocates Eastern Hemisphere Headquarters Texas Business reports: CARROLLTON—Varel International, the world’s largest independent supplier of drill bits for the oil and gas industry, relocated its Eastern hemisphere headquarters.
Texas Business reports: GRAPEVINE—Greenhunter Energy Inc., a diversified renewable energy company focused on water resource management in the unconventional oil and shale resource plays, announced its wholly owned subsidiary, GreenHunter Water, has executed a definitive agreement to acquire approximately 99 mineral acres and 84 surface acres located in West Virginia where it will develop a commercial water service facility.
The Texas News Scrawl is a handy reference to storiesTexas Business recommends from other news sources. Some of the stories that Texas Business currently suggests include: Texas becomes one of 23 states to use electronic insurance proof; Emcor agrees to $455 million deal for Texas company;Volkswagen to open dealership in Waco; American Airlines To Add More Seats To 737s, MD-80s; Police officer says helicopter from gun range endangering his cattle; Contractors get OK to build new Beaumont Army Medical Center;Midland looks to join spaceport race; UTEP’s solar-powered house to compete internationally; State Farm to shutter El Paso call center; Dallas-Based Media Company Sold In $1.5 Billion Deal Austin's film catering gurus learn how to make do in a changing industry and more.
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