Acquisitions and divestitures
In 1949, Dresser's management was presented with an opportunity to broaden its product range beyond capital purchases. They were made aware of the potential to acquire the Magnet Cove Barium Corporation of Houston, Texas, the nation's second-largest producer of barite drilling mud. One of the partners was interested in selling their approximate one-third interest, which led to discussions with the owners about the possibility of selling the entire company. With Dresser's strong cash position, they began to explore the acquisition of Magnet Cove Barium. It held mineral reserves constituting 30 percent of the known U.S. barite deposits, and the 5 ½ million tons of barite could last thirty-eight more years at the current recoverable bar level of operations. The company reported current assets of $3.2 million and liabilities of $909,000. When it was learned that all of the Magnet Cove Barium's common stock could be acquired for $2.8 million in cash, the directors of Dresser quickly, without hesitation, approved the transaction on October 28, 1949. Five days later, the deal was done. Dresser had added Magnet Cove Barium to the Dresser Industries family.[18]
In 1950, the company headquarters moved to Dallas to be near the center of the nation's major oil and gas fields. It continued to purchase well-known companies involved in manufacturing such things as overhead cranes, gasoline-dispensing pumps, and heavy equipment for mining and construction.[18]
In 1968, the Wayne Oil Tank and Pump Company, established in 1891,[19] merged with Dresser,[20] becoming the Dresser-Wayne Company.[21] Dresser Industries brought together Lane-Wells and the Pan Geo Atlas Corporation (PGAC) to form Dresser Atlas. PGAC's expertise in openhole logging and its international operations made it an ideal merger partner to form an integrated wireline services company. Since its inception, Lane-Wells had generated most of its income from perforating services, but log interpretation had narrowed down producing zones, resulting in fewer perforations and less revenue. Greatly expanded wireline logging capabilities helped the combined company continue to grow.
In 1974, the company acquired the operating assets of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company and its subsidiary the Galion Iron Works.[22] By 1975, Dresser's total sales exceeded $2 billion, with profits of more than $123 million. Those sales came 28% from petroleum operations, 21% from industrial specialties, 24% from energy processing and conversion, 15% from construction and mining, and 12% from refractories and minerals.
During the 1980s, as the oil industry began to decline, Dresser's chairman, John Murphy, began to streamline the organization of the company, eliminating its insurance, mining, and construction-equipment divisions.[4]
In 1982, the company acquired International Harvester's construction equipment business.[23] In 1984 the company acquired the earthmoving and mining product lines from American Standard's WABCO division,[24] for a bargain price of $66.3 million.[25]
On January 1, 1987, Dresser Industries and Ingersoll-Rand merged their common businesses to form Dresser-Rand Group with headquarters in Corning, New York. The newly formed company had 10 manufacturing and testing facilities, 70 sales offices, 30 service centers and more than 7,300 employees. The partnership started as a 50-50 relationship, but later Dresser took a 51% share of the assets while Ingersoll-Rand had 49%.[26]
Komatsu Limited and Dresser Industries established Komatsu Dresser to make mining tractors, construction equipment and related equipment.[27] This 50-50 ownership lasted from September 1988 to August 1994, when Komatsu bought out Dresser's share.[27]
By 1993, it generated sales of more than US$4 billion, and employed 31,800 people in fifty countries. The company had three major divisions: Oil Field Products and Services, Industrial Operations, and Energy Processing and Conversion Equipment. It spun off some of its manufacturing divisions, but crucially agreed to retain asbestos claims filed before the spinoff.[4]
In 1994, the company expanded through acquisitions of Wheatley TXT (a manufacturer of pumps, valves, and metering equipment) and the Baroid Corporation (an oil-services firm in Houston that had been a direct competitor). To comply with federal antitrust regulations, Dresser sold off its interest in M-I Drilling Fluids Company and Western Atlas International. Upon completion of the Baroid merger, Dresser became the third-largest oil-services company in the world.[4]
Merger with Halliburton
In 1998, Dresser merged with its main rival Halliburton and became known as Halliburton Company.[28] Dick Cheney negotiated the US$7.7 billion deal, reportedly having done so during a weekend of quail-hunting. In 2001, Halliburton was forced to settle the asbestos lawsuits that it acquired including the landmark case Bell v. Dresser Industries [29] as a result of purchasing Dresser, causing the company's stock price to fall by eighty percent in just over a year.[30]
