Mick Samples became President of Coalscan Sales, Inc. in 1991 while maintaining his job as Corporate Technical Director. That same year (1991) was a year of both advances and setbacks as Std Labs acquired the Peabody Coal Company Central Laboratory in Freeburg, Illinois with Rich Wilburn as its manager. (Discussed under Acquisitions.) Rich served as […]
The year 1990 marked a key event in the history of the company as Std Labs acquired the coal, environmental and water testing assets of Core Laboratories (discussed in the Acquisitions Section) which comprised eight labs located in Texas, Indiana and Wyoming. This purchase brought into the company a number of new managers including Mike
1985 brought another venture into the coal testing equipment business as Std Labs became a partner of Mineral Consultants of Australia in the entity named “Coalscan Sales, Inc.” which is discussed under the “Partnership” Section. Also in 1985 Linda Vitatoe closed the Caryville lab and opened a lab in Jacksboro, She was manger for many
The company opened a lab in Czar, Kentucky, later referred to as the Paintsville,Kentucky lab, supervised by Danny White. The lab was closed in about four years as the company lost its contract. A new corporate building was built that same year in the Kanawha City area of Charleston to house the headquarters staff.
In 1982, Sampling Associates International was formed as a partnership of four coal testing labs in the Norfolk, Virginia area. See the “Partnership” Section for more details on this very important relationship in Std Labs history. Our Norfolk lab was closed as a part of the partnership agreement and Merrill Bergstedt was relocated to Charleston,
1981 became an important point in Std Labs’ history as the International Coal Testing Conference was inaugurated. The conference was organized and managed by Std Labs with the intent of bringing a sense of unity among the many diverse organizations in the field of coal quality control. Troy Stallard in the official opening banquet made
In 1980 a contract lab was formed to support Dr, Bill Berry, who was an expert in coal petrography. This lab was in Pittsburgh, Pa and functioned for several years to support his work until his retirement. Dr. Berry was a key figure in a very significant issue with the spontaneous combustion of coals in
The company’s first acquisition was made in 1979 when Environmental Technology, Inc. became a part of the Corbin operations. James Watkins was the owner of this small water and coal testing company who desired to join forces with Std Labs and stay on as the manager of the integrated organization. “Jimmy” was a very capable
A lab was opened in 1978 in Van Buren, Arkansas with Bill Mayer who had been formerly an employee of Peabody Coal in its central lab. This lab still exists in the Std Labs family of labs and has had several managers including Melvin Holt, Brenda Briley and Dickie Horton. Later that same year the
