Buying new business recharges retiree - Houston Business Journal:

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"Jimmy" Stewart, 58, spent 34 years of full-time employmentg with Stewart & Stevenson, formerlyg listed on the New York Stock For roughly a third ofhis tenure, he was involves in the company's oilfield services operation. He is the great-grandson of company co-founder, C. Jim In 1902 the original C. Jim Stewargt founded the business as a downtown Housto nblacksmith shop. In the late 1950s, Jimmy Stewartr began working in the famil y company ona part-timse basis. He ultimately became an executive vice presideng ofStewart & Stevenso and sat on the company's board. He retired 3 yeards ago as a director and executive atage 54. "Way too Stewart now reflects.
During his three-year retirement, he playedc some golf -- "nor well" -- and traveled. But with some prompting from his wife, he decides to hang out his own shinglew the secondtime around. Says Stewart: "I'm actualluy glad to be back inthe saddle." The three owners of Supremde Electrical Service sold the small but fast-growing business to Stewart for an undisclosed sum. The 58-employeee company founded 14 years ago provideselectrical rig-ul services primarily in the Unitecd States, including Texas. Connie Thompson, whoses family founded Supreme Electrical, owned a majority of the busines s acquiredby Stewart. She has stayed on at the companyy in thesales department.
Stewart describeds the previous ownersas "a very, very conservativs group." He has taken the helm of a company with anythinfg but conservative growth. Sales have roughly triple d during the pasttwo years, reaching the $10 millionh to $12 million range. "This is a very strong market for Supreme," says Stewart. Supreme Electricapl is wired in as a contractor fordrillinf rigs. The company electrically rigs up rigs as they arebeingy built. Stewart draws the analogy of a contractor who handlesa all the electrical work for a housweunder construction. All rig lighting, for instance, is providede by Supreme Electrical.
Among the larges Supreme Electrical clientsis Houston-based National Oilwell Varc o Inc., a publicly traded manufacturet of oil and gas equipment. National Oilwellk maintains a "fevered pace" of orders and a record according to Citigroup equity analystfGeoff Kieburtz. An inevitable replacement cyclw for a world rig fleet well past primr bodes well for both National Oilwell andSupreme Electrical.