From Boom to Bust and Back: M&M Equipment Co. Endures Ebbs & Flows of Oil Industry for Over 30 Years

Michael Johnson was a salesman for a large industrial supplier back in the 1970s in Odessa, Texas. One of his customers, who manufactured oilfield equipment, knew that Johnson wanted to make a change and start his own business.

“They visited about it and looked at Nevada, Mississippi and Kansas,” said Mike Johnson, Michael’s son. “Dad chose Great Bend because he thought there were better business opportunities and a better quality of life.”  Kansas was the right choice, the other two areas never got off the ground.

Small but Mighty: Pictured on the front row are inside salesman Gary Smith, bookkeeper Peggy Johnson, and warehouse/delivery technician Shawn Kearns. Pictured on the back row are warehouse technician Mike Menzer, owner Michael Johnson, operating manager Mike Johnson, and salesman Curtis Hickel. “We currently employee seven people,” Mike Johnson says. “We have one owner, one manager, one bookkeeper, two salesman, and two warehouse technicians – that seems to do the trick.”

The result of his Dad’s decision is the successful M & M Equipment Co. that has been in business here since 1975. It is a manufacturers’ representative and master distributor that supplies specialty products to the oil and gas, pipeline and industrial markets.

“Dad is still very active in the business,” Johnson said. “Not so much with the day-to-day operations, but still very involved. He travels around our territory calling on our customers and also spends time at our other warehouse.”

That other warehouse is located in Perryton, Texas, about 30 miles south of Liberal and M&M also has a sales location in Tulsa, OK.  In addition to those branch locations, there are seven M & M employees in Great Bend at its relatively new location, 6119 West 10th.

“When Dad started, it was a one-man operation,” Johnson said. “He moved from Odessa and started it with virtually no money. He didn’t know anybody and rented a hay barn on Anchorway to store his products and my mother handled all of the paperwork out of our house.”

M & M operated like this for the first year and then moved from the hay barn into an old metal building that had been moved in next door.  “There was an old oilfield supply building that had been up on 10th street where Braums is now located and this large building was moved over on Anchorway and it made a good warehouse for our needs at that time. This was before there were any houses out on Anchorway and the two old buildings are still there today.”

What a Warehouse: M&M Equipment functions as a wholesaler for oilfield products for all Western Kansas and much of Oklahoma and Nebraska as well. “Each week, businesses call us with their product orders,” Mike Johnson says. “Then we have guys that make deliveries to different routes in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. It’s quite a system.”To store all of these products, M&M Equipment’s warehouse has 9,000 square feet of operating room. Now located at 6119 W. 10th Street in Great Bend, M&M Equipment has a lot more room to expand. “This warehouse is much larger than the one at our old location,” Johnson says. “We’ve been out here for about 2 years now and it’s been a change for the better.”

The elder Johnson rented that building for several years and in 1980 he moved to 915 Kennedy and was there until 1983. M & M then moved to 5319 10th and into the brand, spankin’ new facility two years ago.

Father and son are joined by wife/mother in the family-owned business; Peggy Johnson is the bookkeeper.

“For many, many years, it was just Dad and one or two others,” Johnson recalled. “I used to ride my bike to our warehouse and put up freight when I was Junior high.”

“It is the only job I ever had, except for one summer,” he continued. “Dad thought it would be good experience for me to work outside the family business.”

Nevertheless, Johnson has chosen to stay with M & M and serve the needs of its oil and gas, and industrial customers.

“Oil and gas accounts for probably 80 percent of our business,” Johnson said. “We offer valves, pipe fittings and other specialty items for any application that needs to control the movement of water, oil, gas and  chemicals - any kind of fluid.

“We are the wholesale middleman between supply stores and manufacturers,” Johnson continued.

Some of its local customers are Miller Warehouse, Gressel Oil Field Service Inc. Smith Supply, Bentley & Associates and National-Oilwell Supply Co. But M & M has about 140 more customers throughout Kansas, the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle, northeast Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Parts Precision: Pictured above is warehouse/delivery technician Shawn Kearns as he pulls products for a customer’s order. “Our orders get delivered to areas all over Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska,” operating manager Mike Johnson says. “We have a broad customer base, which helps our business during downturns in the economy like we’re experiencing now.” Pictured below M&M warehouse technician Mike Menzer as he assembles parts to be shipped out to one of M&M’s customers. “We do this kind of thing all the time,” Menzer says. “We’re pretty quick.”

“We have local inventory and our delivery routes,” Johnson said. “We see virtually all our customers once a week. If they know we are going to be in Plainville on Wednesday, they have their orders in by Tuesday. We call these our ‘bread routes.’”

For a number of years, the Johnsons needed more space than the landlocked location in the 5300 block of 10th could provide.

“We struggled and outgrew it quite a while before we built this building,” Johnson said. “With the up and down of the oil and gas business, you don’t know if you want to step up and take the plunge.

“But we had no space and were crawling on top of each other. Logistically, it was a problem too because of our increased inventory. We had to do something and looked at places to buy in Great Bend. But a few years ago, there was not much commercial property available. So, we decided to build.

“We knew what we needed, knew what the layout should be. And we tailored it to our needs,” Johnson elaborated, noting M & M used local businesses for all the construction work.

The move farther west on 10th Street resulted in 9,000 square feet of space, up from 3,500. It also meant the Johnsons would have more space for possible future expansion on its five acres. Office space doubled too.

People who have lived and worked in Great Bend for any length of time know that the cyclical nature of the oil and gas business affects virtually everyone here. One year it’s good, the next not so good.

Johnson on the Job: Operating Manager Mike Johnson sits at his desk inside M&M Equipment’s relatively new building on West Tenth Street in Great Bend. “We keep pretty busy around here,” Johnson said. “A lot of what we do involves working in the warehouse, but there are a few of us who keep things tied down behind the scenes.”Mike Johnson, his father Michael Johnson, and his mother Peggy Johnson all work for M&M Equipment. Johnson senior says, “I guess you could say it’s somewhat of a family business.”

“We have managed to stay in business because of our product knowledge and outstanding customer support.” Johnson said. “It is part of the game; we are used to it. But it is difficult to budget long-term. You have no idea about what is going to happen a year or two down the road. The market can shut down almost overnight.

Johnson recalled that during most of the 1980s, the economy around here was tough for the whole community.

“It was really touch and go for a lot of people,” Johnson said. “Then it started turning around in the ‘90s. It really picked up for us in 2000 and there has been a steady increase to the point. 

Through the first half of 2008 we saw many record months and in fact September of last year was a record for the entire 35 years of M & M’s existence.

Then December 2008 came along.

Wall of Fame: Inside M&M Equipment, there is an entire wall of plaques and awards that recognize the Johnsons’ commitment to excellence and to this community. “Being in the oil industry, we’ve seen our ups and downs over the years,” Mike Johnson says. “It just comes with the territory.” Despite adversity, M&M Equipment has remained dedicated to Great Bend and has weathered all kinds of economic turmoil. “The most successful businesses are the ones who can stick it out,” Johnson continues. “I think we’ve proven that we can do just that.”

“It was dramatically down,” Johnson said. “Can you imagine an oil company planning a budget? In January ’08, oil was at $100 and by the end of the year it was $35 to $40. There are no answers.

“But we can’t imagine prices staying as low as they are now. The fundamentals are different now – OPEC production cuts and oilfields around the world are getting old with limited resources. And there is much more consumption in China and India.

Many oil producers and associated businesses would be happy with oil at a stable $65 to $70, Johnson believes. On the early February day the Outlook Business Journal talked with Johnson, oil was just below $30.

On that same day, a casual observer may have noted the New York price was $41 and thought that was plenty good enough. However, Johnson pointed out, Kansas prices are always $10 to $12 less than those in New York because of transportation and other expenses.

“I can’t see it staying down for a long period but that is probably what they were saying back in the 1980s too,” Johnson said, laughing. “But if it cycles back for a long period, we will hunker down and ride it out. We have done it before and we will be here when picks up again, you just adjust.”