Martin's History

Martin Resource Management Corporation ("MRMC") of Kilgore, Texas is a leading independent provider of transportation, terminalling, marketing and logistics management services for hydrocarbon products and by-products, chemical and other bulk liquids.

That is quite a statement when you consider its founder, R.S. Martin, Jr., started with a single truck and the simple desire to make a living for his family. Born in Camden, Arkansas, Martin graduated from Texarkana Arkansas High School in 1941 and attended the University of Arkansas until volunteering for the Marine Corps in 1943. As a marine, he served in the 4th Marine Division in four World War II invasions: Marshall Island, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

Returning to the University of Arkansas in 1946, he married Margaret Gerig of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, before graduating in 1948 with a business degree with a specialty in marketing. After two years with Continental Oil Company, he bought out his mother and brother in an ice company in Kilgore, Texas, with borrowed money.

In 1951, on borrowed money again, he started Martin Butane Company, driving the only truck and his wife keeping books and handling the billing. R.S. persevered with his dream of supplying fuel to drilling rigs in the East Texas oil field.

Today, MRMC owns more than $180 million in assets consisting of a fleet of truck trailers, tank barges, pushboats/tugboats, bulk liquid terminalling locations and other assets to serve its customers. Those customers include many Fortune 500 companies in industries such as petroleum, agriculture, petrochemical and utilities.

Martin, a longtime Texan, could not possibly have foreseen the growth his small Martin Butane Company would experience. When he retired 35 years after buying that first truck, the company had grown to a company with more than 1,800 employees and $500 million in sales. Martin died on September 20, 1999, leaving a legacy of entrepreneurship, hard work and determination that remain MRMC's hallmarks.

On November 6, 2002, MRMC sold a portion of its assets in a public offering. Martin Midstream Partners L.P. is a publicly held master limited partnership, listed as MMLP on the NASDAQ. The company R.S. Martin founded 50 years before is the General Partner and majority owner. The founder's leadership and legacy is the guidance and will ensure Martin is the investment the stockholders can depend on in the future.