City Pipe & Supply

Lots of Odessa businessmen leave their business every so often to head for the golf links.

But Brett Lossin turned that scene around early in August when he left his job of nine-plus years as director of golf at Odessa Country Club to step into the position as president of City Pipe & Supply Co.

The change was an important one, said Bob Glast, the longtime president of City Pipe & Supply. That's because Glast will be retiring in about a year, and the committee charged with coming up with a Glast replacement for the employee-owned company wanted a smooth transition to the new management.

"We had more than 70 applications for that position both from here in Odessa and from throughout the country," Glast said. "The committee was very impressed with him. He has tremendous people skills."

Lossin's arrival also entailed a change for Glast who moved into the role of chairman of the board of directors.

Lossin stressed that he'll continue the conservative growth vision used so successfully by Glast.

"It makes no sense to grow too fast," Lossin said. "We'll grow conservatively while at the same time making sure that we take care of our long-term customers and vendors."

Some of the growth now under way in the three cities where City Pipe & Supply is located will result in an expanded warehouse and pipe yard at the Odessa corporate headquarters site at 2108 W. Second St., and the expansion of the Weatherford facility to bring it up to the size of the Odessa plant. Lossin said the Hobbs facility is about half the size of the Odessa and Weatherford facilities.

Since its establishment in 1942, City Pipe & Supply has been heavily involved in oil country tubular goods and production equipment. In the 1960s, the company moved into the industrial pipe, valve and fitting market. Today, more than 90 percent of the company's business is directly related to the production or transportation of oil and gas, Lossin said.

Then in 2005, the corporation became an employee-owned company through the sale of the corporation to City Pipe & Supply Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Being an ESOP works to the company's advantage both in employee loyalty and in recruitment of some employees, Lossin said.

There are no job openings at this time, Lossin noted, though "we're always looking for qualified people."

In noting his change from work as a golf professional to the presidency of City Pipe, Lossin said the two jobs actually involve many of the same work skills.

"At Odessa Country Club, I had 25 employees to manage and 250 members to work with. You take care of a lot of people," he said.

Prior to coming to Odessa nearly 10 years ago, Lossin was living in Conroe in East Texas working in the golf industry. He had been there for five years and prior to that time he was in Dallas for 10 years. In all, he said, he has been with the PGA of America for the last 25 years.

Lossin earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich.

His wife, Lisa, has been president of the Permian Basin Rehabilitation Center for two years. They have a son, Graham, who's a ninth-grader at Bonham Junior High and a daughter, Lauren, who's an eighth-grader at Bonham. Lossin said the family attends CrossRoads Fellowship.

For the present time, Lossin is learning the pipe and fittings industry up close. As he characterized it, he's "ordering pipe, learning how hard it is to get pipe and the long lead time to get pipe." It's certainly an eye-opening experience.

But, Lossin said City Pipe has a combined total of 62 employees who are capable and willing to help him. And in Bob Glast, he has an experienced mentor.

"I will definitely be getting a lot of training from Bob Glast," Lossin said.