Success Stories

SBA Helps a Small Business Keep Flowing

Everest Valve Company has been in business since 1978. The business started in the living room of Mr. Brajas Das, a graduate from Madras University with a degree in mechanical engineering and Mr. Phillip Blest, a chemical engineer, who graduated from Auburn University. When the small business started, Mr. Das worked part-time creating design custom valve mechanical drawings and Mr. Blest worked full-time in marketing and sales. Their first major contract came from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with an order of 20 check valves totaling $250,000.

As the company grew, Mr. Das and Mr. Blest decided to contact M.G. Shetty at Texas Capital Bank. They had a banking relationship with Texas Capital Bank and valued their lending experience. Mr. Shetty referred them to Ms. Carmen Strong at the University of Houston Bauer College Small Business Development Center (UH-SBDC) and she assisted them with submitting their paperwork for a small business loan. After completing the... Read More

Performing With SBA on an International Scale

RJ Engineering Systems has been in business for over 20 years. The company owned by Rakesh Jain, has
a large international client base and a specialized business model. They are a manufacturer of custom
engineered equipment and process packages for the energy sector. Their expertise is in process
engineering, advanced mechanics, thermal engineering, metallurgy, fabrication and state of the art
control systems. This enables them to provide innovative solutions for demanding applications in oil &
gas production and processing, refineries, petrochemical, chemical, fertilizer and power generation
facilities around the world.

Rakesh migrated to the United States from India in 1989, with a degree in electrical engineering. He
started his small business in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a few years later, relocated to Houston, with only
two employees. While in Iowa, he established a working relationship with the U.S. Small Business
... Read More

To stay in business for more than 30 years, means you’re able to adapt to change and GeoControl Systems, Inc. (GCS) is familiar with this concept. GCS is a engineering and science based corporation that offers a variety of support services to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The company was founded as a research and development organization in 1984, for the purpose of supplying control systems to the energy sector. The company was founded by a retired NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) employee, who was married to a real estate broker. After starting the company, his wife sold her business and both her and her son (a Rice University graduate), decided to join GCS.

The company began a successful start with contracts from Ore-Ida Foods, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Intrastate Gas and Rockwell. Then, after a few years of success, the oil and energy crisis hit, evaporating contracting opportunities in the energy sector. Fortunately,... Read More

Reaching New Heights with SBA

As a woman-owned business, SBA has helped this small business leader reach new heights. Helen Callier is the president of Bradlink LLC, an award winning technical services firm that provides program management, building design, permit expediting and facilities support services, to government agencies and private firms. She has multiple locations in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, with less than 15 employees. Helen started her woman-owned small business with a desire to help meet the needs of customers like her. Through her extensive travels, she noticed, she could provide help to airports and transit authorities.

While a student at Prairie View A&M University, Helen searched for resources that would help her learn and grow, in her chosen field. Before graduating from the university, she learned about a female engineering graduate, who completed a dual major in Civil and Architectural engineering and had started her own small business. Helen met this graduate after... Read More

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