VISIONS Magazine (September 2026 Edition)
Summit Industrial Park at Five: Fulfilling the Promise by Embracing Growth
Five years after opening in West Texas, Summit Industrial Park (SIP) has grown from a new, centralized logistics concept into a capable and adaptable operation supporting SCOA businesses, their customers and a more efficient tubular supply chain.
When Summit Industrial Park opened in 2021, the idea was to pull operations scattered across West Texas into one logistics hub for Sumitomo Corporation of Americas businesses. Our VISIONS story then described SIP as “a 50-acre operation designed to consolidate storage, transportation and material-management activity while creating room for future growth.” Five years later, that room is being put to use.
Chris Henager, who oversees operations at SIP, says the facility is well past its startup phase.
“Five years after opening, Summit Industrial Park has grown significantly from where we began in 2021,” Henager said. “What started as a new operation has evolved into a larger, more capable facility designed to support increased customer demand and higher volumes.”
pictured above: Summit Industrial Park General Manager Chris Henager
That has meant more rail and significantly more storage, in keeping with the original plan: consolidating more than 25 Permian Basin storage locations into a hub-and-spoke model for tubular logistics without losing efficiency.
“We built SIP to provide the best service possible to our customers, operate in a sustainable, safe, and efficient manner, and provide an environment to roll out new technologies and procedures,” stated Michael Thomas, President and CEO of SCOA Group Company Ascend SC (and GM of SIP during the park’s first two years). “Walking back onto the site five years after receiving our first truck load of pipe and seeing the growth and repeatable success that SIP embodies is a testament to the professionalism of everyone involved.”
An August 2026 pipe delivery by rail to SIP again confirmed Thomas’s belief that the project would fulfill the promises and dreams of all involved.
“Seeing 26 railcars of pipe arrive in one day that is destined for nearby oil wells solidified that SIP has achieved the promise made in 2021,” Thomas said.
For Henager, however, the clearest measure of success is reliability, not tonnage.
“SIP has proven its value most clearly through service and accountability,” he said. “By creating a centralized operation, we have been able to provide SCOA businesses such as B&L Pipeco Services and P2 Energy, along with other SCOA companies using the facility, with a reliable partner they can count on to manage their material efficiently and keep their operations moving.”
That consistency, he said, has become part of the service.
“Having SIP as a centralized resource has improved coordination, responsiveness, and accountability throughout the supply chain,” he said. “Our customers know that when material comes into SIP, it is being managed with the same level of attention and urgency that they expect from their own operations. Ultimately, that translates into better service for their customers and greater confidence in the overall supply chain.”
Toru Minami, General Manager of SCOA’s Tubular Group, concludes that SIP now serves as an essential element in fulfilling their promise to customers, now in one location.
“Summit Industrial Park has become an important foundation for our Tubular business in West Texas,” Minami said. “By combining logistics capabilities, operational efficiency and reliable service in one location, SIP enables us to respond more effectively to our customers’ needs. I believe it will continue to play a key role in creating new value for our customers and our business.”
And the next five years? Henager is clear that growth for its own sake is not the goal, even as chances emerge to use more of the property, add capabilities and serve new customers.
“The key is making sure that any growth we pursue does not take away from our core customers or the reason this yard was built in the first place,” Henager explained. “If we can grow while continuing to provide the service, accountability and reliability our SCOA businesses depend on, then we see significant opportunity ahead.”
pictured above: Michael Thomas, President and CEO of SCOA Group Company Ascend SC and former GM of SIP
Thomas concurred. “The next five years are about what SIP makes possible outside of OCTG storage and distribution,” he said. “None of that means anything if we lose sight of the service we provide to the West Texas oil and gas producers who depend on us every day. This site was built as a model to expand services and allow business lines to plug into, and I expect that's where the real story goes next.”
The first five years proved a centralized SCOA logistics operation could grow with the businesses it serves. The next five will build on that selectively -- deeper Sumitomo group partnerships, an enhanced operation, opportunities that add value -- without abandoning the mission Summit Industrial Park was built for.
“SIP will keep focusing on the fundamentals: safety first, always looking for a better way to do things, and continually improving every process,” Thomas confirmed. “That's how SIP earns the right to be the blueprint, not just the pilot.”
