Ralph E. Martin

Ralph Martin

2003

Ralph E. Martin

BSChE ’58, MSChE ‘60

Chairman of the Board

Petrofac, Inc.

 

Ralph E. Martin is chairman of the board of Petrofac, Inc., a full service engineering, fabrication and construction contractor specializing in the design of hydrocarbon processing plants based in Tyler, Texas.

             

Mr. Martin graduated from Eureka Springs High School in 1947.  After high school graduation, he joined the Army and served 2 ½ years in Japan during the Korean War.  Upon returning home, he enrolled in the University of Arkansas, earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1958 and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1960.

             

Following graduation, Mr. Martin moved to Tyler to accept a position with Howe Baker Engineers.  In 1972, he and a fellow chemical engineer formed their own engineering company, Marsco, which they sold eight years later.  The following year, Mr. Martin and several former Marsco employees formed Petrofac, Inc.

             

Under Mr. Martin’s guidance, Petrofac has grown from fewer than 50 employees in 1981 to its status as a world leader in the design and fabrication of refineries and gas plans for the oil refining, oil production, gas treating and petrochemical industries.  With offices in Tyler, London, England and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Petrofac has designed and built refineries in over a dozen foreign countries.

Mr. Martin served on the UA College of Engineering Advisory Council and the college committee for the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.


Mr. Martin passed away on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011.