Our History

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W.L. Walker Co., Inc. was established in 1926 by William Lee Walker, who was the co-inventor of the Tulsa Oil Thief™.  This became the first oil sampling device of the company, and continues to be the leading oil sampler of choice today.  During the 1940s, numerous other types of sampling devices we added to the line, including the Lufkin Gauging Tapes and Plumb Bobs and various other products. William also developed the centrifuges which are used for determining basic sediment and water.  

As World War II came to an end, William's health was fading, and as a result his son, Arthur "Art" Walker, returned from the military to help this father run the company.  Art began to seek new lines of equipment and develop new products in addition to the Thief.  He also developed a multitude of centrifuges, such as portable electronic oil centrifuges and 12V Water Headed Centrifuges, which used water circulation from the vehicles' system in order to heat the centrifuge.  These new centrifuges would soon be able to run from 12 Volt or 115 Volt.  They were also designed to be explosion proof, which led to it being classified as a CSA Approved Explosion Proof Centrifuge.  Along these same lines, an inherently safe air driven centrifuge was also developed.  All of the centrifuges that have been developed have met the specifications as stated in the API Manual of Petroleum Measurement Chapter 10.4: Determination of Sediment and Water by Centrifuge-Field Method (old ASTM D96).  New products were gradually incorporated into the line of products, and other changes were made, such as making glass bottles out of plastic by gaining the Nalgene Labware line in the 1950s.  

After decades of maintaining the company his father founded, he retired in 1986, and the third generation took over.  Art's daughter, Anne Walker Brackett, became the next owner of the business and is passionate about serving the industry and dedicated to the employees which it serves.  Anne has continued the development of the gauging equipment and has incorporated CNC machines to ensure more efficient manufacturing.  She and her team have also developed new state-of-the-art digital thermometers.  Anne is a member of API and is a Chairman of the Chapter 7 "Temperature Determination" Working Group, and received her 30 year award at the API Fall Meeting in 2014.

John Brackett is the fourth generation of the Walker family that will be operating the company. John and Anne are working alongside one another and the the W.L. Walker employees to grow and flourish the company that has been around for nearly a century. The entire company of W.L. Walker Co., Inc. - both the Tulsa locations and branch office in Houston, TX - are all members of a large family devoted to one another and to the customers they serve.

W.L. Walker Co., Inc. is certified as a woman-owned small business, and is dedicated to professional excellence and pledge to live by the fine reputation the previous leadership worked so hard to achieve. Our reputation is built on innovation and research... the leader - W.L. WALKER COMPANY.