In my March 2006 message, I talked about the general market outlook for our industry and identified some of the key drivers affecting the market. Three key trends that I discussed were:

• Robust growth in demand for crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products
• Challenging regulatory environment - environmental, fiscal, legal and safety
• An aging workforce throughout many of the established oil and gas regions, struggling to attract and retain younger people in the face of increased competition from other sectors

So, how have these trends affected MESA and how are we responding? The first two trends have significantly increased demand for cathodic protection services and materials, resulting in unprecedented sales growth. Our annualized growth rate is now in excess of 30%. We expect demand to remain high as our pipeline customers work toward regulatory deadlines associated with pipeline integrity. And, as we all know that demand, coupled with a shortage of trained, qualified people is going to make it difficult to attract and keep our people.

MESA's most valuable asset is its people. We are actively searching for the right people to join our team and share in our continued growth as the employer of choice in the cathodic protection industry. We offer competitive salaries and a great benefit plan, along with a generous profit-sharing program that benefits all employees. Our average training investment per employee is approximately double that of the average U.S. organization. Employee satisfaction is ranked in the top ten percentile. Just like the Marines say, we are looking for a "few good men and women".