GenTex History

  • 1965

    Wesley James Cupples began working for one of the first hot oil companies in Western Canada, McInnis Hot Oil, operating out of Red Deer and Brooks, Alberta.

  • 1968

    Founder Fred McInnis sold one of the company’s hot oil units to Wes Cupples, marking the beginning of General Hot Oil & Chemical Cleaning Ltd.

  • 1988

    Wesley’s son, Garett Cupples, purchased his first hot oil unit.

  • 1995

    Over the following seven years, Garett acquired the remainder of General’s fleet prior to Wesley’s retirement. The company was then renamed General Hot Oil & Pressure Service Ltd.

  • 1997

    Garett launched a manufacturing company, General Hot Oilers Inc., laying the foundation for future innovation in equipment design.

  • 2002

    General Hot Oilers Inc. acquired the TEXSTEAM Heating Division from Dresser Flow Control in Houston, Texas—bringing with it industry-leading direct diesel-fired heating technology.

    The well-known TEXHEATER and TEX-STEAMER brands set the standard for heater design across the industry.

  • 2002

    That same year, Garett sold General Hot Oil & Pressure Service Ltd. to focus solely on manufacturing.

    GenTex Oilfield Manufacturing Inc. was formed—its name combining “General” and “Texsteam” as a tribute to both companies.

  • 2018

    GenTex evolved from GenTex Oilfield Manufacturing Inc. to GenTex Industries—a reflection of the company’s growth beyond oilfield manufacturing.

    What began in hot oil equipment expanded into a more diverse operation, now supporting not only the oilfield sector, but also agriculture, construction, and other field-based industries with purpose-built equipment.

  • Today

    GenTex Industries remains committed to building some of the most efficient, durable, and operator-focused hot oil units, pressure trucks, chemical cleaning units, fuel and water trucks, ect in the industry—engineered for real-world conditions and built to perform where it matters most.

It all started when…

GenTex Industries' origins trace back to two key foundations: a service company, General Hot Oil & Chemical Cleaning Ltd. (established in the 1960’s), and a manufacturing company, TEXSTEAM (from the 1950’s).

In 1965, Wesley James Cupples started working for one of the first hot oil companies in Western Canada called McInnis Hot Oil, operating out of Red Deer and Brooks, Alberta. By 1968, the founder Fred McInnis sold one of the hot oil units to Wes Cupples and thus began General Hot Oil & Chemical Cleaning Ltd.

Based out of Red Deer, Alberta, Wes worked throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Alberta, as there were very few hot oil units in those days. Wes owned and operated the company for 20 years before his son Garett Cupples, purchased a hot oil unit in 1988. 

Over the next 7 years, Garett purchased the rest of General’s fleet before Wes retired in 1995. The company was then changed to General Hot Oil & Pressure Service Ltd.

From General Hot Oil to GenTex Industries

After working many years in the oil patch and building several hot oil units for his service company, Garett saw the need for safer, economical and reliable hot oiling equipment.  With these three concepts in mind, Garett set out to start a manufacturing company in 1997, calling it General Hot Oilers Inc., which offered those three crucial elements.

2002 was a very busy year as two major transactions took place. General Hot Oilers Inc. acquired the TEXSTEAM Heating Division from Dresser Flow Control, in Houston, Texas, inheriting the first of its kind, direct diesel fired technology. The TEXHEATER & TEX-STEAMER brands were what all manufacturers had started copying for their heater technology. Garett sold General Hot Oil & Pressure Service Ltd. (the service company) to focus solely on manufacturing and GenTex Oilfield Manufacturing Inc. was created. The name GenTex was an ode to both companies, General and Texsteam.

Today, GenTex Industries remains committed to providing its customers with the most efficient, ergonomic and safe hot oil and pressure units in the world.

GenTex has evolved into a fully integrated manufacturing, service, training and supply company.  GenTex specializes in the design, fabrication and servicing of truck, trailer and skid mounted oilfield equipment, for upstream and downstream processes and applications.  GenTex exports to over 20 countries across 5 continents.

GenTex currently manufactures the best of its kind in terms of high output & efficient oilfield heaters and equipment. There are many accolades such as, the world’s largest trailer mounted hot oil unit in Alaska, the first Canadian manufactured heating & hot oil units in India, as well as China, Kazakhstan and Romania. GenTex has come a long way since the early days, but we do not forget to celebrate our history!