CAMAC Holdings Inc. was the second black-owned enterprise to gain membership into the BE 100s billion dollar club when it reached the No. 1 slot on our 2003 INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100. In fact, the Houston-based oil and gas exploration, consulting and engineering company was only a hair away from achieving the milestone when it made its debut on our industrial/service list in 2002 - - gross sales for 2001 were $979.5 million. Operated by Nigerian-born Kase Lawal, CAMAC (which stands for Cameroon-American) grew through its ability to integrate upstream services, the production of oil and gas, and downstream operations, which included trading and refining of its products. CAMAC, which reported its highest level of revenues-- $2.43 billion-- on the 2009 list, left the BE 100s in 2011 after shifts in operational structure, management and ownership.
