Earl Heard learned early on working with some great mentors and fire and safety trainers at Ethyl Corp. that “it’s what we do together that counts.” In 1984, he founded BIC Alliance with that exact mission as its foundation — to connect key decision makers in business and industry with one another and suppliers for the betterment of all. As BIC Alliance celebrates 30 years of magazine publishing, the team would like to take this opportunity to thank the marketing partners, readers and staff whose support have made this milestone possible and share in the success.
BIC Alliance continues to invest in and expand the many facets of the company that together offer its partners a unique business model to facilitate growth opportunities. When a company looks to grow, it can do so in three ways: an aggressive marketing plan, hiring the right people and through mergers and acquisitions.
BIC Magazine
BIC Alliance’s Business & Industry Connection (BIC) Magazine, published 10 times a year, delivers the messages of energy related companies and leading industrial service companies to a national and international audience. Through all media including print, digital and industry events, BIC reaches an audience of 85,000 to 90,000 readers monthly and is continuing to grow. BIC’s readers include mid- and upper-level managers and executives in the heavy process industries including refining/petrochemical, drilling and exploration, pipeline, marine, terminal, pulp and paper, power generation and heavy construction industries. Departments in the publication cover industry concerns such as safety, maintenance, purchasing and the environment. BIC is also featured online in its entirety and is accessed worldwide.
BIC’s horizontal format gives it an advantage over other energy publications’ vertical approach. BIC Magazine serves a wider variety of sectors and departments than other energy magazines. BIC’s unique format features not only the latest news and trends but also marketing campaigns that include ads, ongoing editorial and access to databases.
BIC Alliance participates in more than 40 trade shows and conferences each year, delivering its message to a broader audience. The company also holds annual networking events attended by a “who’s who” in industry, affording industrial suppliers and buyers an opportunity to visit with their peers and exchange ideas, referrals and business cards.
The staff at BIC continues to work very closely with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Associated Builders and Contractors, the Louisiana Chemical Association, the Texas Chemical Council and others, which all use BIC as their third-party newsletters to share their message with BIC members, owner companies and government (both state and federal) through ongoing columns. BIC’s readers and members also provide a wealth of industry information each issue, focusing on best practices, safety, trends, challenges and more.
BIC Alliance has upgraded the features of the magazine over the years including the addition of a glossy cover wrap, international distribution and publication of BIC online in its entirety. The magazine also became full color and full glossy.
BIC Alliance continues to invest in BIC Magazine. The June/July 2009 issue of BIC was the first of a more interactive digital version where readers can flip through the pages of BIC virtually. The online publication also offers “search” and “share” features. Shortly after that, in 2009, BIC began being published as an e-Newsletter complement to the print and digital versions. The September 2009 issue of BIC included a new feature — a four-page pull out insert. In 2012, BIC Magazine upgraded to be perfect bound (adhesive binding) and a UV coating was added to the cover to enhance its finish.
BIC Magazine remains America’s largest multi-industry, multidepartment magazine and BIC Alliance will continue in its commitment to helping business and industry leaders communicate with one another both through the pages of BIC as well as through the company’s other divisions.
BICMagazine.com
BIC Alliance recently launched a brand new website for BIC Magazine. The new and improved BICMagazine.com will keep readers updated daily on the industry’s top news and provide enhanced online access to the content of BIC Magazine.
The new site is designed to highlight “who’s who” in business and industry. A visit to the home page puts the user just one click away from valuable information on personnel moves, perspectives from top executives and photos from key industry events.
Users will also find valuable industry resources at their disposal. The site has dedicated areas for informational white papers and videos, company product and service catalogs and industry webinars. Job seekers will find links to the top industry positions available on BICJobs.com.
The site has been designed for easy navigation. It features a menu where users can find content related to specific industry segments and departments. A special “expansions” section provides news on upcoming projects in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.
BIC Alliance will further expand its digital offerings and revamp the websites of BIC Recruiting, IVS Investment Banking and BIC Media Solutions this year. The new BIC Recruiting website will have portals for both employers and candidates featuring job listings, informative articles with hiring and job search tips and other helpful resources. The IVS Investment Banking and BIC Media Solutions sites will provide information on investment banking, media partnerships, custom book publishing, keynote presentations and more.
BIC will also offer more digital industry resources, including white papers, company catalogs, webinars and a variety of videos. BIC is currently partnering to expand its video capability and is planning to work with regional video partners in Texas, the Northeast and elsewhere.
BIC Alliance encourages those interested in industry news to make BICMagazine.com their home page.
IVS Investment Banking
IVS Investment Banking specializes in M&A consulting, linking buyers and sellers, linking investors with opportunities, business valuations and recapitalization. Through deep and wide relationships with strategic buyers and intimate knowledge and history with the universe of private equity groups working in the industrial space, IVS is able to run a “dual path” when representing sellers, maximizing value for its clients.
When IVS helped sell a company for the first time in 1997 (the acquisition of AllService Inc. by Total Safety), BIC Alliance set itself apart from every publisher in the energy, construction and environmental industries and opened up a new avenue for individuals in business and industry to buy or sell their companies. In 2007, John Zapalac joined IVS Investment Banking as a managing partner.
Since 2008, IVS has completed 13 transactions that total more than $270 million. As an example, IVS completed a leveraged recapitalization of USA Environment LP in 2008. Founded in 1991, USA provides a full range of high end environmental services as well as owns and operates a transportation fleet licensed to haul hazardous and radioactive materials in 48 states. The equity sponsor to the transaction was Wingate Partners, a $300 million private equity fund located in Dallas.
A more recent example is the recapitalization with LoneStar Marine Shelters of Galveston, Texas, in 2013. The transaction included an investment in LoneStar Marine Shelters by Main Street Capital — an investment in first lien, senior secured debt and a direct equity investment. IVS Investment Banking served as an adviser to LoneStar Marine Shelters during the transaction.
IVS Investment Banking offers complete investment banking services to assist in buying, selling or growing companies. No other investment banking group in the energy market has IVS Investment Banking’s broad and deep access to the range of both strategic and financial investors.
BIC Recruiting
BIC Recruiting places sales management, operations management and C-level executives in the energy market. Its extensive network of more than 30,000 contacts allows the division’s recruiters to find the best candidate for your position; in fact, more than half of BIC Recruiting’s placements come from direct referrals. This is a major differentiating factor in using BIC Recruiting’s services.
BIC Recruiting’s services include exhaustive nationwide searches to locate prospects, regular updates on the search process, background checks and drug screening tests, 90-day guarantee and post-placement follow-up.
Hazel Kassu joined BIC Alliance in 2010 to help develop BIC Recruiting and was promoted to director of recruiting in 2013. She brings 15 years of executive search and recruiting experience placing candidates in sales management, operations management, information technology, engineering and administrative fields. She also has experience in human resources management and marketing management.
BIC Recruiting enjoyed 900-percent revenue growth from 2009 to 2013 with a revenue growth of 37 percent in the most recent years of 2011-2013. The division continually places more successful A-level candidates into its clients’ hard to fill roles each year.
Kassu and her team continue to expand the recruiting division and have set goals to reach new heights in 2014.
BIC Media Solutions
When Heard launched BIC Media Solutions (formerly BIC Publishing) in 2005, the idea was to offer networking and training events, keynote speakers and custom book publishing. Since then, the division has published eight books, hosted numerous networking events and has seen Heard speak all over the country on various topics.
BIC Media Solutions expanded in 2013 by partnering with Louisiana Entertainment Publishers LLC (LEP), publisher of “Scene Magazine” — Louisiana’s fastest growing entertainment magazine, to cross promote each other’s publications and begin co-producing premier events.
BIC Media Solutions also entered into several media partnerships to produce BIC Alliance videos and to also offer video capability to its marketing partners and industry readers.
A custom trailer — BIC 2 Go — was also added to be used as a rolling exhibit to showcase all the products and services of BIC Alliance and its partners. The mobile exhibit carries copies of BIC Magazine, “Scene Magazine,” BIC Media Solutions’ books of significance to promote literacy, and literature from BIC marketing partners.
BIC Media Solutions continues to give back, donating books for fundraising efforts and also sponsoring charity events. The division is ready for what 2014 and beyond holds in store — from books and events to speaking engagements and seminars.
Commitment to community
BIC Alliance also remains committed to community and giving back. In 2013, the team “put their boots on” by supporting the Boot Campaign, a national 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to showing tangible appreciation for active military, raising awareness of the challenges individuals face upon return and supporting their transition home.
BIC Alliance was a sponsor of the Boot Campaign’s movie screening of the “Lone Survivor” in Plano, Texas, and also hosted screenings of its own in Baton Rouge and Houston for veterans and industry. The movie is based on the experiences of retired U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, who inspired the Boot Campaign.
BIC Alliance will continue its support of the Boot Campaign. Currently, BIC Recruiting is working with the organization to create jobs for veterans.
Also in 2013, BIC Alliance President Thomas Brinsko founded The Get Together Bay Area — a group of people who meet monthly to use their business expertise, entrepreneurial skills, creativity and connections to help meet the needs of Christ-centered, nonprofit organizations and the people they serve. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month and welcomes those who would like to participate.
The BIC Alliance team has dedicated time to serve together on beach sweep in Galveston, Texas, and also to cook and serve meals at The Bridge Over Troubled Waters battered women’s shelter in Pasadena, Texas.
BIC Alliance continues to support the Oilfield Christian Fellowship, sponsoring its breakfast events and providing ad space in BIC Magazine.
Be a part of BIC Alliance
Heard and Brinsko, along with Vice President Jeremy Osterberger and their gifted and hardworking sales, production and administrative team members, have steered the company toward unprecedented success. BIC Alliance looks forward to continuing its partnerships into the future as well as welcoming new members as partners in the years to come.
Experience matters at BIC Alliance
Our 10,000-hour guarantee
In his book, “Outliers,” author Malcolm Gladwell attempts to explain the exceptional achievements of people like Amadeus Mozart, chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, the Beatles and Microsoft® co-founder Bill Gates by examining what is known in some circles as the “10,000-hour rule.” According to the rule, it takes about 10,000 hours of intense practice to truly master a particular skill in a way that enables a person to excel far beyond his or her peers — in other words, to become an “outlier.”
Here at BIC Alliance, we not only believe in the 10,000-hour principle, we back it with a 10,000-hour guarantee. We are proud to say one of the reasons we’re among the best in industrial marketing, investment banking, executive recruiting and custom publishing is in each and every department we have at least two and in some cases as many as four professionals who have more than 10,000 hours of hands-on experience. This, along with the continuous support of our marketing partners and readers during our 30 years, has allowed us to carve a niche for BIC Magazine as North America’s largest multi-industry, multidepartmental publication. It has also allowed us to build a unique business model that includes IVS Investment Banking, our investment banking and merger-and-acquisition firm; BIC Recruiting, our executive recruiting division; and BIC Media Solutions, our custom book publishing, keynote speaking and event planning company.
We can guarantee our BIC Alliance marketing partners will be served by someone who has more than 10,000 hours of experience in his or her area of expertise, whether it be in sales, production, administration or any other facet of the organization. As for the newer members of our team, we can guarantee our partners they are being mentored by and are working side by side with people who have at least 10,000 hours of experience in their fields.
For more information on how to put BIC Alliance’s experience to work for you, please contact Earl Heard in Baton Rouge at (800) 460-4242 or Thomas Brinsko in Houston at (281) 538-9996 or visit www.bicalliance.com.
