NuStar Energy L.P. announced January 23 that it has been ranked No. 44 on the 12th annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, which will appear in the February 2 issue of Fortune, and No. 1 among large companies on the “Best Companies to Work for in Texas” list, which will be published in the February issue of Texas Monthly magazine.
“It is very exciting to earn a place on both of these prestigious lists in our first year of participation,” said Curt Anastasio, president and CEO of NuStar Energy L.P. “What makes this recognition particularly noteworthy is that both honors are primarily based on employees’ responses to confidential surveys. So these awards truly reflect the positive spirit of our employees.”
NuStar chairman Bill Greehey added, “Our employees are the true stars of NuStar, and they are the reason NuStar is successful and earns recognition like these honors. Our employees work hard, show great dedication and truly embody the special spirit that has made NuStar the success it is today.”
Other considerations in NuStar’s selection for these honors include the company’s employee benefits plan, which has been ranked the best in its industry by Hewitt Associates; its reward and recognition programs; commitment to volunteerism and charitable giving; and special corporate culture. NuStar, which has a voluntary turnover rate of only 3 percent, offers all-employee bonuses; a pension plan; a 401(k) match of 100 percent up to 6 percent of pay; company-paid health and welfare benefits; a health and wellness program; and much more. The company also has never had a layoff in its history, and instills in employees the philosophy that if they do a good job, they will always have a good job.
The San Antonio-based company earned the top spot on its hometown list of great employers as well. In June of 2008, NuStar was named the No. 1 large company to work for in the city by the San Antonio Business Journal.
NuStar has grown tremendously since being founded in 2001. In that time, the company has grown from 160 employees to approximately 1,700 today; from $387 million in assets to $4.4 billion; and from a market capitalization (NuStar Energy & NuStar GP Holdings combined) of $472 million to nearly $3.3 billion today. And based on 2008 revenues, the company expects to earn a place on the Fortune 500 list for the first time.
Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ List
To pick the “100 Best Companies to Work For,” Fortune works with Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute – a global research and consulting firm with offices in 30 countries – to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to the 57-question survey created by the Institute. Two-thirds of a company’s score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees. The remaining third is based on a company’s responses to a Culture Audit questionnaire, which asks detailed questions about demographics, pay and benefits, and open-ended questions on philosophy, communication and more.
According to Fortune, the driving factor for the companies on this year’s list is that they excel at creating jobs. Of the 100 companies on the 2009 list, 73 are currently hiring. The full “100 Best Companies to Work for” list and related stories can be viewed at www.fortune.com/bestcompanies.
Texas Monthly’s Best Companies to Work for in Texas List
The “Best Companies to Work for in Texas” program, which is sponsored by the Texas Association of Business and the Texas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management, is determined by a thorough analysis of each nominee conducted by the Best Companies Group. This organization evaluates each company’s responses to a detailed employer questionnaire that covers policies, practices and demographics, as well as the answers from randomly selected employees to a confidential employee survey.
The honorees are broken down into three categories: 32 small-sized companies, 32 medium-sized companies and 36 large-sized companies. All of the award winners will be recognized by Texas Governor Rick Perry at a special awards luncheon on January 28 at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin.
About NuStar Energy L.P.
NuStar Energy L.P. is a publicly traded, limited partnership based in San Antonio, with 8,491 miles of pipeline, 82 terminal facilities, four crude oil storage tank facilities and two asphalt refineries with a combined throughput capacity of 104,000 barrels per day. One of the largest asphalt refiners and marketers in the U.S. and the second largest independent liquids terminal operator in the nation, NuStar has operations in the United States, the Netherlands Antilles, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The partnership's combined system has over 90 million barrels of storage capacity, and includes two asphalt refineries, crude oil and refined product pipelines, refined product terminals, a petroleum and specialty liquids storage and terminaling business, as well as crude oil storage facilities.
