The History of PennWell

PennWell Corporation's book division springs from the world's leading petroleum magazine, the Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ). In 1902 the forerunner of OGJ, the Oil Investor's Journal, was published in Beaumont, Texas by St. Louis newspaperman Holland S. Reavis. Reavis, drawn by the magnet of Spindletop, intended to make his fortune in the Gulf Coast oil boom.

Eight years later, the Petroleum Publishing Company (PPC), founded by Pennsylvania newsman Patrick C. Boyle, bought Reavis' company. With its new owner, the Journal acquired a past much deeper than Spindletop-a tie back to Pennsylvania's oil boom days. Boyle later combined his original periodical, the Oil City Derrick, with the Journal to form the Oil & Gas Journal.

Public demand for quality technical books increased during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973 Petroleum Publishing created a division devoted solely to publishing technical books. It flourished and eventually branched off from OGJ, becoming PPC Books.

As PPC Books expanded, the company grew to serve new industries. The first move outside the petroleum industry was the acquisition of Dental Economics, a magazine serving dental practice management, and Proofs, a dental service/suppliers' publication. Computer Design Publishing and Laser Focus magazine were other nonpetroleum-related additions.

Overall company growth was occurring so rapidly that in 1980 the Petroleum Publishing Company name was changed to complement its divergent clientele. PPC became PennWell Publishing Company—Penn for its roots in Pennsylvania and Well for its original ties to the petroleum industry. The growth continued as the company increased its service to such industries as electric power, with Power Engineering and Electric Light & Power magazines, and municipal water treatment with Water World magazine.

Today PennWell publishes more than 30 technical magazines and periodicals serving a variety of industries. And PPC Books has become PennWell's Information Products Group, providing books, maps, directories, databases, software, and multimedia products to help these industries meet the demands of today's constantly changing business climate.