Interviewer(s): Jason Theriot

Affiliation: University of Houston

John Estes worked for Bethlehem Steel from 1949-1982. He is a former manager and engineer at Bethlehem Shipyard in Beaumont, former President of Bethlehem Singapore, and former assistant VP of Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania. He was born in Alabama and received a degree from the University of Texas in 1943. He worked in shipyards in New Orleans and Port Arthur before joining Bethlehem Shipyard in Beaumont in 1949 at the beginning of the offshore industry. John helped design and build Bethlehem's fleet of jack-ups during the early offshore industry. He is retired and lives in Kingwood, Texas.

Company's history/significance: Bethlehem Steel had a long history in the US. Shortly after WWII, Bethlehem opened a shipyard in Beaumont, TX to build vessels for the emerging offshore industry. In 1954, Bethlehem's engineers, including Estes, designed and built the industry's first "deep water" jack-up rig, Mr. Gus. Bethlehem was also one of the first American shipyards to open a yard overseas. From 1973-1977 Estes served as president of Bethlehem Singapore building rigs for Asia's offshore industry.