Biz Buzz: Midland's Rig ID evolves into premier apparel brand

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Rig ID outfits oil and gas workers across Midland and West Texas with flame-resistant uniforms while creating stylish, casual outerwear and hats.

Al and Krista Escamilla

Rig ID outfits oil and gas workers across Midland and West Texas with flame-resistant uniforms while creating stylish, casual outerwear and hats.

Al Escamilla's passion for clothing ignited some 40 years ago when his high school friends use to pay him to distress and fade their jeans at his parent's laundromat.

Fast forward to 2023, Rig ID, he and his wife Krista's apparel business, outfits oil and gas workers across Midland and West Texas with flame-resistant uniforms while creating stylish, casual outerwear and hats.

Around 2003, the Escamillas partnered with a Mexican brand to begin making T-shirts. Although they admit they didn't have much knowledge of the business at the time, they got an opportunity to present their apparel for Nordstrom through a connection they made at a party.

The pair took 13 of their designs to then-regional Nordstrom buyers in Dallas, stayed at the Galleria and presented their product. After the pitch, Nordstrom personnel took the Escamillas to the basement of their Dallas location and said they wanted to write a purchase order for their clothing.

"They said "OK, we’re ready to write a P.O." and we looked at each other and we’re like, "What's a P.O.?"’ Krista said.

The Escamillas apparel was in around 30 Nordstrom locations until the 2008 financial crisis when Nordstrom downsized and ceased doing business with them. The couple said they learned a lot from the experience.

"That's how you learn and grow, you make mistakes, you learn from those mistakes, and you get to do better next time," Krista said.

Rig ID opened in April 2015. That's when Krista, a long-time television personality now with KWES, would receive press releases about fatalities in the oilfield.

"A couple weeks later, we would get another email saying, "sorry, we don't know the next of kin because they didn't have identification on them," she said.

The original concept for "Rig ID" was to create an identification bracelet for workers on oil rigs that included contact information and companies phone numbers. Al's passion for clothing drove him to delve deeper into the idea of safety equipment for oil workers and create flame resistant workwear.

Al admits he wasn't sure if his new company would survive, establishing themselves just after the city's oil boom in 2014. He decided to take a chance and make a call to Pioneer Natural Resources.

He spoke to Pioneer personnel, told them he had just opened an "FR" (flame-resistant) clothing store and wanted to set up a meeting.

"She says, ‘Today's your lucky day, and I said, ‘Really?’ She said, ‘We just decided not to renew our contract with our uniform provider,’" Al recalled.

Pioneer became Rig ID's first uniform client, and the Escamillas started in the coveralls business. Over time, Rig ID evolved from workwear to all kinds of outerwear -- like hats, hoodies, polo shirts, athleticwear, vests, fleeces and more. Customers can customize some Rig ID products to make them their own.

Small business owners looking to grow need a few tools, according to the Escamillas. Practically, Al said proficiency in sales and marketing, cost control and software like Microsoft Excel, Shopify and QuickBooks are essential.

Krista claimed flexibility is key, saying if her and her husband couldn't adjust and evolve over time, they’d be out of business.

Rig ID will release "Thin FR" clothing – an example of that evolving. Rig ID listened to their customers -- oilfield workers who needed a thinner, more breathable flame-resistant uniform set for West Texas heat. Rig ID will roll theirs out this year.