Operators in Wink who need a process pad or a containment slab want one that holds fluids in, carries weight and stays put on ground with an unusual history. We build equipment bases, tank pads, containment slabs and the yard paving around them, and we raise the ground questions at the start because in Wink they are not routine.
The town grew out of the oil strike of 1926 in the Hendrick field, and the oil business still defines the place. Wink sits on State Highway 115 and Farm Road 1232, seven miles southwest of Kermit, with a Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate of 931 people. It is a small place with a large industrial footprint, and the work is typically a pad at a battery, a base for a compressor or a yard for a service company.
The Wink Sink collapsed on June 3, 1980, and within 24 hours it had opened to 360 feet wide and 110 feet deep, a failure caused by salt dissolving in the Permian Salado Formation. Not every lot is at risk, but a pad owner should know the history and ask for a geotechnical opinion before pouring anything heavy. We mobilize crews to Wink and coordinate the dirt and utility trades ahead of our pour.
Ground questions first
We begin each Wink job by asking what is known about the ground. Is there a geotechnical report? Has the owner dealt with subsidence on this lot or a neighboring one? What is the loading, and how sensitive is the equipment to settlement? A compressor that cannot tolerate movement needs a different foundation than a tank pad that can.
When the answers are unclear, we recommend an engineer's review before concrete is ordered. The cost is small compared with a pad that has to be torn out. After the review, we design the section, reinforcing and base to match, and we tell the owner plainly what the slab can and cannot do about ground movement.
Once the section is set, the sequence is simple and strict. The base is placed in lifts and compacted, forms are checked for line and grade, steel is inspected, and concrete is placed and consolidated without a break. We cure the pad promptly and keep traffic off it until the strength test passes. A pad that is rushed to service fails in the same weeks that the operator most needs it.
Safety on a working oilfield site
Wink pads sit in active fields, so we follow the operator's rules: orientation, permit to work, gas monitoring and gate checks. We ask where the live lines and tanks are and mark exclusion zones around them. Hot work and ignition sources are controlled, and we keep vehicles away from wellheads and piping.
For the concrete itself, we manage heat, wet cement and truck movement. Sand carried on the wind creates visibility problems, and we pause work when it does. A person on the crew watches traffic while the others finish the slab.
Remote locations raise the stakes for any injury. The pre-delivery review identifies the nearest medical facility, the travel route and available phone or radio coverage across the lease. The crew leader carries the emergency contacts and reviews them with every new worker who joins the job.
Wink and the towns near it
The Wink-Loving Independent School District serves the town, and school sites occasionally call for walks and drop-off lanes. Kermit is seven miles away on State Highway 115 and shares much of the same oilfield traffic, and Monahans is the next community on our route.
We combine jobs among these communities when the dates allow. Delivery distances from the Odessa side add to the cost, so a pour that shares a trip with another is cheaper for both owners.
Many Wink projects are part of a larger program for an operator: a set of batteries, a pad at a station, a yard at the field office. Oil, gas and midstream operators can bundle several sites into a single schedule, and we price repeat pads at a lower unit cost when the design is the same.
What stands on the pads
Pads in Wink support small buildings and equipment: a pump house, a control building, a shop. A pre-engineered metal building goes up on a slab whose edges and footings follow the supplier's reactions. Tank bases, compressor skids and heaters sit on slabs with embedded plates or anchor bolts located by template.
We also build parking and driveway paving for these facilities. A well-built apron at the gate keeps mud off the road and protects the pad from the first turn.
Smaller commercial buildings, such as a convenience store, a parts counter or a county shed, also appear on Wink lots. Government and municipal buildings get slabs, walks and ramps, with the finishes the owner's specification requires.
Price factors on a Wink pad
Ground investigation, base preparation and reinforcing are the largest swing items. A pad on stable ground with a simple foundation costs a fraction of one that needs engineered fill, extra steel and a thick mat. We separate the geotechnical items from the concrete so the owner can see how much the ground adds.
Containment pads add curbs, sumps and sealed joints. Remote location adds mobilization. Wind and sand add protection and curing costs. We present each so the owner can decide which to adopt.
One more cost to watch is rework. A pad poured on poorly investigated ground can crack or tilt, and a repair costs more than the first investigation. We encourage owners to spend where the risk is, and to save on lighter slabs where the risk is small.
Dunes, playas and runoff
Winkler County has a diagonal belt of active windblown dunes that rise 30 to 40 feet above the surrounding surface, and rainwater collects in playas. Both affect pad design. Sand on the move can bury or undermine a slab edge, and water that pools in a low area can soak a base.
We keep pads above known low spots, grade surrounding areas to shed water away from the slab and protect edges with aprons or curbs. For more on moving water, see trench drains and concrete drainage.
Tell us the equipment and the lot
Send the equipment list, any soils report and the lot location near Wink. We will review the ground questions with you and plan the pad.
Common Questions
Do you recommend a geotechnical report before a Wink pad?
For heavy or settlement-sensitive equipment, yes. The area has a history of ground failure, and an engineer's opinion costs far less than rebuilding a pad. For light-duty slabs, we may rely on a lighter investigation.
What is the Wink Sink, and does it affect my lot?
It was a large collapse in 1980 caused by dissolving salt below the surface. Most lots are not at risk, but the history is a reason to ask for a ground review on important pads.
How do you prevent sand from undermining a slab?
We set the slab above the surrounding grade, add aprons or curbs at the edges and grade the area to shed water. We check the edges after the first big wind.
Can you build containment slabs in Wink?
Yes, to the engineer's drawings. We form the curbs and sumps, pour the slab and seal the joints with a product suited to the stored liquid.
How soon can we load a new pad?
We release it after the concrete reaches the specified strength, which we confirm by cylinder tests. For some mixes it can be a week; for others, longer.
Do you serve every part of Wink?
We take work in town and on the leases around it. For remote sites, we ask for directions, gate procedures and any road conditions so the crew and the trucks arrive prepared.