The much anticipated turnaround in the Gulf of Mexico Oil Patch is happening, and the companies that supply boats and services in the area are feeling the impact. Consolidation has touched every facet of the marine business — every facet of business — for nearly a decade. Following the economic slowdown and resultant "weeding out of the weaklings" in the early 1990s, a new business plan stressing size and economic resource emerged. The plan, obviously, has not worked universally, as some companies overextended just as the market came crashing down in 1997. Today, for better or worse, a handful of enormous companies reign over the business of owning and operating vessels and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico region.