PURGIT founder, Hank Hilliard, began his career in tank barge cleaning and repair in 1971. The shipyard that Hank and his father built in Channelview was cleaning 2,000 tank barges a year by the time Hank left to open PURGIT in 1993. Hank subsequently designed environmentally positive innovations for vapor control systems and, since founding PURGIT, has implemented these patented designs into mobile systems that have revolutionized the way barge and tank cleaning is being done. Environmental regulations were quickly developing in the mid-1990s so PURGIT coupled portable combustors and flares with its patented inert gas purging business (CO2 and nitrogen) to control vapors at shipyards and tank farms. PURGIT now designs and builds portable flare systems to meet the strict safety and environmental standards in refinery settings. In 2007 PURGIT began building and operating portable vapor recovery units expressly for the purpose of closed-loop storage tank degassing. Today the PURGIT VRU is the foremost solution for recovery of chlorinated solvent vapors while degassing tanks and barges. PURGIT also builds and operates enclosed combustors/flares, cryogenic vaporizers, and operates a fleet of nitrogen tank trailers for tank purging. PURGIT is headquartered on the north end of Pasadena, Texas.