“Well begun is half done,” the old saying says. Or, alternately, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” While a strong start to the year doesn’t necessarily translate to ongoing success (just ask Netflix), it doesn’t mean that entering January in a strong position is meaningless. Here are five small cap companies that are starting off 2012 with a bang, entering with a relatively high volume of trading and are at or near 52-week highs in this last week.

Flotek Industries, Inc. (FTK)

Flotek benefitted from a 22 percent bump Wednesday to break into new range and a 52-week high, reaching $12.26 per share before settling in at $12.18 to close the day. Flotek, incorporated in 1985, is a provider of drilling and production related services and products. Headquartered in Houston, TX, Flotek has showed a steady climb in share price since reaching a 52-week low in October and was trading at more than four times its normal volume Wednesday.

Oiltanking Partners LP (OILT)

Oiltanking Partners, well, just what it sounds like, engages in the terminaling, storage, and transportation of crude oil. Oiltanking also moves liquified natural gas and refined petroleum products. With terminals in Houston and Beaumont, TX, Oiltanking partners is the world’s second largest independent tank storage provider for petroleum products, chemicals and gases. The company reached its 52-week high in early December, but it continues to trade around 5 percent below that level and had nearly three times its normal volume on Wednesday.

Tesoro Logistics LP (TLLP)

Tesoro is a San Antonio-based partnership formed by the Tesoro Corporation (TSO) which reached its 52-week high yesterday of $34.76 a share on a trading volume close to triple its average. The company has crude oil gathering systems operating in North Dakota and Montana that has approximately 23,000 barrels a day in truck-based crude oil gathering as well as 700 miles of pipelines and storage related assets.

CVR Partners LP (UAN)

Also reaching a 52-week high Wednesday on heavy volume was CVR partners. A partnership formed by CVR Energy, Inc. to own and operate nitrogen fertilizer facilities, CVR Partners has a Coffeyville, Kansas based facility that makes urea ammonium nitrate (UAN). CVR saw a 2011 that had several peaks and valleys, rising in July, falling in early August, recovering in September only to plunge in early October. However, the company appears to have found a new bull run as shares rose throughout December and reached new territory early in 2012.

VOC Energy Trust (VOC)

Trading since May, VOC Energy trust operates oil and gas wells in Kansas and East Texas. With close to 900 wells operating in 193 fields, VOC Energy owns 80 percent of the net profits from the oil wells, which are owned by VOC Sponsor. VOC’s first seven months in existence were rocky to say the least, with big jumps followed by equally dramatic falls. However, the stock broke through yesterday on heavy volume and is trading just over 1 percent lower than its 52-week high.