In order to remain in business long-term, it helps to build a community spirit. Market fluctuations can prove challenging to even the most skillfully run organization, so having a backbone that spans generations can prove to be a game-changer. Tri-State Drilling is one such company. Founded in 1955 by Robert Melcher, Wayne Reese Miller and Ralph Isley, it began work on its first dewatering project that year, with just one drill rig and one salesperson. However, the business quickly upscaled, acquiring more equipment that led it into deep foundation work. After a continued period of sustained growth, the company was passed down to a second generation, who continued to grow the company until it was acquired by a private investment group. However, Colleen O’Brien explains, this transfer of ownership has done nothing but help lift the community spirit within the company. “[The private investment group] is lead by one of the grandchildren of a founding member as well, so it’s always kind of stayed in the family and all those three families are still present in the company today.”
Tri-State Dilling installs deep foundations for the country’s infrastructure, working with power generation, transmission, distribution, renewable, heavy industry, agribusiness, oil, and gas companies along with the general construction industry. The company “pioneered the sub-speciality of drilled foundations,” and has amassed a significant level of skill and in-house experience. It all started with the capability of building dewatering well crews who can install a well in difficult conditions, move the operation 1,000 feet and do so again, Tri-State has found a significant niche in the market. “That professional discipline translated perfectly to transmission line foundation work.” From here, it has installed transmission line foundations in the lower 48 states and Alaska.
While this experience has led to an impressive knowledge bank within the company, its skill-set covers the gamut of the industry. The team offer a diverse range of services to the market such as large-diameter drilled shafts, direct power pole embeds, helical anchors, foundation pre-drilling, micropiles, foundation engineering and design.
After decades in business, its clear that Tri-State Drilling has seen a great deal of success. For Jim Swanson, Business Development Manager at the company, this is down to “Maintaining client relationships, developing and maintaining top talent and keeping the family feel to the company.” By building, and maintaining, a healthy community in-house, the company has been able to succeed long-term. It has built on its foundations and is now equipped to plan long into the future. “The key to our success is our people. We treat our employees well, so we have very high retention. Once an operator works for us, they become members of the family, and many spend the rest of their careers with us. We count on them to bring our customers the best quality work and to leave the landowners happy. With that high retention, we maintain a team that has hundreds of years of experience doing just one thing: delivering, in a timely fashion, highest quality foundations to the electrical transmission industry.”
“The key to our success is our people. We treat our employees well, so we have very high retention. Once an operator works for us, they become members of the family, and many spend the rest of their careers with us.”
According to the company website, the key to success has been developing techniques to handle “everything from high water tables in caving soils to the hardest granite, all while leaving behind the lightest possible footprint.” Despite this huge growth, the company has worked hard to maintain a family feel. For over 70 years, Tri-State has prioritized camaraderie and collaboration, something which sets it apart from its competitors. Jim explained, “We were founded by 3 families, built by many families in the field and maintain that family feel in everything we do.”
Alongside community, the company places the utmost value on keeping its staff safe. As a core belief, much work goes in to ensuring its community keeps a clean bill of health. “Safety results like ours require ongoing commitment, vigilance, and strict adherence to company safety rules. After all, people are our success, so safety is an essential part to our work.” The company proactively manages their safe work practices, holds daily on-site safety meetings, and has safety managers who make site visits, audits and hold training for employees, while project superintendents and foremen are trained on how to eliminate hazards while working on the job. In addition to all this, all employees learn OSHA rules and first aid. “This steadfast integration of safety into our working culture underscores our dedication to ensuring the well-being of every individual within our organization”.
It is no surprise then, to learn that safety and community work together to develop a culture of care at Tri-State. “At any family-owned business, the team becomes a family. Tri-State is no exception. Every member of the crew is taken care of by us so that when they are on-site, the focus is on doing the project safely and precisely. Every new employee is trained in safety and on-the-job skills. Mentorships in safety are also encouraged between senior employees and new employees. Today, thanks to the conscientious efforts of our employees and diligence of our safety leaders, Tri-State has a safety track record of which we are extremely proud.”
This track record includes a number of high-profile successful projects, including the Smart Path Connect in Boonville, New York and the Boulder Solar Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Boulder City, NV. In addition to that, it has worked as a prime foundation contractor for companies including Eversource, Commonwealth Edison, Xcel Energy, Basin Electric, National Grid, Ottertail Power, Minnkota Power and others. Following on from its community-minded approach, it is no surprise that many of its clients are long-term, repeat relationships. “Once our new customers see our crews at work, and see the professionalism of their results, they become confirmed repeat clients.”
While the company has gone from strength to strength, it has no plans to slow down. Building and cultivating a culture takes time. Tri-State Drilling has excelled in this area and plans to use this foundation for another period of sustained growth and success. Jim explained that, alongside a positive outlook for the rest of 2024, it has a range of plans for continued growth and expansions. The team plans to “increase presence in the Transmission industry in the East Coast, Midwest and western US, continue our nationwide expansion into the renewable energy market, maintain our focus in heavy industry in the Midwest, and focus on expanding the workforce with qualified individuals that want to be part of the family driving long-term growth of Tri-State Drilling,” he said.
