Gus Pech: Still producing drill rigs after 130 years

(Sentinel photo by Beverly Van Buskirk) Employees of Gus Pech Mfg. Co. Inc. stand beside one of the truck-mounted drilling rigs they completed in April. Company owners Cris and Gregg Collins say their employees' passion for their work, workmanship and friendliness are qualities that customers appreciate. [Click to enlarge]

A Le Mars business, owned by the Collins family since 1900, turns 130 years old this year.

Co-owners Cris Collins, president, and Gregg Collins, vice president, are third generation Collins family members to own and direct Gus Pech Mfg. Co. Inc.

"A lot of people don't know what we do here. We make truck-mounted water well drilling equipment," said Gregg.

The brothers added they are getting into trak equipment, specialized equipment for non-road use.

"Some of our equipment goes to places that don't have roads, and it needs to get in there," Cris explained.

The company's drilling equipment has been sold around the world, from Europe, to Thailand, to Ethiopia and Algeria in Africa, to Colombia in South America, to Canada and Mexico as well as in the United States.

Gus Pech Mfg. Co., Inc., founded by Gus Pech in 1879 in Storm Lake, was moved to Le Mars around 1889 because of the north/south and east/west railroad system.

"Le Mars had the best depot and railroad connections," said Cris.

Cris and Gregg's grandfather, W.O. Collins, was a salesman for the Le Mars company, covering Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada.

When Pech died in 1900, W.O. Collins purchased a one-half interest in the company from Pech's widow, Mary. She later sold the remaining interest to him as well.

In 1955, W.O. Collins sold out to his sons Wayne and Robert (father of Gregg and Cris).

W.O. died in July 1956 and Wayne died in September 1957.

Robert bought Wayne's portion of the business, incorporating it in 1965 and served as president.

In 1986, Robert Collins' sons, Cris and Gregg, bought Gus Pech Mfg. Co. Inc., with Cris as president and Gregg as vice president.

"Gus saw the need for water," said Cris of the early days of the company, and cast gears and sprockets for the drilling rig.

"He made the first large diameter bucket rig that we're still selling today," said Cris.

Pech received that patent in the late 1870s.

That first drill, Cris explained, was powered by two horses walking in a circle, stepping over the drive-shaft.

"Power went from horse power to steam, and then to gasoline engines and now to diesel power," Cris said.

Technology has changed the way the drilling rigs are put together as well.

"We went from gears, clutches and sprockets, lots of labor intensive operations, to hydraulic and hydrostatic systems which offer fingertip control," Cris said.

"You had to be extremely talented to run that equipment," Gregg added. "It was very dangerous."

Those rigs have become obsolete in the last five years or so, as they don't meet present day specifications.

"You can't get the parts anymore, and it's too expensive to make them," Cris said.

The co-owners of the company are also very hands-on guys in the shop and out in the field.

"We'll deliver equipment and at the start up train the operators and run through how to service the rig," Cris said.

While neither brother has a have a driller's license, they can observe the work being done and teach the proper technique.

Today the company manufactures more than 40 different models of drill rigs.

"There are so many different markets out there," Gregg said.

The two described how one rig is used to drill at the startup of an oil well, while another is used for the installation of hydraulic elevators in structures such as parking ramps.

Gus Pech is one of three manufacturers of sonic drilling technology, which uses sound waves to drill, according to Cris.

"We don't actually make the sonic drill head, we purchase that, but our rig runs everything and it takes a lot of hydraulics to do that," said Cris.

Their versatility is vital to their business.

"Around the world, when something affects water, we probably have something that will help the situation," said Gregg. "If not, we'll figure something out."

It's that attitude of getting something done that has given Gus Pech its reputation in the industry.

"We redesign equipment as components change," said Cris. "That's kind of our niche. We customize the drill rig to meet the customers' needs."

The two welcome customer input in the planning process.

"We're known for being elite. Every rig we make is designed with the help of the customer," said Gregg. "He'll come here, give us his ideas and what he wants to see done."

"We hear that he's owned other people's equipment and always wanted one of ours," Gregg added.

The company's reputation as a family-owned company helps it stand out in the industry.

"You talk to either one of us owners when you call us if you have one of our rigs," said Gregg.

Cris is quick to point out another asset of the company: the employees.

"We have great employees," Cris said.

Many of their employees have been with the company 10 years and more, with some more than 25 years.

Those employees, Cris added, are one reason the customers like Gus Pech.

"A lot of people want to come here to see if you're real," Cris said. "When they come and see how passionate the employees are about their work, detail, workmanship, and the down home friendliness, they get a good feeling."

Their contacts throughout the U.S. and across the world appreciate how they are treated by Gus Pech.

"Our East Coast customers love us because when we say our rig is going to do something, or we say we can make that work, we do," Gregg said. "They don't get that satisfaction from others in their area."

The company moved from its location near the railroad tracks on Second Avenue Southwest to its present location in 1978.

At the old location, whenever a tower needed to be put on a truck, it had to be done outside, no matter what the weather.

"That was one of Dad's things, you had to have high bays," said Gregg of their present facility.

A Chamber "After 5" event will be held today (Wednesday) at Gus Pech Mfg. Co. Inc., at 1480 Lincoln St. S.W., allowing area residents to tour the facility. Two drilling rigs will be on display. The company is also a distributor of Holland Grills and Big Green Eggs, and samples cooked on the two grills will be available throughout the afternoon.

Even with the Collins family owning the business for more than 100 years, the name never changed.

"Grandfather didn't change the name because Gus Pech had been selling rigs overseas in Europe for nearly 20 years," Gregg said. "We had an overseas name and international recognition, so grandfather never changed the name."

"Dad didn't change and we're not going to change it," said Gregg.

Does anyone still ask for Gus?

"Oh yes," said both Gregg and Cris with smiles.

"Our secretary tells people that's our trade name," said Cris.