NWP Industries LP

Like many businesses in the Western Canadian oil patch, NWP, grew out of the dream and ambition of a dirt poor Saskatchewan boy, who wanted nothing more than to become a millionaire. After all, when you are young and picking up old batteries and scrap metal for a few bucks in small town Saskatchewan, you already have the beginnings of the entrepreneurial spirit thatês required to create a successful venture into the Western Canadian Oil patch. This is one of those stories. On September 13, 1962 a young company, named North West Pipe & Supply Co. Ltd. was born. These were exciting times, oozing with opportunity like the oil coming out of the ground that was being discovered all over Alberta. Like many companies in that era, this business didnêt have much money, so they made do with few assets, and tried to eke out a living by selling used casing, tubing, and whatever else they could recover. In those days, one oil companyês junk, was potentially anotherês fortune. Somehow they survived those first few years and became a little more focused with the hiring of some great employees who were given the mandate to – get this company into the Black and youêll get a share of the action.” Over the next two years these great employees moved the company forward and not only did they get a share of the action, one eventually bought the entire company. Mike Chwelosês ambition and dedication coupled with technical training in the field as a drilling engineer (looking after six rigs at a time not just one, we were often reminded) made for a win- win combination. Mike knew the value of a hard earned dollar, and the risk of too much debt, lessons we still use in managing the ups and downs of the oil patch. From the used pipe and equipment game and one location in Blackfalds, Northwest Pipe & Supply Co. Ltd. expanded into new pipe distribution, trucking services, stores, rentals and manufacturing. The second generation of this family business got involved in 1979, when Mike hired his daughter Debi DeBelser to help with the backlog of invoices. Fifteen years later, Mike decided to retire and Debi was there to steward and expand the company. By 1997 Northwest Pipe was large enough to be split into three separate operating companies, Northwest Pipe Ltd., NWP Trucking Corp., and NWP Industries Inc. Another division, NWP Construction Ltd. was added in 2000. By 2005 the companies were in many different locations throughout Western Canada and two of the entities were successfully sold to public companies in early 2006, allowing a move to larger facilities for the manufacturing division of NWP Industries Inc.