Rather than working through dealerships, Watson Drill
Rigs distributes its machines through a network of five sales
representatives covering the U.S., and Canada.
According to Doug, Canada has always been an important
market for Watson Drill Rigs.
“We’ve sold a lot of foundation rigs in Canada over the
years, in fact our prototype crawler-mounted rig, the first
1000-CM, was sold to Ontario Hydro in 1967,” said Doug,
adding that the Alberta oil patch in particular has been good
for business as well.
“John Monroe ignited our rathole business in Canada in
the 1990s. Of course, rathole rigs all started when a character
named Junior Harris walked in our doors in 1977, asking for
some peculiar modifications to a truck rig,” Doug said.
Tony Kraut, sales manager for Watson Drill Rigs, said,
“We’ve got a lot of Watson rigs up in Canada, and we have a
very positive reputation, which all stemmed from giving the
customer what they are asking for.”
Listening to customers
According to Doug, clients have always had the company’s
ear and there’s often been improvements to equipment made
based on customers’ suggestions.
“One of the key elements of not having dealers is that our
customers are only a phone call away from our engineers,”
he said.
Another way Watson Drill Rigs stands out is that it will
customize drill rigs to suit their client’s specific needs.
“We’re a custom manufacturer. There’s not many manufacturing
companies like ours out there that do this,” said Kraut.
“Because we have a direct interface with our end users, we
are able to get good feedback from them on their applications
and on some of the limitations and challenges they face, and
we can customize our equipment to meet those needs.
“This kind of business to business market communication
opportunity is invaluable.”
Doug says having the company back in his family’s hands
means it’s been freed up to address the shifting preference
COVER STORY
CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
Watson Drill Rigs’ sales team and engineers introducing the 7300 at ConExpo 2020 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Watson’s first model 1000-CM sold to Ontario Hydro in 1967
20 Q3 2020 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
