COVER STORY
A Family Affair
Watson Drill Rigs’ origins trace back to when Verne Watson
established the Fort Worth House Moving Company in his
Texas hometown following the First World War.
Doug Watson, Verne’s great-grandson, and current CEO
and president of Watson Drill Rigs, describes his greatgrandfather
as “the industrious, entrepreneurial type who
really got everything going.”
Verne expanded the business and began moving all kinds
of large structures, using his exceptional mechanical skills to
build his own moving equipment including cranes to assist
with heavy loads.
Verne’s son, Jack, trained to become a mechanical engineer
and eventually took over the family business, which
shifted its focus to drilled shaft foundation work.
The company changed its name to the Watson Foundation
Company in the 1940s and primarily operated as drilling contractors
while developing drill rigs for their own use.
The name later changed to Watson Incorporated, and
eventually the company left contracting behind to focus
on building rigs while leveraging all the knowledge gained
as contractors.
Following in Jack’s footsteps was his son David, who
joined the family business in the late 1960s after studying as
a mechanical engineer. He led Watson Drill Rigs until his son,
Doug, began to take on a leadership role in 2012.
Doug, who like his father and grandfather is also a
mechanical engineer, says his dad serves as chairman of the
board and remains quite active in all aspects of the business.
Doug says the spirit of innovation instilled by his grandfather
Jack, and the drive to serve the customer established
by his father David, both persist in the business culture of
Watson Drill Rigs.
He says that both he and his dad are grateful to be part of a
successful fourth-generation family operation, especially one
within the unpretentious world of foundation drilling.
“We’re very proud of our history and of our longevity,”
Doug said.
Left to right: Doug, David and Jack at
the 2004 ADSC Expo in Orlando, Fla.
Watson began in 1923 as a house moving business
Doug graduated university in 1998, but says he didn’t join
Watson Drill Rigs right out of school, opting instead to work
for another Texas company, National Instruments, before
joining the family business in 2002.
“I was always certain that I would go to work for the family
company since I grew up around it,” he said. “But I didn’t
want to just jump in right out of school because I felt like it
wouldn’t provide much perspective on the rest of the business
world.”
Doug says as a result of that experience with another company,
he was able to bring a fresh perspective to the family
business and change a few things up, such as bringing in new
engineering ideas, an increased emphasis on internal processes
and manufacturing efficiency improvements.
“Above all, I learned how important the people and the
culture they create are to a company’s success,” he said. “I
constantly strive to improve how we serve our customers
while making sure we don’t lose the heart and the loyalty that
makes this company great.”
Doug and David stand in front of their newly repurchased family business
PHOTOS: WATSON DRILL RIGS
26 Q3 2020 www.pilingcanada.ca
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