Ever since its humble beginnings, WORD Rock Drills has aimed to be both a family-focused and faith-driven operation. The company began operations in 2006 in Colorado after its founders, John and Lisa Patterson, pivoted from longstanding careers in the drilling industry to start their own business. WORD started as a venture run out of the attic of the Patterson family home in Colorado, mainly dealing with buying and selling drill parts from suppliers in Mexico; by 2011, John pursued a product line that included the company’s first drill.
The Pattersons continued to grow the company until 2019, when daughter Paige Patterson-Durham purchased the company from her parents. Paige had worked for John and Lisa since 2011 and remains Chief Executive Officer to this day. She explains that the business has gone on to do many great things in the five years since she took charge, and the team certainly has a lot to be proud of today.
Patterson-Durham believes that one of the biggest differentiators for WORD in the market is its responsiveness to customer needs as well as its philosophy of looking for the win-win scenario when it comes to a client’s project or organization. “People can get a drill delivered from us faster than getting a quote from the competition,” she says, and the workforce is highly responsive in every aspect, from parts to equipment requests and even its rental fleet of trucks on standby for client use. This type of approach comes from the company’s roots as a small, family-owned business, and gives it the extra touch of personalization and care for every customer, an ideal that it continues to pursue and maintain internally.
Marketing Manager Mikayla Smith points out that drilling can be a difficult industry to break into if one is on the outside of it. She says that many construction companies run into the challenge of needing to perform various types of drilling for projects, a task that can be expensive to subcontract out.
The trademark personal approach comes into play here as well, as the company is always willing to work with the customer to help them find the right fit for a machine so that they can start learning how to get into the drilling industry themselves. While larger companies typically only work with bigger names in the field, WORD wants to carve a path for smaller companies to make headway for themselves and is happy to extend a hand up for them to do so.
Patterson-Durham explains that the nurturing atmosphere and harmony of the company’s internal culture has helped it to drive progress and sustain revenue growth as well. “We play fair; we work hard, and you see that in our culture.” To further emphasize employee health and appropriate work-life balance, WORD recently transitioned to a four-day work week, another distinctive aspect of its operations.
Employees are encouraged to bring value to any contract thanks to a culture of open communication that comes from being family-owned and rooted in faith, according to Smith. She says that WORD has had a few strong years for growth so far this decade, especially post-COVID-19 restrictions and amid supplier challenges. The company has been able to make necessary changes thanks to its versatility and has also been able to grow a great deal by serving customers how and when they need assistance, which has, in turn, led to good feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations from its clientele.
There has been substantial growth in newer industry areas like solar drilling, and WORD has been able to partner with some larger companies recently to prototype equipment for just such work. The process of diversifying its offerings and portfolio through these ventures has been very positive as it continues to position itself within a moving market. The company offers a unique product that can adapt to different types of work, which is especially helpful as things in the industry constantly change, Patterson-Durham says.
She notes that, in today’s economy, prospective clients can be hesitant to spend money but, thanks to offerings like a rental fleet and working with other equipment suppliers to service smaller contracts, WORD is able to get contracts in the pipeline and offer more options to customers. Product demonstrations, conference appearances, and a strong social media presence are other elements that aim to provide a warm welcome to clients both longtime and prospective to see what the company can do when it comes to drills.
Operations have been positive overall, even during an election year when things typically slow down for many industries, says Smith. Construction is always an ever-moving sector with new projects and developments on the go, and WORD can serve diverse types of construction from geotechnical to fencing, solar, mining, and more. “Anywhere you need a hole in the ground, our machines can do the work.”
Patterson-Durham says that WORD typically works with private enterprises as opposed to government contracting, so it can still accrue construction contracts even when the spending outlook is low. These days, customers are investing more in equipment, and if anything, the company is staying ahead of them; for example, it can often deliver a quote expected to take six weeks in around two weeks instead. This allows WORD to exceed client expectations and change the conversation around what is expected from a provider in the drilling space.
The end-of-year period is always an exciting time for the company, as it loves to reflect on what it has been able to do thus far as well as set its sights on new goals for the year to come. This is seen in events like the end-of-year “rock tour,” symbolized by commemorative shirts that the company creates for everyone. These t-shirts feature every drill shipment as a stop on a classic rock and roll tour and are a fun piece of memorabilia for everyone who has worked so hard to make the year a success.
The company is also highly anticipating breaking ground on a new facility this fall. In turn, most of 2025 will be spent getting everyone under one roof from across the company’s three locations by the end of next year, with a lot of resources dedicated toward both the expansion and generally improving efficiencies in production flow. The year to come will prove to be another important milestone for WORD.
Smith says that people are always surprised to find out how small of a company WORD is when it gets to show how much it can do, with only around 28 employees doing the work of a much larger business. From starting out of the Patterson home and adapting over the years to cash-flowing growth under the eye of a new CEO, sustained company growth has come from being responsive to the needs of customers in an ever-changing environment. The team at WORD Rock Drills hopes to never forget where it all started, as that is what has helped make the business as formidable and resilient as it is today.
