Loenbro – you don’t ask ‘why’, you just figure out how to get it done… "a single-source solution for energy services and construction across the region"

Brothers Jon and Paul Leach were raised on a small farm in the tiny community of Sun River, Montana. Like many Montana farm kids, they grew up learning how to build and repair things in order to keep the family business running smoothly. As Jon recalls, the brothers were introduced to welding early on so they could help their father build farming equipment he designed:

"At the end of the day, it’s really hard to beat a good Montana work ethic. Everyone who works for us understands the importance of operating with integrity, and our customers across the country know that; they appreciate that."

"We both knew how to weld before we were ten years old, and we were always making gadgets and tools…anything that would help with our chores."

In the late 90s, the Leach brothers saw the Calumet Montana Refining facility in nearby Great Falls hiring welders from Texas and New Mexico in order to deal with a perceived shortage of skilled local workers. Recognizing an opportunity for good work close to home, they attended welding school to expand their existing skill sets. Upon graduation they landed what was intended to be a two-week gig with Calumet, but quickly earned more work with their willingness to do whatever was needed to get a job done – including digging ditches if that was the day’s order:

"Growing up on a farm, you don’t ask ‘why’, you just figure out how to get it done…our bosses really appreciated that attitude."

It wasn’t long before Calumet was coming to Jon and Paul for all sorts of odd jobs; spurring the brothers to hire other workers to help them. In 1998, Jon and Paul officially incorporated their own company, LO-N-BRO (a nickname for the brothers given to them by their Spanish-speaking co-workers); eventually updated to "Loenbro" http://www.loenbro.com/ as the company matured. In 2004, the brothers once again put their ingenuity and willingness to learn new skills to the test when Loenbro began offering facility inspection services:

"Refineries in Montana were having to hire inspection companies from down south. We saw a tremendous opportunity to provide them with a local option, so we figured out the best way to do it as quickly as we could…that’s really the foundation for what Loenbro is today."

As of early 2015, Loenbro is that employs seventy five (75) full-time workers at their Great Falls facility. Their location in north central Montana is perfect for transporting heavy loads into the oil fields in Canada and North Dakota. In order to keep up with that demand for custom-fabricated pipes coming from the energy industry, Loenbro is planning a major facilities expansion slated for completion by July 2015. A $7.5 million low-interest loan from the Montana Board of Investments (http://www.investmentmt.com/default.mcpx ) will help the company finance a "27,000-square-foot pipe fabrication facility with 20 welding stations, two overhead 10-ton cranes and 20 one-ton jib cranes. Plans also include a 3,000-square-foot support shop and a two-story, 30,000-square-foot office building". The new facility could potentially employ up to 250; people in coming years.

As Loenbro http://www.loenbro.com/ expands, Jon and Paul are making a conscious effort to grow their team from within; offering employees business leadership training and technical certification opportunities to advance their skill sets and careers. A collaboration with Great Falls College MSU is also giving Montana students the opportunity to develop national training standards for oil and gas workers, and a partnership with Great Falls High School is allowing students to earn dual credit for learning a technical trade. Both Jon and Paul see these educational partnerships as investing in the future of their business:

"At first, providing training and continued education was just doing what we needed to do to keep our business running. Then we saw the value it offered us and our team, and made a commitment to offering our employees new opportunities."

The Leach brothers attribute a great deal of their success to the mission and core values that are "the focus of everything we do as a company" because their customers can always count on exemplary service and a commitment to excellence. They also see their decision to continue expanding Loenbro in Montana as a wise business decision:

"At the end of the day, it’s really hard to beat a good Montana work ethic. Everyone who works for us understands the importance of operating with integrity, and our customers across the country know that; they appreciate that."