When Seth Murphy accepted a job in the spring of 2006 to build a fence around an oil field facility, he never expected it would lead to a business that would eventually employ 185 people and consistently offer more than 35 different services to more than 100 clients.

“It all started when a friend who was working for a local oil company called and asked if I would be interested in fencing a few locations,” said Murphy, president and CEO of SM Fencing and Energy Services Inc., Dickinson, N.D.

In addition to fencing, Murphy and his crews now offer oil field services that include roustabout, erosion control, utility line locating, liner installation, sign installation, landscaping and land reclamation. Since adding a Hydrovac unit from Butler Machinery to its inventory, the team also expanded its abilities to clean tanks, clean up spills, and daylight existing utilities.

“Butler Machinery and Caterpillar equipment have both been instrumental in our growth,” he said. “I grew up near Killdeer, North Dakota, and I can still remember the old Cat dozer that we used around the ranch. That dozer was often parked for months at a time; yet it would always get the job done when we needed it.

“When I think of Cat, the words ’tough’ and ’reliable’ come to mind. There are several hardships that equipment faces while working in the Bakken, whether it be new on the job employees or the constantly changing climate, and as a company you cannot afford to continually send equipment back to the yard for repairs.” Murphy continued. “We try to buy new equipment from Butler whenever we can because it’s not the actual repairs that cost you, it’s the downtime and the associated lost wages and revenue.

“Fortunately, Butler rises to the occasion. The equipment they sell along with the service they provide has made Butler Machinery a valued resource for our company.”

This story was reprinted from the Spring 2015 issue of Bulter Zone.

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