Clouser Drilling, Inc.

SBDC helps drilling business come out of recession stronger than ever

Family-owned business Clouser Drilling, Inc. was hit hard by last decade’s recession.

“Phones stopped ringing,” said owner Kevin Gill, whose uncle, Leroy Clouser, founded the well drilling company in 1971.

The SBDC helped Kevin and his wife, Helen, weather the recession. They took Small Business Management classes and joined community and professional networking organizations. They later moved onto the SBDC’s Next Level Program, which focuses on existing growth-oriented companies with more than $1 million in sales.

The SBDC helped Clouser Drilling with strategic planning, efficiency and identifying new markets, as well as branding, legal issues, personnel and government contracts.

Kevin said the SBDC forced him and his wife to “look critically at all aspects of our business.”

The firm stopped doing pump work and concentrated on drilling, adding agricultural and geothermal work and larger projects. For the past two years, Clouser has drilled the most water wells of any Oregon company.

“The SBDC staff has so much experience,” Helen said. “They gave us a fresh look at the business and have helped us streamline.”