Patrick Construction: Continuing four decades of construction and donation

Patrick Construction & Pipeline is a family owned business in Havre operating for the past four decades, starting from nothing and growing into one of the largest contracting companies on the Hi-Line.

"But no matter how we look at it, if it wasn't for the guys we knew along the way that trusted us, I guess I wouldn't be where I am today," owner Tom Patrick said.

Patrick Construction is a family owned and operated business, with Patrick's wife, Carolyn, and his son, Brett, part of the operation, Tom Patrick said. He added that he bought his first piece of equipment for the company in 1979, officially starting Patrick Construction the same year, after working at Baltrusch Construction for a number of years. He started because his father's farm was not big enough to support his growing family and he wanted to go out on his own. 

After graduating from Havre High School, he worked for Baltrusch Construction for about seven years before deciding to strike it out on his own.

"I decided I wanted to be my own boss and do my own thing," Patrick said. "I figured you could never get ahead at the rate I was going, working there, but it has taken years to get where we're at today."

Carolyn Patrick said her husband learned a lot while he was at Baltrusch.

Brett Patrick added that his father learned and developed his skills and gained connections that helped him down the road in his own business.

Working at Baltrusch and starting out on his own, Tom Patrick said, was a school of hard knocks.

"An education always ends up costing you someplace along the line," he said. "Well, that's the education I got, you either make money or you lose money at doing it."

In 1979, he said he bought his first piece of equipment, a Ditch Witch trencher, from Ralph George. He added that at the time he didn't have a lot of money, but George was a local guy who had been in the trenching business for awhile, digging water lines for farms and ranches. 

"I told him that I didn't have money, but I have a lot of time," Patrick said, adding that George agreed to sell him the piece of equipment and sealed the deal with a handshake.

"And we were off," Patrick said.

The business started as a trenching business, but then he added a Bobcat and three single-axle dump trucks to expand the business' services,which he operated from the farm, using the shop to work on equipment.

"Working on it all night, run it all day," he said. "That's kind of how I got started."

He said he was working with a few people who were doing similar things at the time when the railroad approached him about contracting to clean up grain with a grain-vacuum in cases such as derailments. Louie Faltrino, Patrick said, trusted him enough to let him take Faltrino's grain-vac and use it, paying for the piece of equipment as he went.

The road to building his company was hard, he said, and included a lot of sacrifice. 

"I always joked that Carolyn raised the kids because I was never home, I was always working," he said.

He said that although the business has grown and has done well over the years, it was a lot of hard work and dedication to get to where they are, with the help of people, family and the community.

"I think her and dad and the kids had more suppers together than I ever did," he said.

Patrick Construction became incorporated in the 1990s, he said, and since then he and his family have tried to donate to everything imaginable to the community of Havre, which has helped his business grow over the years.

Carolyn Patrick said that without the work of the company's dedicated employees over the years, the business would also not have been able to grow into what it is today.

Tom Patrick said that his employees are some of the best, being able to do anything. He added that he could put them in any situation and he is confident they could stand on their own as the "best of the best."

"And that's pretty tough to say or find nowadays," he said. "I would put them up against anybody and they'll perform."

He added that his employees are one of the driving forces for his business, many of them working for him for longer than 20 years. He said safety is one of the company's main concerns, as well as his employees' families. As a family business, Patrick's is family-oriented and not just focused on the safety, health and well-being of their employees, but also their families, he said.

Patrick Construction, since the beginning, started growing fast, he said. Starting with a few employees and growing to a team of nearly 50, with some of them working in North Dakota and different parts of the state.

"We just kind of kept growing, basically, from the time we started the phone was ringing off the hook," he said. "People wanted stuff done."

He added that shortly after starting the business he and his wife got a loan to purchase a shop on the east end of town, but it wasn't long until they outgrew the location and moved to their present location across from Walmart. He said Patrick's has been at its current location for the past 27 years.

"It's almost scary," he said. "It really is when you think of it."

Brett Patrick said that one of the reasons the business grew so quickly is because of the business' diversity. He said that Patrick's can do utility work, natural gas pipelines, dirt work, grain and other material and car recovery at derailments, and track work and stabilization.

"As the company grows, we've had to expand and adapt to what's been needed," he said.

Carolyn Patrick said that something her husband always said is, "You can't do one thing. You have to be versatile."

Brett Patrick said he has been back in Havre working for his father for the past 10 years, coming back home after graduating from Montana State University with a master's degree in engineering. He said he is glad to be back and has spent his whole life learning the family business.

"I'm getting my real education," he said.

He said he and his sister, Natalie, had been running equipment and helping their dad since they were little, him driving a Bobcat at age 5 and started helping his dad on the job site after he got older.

Tom Patrick said that he would often have the school bus driver drop his son off after school at the job sites, so he could help him and learn the business.

Brett Patrick said that between his dad and grandfather they always had work to do, although they were still able to have fun and focus on their studies.

"We learned a lot of life lessons," he said. "You have to put in your time and effort."

Natalie Patrick died in 1998, at the age of 16 from a rare virus, he said. Her family started the Natalie Patrick Foundation in her memory to contribute to activities she was passionate about including the high school golf program, music and art programs, speech and debate team, the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line and a number of other programs and organizations in the community.

He said the family has tried to make dealing with Natalie's death a positive thing.

"We all kind of grew," he said.

Tom Patrick said that he and his business have worked hard to make a contribution to the community which has given him and his family so much. He said that one of the things he is really proud of is that Patrick's has worked on a number of buildings in town, and he and his partners, Clausen and Sons co-owners Dave Clausen and Pat Newman, have a number of businesses and community projects they have completed over the years including the Bigger Better Barn at the Great Northern Fairgrounds and the Ice Dome south of Havre.

"It doesn't matter where you go around town, it seems like we've been in there on something," he said.

Patrick said that when his children were growing up, he was not able to take many vacations, focusing on the business, except for hockey tournaments which he and his family enjoyed together.

He added that he doesn't see himself retiring, because he still enjoys the business, but he is glad to see his son taking the reins. He said that it is his son's phone, now, that is always ringing rather than his, and he gets to have time off to travel with his wife. 

"If he didn't come home, I don't know where we would be at," Patrick said.

After Brett graduated, he said, he didn't want him to immediately start working at the family business, but rather wanted him to experience life and the construction industry from a larger company in a bigger place, but no jobs came up, and after his son obtained his master's, he returned home.

"I didn't want him to say, 'You're the one who wanted me to come home and work here,'" he said. 

He added that his son has done very well at the business and has a good reputation with the railroad and other businesses and organizations around town.

Brett Patrick said that it is important to have relationships with employees and the community as well as take time and step away to spend time with his own family. 

"The life lessons you learn growing up really come to the forefront and those lessons that I learned from both (his parents) growing up really, all of a sudden, I realize the importance of those lessons," Brett Patrick said. "... You're always learning and your foundation and the things you grew up with are what is always there for you."