From left: Derek Skillings, sales and project manager; Doug Skillings, lead water treatment installer; Roger Skillings, president; Rachel Williams, drilling administrator; Justin Skillings, drilling manager (Photo by Christine Carignan)

Skillings & Sons, located in Amherst and founded in 1970, started by drilling wells for drinking water, and now provides a range of services from geothermal to pump service to small community water installations. But, says President Roger Skilling, the bread and butter of the business is still well drilling.

It’s a much bigger operation now than it was when Roger joined his father in 1973. His brother Norman joined the family company six years later. It has grown from a three-person shop to an operation with around 90 employees and more growth projected. There are six family members working at the business, including a third generation.

That growth hasn’t come easily, Roger Skillings says. “Family business is great but it comes with work. It’s communication and work between the family to continue.” Skillings says he’s seen other family businesses burn all their profits on legal fees associated with infighting, and he can see how that happens, especially if relationships turn bitter.

“It’s like a marriage; you have to work at it. If you can’t let the little things go by, family business is going to be tough,” Roger says. There’s another side to that coin, though. “The other dynamic of the family is that you don’t bail as quick. When there are issues, like in a marriage, most people in a marriage will try to work it out. They’ll try to come up with solutions. I think that’s important with a family business; we might disagree sometimes, but we’ll figure it out.”

Having those working relationships is important at times of pressure, and Skillings says the company is currently squeezed by rising costs. They need to pay more to attract workers, but don’t want to price themselves out of the market. “You can only pay so much for this stuff,” Skillings says. “How to make sure you do a good job and you are profitable has become more of a challenge in the last three or four years.” 

All Stories