Pratt Well Service, Inc. was started March 11, 1946 by Carl R. and Alma J. Gates. The business was based at their home on the corner of 8th & Ninnescah in Pratt, Kansas. The business remained at this location until 1955, when the equipment was moved to highway 61, across from Pratt Community College. With hard work and loyal employees, Carl and Alma built the company up to nine well servicing rigs by the end of the 50's. In the early 60's, Pratt Well moved to its present location on highway 61.

During the 1950's and early 1960's Pratt Well Service Inc. maintained 55 employees. In the late 60's the employment was reduced to a low of 12 employees. The company was on the verge of phasing out, due in part to Carl's health problems and to a decrease in the demand for oil and gas well servicing.

Kenny Gates, son of Carl and Alma, returned to work for Pratt Well Service Inc. after being discharged from the Army in August of 1970. Even though the company's payroll was down to 12 total employees, the personnel's combined experience provided a positive outlook for the future. These 12 employees created a nucleus that the company was able to build on. Recognizing a key to a business' success is using experienced people to train new employees, Pratt Well Service grew by capitalizing on its core team's expertise.

In the mid 70's Pratt Well signed a contract with Northern Natural Gas at Lyons to work on underground storage wells. This proved to be a turning point in the business. Northern provided steady work for several of our rigs for a number of years. The company continued to grow, and by 1986 total employment was up to 88, with 15 well servicing rigs and 6 oilfield trucks. This period of growth in the industry is referred to as "The Oil Boom." At this time the price of oil peaked at $36 a barrel and the oil industry was moving like it would never end. Because of this "oil boom" skilled laborers were hard to find.  Anyone who wanted to work could have a job in the oilfield.

In May of 1986 the "boom" busted. Many of the companies at that time had very high costs going on and when the bottom fell out, they could not recover. As a result, many of the companies in our industry went under. I believe that the main reason Pratt Well was able to survive this period was the way we controlled our debt.

The well servicing business is very labor-intense.  Having long-term, loyal and experienced people is what has set Pratt Well Service Inc. apart from other well servicing companies. At the present time, Pratt Well Service has 63 employees with an overall average of 16 years of industry experience per employee. This is very uncommon in our industry. According to our trade association's records, there are a total of 179 well servicing companies in the U.S. Out of the 179 companies, 86 are still family owned, and 15 of the family owned businesses are second generation. Most of these second generation companies are in Kansas. Another statistic that was recently brought to light is that Pratt Well is the oldest family run well servicing business in the United States. Pratt Well Service Inc. will have its 66th anniversary in March of 2012.

Pratt Well Service Inc. is one of the highest paying employers in the industry, not only with wages, but also with benefits. The company strives to be a leader in many programs. One of these programs is the area of safety. The Association of Energy Service Companies has awarded Pratt Well for many years for their work in safety. This is a very prestigious award and we strive very hard to eliminate the possibility of accidents. Pratt Well also received the first award given by Fireman's Fund Insurance Company for our efforts in designing a first-of-its-kind safety program. Safety has become an extremely valuable asset to our company.

Our company is looking forward to the upcoming changes the 21st century will bring. In the past 65 years the well servicing equipment really hasn't changed that much. The equipment is larger and heavier, but it is still operated by people. As changes do occur, Pratt Well Service Inc. remains as close to their goal as possible, which is to provide the finest, highest quality, most experienced well servicing work available to the oil and gas industry.