Blackwell Enterprises Inc. restores more than 3,000 acres of land a year.

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Wayne, Okla.-based Blackwell Enterprises says it has come a long way since its 1983 inception. Founded to provide land preparation and planting services for farmers in south-central Oklahoma, the company ventured into pipeline work and right-of-way restoration in 1998.  

Blackwell Enterprises’ first client was Haines Construction. The company performed disc, cultipack, land leveling, drill seeding, erosion control mat installation and sod installation along a 70-mile-long-by-75-feet-wide stretch from Wynnewood to Del City, Okla. Since then, Blackwell has done work for clients including Williams Gas, Williston-Basin Interstate Pipeline Co., Sheehan Pipeline Construction and Energy Transfer Partners.

“[Since that venture], we have successfully completed pipeline restoration projects in all types of terrain and weather conditions from Florida to Utah, New York to Nevada, south Texas to North Dakota and in many places in between,” Blackwell Enterprises says.

Today, the company says it restores more than 3,000 acres of land a year. Its attention to detail distinguishes Blackwell Enterprises from its competitors, according to owner Bob Blackwell. “We regularly hear landowners saying that what we’ve done looks nice,” he said in a statement.    

“When we land a job, we help the client in every way we can and offer a lot of additional services – many of which we don’t charge for,” Blackwell continued. “Blackwell Enterprises always does the job right the first time around.”

Providing Great Service
“Our team is experienced, motivated and committed to providing the very best in right-of-way and pipeline restoration services,” the company says.

To provide excellent service to clients, Blackwell Enterprises focuses on recruiting and retaining a dedicated team. “In an industry like this, you need quality staff, and we are a company that recognizes this,” Blackwell said.

“After starting with the company, most good employees can pick up the part within a week. If they can’t, we usually suggest that they part ways with the company.

“The industry can be challenging to work in and they have to form part of a motivated team that will provide a great service to all our customers.”

With a team of 70 people, the company says it is positioned to perform the following services:

• Discing

• Cultipacking

• Drill seeding

• Hydro-seeding

• Broadcast-seeding

• Mulching

• Hydro-mulching

• Fertilizer application

• Lime application

• Erosion control mats installation

• Sod installation

• Rock picking

• Dozer
  

• Land leveling

Well-Equipped
Equipment plays an important role at Blackwell Enterprises, as well. Blackwell says he appreciates that manufacturers are continuously innovating equipment, because “reliable, durable and easy-to-operate machines are crucial to companies [such as mine].”

For example, Tulsa-based Sheehan Pipeline Construction Co. hired Blackwell Enterprises to restore 1,800 acres of land in eastern Texas, following the company’s 42-inch gas pipeline installation. On this project, Blackwell Enterprises used bale processors from Teagle Machinery, the company says.

“[We] chose these processors specifically for this job because [our] crew members can run them down in the middle of the right-of-way and blow straw 155 feet in either direction,” the company explains. “This way, [the] workers have to pass down the right-of-way only once, rather than twice, blowing straw first to one side and then to the other. This resulted in significant time-saving.”

In addition, Blackwell Industries used drills from Haybuster to plant Bermuda grass seeds. Once again, Blackwell says he chose the equipment for a particular reason: “Bermuda grass seed cannot be planted too deeply or it will not take hold,” Blackwell Enterprises says. “The Haybuster drills that Blackwell’s crews are using do not burrow as deeply into the ground as do some other models.”

Other machines used in this project included straw crimpers from Bowie Crimper, which helped the crews stabilize slopes along the right of way, Blackwell notes. “We [needed] something rugged for what we [were] doing,” he said. “These machines are held up to unusual conditions. We [were] not just out [there] planting fields – we were going into creeks and out of them. We [were] going cross-country. We [needed] something that can handle that.”

Blackwell adds that the company owns and operates a wide range of equipment that includes dozers, tractors, tankers, seed drills, mulchers and hydro-seeders. “Having accumulated this huge range of equipment means [we can do a lot],” Blackwell said.

Working Everywhere
According to Blackwell, the company has worked everywhere, including Florida, New York, Nevada, Texas and North Dakota, to keep up with occasional slowdowns.

“We didn’t used to have jobs scheduled in the northern winter,” he said, “[because] in many cases we have to fight the elements while we’re working. This can be really quite difficult at times.”

Always Ready
Another key to Blackwell Enterprises’ success is its owner’s first-hand experience. Blackwell learned from his years of experience in the farming industry, he says. “We buy [supplies] in bulk,” he said, “and we transport in our own trucks as and when we need it.

“This keeps costs down and means that we’re able to supply directly to the job we’re working on.

“The company also purchases the products as close to the area that we’re working on as we can,” Blackwell continued. “And we’re never without a back-up plan to ensure we never run out of supplies for a job.”

Blackwell Enterprises looks forward to continuous growth. “I think the company is going to continue to be as busy as it is for another three years,” he said.         “Pipeline right-of-way restoration is a particularly demanding business, but we attribute a lot of our success in our ability to recruit hardworking, motivated staff and use specialist equipment that is suitable for every job. We do the job right the first time.”