SUCCESS STORY Located within a stone’s throw of Western North Dakota’s booming oil elds, Fisher Industries had a shortage of skilled workers just when it needed them the most. The Dickinson, N.D., aggregate and mining equipment manufacturer had a steady stream of orders, but not enough experienced welders, machinists and fabricators to keep reasonable delivery times. They had to nd a reputable fabrication shop to help them through the labor shortage. That’s when a cold-calling metal fabrication salesman from Minnesota found himself at the right place at the right time. With the rest of the nation still mired in sky-high unemployment and stagnant wages, stories of Western North Dakota’s epic bonanza seem like tall tales from the edge of the western frontier. But Larry Novak k

Join for free to read