Woman-Owned Company Sets New Standards Adapted from Information by CONEXPO-CON/AGG Brex Enterprises, in Irwin, Pennsylvania, provides pipeline maintenance and services; earthwork and development; trucking and hauling; and right-of-way services. Founded in 2012 as Brentzel Excavation LLC, the company attributes its growth and success to a solid foundation, said Alicia Brentzel, president and co-owner with husband Andrew (A.J.). A.J. was working for a family member doing excavation when he decided to form his own excavation business. Gradually, the company moved into doing pipeline work for the gas and oil industry. By 2014, the company changed its name to Brex Enterprises. ‘Br’ for Brentzel and ‘ex’ for excavation. At the beginning of 2019, Brex Enterprises earned a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). It is a private third-party that certifies women-owned businesses on behalf of U.S. corporations or WBE certification through city, county, or state programs. One part of the company’s foundation is safety. All employees receive comprehensive annual training on all aspects of work from management. A company safety committee made of employees and managers meets every month to monitor and address safety-related issues. Being in the gas and oil industry comes with additional safety measures such as SafeLandUSA training - a standardized orientation training for workers in the U.S. onshore and gas exploration and production industries. In addition to meetings and e-mails, the company’s 40 employees are kept in the loop with a monthly newsletter which also features a Performer of the Month and a Safety Performer of the Month, chosen by the company’s foremen and leadership staff. The newsletter also discusses the status of current projects and upcoming projects so all employees know what is going on within the company, regardless of their position. Employees are periodically asked if they are happy in their position, if they want to learn new skills, what their goals are, and where they want to be in a year or two. “We are in an extremely competitive environment and can only do so much with monetary incentives,” Alicia explained. “Instead, we want to motivate people with such things as acknowledging they are a valuable member of the company, recognizing their hard work, and providing opportunities for improving their skill sets, and for growth advancement within the company.” The company doesn’t mind hiring employees with little or no experience. In fact, they believe hiring someone who lacks industry experience can be beneficial as they are able to be trained to do things the company’s way. All new employees are paired up with an experienced worker to help them quickly acclimate to the job and company . New employees are also moved around to different positions so they are able to perform different duties. “Employers typically do not want to hire inexperienced people and put the money up to train new people,” she maintained. “As an industry, if we do not start doing that, we are going to have a serious problem because the labor shortage is very real. In ten years from now, we are not going to have workers with experience and expertise in anything we do.” 18 DECEMBER 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® G&O February Issue Deadlines! Space Reservation: December 25th Display & Classified Ad Copy: January 1st
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