With 102 years of history under its belt, Watson Drill Rigs has seen plenty of change. Starting as contractors in 1923, and then dedicated rig manufacturing in 1973, the Fort Worth manufacturer joined forces with Soilmec in 2009, then Doug and David Watson repurchased the company in 2019 to restore full family ownership—steering the business on their terms again and doubling down on what the name stands for.
Around the shop, the message is clear: American-made and American-owned. It’s not just a slogan; it’s a choice the company keeps making. As President and CEO Doug Watson explains, they have resisted outsourcing fabrication overseas to keep the work here in America, even when that means tighter margins, because employing American workers is part of who they are.
It’s a collaborative, close-knit community. Tony Kraut, Watson’s sales and marketing manager, notes that many second and third-generation employees are on the floor. “A lot of our younger team members are kids of longtime employees,” he said. “Dinner table conversations about what you built today turn into careers.”
Watson Drill Rigs specializes in manufacturing user-friendly, durable equipment that contractors trust. The company builds a full range of truck, crawler, and excavator-mounted rigs for jobs ranging from utility work to deep foundation drilling. Models like the compact 1100 or EX20 excel in tight spaces, while heavy-duty rigs like the 3110 and EX250 deliver the torque and depth needed for challenging soils and rock. Across the company’s lineup, the focus is on clean, efficient hydraulics, minimal electronics, straightforward controls, and rugged components that hold up to years of hard use. The philosophy behind that is simple. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Doug Watson said. Anyone can pile on bells and whistles, but making a rig do the job well is harder.
That mindset comes from the company’s roots. The Watsons were contractors first, building their own machines to solve real problems. Other contractors asked to buy them, and the manufacturing side grew from there. Watson sells direct, so ideas and issues go straight to engineering. Many customers keep Doug’s and the engineering team’s phone numbers handy, which means answers come fast.
Today, Watson rigs work far beyond Texas. Utilities have increasingly pulled the company into power-line construction, substations, and distribution work. The team still serves commercial projects, roads, and bridges. There are Watson rigs in Alaska’s oil fields, Siberia, and Tony just delivered one to Guam. The point is not the pins on a map; it’s how a mid-size, fourth-generation manufacturer stays close enough to customers to keep improving outcomes.
Watson Drill Rigs is a strong example of the potential of American manufacturing: a family business that creates American-made, American-owned products. That alone is worth celebrating.
