It hasn鈥檛 been easy, but Prairie Hotshot has had a pretty good three years in business.
The company opened in August 2017 and recently celebrated its three-year anniversary. Dustin Mack and Alyshia Mantei started the business and each brings their unique experiences.
Mantei came from another trucking business and Mack had about 15 years of experience in the oilfield.
鈥淚 was on the rig end and ran downhole tools, and then I got tied up in this, and here we are today,鈥� said Mack.
A third partner was part of the company when it incorporated, but now it鈥檚 just Mantei and Mack running the business.聽
Five people work at Prairie Hot Shot, including the two owners, and they have occasional help who assist when necessary.聽聽
鈥淭hings are fairly steady,鈥� said Mack. 鈥淲e started thinking we鈥檇 be exclusive to the oilfield, but as the downturn has come around, we鈥檝e had to evolve and look at different areas in order to keep the wheels turning. We鈥檝e done quite a bit in the agriculture area, hauling ag stuff for auction sales this summer, and it helped fill the void, but it definitely doesn鈥檛 replace what has been lost due to the downturn.鈥澛�
At this time, Mack believes if you have an avenue of any sort, outside of the oilpatch, to keep your business running, then it鈥檚 something to look into. But the energy sector is obviously still a big part of their success.
Prairie Hotshot won the award for the Best Hotshot Service through the Estevan Mercury Publications Best of Estevan Awards for 2020. It鈥檚 a source of pride for Mack and Mantei, especially when they鈥檙e running a relatively small operation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 quite a few businesses out there in the same line of work as us. When you hear something like that, you think we must be doing something right,鈥� said Mack.
He hopes the business can keep growing. They aren鈥檛 afraid to look into different industries for expansion or create a more versatile company.
Hotshot services are all that they do at this time, but they do think of expanding into other areas where they can bring their skills.
Mack said it鈥檚 hard to believe they鈥檝e been in business for three years already. He wishes it was an easier time to have a business, but they鈥檙e grateful for the support they received.聽
鈥淥ur customers are great and we wouldn鈥檛 be here today if it wasn鈥檛 for them and the guys we got working for us,鈥� he said.
