Flagstaff Region Featured Business: BeDevil
(as published in the September 5 edition of The Community Press)
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
BeDevil Enterprises
6301 – 51 Ave. Killam; 780-385-5640
He calls it doing the “Scottish farmer thing.”
“Whenever somebody wants something, if you can do it, head down, ass up, and go!” explains the co-owner of BeDevil Enterprises. “That’s the only way I know how to say it.”
BeDevil, a family-owned business that touts “24-hour red hot oilfield services,” was founded in 1996.
“At the time, farming was really slow, not making a lot of money. I decided I needed some work in the winter time,” McRae recalls. “I had a little experience in the oilfield and I thought I might as well give it a kick at the cat and away we go.”
Over the years, the business steadily grew and evolved based on clients’ diverse needs, eventually moving to its present location five years ago from the family farm.
“Whenever the oil companies figured they needed a different piece of machinery, I thought if I could afford it, I would buy it,” McRae explains. “That’s how we kept expanding a little bit at a time.”
The 58-year-old farmer and businessman decided early on to eschew specialization, instead opting to provide a broad range of services.
These days, BeDevil’s laundry list of offerings includes oilfield hauling, picker services, screw piles, sea cans, billboards, towing, pumpjack services, tree trimming, rentals, yard storage, and much more.
“We’re a small-town oilfield company that does just about anything for a buck – as long as it’s legal,” McRae says.
“Whatever people want, you try and supply that. I find that helps us get through the slow times in the oil patch here. The extra stuff that we do helps pay wages. That way, I haven’t had to lay anybody off while we’re in the slow time.
“And the way I look at it is, when things are going real good, people work their asses off for you. So when it slows down, you can’t let them go. They’ve got families, too. So you gotta keep people on and even if you do lose money for awhile, in the end it comes around because you’ve got really good people helping you.”
Throughout the year, BeDevil employs six to 11 staff members.
McRae’s ingenuity and desire for diversification has spawned an offshoot business called Revive Wood.
Still in its early stages, the idea is to repurpose old power poles that would otherwise end up in the landfill.
BeDevil has negotiated a contract to have used power poles shipped directly to its Killam headquarters, where the wood preservative known as creosote is then cut off, leaving “beautiful” pieces of wood that have already been used to fashion timber framing in a renovated Killam church and a gazebo in Sedgewick, as well as many mantles and cabinet doors.
“The sky’s the limit. If we’ve got poles big enough to cut it, it can be made,” McRae says. “Some of this is wood that’s 300 years old. It’s spectacular. You can’t buy it at Rona.”
Revive Wood is currently taking custom orders, while also selling some of its wood supply.
For more information on BeDevil, make sure to visit the BeDevil website at www.bedevil.ca.
As published in the September 5 edition of The Community Press – on newsstands today. Never miss an issue, become a SUBSCRIBER today!
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press. For more information, contact Jenalee Blackhurst, Economic Development Coordinator, at 780-384-4152. Looking to market your business? Look no further than the area’s #1 Medium since 1908. Phone 780-385-6693 or Email ads@thecommunitypress.com today.
