No matter the industry, no two career paths are carved out the same, and for Jim LaPorte, president of Mudslayer Manufacturing, his journey toward a career in drilling began with a unique instance of family misfortune. When Jim was just 8 years old, his mother and brother contracted hepatitis from the old crock well on the family farm and right then and there, his father decided, “We’re gonna drill our own dang well,” LaPorte recalls.
A young Jim helped his uncle with most of the drilling and within a few short years, he had found his passion and knew that he wanted to be a driller. Over time, across several different career twists and turns, LaPorte stayed connected to the drilling industry as best he could and at the age of 26, he and his wife, Kate, came across a company selling an old drill rig, struck a deal and were off and running.