About Us

A Mechanic Legend

Tom Howcroft, a 19 year old from UVSC, started his career as a mechanic in 1977 at Dowell in his home town Vernal, UT. He changed employment several times through the passing years, increasing his knowledge and experience, and getting to know many of the men throughout the Uintah Basin Oil Field. In the 1994 economy downturn, Well Tech, the company he worked for, closed their doors in the Vernal Area and moved to Texas. They wanted Tom to transfer to Texas to keep him as their mechanic, but he and his wife decided they wanted to stay in Vernal to work and raise their 5 boys. He bought the Well Tech Mechanic Service Truck at the auction of all the company equipment and started his own business, Howcroft Field Service. He stayed busy working for rigs in the area. He soon hired a young man to help him with the mechanic work, and then hired a welder. He later bought a used 1994 Peterbilt to haul equipment needing repairs to the shop. He slowly bought more trucks and started moving rigs.

Tom knew everyone and everyone knew him. Company Men knew they could call him any time day or night and he would be there. Often he would trouble shoot over the phone by asking, "What color is the smoke?" or "What does the oil look like?" and he could talk them through fixing the problem themselves, or to get by until he could get there and get them back running again. He worked on rigs from Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, to California. He climbed to the top of derricks in freezing blizzards, and put his tools in a bucket of water to cool them so they wouldn't burn his hands in the scorching summer sun. His specialty was rebuilding Detroit Diesel engines overnight. He knew a rig could not afford to be down for long when the engine blew up. He also specialized in hydraulics and designing ways to make things run better.

Howcroft Field Service has ridden the oil price roller coaster for over 25 years. In the up times Tom and his men worked like crazy and in the down times, they would build heavy duty bed trucks and trailers from the ground up, slowly building the fleet and the company. Tom and his team of drivers, mechanics, and welders strive to take good care of their many customers. He took pride in having a "One Stop Shop" for all repair needs! His motto: "Hope for the best, work for all you get, and be more than fair."

And the legend continues ...

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