Headquarters: Rogers
Inception: 1976
Family name: Groebner
What the company does: Distributes equipment to the natural gas industry
Type of ownership: S corp.
Principal owner: Carissa Skorczewski
Employees: 70
Family members in the business: 4
Family members on the board: No board

“There aren’t a lot of family businesses left in our space,” says Carissa Skorczewski, president of Groebner, a Rogers-based distributor of pipe, metering technology, and other equipment to the natural gas industry. Many have been bought out by larger companies as the natural gas supply industry consolidates.

Why hasn’t Groebner sold out? “We’re doing this for a greater purpose,” says Skorczewski, who, along with her brother, Curt Groebner, now run the business their grandfather launched nearly 50 years ago. “It’s about the relationships, it’s about the community.”

“We’re unique because we still focus only on natural gas,” Skorczewski adds. (Many other competitors also supply to electric utilities.) “Instead of focusing wider, we’ve focused deeper.”

This includes introducing and supplying innovative products, including Sensus smart metering systems, which enable remote data management and analytics to optimize utility operations. Groebner also has helped launch new technology and tools, with several employees starting their own companies based on those innovations. A case in point is Monticello-based Copperhead Industries, whose patented copper-clad steel wire is used to locate underground utilities more economically.

Technical support is another differentiator, Skorczewski says. Groebner’s technical service teams can repair products in-house or go into the field. The company also offers education and training, including teaching contractors how to use and repair equipment.

“Our territories are a lot smaller than a lot of our competitors’ [regions],” she says. “That’s because we really value in-person interaction. We want that problem-solving and relationship-building to happen. We’ll provide support even if a product wasn’t ordered from us.”

One longtime customer who values its relationship with Groebner is Nicor Gas, a large natural gas provider in Illinois. “They’re always looking for new opportunities to serve our industry,” says Patrick Whiteside, Nicor senior vice president for operations. “They’re always listening to what is going on in the industry, how it’s evolving, the challenges we face, and finding the products we need to run our business.” 

In emphasizing service and product choice, the third generation carries on the values and approach of Chuck Groebner, who founded the family company in 1976 as a manufacturer’s rep to Midwestern utilities. His son, Joe, joined the business in 1980, helping move the business toward a distributorship model. Groebner now has warehouses in Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, and Texas.

In 2018, Carissa and Curt joined their father. Skorczewski had worked for Target and 3M as a marketing and product manager leading cross-functional teams, while Curt worked as a tax accountant. There was no pressure, Skorczewski recalls. Joe Groebner was contemplating succession, which might mean selling the company. “He gave us first right of refusal,” she adds. In time, she decided that working for a smaller company was more appealing, with opportunities to have more direct impact on customers.

In 2021, Skorczewski succeeded her father as company president. The following year, Joe transitioned ownership to Carissa and Curt, who is vice president of finance. Their cousin, Tony Groebner, has been employed by the company for 18 years, and the siblings appreciated being able to tap into his experience. It made the siblings’ succession to company leadership easier. And Carissa’s father continues to provide guidance as company chairman.

The Groebner third-generation leaders each have their own skill set. Skorczewski’s is operations, strategic planning, and management, her brother’s is finance, and her cousin’s is sales, customer service, and technical training. Sometimes they need to work out their differing viewpoints to make decisions. Twice a year, family governance meetings address longer-term issues.

There also are quarterly strategic planning meetings with the company’s leadership team, which include both family and non-family business leaders. “When we’ve had particular challenges, we’ve pulled together emergency family meetings, which include me, my brother, my cousin, and sometimes my dad,” Skorczewski says. These include complications involving employees or vendors. “This system has worked for us, covering long-term, short-term, and strategic planning,” she adds.

One challenge the company is currently addressing is knowledge transfer and maintaining company culture across generations that have varying motivations and values. “We’re blessed to have a lot of team members who’ve been with the company for 20 or 30 years,” Skorczewski notes. “Succession within leadership to create a developmental pathway is particularly important to me.”

While Groebner’s fourth generation is too young to consider a career in the company, “it’s important to us to have all our children understand the responsibility of a family business, and what it means to employ other families and give them career opportunities,” Skorczewski says. “For me, taking it to the third generation has been very special.”

“It’s important to us to have all our children understand the responsibility of a family business, and what it means to employ other families and give them career opportunities.”

—Carissa Skorczewski

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