Thein Well Company History
Family owned for four generations
Eugene Thein, the son of a Luxembourg immigrant blacksmith, left New Trier, Minnesota shortly after his father's death. He settled in Clara City, MN at the age of 19. Eugene parlayed his blacksmithing skills to become the area's resident well driller. He drilled his first well, by horsepower in 1893.
P. J. Thein worked with his father from an early age and took over the business in the early 1900's. He expanded the business and brought his five sons in with him. His two oldest sons, Leonard and Joseph were active in the business until their deaths.
Stanley, Dennis and Peter Thein, the three remaining sons, purchased the business from their father in 1965. They expanded the business greatly in terms of personnel, locations and equipment. They grew the business to include offices throughout Minnesota including Rochester, Spicer, and Monticello in addition to their original Clara City location. This growth allowed them to better serve the six-state North Central Region.
Bob, Mike and David Thein purchased the business in the early 2000’s. Bob Thein oversees the Spicer location and Mike Thein the Monticello location. Their brother, David Thein worked out of the original Clara City office until his death in 2004 at the age of 35 in a vehicle accident. Mark and Craig Thein operate Thein Well-Rochester in Rochester, MN.
As the business continues to grow, 5th generation Thein family members have grown to become active in the business. Zack Thein is project manager, Andy Thein is in the drilling division and Tony Thein is in the commercial pump installation and service division.
Throughout its many years of growth, Thein Well has added many highly-qualified non-family personnel. Many of whom have been with Thein for over 20 years. With thanks to these many loyal, long-term and highly qualified employees, Thein Well continues to set the standard for quality in the ground water industry.
Thein Well personnel have always been dedicated to improving the groundwater industry by active involvement in groundwater associations. Robert Thein, (4th generation) and Peter Thein (3rd generation) are past Presidents of the Minnesota Water Well Association. Peter is also a past President of the National Groundwater Association and a former Trustee of the American Groundwater Trust.
In addition, Robert and Peter both achieved the distinction of Master Groundwater Contractor from the National Groundwater Association. Peter is also a recipient of the Floyd Oliver Award, the most prestigious honor from the NWGA.
