08/06/2026
For more than two decades, Lerwick Equipment has helped keep farms, ranches and agricultural operations running across the tri-state area. Owned and operated by Albin native Brent Lerwick, the business combines decades of industry experience with a commitment to serving the community he has called home his entire life.
Keep reading to learn more about our August business of the month!
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A graduate of the John Deere TECH program’s first graduating class at the first location in Milford, Nebraska, in 1991, Brent Lerwick did not know at the time that he would one day be the owner of a local business serving the same agricultural community that he grew up in. In that inaugural trade program, however, Lerwick developed the expertise that would later support his success as a business owner.
Lerwick grew up in Albin, Wyoming, spending much of his youth working on his family’s farm.
“Dad farmed, Grandpa farmed, Great-Grandfather farmed, all within two miles of where we live (to this day),” Lerwick said.
Lerwick enjoyed his childhood in agriculture, but the reliability of learning a trade appealed to him when selecting his own career path. When Lerwick graduated from high school, the opportunity to apply for the John Deere TECH program presented itself and he decided to take it.
“The John Deere dealer in Torrington was pushing it,” Lerwick said. “In three-month quarters, you spent four (quarters) at school and three working, alternating.”
Upon graduating from the program, Lerwick put his newly acquired skills to use, working at John Deere dealerships in Kimball, Nebraska, and Torrington, Wyoming, briefly before working for Caterpillar in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for 10 years.
Ready to branch out on his own in August 2004, Lerwick opened his heavy equipment and diesel repair business, Lerwick Equipment.
“It was stressful, but we’ve always had stuff to do,” Lerwick said. “It probably took four or five years (to build clientele), and now we’re serving probably a three-hour radius.”
Today, Lerwick works with his son Wesley Lerwick to operate the repair business.
“I run mostly the service truck,” Lerwick said, “and Wesley stays in the shop.”
Operating out of the service truck is one part of the job that Lerwick enjoys most.
“The service truck is spur of the moment,” Lerwick said, “which is what I have always thrived on.
“(My favorite part is) probably just not being stuck in the shop and getting out and seeing everybody else’s operations.”
Lerwick said he also finds enjoyment in “the challenge” of his profession.
“There are some problems you see all the time,” Lerwick said, “but then there are others that are new even after I’ve been doing it for 37 years. I like the challenge.”
Although Lerwick’s career took a different path than his father and grandfather before him, he remains connected to the agriculture industry. In addition to repair work, Lerwick grows hay and raises a herd of cattle. His wife, Justin Lerwick, is the owner of a local trucking business, often hauling for agricultural operations in the community.
“I was already established when she (Justin) started out,” Lerwick said. “That enabled her to get going.”
Lerwick said the two businesses complement each other—Lerwick can do repairs for his wife, and Justin can haul hay and silage as needed for the family.
He also stays connected to the agriculture industry through his clientele, who he said is made up mostly of farmers and ranchers.
“During the winter, our primary business seems to be feed trucks,” Lerwick said. “Beet harvest and corn harvest and wheat harvest is always busier, and there’s more pressure, but we’ve always got another project.”
Lerwick’s busy schedule is a testament to the importance of his work to the local agriculture community.
“Being where we’re so remote, they (local farmers) would have to travel quite a way to get done what I do there, plus my service truck helps (support a larger area),” Lerwick said.
That small town community aspect of his job is something Lerwick said he enjoys.
“It’s peaceful, especially where we’re at,” Lerwick said, “and the majority of the people we do work for, I’ve grown up knowing.”
Reflecting on his career path, beginning in that very first John Deere TECH program to the company he’s built today, Lerwick said he would advise someone starting out in the diesel and heavy equipment industry not to be scared.
“If you do a good job in a timely manner, there will always be something to do.”
