Black Hills Bentonite has sold portions of ownership to its customers . “ It ’ s [ unique ] that we [ can ] divest part of our interest , but retain control ,” Thorson says . The company wrote a partnership agreement that permitted it to control multiple aspects , including capital purchases and employees .

Taking ownership

Thorson joined his father ’ s firm 50 years ago and enjoys leading its staff . “ I have a lot of good people who work for me ,” he says . “ I like people to do everything they can through their own initiative .”

He nurtures this trait among his staff . “ They take ownership over what they ’ re doing [ when ] their ideas are given a lot of credence ,” he says . “ They don ’ t [ need ] as much supervision that way .”

Thorson ’ s key associates in management include Vice President and CFO Larry Madsen . While Thorson

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