Founded with an entrepreneurial spirit that continues to this day, ELM Utility Services (formerly One Call Locators) was established in 1991 in Missoula, Montana. ELM’s initial contract was with the Montana Power Company for underground utility locating in and around the city of Missoula. Within just a couple of years, ELM’s record of excellence allowed for rapid growth and by 1993 the company had five utility customers in three Montana cities.

By 1996, ELM had firmly established its reputation for quality and reliability in the state and was awarded state-wide contracts by the Montana Power Company and US West Communications. Over the next few years ELM continued to gain additional customers in Montana and expanded eastward into North Dakota and selected areas of Minnesota and South Dakota, ultimately serving 17 utility customers.

In the second half of 1999, ELM began rapid, managed growth, starting with expansion into the busy Arizona market with a large contract from Qwest Communications (formerly US West). Expansions into Utah in 2000; Iowa, Nevada, and Idaho in 2002; Nebraska, California, and Wyoming in 2003; Colorado and Illinois in 2005; and Florida in 2006 all positioned ELM as a significant provider in the underground locating industry.

Over the next few years, the tremendous success of ELM Utility Services did not go unnoticed. ELM was acquired by NorthWestern Energy (formerly the Montana Power Company) on January 10, 2000 as an unregulated, whollyowned subsidiary. Three and a half years later, NorthWestern Energy returned to its regulated utility focus and ELM Utility Services was acquired on July 1, 2003 by ELM Enterprises, LLC, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.