The availability of a virtually unlimited source of cheap manual labor during the
1930s allowed Northern to develop an extensive pipeline network to deliver natural
gas to the residential and industrial markets that it served in the Great Plains states.
As the company’s revenues and profi ts grew, Northern’s management launched a
campaign to acquire dozens of its smaller competitors. This campaign was prompted
by management’s goal of making Northern the largest natural gas supplier in the
United States. In 1947, the company, which was still relatively unknown outside of
its geographical market, reached a major milestone when its stock was listed on the
New York Stock Exchange. That listing provided the company with greater access to
the nation’s capital markets and the fi nancing needed to continue its growth-throughacquisition
strategy over the following two decades