Being in business with the same group of people for years can feel a lot like a marriage – you share in each other’s successes while putting up with each other’s worst habits. My parents have been married for more than 30 years, and in that time they’ve also been business partners. My mother has been keeping the books and making practically all the arrangements for my father’s trucking company since he started hauling, and they’ve been a successful team both in business and outside of it. The family bonds have only become stronger because of their working relationship.

That’s the same story we’ve heard from countless family businesses over the years, and it’s why we have decided to devote some special space in this month’s issue to catch up with some of our favorites and ask them how they make it work. Working with family can be a lot more challenging than working with friends or strangers, after all, because of the complicated family dynamic that already exists before you make your first widget.

The three family businesses highlighted in this section share how they manage working relationships with their familial bonds, and how the experience has made them richer in more ways than one.

Additionally, this month, we’re also shining the spotlight on companies who excel in the oil and gas pipeline industry. With all of the attention being paid to fuel prices lately, it’s only fair to tell their side of the story, as they recount how they’ve become the companies they are today and what the future holds for the energy sector in North America.

Next month begins a new era at U.S. Business Review, as we begin phasing in a new approach that pays particular attention to some of the most dominant sectors of American business: transportation, engineering and manufacturing, energy, industrial supply, logistics and infrastructure. We hope you’ll find the new approach as exciting and informative as we do.