Stuart Caudill, owner of R.L. Caudill Construction, Owingsville, Kentucky, and his brothers Robert and Shannon learned to operate equipment from their dad, Robert L., when they were barely old enough to reach the pedals.
They also inherited a tenacious work ethic, the kind of daily get-it-done mentality that provoked one of their operators to say: “They will work until there is no more daylight. The work a lot of days when the weather was tough and the other contractors weren’t working.”
Stuart realized that to grow the company, he’d need more than just operator skills and got a construction management degree with a business minor and in 1997 incorporated the family business.
When the recession hit, Stuart’s business smarts paid off. The company was structured well enough to avoid layoffs and survive the downturn. They even picked up some great deals on a foreclosed building and several pieces of used equipment.
A customer, Charles Carlton, Pike County Fiscal Court, says this about Stuart: “He has patience. We had a situation where we had to ask for a number of extensions and they held their peace while that had to be done. They were good to work with, and did an incredible job.”
Another customer, David Sorrell, Commonwealth of Kentucky said: “He had a lot of suggestions. He’s really engaged in what we’re doing. When he comes up with an idea it makes the project better.”