The roundtable discussion at the 2019 Equipment World Contractor of the Year event.Equipment World has named its 2020 Contractor of the Year finalists, celebrating the 20th year of the program.
Each year, the editors of Equipment World vet Contractor of the Year applications from across the country, examining each contractor’s references, business acumen, equipment management practices, attention to safety and community involvement.
The program, which recognizes contractors who have annual revenues of between $3 million and $15 million, has been sponsored by Caterpillar since its inception in 2000.
Each finalist will be honored during the Contractor of the Year event, to be held March 12-15 in Las Vegas during ConExpo, and one finalist will be named our 2020 winner.
Here are our 2020 finalists, along with a few of the comments our editors received during the review process:
Bret Barnhart Jr., Bret Barnhart Excavating, Mounds, Oklahoma: “They do excellent work. They’re good at getting in and out quickly and they bring a lot of knowledge to the jobs they do and it makes it easy for me to do business with them.”
Clint and Amber Stephenson, CLS Excavation, Liberty Hill, Texas: “They are always up on the latest technology and how to use it. And they expect their people to be on top of it. They do everything so it’s the most economical for the customer.”
Scott and Dianne Johnson, Dirtworks, Palmer, Alaska: “They will bend over backward to make things right. I knew them from another company and we all agree that they’re are one of the best companies in the state.”
Toby Drake, Drake Construction, Kotzebue, Alaska: “They take pride in their work and they want it to be right. The environmental regulations we work with around here can be extensive but Drake follows everything to the letter and never leaves anything behind other than a perfect site.”
Tom and Joseph Giordano, Giordano Construction, New Castle, Pennsylvania: “I appreciate that they will bid jobs that are a little bit bigger than they’ve done for us before and they treat that as a learning opportunity. They sure do seem to keep getting a lot of work and that speaks for itself.”
Richard Goodmanson, Goodmanson Construction, Roseville, Minnesota: “They stay on the cutting edge of technology. Part of it is because almost the entire crew is 28 to 40 years old and they grew up with a technology background.”
Scott and Tyler Roberts, JLR Contractors, Provo, Utah: “They conduct business the way they run their personal lives and always remember that they are dealing with other human beings – treating them with respect and kindness.”
Rick Davis, Mountain Valley Contracting, Grand Junction, Colorado: “They seem to excel at the more difficult projects because of their outside-the-box thinking. Their use of current machine technology really does put them ahead of many contractors today.”
John, T. J. and Michelle Muggli, Muggli Contracting, Miles City, Montana: “They are viewed as a well-run company that is highly capable, innovative, multifaceted and successful. Every project has been completed right the first time, done on or under budget, and they leave the location better than they arrived.”
Ray Lippis, Ray Lippis Excavating, Canon City, Colorado: “It’s very interesting how he’ll back up and help the other guys out. When you’re doing a government project there are a whole bunch of contractors involved. Ray is not one to let them fail. He’ll help out any of the other contractors to get the project done.”
Wendell Howard, T & K Utilities, Asheville, North Carolina: “I’ll go to municipalities to talk about our projects and if the meeting is not going well I’ll say that I’m going to request that T & K does the job, and I usually get approved. They have that good of a reputation for quality work.”
Charles Mitchell, C.M. Mitchell Construction, Sneads Ferry, North Carolina: “I would give them the highest rating you have. They show up in a timely manner and get the job done on time and on budget. In fact we’re getting ready to start a new project with them.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated to add Charles Mitchell to the list of finalists.
