Tag: Contractor of the year: Page 9

Success Stories

Concrete work the “sweet spot” for Wm. Winkler Co., 2014 Contractor of the Year finalist

“We love to do anything that involves concrete,” says Brian Winkler, 47, president of Wm. Winkler Co., one of 12 finalists in the 2014 Contractor of the Year program. “It’s everywhere and it’s sustainable, It’s a very versatile material.” Concrete has been Wm. Winkler Co.’s material of choice since Brian’s grandfather started the firm in […]

January 28, 2014

Contractor of the Year

How one 3rd-generation paver expanded the family business into concrete, sealcoating

Operating the business started by his late father Dale, third-generation contractor Chris Fink knows a thing or two about paving. Performing a mix of public and private work; residential and commercial, Chris is known throughout the Shreveport area as being a leader and a go-getter. With the help of his wife, Tracey, who handles much […]

December 30, 2013

Business

Knocked down by the recession, how contractor Michael Thibault came up with a plan to win at T-Bone Construction

Mike Thibault has a favorite quote: “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” he says with a big Colorado grin. But when the recession hit it brought problems that neither luck nor hard work seemed capable of solving. “It was terrible,” he says. For two decades Thibault (pronounced Tee-bow) had flourished as the […]

November 30, 2013

Contractor of the Year

How contractor Richard Gordon found the right size for success at Baystate Engineering

Richard Gordon grew up in the operator’s seat. He’s been operating equipment since he was a kid, running skid steers around in the yard, the machine a capable extension of his curious and active mind. As he grew up in South Windsor, Connecticut, he spent his summers working as a laborer and equipment operator before heading […]

November 1, 2013

Business

The 9 leadership rules every contractor should know

One of the great assignments the editors at Equipment World get every year is to go out and interview a dozen Contractor of the Year finalists and find out how they have succeeded in this very tough business. If you want to be the best at what you do you owe it to yourself to […]

October 9, 2013

Business

Too much of a good thing? Three steps for managing your construction company’s growth

It’s the time of year when Equipment World editors start scouring Contractor of the Year nominations, looking for the best of the best. Some traits are easy to pick out as the signs of a contender: low turnover, good revenue growth, excellent equipment management, a sterling safety record. While others don’t quite jump out at you, […]

September 3, 2013

Business

Are you our 2014 Contractor of the Year? Apply now

Each year around this time we start the search for our next Contractor of the Year. These are contractors who have successfully managed their companies through the roller coaster of today’s construction economy and our past winners are certainly some of the industry’s best and brightest. Are you proud of your company’s performance and feel […]

August 16, 2013

Business

Lester Contracting grows 50% in one year thanks to focus on customer service, training and investments in machine control

Like many who work in construction today, Ken Lester got his start as a teenager working for his father. His father was wise enough to start him as a laborer and let him develop a broad range of skills. He did everything from handling a shovel to welding on the equipment to operating it. After […]

August 1, 2013

Success Stories

West Virginia contractor inspires devotion through his own loyalty to others

In today’s fickle world, many are often willing to abandon what they know and like for the latest and greatest, especially when it comes to the job market. Construction is no different; many contractors will tell you half their labor will leave and work for someone else for a seemingly tiny pay increase. That’s one […]

July 1, 2013

Business

How did Stalco Construction triple its project volume during the recession? Adaptability and marketing.

Kevin Harney started Islandia, New York-based Stalco Construction in 1992 with only $1,700. Fast forward to 2012 and the company made $64 million in revenue and was able to achieve monstrous growth during the recession. Just what kind of growth? Before the 2008 recession, annual project volume at Stalco was $40 million. Now, it’s at […]

June 24, 2013

Success Stories

HDD contractor Scott Kelly’s “Journey to Elite” pays off in Contractor of the Year win

“This is not the business for us.” That’s what Scott Kelly remembers thinking in 1995, the first time he saw horizontal directional drilling in action during a demonstration in Shrewsbury, Massachsetts. Kelly’s father James began researching HDD a year before, so the two were very interested in seeing the relatively new technology in action. Suffice […]

May 1, 2013

Business

Loyalty a two-way street for successful Colorado contractor T-Bone Construction

With a company he built from the ground up starting in 1987, Michael Thibault’s T-Bone Construction in Colorado Springs was going full speed ahead when the recession hit. As a builder of commercial and industrial buildings, truck maintenance facilities, and car and truck dealerships, Thibault was hit with a double whammy. The big customers quit […]

April 1, 2013