Tag: COY: Page 9

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

Success Stories

Diversity, flexibility lead North Carolina’s Mitch Cox Construction through recession

Editor’s Note: Mitch Cox was a finalist for 2012 Contractor of the Year. He started Mitch Cox Construction Inc. in 1980 in Johnson City, Tennessee. The company has 35 employees with annual volume of $8 million to $10 million. The company serves the MOB, renovation, office and retail construction markets. Mitch Cox, CEO and founder of the […]

April 1, 2013

Business

Husband and wife’s business savvy spell success for Texas contractor

By the time he graduated from high school, Ken Lester, president of Lester Contracting, Port Lavaca, Texas, could operate just about any piece of equipment in his dad’s construction fleet. He joined the company full time in 1979 and two years later his dad retired, leaving Ken to run the company. Ken saw the future […]

March 27, 2013

Business

Father and sons team up for growth and diversity at R.L. Caudill Construction

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: […]

March 27, 2013

Business

Communication brings Massachusetts contractor through tough times

Richard Gordon has been operating equipment since he was a kid, running Bobcats around in the yard, the machine a capable extension of his curious and active mind. As he grew, he spent his summers working as a laborer and equipment operator before heading to Syracuse to pursue a degree in management. When it came […]

March 27, 2013

Business

NASCAR driver Jeff Burton talks Gen-6 cars, answers contractors’ questions

At Equipment World’s annual Contractor of the Year event this year, we were able to spend an hour of quality time with NASCAR driver Jeff Burton. The driver of the no. 31 Caterpillar car gave a short talk, answered questions and posed for photos with the 12 finalists and their wives Friday night in Las […]

March 18, 2013

Success Stories

Nitteberg Construction Co., small South Dakota town share a bond

Each February, Gale Nitteberg, his wife and their grandchildren pack up and head south for about month to escape the harsh South Dakota winter for the warm beaches of Florida. He says years ago he and his wife thought about leaving South Dakota and maybe moving somewhere warmer, but it was never something they were […]

March 1, 2013

Success Stories

Entrepreneurial spirit serves North Carolina’s Page & Associates well in tough times

Editor’s Note: Jane Page was a finalist for 2012 Contractor of the Year. She and her former husband started Page & Associates in 1979 in Johnson City, Tennessee. The company has 25 employees with annual volume of $3 million to $5 million. The company serves the site development, general construction, utilities and curbing and sidewalks markets. […]

March 1, 2013

Business

On Record: Quotes from the construction front lines

When they’re not dodging snowflakes, our editors relish this season, since it’s the time when we visit our Contractor of the Year finalists. We’re still in the middle of making the rounds, but are already hearing great quotes from the front lines. Here’s a recap: Starting a business gets in your blood. When managing editor […]

February 4, 2013

Success Stories

Fourth-generation grading firm evolves with industry changes

The story of Steger Construction, Dyersville, Iowa, is one of generations. The family business, one of our 2013 Contractor of the Year finalists, began in 1948 with Herb and Fay Steger, grandfather and uncle of present owner, Jesse Steger. And now Jesse’s son, Paul, has joined the firm. As Paul — a University of […]

February 1, 2013