Excavating contractors adapt during uncertain economic times

When you are operating heavy machinery - skid loaders, mini-excavators, dozers, rubber-tired backhoes, excavators, dump trucks, scrapers - experience matters.

Bruce Barnhart, owner of Barnhart Custom Services in West Branch, got into the excavating contractor business in 1980. On a daily basis, Barnhart works with a team of 10 employees to complete a variety of excavating projects.

His company does commercial, residential, agricultural and demolition work - from stormwater management on farms to residential basement work and building sites for commercial real estate and transformer sites for electric companies.

“Ninety percent of our work is within 30 miles of West Branch, but we've worked on projects from Des Moines to the Mississippi River,” Barnhart said.

At Ken-Way Excavating, emphasis is on sewer and water service replacements and septic system installations, noted Charlie Fisher, president, “but we also perform excavation services for new home construction, demolition services, site clearing, and various underground repairs.

“We install underground utilities, perform building pad excavation services and complete site grading for commercial construction projects regularly.”

But over the years, excavating contractors have had to learn that experience has to be paired with adaptability.

“As a small company we try to remain available for residential customers having immediate needs, but it is crucial for us to look in all areas for work, especially given the current market conditions,” Fisher explained. “We've adapted to take advantage of unique opportunities that keeps us busy in some markets,” Barnhart added.

Take the floods of 2008, for example. Barnhart Custom Services has since become certified in demolition of unabated flood properties.

“We've done 100 structures in Cedar, Johnson and Muscatine counties,” Barnhart said.

Barnhart grew up farming, so he knew his way around a bulldozer.

“When the farm economy went sour in the '80s, we got out of hogs and started full-time excavating,” he said.

Initially Barnhart Custom Services focused on agricultural conservation projects but later started working on more projects in town.

The Iowa weather isn't always agreeable for digging.

“Twenty years ago, once you got 8 inches of frost you would stop. But now we have cabs for operator comfort, and a lot of dirt work slows down only after a foot of frost,” Barnhart noted.

That's when snow removal, another business adaptation, takes priority. Barnhart started with some 75 commercial snow removal accounts, but in recent years has shifted focus to larger commercial warehouse clients for snow removal.

Fisher agreed snow removal has become a cold-weather staple.

“The majority of our employees continue to work throughout the winter,” he says. “Again, we have to look into other areas of work to stay busy, such as snow removal, but we also continue to perform the repairs that cannot wait.”

Ken-Way Excavating Inc. began in 1966 but was purchased from the original owners in 2010 by Fisher and two business partners.

“When purchasing Ken-Way Excavating, my partners and I were fortunate to be able to maintain a large portion of the existing staff,” he recalled. “Many of our employees have worked with the company their entire (professional) lives ....”

One recent project involved a sewer main repair for the city of Cedar Rapids.

“It required replacement of a failing section of piping approximately 10 feet below ground inside of the Universal Engineering building,” Fisher said. “The location within the office building allowed for very limited access, requiring us to utilize unique excavation techniques and implement special safety equipment to permit a safe work environment for our employees.”

“Twenty years ago we bought laser grade control,” Barnhart said. “That was a $10,000 to $12,000 investment. This year we added GPS control, and that's a $98,000 investment.”

He said most people underestimate his overhead and cost of doing business. A new bulldozer, Barnhart noted, can run between $175,000 and $250,000.

But Barnhart is optimistic about the future.

“We are actually doing our first residential subdivision project in 2 or 3 years, so I see that work coming back slowly,” he said.