How Hard Could It Be?
A Look at A & K Earthmovers, Inc.
Imagine you want to build yourself a new house. You've bought the perfect piece of land, the view is spectacular... all it needs is your dream home constructed. As you start the process, you find yourself talking to an architect... and a general contractor... and a landscaper... and none of them seem to be talking to one another. You're dream home plans are suddenly becoming a nightmare.
Imagine your annoyance... and multiply that by a thousand for a commercial project. Every day, project owners and general contractors have to deal with subcontractors blaming one another for being behind schedule or for defective work. In addition to missing vital deadlines, the frustration of trying to determine who is truly at fault is enough to give anyone a headache of epic proportions.
However, project owners and general contractors in northern Nevada don't have to worry about that... if they chose to work with A & K Earthmovers, that is. A & K, a staple of the Fallon, Nevada business community since 1957, can handle just about any site development work including excavating, grading, paving, underground utilities, and more. Being such a comprehensive subcontractor has made A & K Earthmovers into a successful business... though founder Kenneth “Kelly Hiatt may have disagreed with that particular term early on.
Kelly, one of two original owners of A & K, always claimed that the company never turned a profit for the first 25 years, during which the business primarily focused on just agricultural projects and land leveling. However, as time went on, it became apparent that A & K's drive and dedication to quality work wasn't very common; finding other subcontractors with the same standards became increasingly difficult. As a result, the beginning of A & K's expansion into other areas started off with a simple question – how hard could it be?
That was the question that Bart Hiatt, son of Kelly and current A & K president, asked. Waiting on other subcontractors had become unacceptable to A & K, and there were suddenly more Hiatts at the helm of A & K. All the quoting and construction had become too much for just one man, no matter how industrious Kelly was. Bart, Mike, and Scott Hiatt officially joined the company to allow their dad to focus on prospective jobs while the younger generation handled things in the field and in the engineering office. With a solid, knowledgeable team, A & K moved from earthwork into underground utilities, then crushing, then paving, then hot mix. “Those kinds of moves got rid of everyone else slowing us down, and we got control of our own destiny, said Mike, current Vice President of Operations.
Controlling the destiny of a company relies on more than just growth and expansion, however. In order to effectively grow and expand in the early 1980s, A & K also needed additional funding. While at a dinner at CONEXPO in Las Vegas during that time, the Hiatts began talking to a banker they hoped would be approving a loan in the near future. As the conversation got under way, the banker made it very clear that it would not be a difficult decision for them to make. The bank's reasoning? The owners of A & K were obviously heavily invested in the success of the company, as each Hiatt worked there every day and purchased all brand-name equipment like Caterpillar and Peterbilt. A & K's belief in hard work and high-quality products enabled them to get approximately $6 million in financing at a time when funds were hard to come by.
Today, A & K's fleet is a veritable sea of Cat yellow. Running machines such as Caterpillar motor graders, dozers, wheel loaders, and excavators, A & K operates at a level above all others. “Technology and quality means a lot in our business... but how do you equate that directly with money? How do you put potential downtime into value? asked Bart. Cashman's local presence in nearby Reno/Sparks means that A & K doesn't have to worry too much about downtime – Cashman does that for them. The Cat dealership guarantees parts to A & K within a certain timeframe so downtime, or unplanned machine failures, is easily managed. Cashman also works diligently to have a comprehensive preventive maintenance plan in place, so repairs can be scheduled events instead of on-site incidents. Bart went on to answer his own question by stating that such things are invaluable - effectively managing every aspect of the business is the key to moving forward.
“It isn't just about the jobs and the equipment, though, Mike stated. “You have to have the right people working for you. Fortunately, we haven't had a lot of turnover here. Bart agreed, pointing out that most of A & K's employees come from an agricultural background, where they run farm equipment or motorcycles on a regular basis. “That kind of background gives them a good feel of the earth, in turn making them natural machine operators, Bart said.
Those long-term, natural operators have been working on one of the only private sector jobs going on in Reno – Walmart at the intersection of Highway 395 and Glendale Avenue. Beginning in January 2010, A & K contracted with the superstore chain to do the underground work, the grading, and the paving in order to be ready for the September 2010 opening. A & K's experience in the industry, coupled with their experience at building Walmart facilities, made them the perfect choice. The company has done several other superstores in the northern Nevada area because Walmart's general contractor knows A & K is a good subcontractor, one they can rely on completely. Since these projects are extremely fast-paced and cannot tolerate any delays, A & K's “one-stop-shop of earthwork services is the perfect match for Walmart's needs.
“We didn't always know what we were doing... but we always figured it out, Mike said. A & K Earthmovers found out exactly how hard it could be... and powered on to become a cornerstone of their community.
