Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/148063
contractor of the year finalist | continued "We normally work 50 to 60 hours a week, based on the demand of our projects," Ken says. "Short term we reduced the hours to 40 hours a week. That gave us the time to search for alternative markets. We now work in a diverse range of projects, local, state and federal, private developers and the petrochemical industry." Ken reviews plans with Trent Tagliabue, project manager/estimator. a mob show up at the office on Fridays for their paychecks," Ken says. "They'd leave the job early and then take company trucks burning company gas to the bank to cash their checks. Direct deposit saved us money and made us more efficient." Melissa's latest initiative is to take the office in a paperless direction by scanning and digitally storing as many of its documents as possible. Thanks to their combined business acumen, Ken and Melissa have been able to grow the business from $2.5 million in sales in 1999 to $13 million today. The company even grew 50 percent in one year, from 2010 to 2011. 40 August 2013 | EquipmentWorld.com Big growth in a small town Port Lavaca is a small town on the Texas Gulf Coast half way between Corpus Christi and Houston. One of the big challenges the Lesters faced in a small market like this was finding enough work to grow the company beyond the typical momand-pop earthmoving enterprise. Lester Contracting had a good working relationship with Formosa Plastics, a giant industrial facility just on the other side of the bay, and fairly steady work from a small group of customers. But when the recession hit, Ken, like many, had to come up with a new plan. Although Ken didn't lay off any employees, the first thing he did was to reduce employee hours. Ready when the phone rings The downturn also changed Ken's attitude about business prospects. "In '06 or '07 we'd look the other way on some projects," Ken admits. "Now when the phone rings the first thing out of our mouth is 'Yes.'" Ken says his intention is to offer better service then anyone else in the community. "We want to be your guy, your horse in this race. What happens when those customers have a second project? You're the number they call," he says. "We've been quite successful just by answering the phone – and not answering it from the cab of a tractor, but having somebody answer the phone at the office and responding to it quickly." In today's environment, Lester Contracting will work as a subcontractor or a general contractor and do projects that range from $500 to several million. That broad base of customers has allowed them to be successful through the downturn. "We'll take any job, from delivering a load of dirt to a multi-million dollar project. When you throw them all in the pot and they average out, hopefully you come out ahead," Ken says. Customer satisfaction Having a loyal and satisfied customer and a good reputation has been one of Ken's goals all along. "He has a great reputation with the job owners," says Bobby Walker, vice president of Gulf Coast Limestone. "Their clients are always thrilled with their service. He just finished a project with the Nature Conservancy and they spoke very highly of him." Dennis Rocha, coastal project man-