Equipment World Digital Magazine
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backhoe from a man in Sioux Falls. He charged 40 cents a foot, digging basements, installing water lines and local sewer lines and watched his business grow. In 1975 he began sub- contracting work for South Dakota Rural Water, an association of 28 rural water systems across the state. Work picked up so much in 1975 that Nitteberg bought another back- hoe, two trenchers and hired eight more guys. However, the 1980s brought a trying time for company, and the locals who helped his business get started were unable to come to his aid. "The interest rate was really high," he explains. "The people with money weren't spending any. In a small community the work can dry up pretty quickly." So Nitteberg was forced to go back to the basics and worked by himself for a couple of years to make ends meet. But in the summer of 1986 a weeklong drenching of Estelline dropped 13 inches of rain atop the small town, fl ooding nearby Lake Poinsett and the many homes around it. "It was a disaster," Nitte- berg remembers. "But it was prob- ably good for me business-wise." Nitteberg and a crew rebuilt and reinforced the shoreline. Since then, the lake has fl ooded twice more, and the most recent fl ood in 2009 was the most serious. Nitteberg has been ready to work each time. "I hate to say it, but it really got me going again," Nitteberg says of the initial fl ood. "There are seven guys I hired during that time that are still with me today. And the people working for me are a big part of my success." In the fall of 1986 a developer in Denver hired Nitteberg to assist in the construction of a new subdivi- sion near Estelline. "That gave me a big start as far as getting bonded," Nitteberg says. In 1987 that bonding power turned into a $250,000 job with Kingbrook Rural Water System in Arlington, South Dakota. It would be the start of a beautiful relation- ship for Nitteberg, who still does jobs for Rural Water systems all over the state. He says these jobs typically range between $1 million and $3.5 million. "It's something we started doing and we built our own niche with it," he says. These days, the company has 30 employees and annual revenues between $5 million and $7 million. Nitteberg serves the rural water, city water and sewer, township roads, gravel and maintenance markets. Nitteberg is quick to attribute his success to his employees. A dozen of them have been with him for more than 10 years. "I probably would have quit already if it wasn't for my people," he explains. "I try April 2014 | EquipmentWorld.com 56 contractor of the year | continued "I enjoy being around the guys. I think it's because I've worked with them for so many years right alongside them," Nitteberg says. "I think it means a lot to them to have you right there. "