Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/578350
EquipmentWorld.com | October 2015 75 A lthough a star football player in high school, Dave Spurr had the sense to real- ize that only a rare few ever rise to the top in that profession. When he looked around at where he might make his mark, construction seemed a good bet. Out of high school, Spurr built houses, drove the water truck and made himself useful, including some dirt work. To expand his knowledge of yellow iron Spurr spent weekends alongside the mechanics so he could figure out how the machinery worked. A bit later he landed a job, driving a lowboy and moving equipment all over Califor- nia and the Western United States. "It was one of the best jobs I ever had because it was stuff I didn't really know how to do. It was knowledge you can't get anywhere else. You can't go to school and get it," he says. After Spurr got his fill of truck travel Spurr settled in for a regular construction job. But his skills and work ethic were in such high demand that contractors were begging him to work side jobs as well. "I was working my regular job 10 hours a day, then coming home at night and work- ing on plans. Saturdays and Sundays I go do house pads." he says. At the age of 24 Spurr was getting enough side jobs to justify his first dozer. "I walked into Quinn Cat and worked out a deal for a D4H. It cost more than my house did at the time," Spurr says. He also bought a used Peter- bilt to move his tractor around. But in 1989 when the op- portunity to bid on a job with 30 house pads came along, Spurr knew it was time to launch his own company. Be your own boss The first few months were eye openers, says Spurr. "You start finding out what the actual cost of doing business is. I had no idea. You get these big checks and you don't think about it. But you have to start planning to keep that nest egg. Thirty-three percent of that is going to go to Uncle Sam." But thanks to his earlier freelance work for develop- ers, the jobs kept coming and Spurr kept adding peo- ple and equipment. "Around here it's such a small area that everything is word of mouth. If something goes contractor of the year | by Tom Jackson | TJackson@randallreilly.com Dave Spurr Excavating Year started: 1989 Number of employees: 39 Annual revenues: $5 to $7 million Markets served: Site development, demolition, commercial buildings, water/ sewer, dry utilities, storm drain and concrete Dave Spurr Paso Robles, California An enthusiasm for construction and yellow iron got this contractor off to a good start. Good management helped him succeed