Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/662812
employee suffered debilitating medical issues, one lost his wife, another lost his mother, and two of the Bradley Excavating team members died unexpectedly. Bradley's employees say that, in the midst of extreme grief and loss, the family put their team members first, offering financial assistance and helping with funerals. The shared challenges have brought the team closer together than ever, and they feel a strong sense of loy- alty to one another. "We're all a family," says John Stull, one of Bradley Excavating's mechanics. "He takes care of his guys. This is the best job I've ever had, and I'm going to stay here and keep doing what I'm doing." For the family and the employees, each workday ends with a fun get-together at the office. Bradley makes smoothies and puts out fruit and veggie plates so the guys will have something healthy to snack on, and each Friday he cooks for them at the office. "I love the laid back environment," says estimator Kate Varnum, a civil engineer with a master's in structural engineering. "It's like an extension of home." Treating their employees like family includes keeping them safe. A highly structured safety program, crafted by Safety Director Todd Sokol, includes spending the neces- sary resources on PPE and safety gear. Guest speakers at the safety meetings from utilities, fire and rescue, and the state patrol address the employ- ees on topics ranging from rescue operations to CDL truck walk-arounds. Planning to succeed With both parents and grandparents from strong con- struction backgrounds, it was a foregone conclusion that one or both of the Grubaugh children would be involved in the business. Kali, in particular, has found a love of construction, and sees running the company alongside her brother Zach and Jonathan Thorne, as her future. That wasn't always the case. After graduating from Colorado State University, she first entertained the idea of law school, and then a teaching career, before coming home to Bradley Excavating. After seeing Kali's interest and affinity for construc- tion, Mike Milyard suggested she enroll in Caterpillar's Generation to Generation program, a training program Wagner Equipment offers to customers who plan to pass their companies on to the next generation. Not all Caterpillar dealers offer the program, so the Grubaughs were fortunate to be located near the Denver-based sessions. "I learned a lot of valuable in- formation," Kali says. "My class covered business ethics, business law and HR law, but we also discussed topics such as the difference between management and leader- ship," she says. Milyard says he thought Bradley Excavating was the perfect client to recommend for the program. "The first time I met Kali, she was out in the field," he says. "When I saw how eager she was to learn, I approached Bradley about the opportunity. It requires the customer to put some money up front – money that they will get back in credits after the completion of the program – so you know if someone commits, they're proactive about it." The focus on business management and leadership techniques has allowed the company's employees to view Kali in a new light, rather than as just the boss' daughter they've known since she was in middle school. She feels she will be able to retain the culture and envi- ronment her father has created, while taking advantage of new opportunities. "My grandfather and my father have passed their core values along to us," Kali says. "With that in place, we feel we can look at the technology that's advancing rapidly. We're talking about incorporating newer things; for example, someday soon, we'd like to start survey- ing with drones." 'Riding the middle' Although his children and general manager have big plans for the future, right now Bradley is just focusing on performing excellent work and keeping his clients happy. However, he's considering a next step. "We've been talking about increasing the size of the company," he says. "It means more equipment and multiple crews. It means literally doubling the size of the company. We're riding the middle right now, waiting to take that next huge step. When I was younger, I didn't know how to manage growth, but now I take things a bit slower." EquipmentWorld.com | April 2016 65 Those who work with Bradley Grubaugh, including Ron Grasse from Wagner Cat, say he's great to work with and always has a smile on his face. He personally hands out paychecks, shakes everyone's hand and thanks them for their work.