Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85684
contractor of the year finalist | by Lauren Heartsill Dowdle Jon Fye Sperry, Iowa Fye Excavating Year started: 1995 Number of employees: 45 Annual volume: $6.3 million Markets served: Commercial site work, utilities, demolition, sewer, storm water, heavy equipment hauling and trucking J on Fye left the security of a long-time job to follow his passion for construction. A go-getter spirit, family- focused lifestyle and entre- preneurial expertise gave Jon Fye the confi dence to leave his career of 22 years and create Fye Excavat- ing in Sperry, Iowa. "I wouldn't change my path any," says Fye, 53. "We've done a great job at building this company." Using a strong work ethic as his building block, Fye constructed a business that thrived during the recession. "I went out on my own and cut my path," says Jon Fye, owner of Fye Excavating. From the ground up Born and raised in Mount Union, Iowa, Fye moved to Sperry in 1971. Nine years later, he married his high school girlfriend, Cindy. As his family grew, he decided to construct a house. With equipment- operating experience from summer jobs under his belt, Fye bought a two-wheel-drive backhoe in 1995. "He tried to get a local contractor to come out and dig his basement," says Jeff Krug, Altorfer Caterpillar. "But when he couldn't fi nd anyone, he went out, bought a backhoe and did it himself." Fye was still working as an electrician for the Burlington Northern Railroad, so his dirt work was reserved for his off hours. After operating his backhoe for 90 days, he went back to his bank and asked for a loan to purchase a dozer. "My banker asked me, 'How many pieces of equipment do you think you can run?'," he remem- bers, laughing. Within a year, neighbors started calling on him to hook up their utilities to Rathbun Rural Water, and Fye steadily built up this side job to eight employees. He added a dump EquipmentWorld.com | June 2012 57