Photo courtesy of RMS
Crow River Construction uses its new Komatsu PC490LCi-11 intelligent Machine Control (iMC) excavator and its D51PXi-24 IMC dozer for the first time on a utility reconstruction project.
In the early stages of a new company, some owners adopt a measured approach — taking jobs they are confident they can handle and growing into larger projects over time.
Not Kraig Hanson.
He started Crow River Construction in 2013. Hanson sold his house, bought a building for his equipment, and the family moved into his camper.
Photo courtesy of RMS
Hanson found the local projects around New London, Minn., to be extremely competitive for a new outfit, so he got his bonding and insurance qualifications in line and started bidding projects. The first one was $200,000.
The second one? A $2.3 million portion of a $12 million project.
"It was a pretty big jump," laughed Hanson. "Those first six months were aggressive. On top of it, our crew was kind of thrown together. We only had a handful of employees that first year. We were taking on people we knew — relatives, friends, anyone who was interested. The second season we were up to 14 people and did $6 million in projects."
Extreme growth and a crew with limited experience is not usually a recipe for success. However, the commitment from those involved trumped any of those would-be hurdles.
"We were all invested in the success," said Hanson. "It was a complete buy-in from the crews. We worked 26 hours straight one time on a water main repair. We were learning on the job, but we wanted it to be done well and done right. The prime contractors recognized this and kept giving us more work. Our main focus was reconstruction projects, but they had us bid an $800,000 dirt project even though we only had pipe experience. They had confidence in us, and we got it done."
Those early days set the foundation for how Crow River operates today.
"Had we made excuses or backed away from a challenge in those first two years, we wouldn't be here," said Hanson. "No one on those early crews had underground experience, but it was probably the best thing for us. There were no bad habits to break. We learned and grew as a group. We were a family."
Growth has continued steadily. In 2015, Crow River added office personnel and Devon Lien, vice president, came on board along with a full-time estimator.
"Once we got through the second year, we made some changes that really helped us stabilize as a company," said Hanson. "Since then, it's been steady growth each year."
Twelve years later, Crow River has around 60 employees and completes projects in a five-state area, focusing on sewer and water reconstruction projects.
Accidental Diversification
Crow River's second major growth spurt started in 2019, but it wasn't intentional. Hanson and his family's home was right next to the shop. They decided they needed some space, so they bought a new home with an acreage.
Then, fate intervened.
"My wife wanted a garden, so I took an excavator and was digging," Hanson recalled. "Once I took the top layer of soil off, it was nothing but rock. Then, my curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to find out just how much rock there was."
Photo courtesy of RMS
Suddenly, the garden project was on hold, and Crow River was on the verge of diversification.
"By the fall of 2020, I had 30,000 tons of rock sitting in my front yard — and no garden," quipped Hanson. "I only had a permit to keep the rock in my yard for two years. I called a local ready-mix plant, but they weren't interested in it at the time. I didn't ever want to start an aggregate division, but I had the material."
In true Crow River fashion, the company made it work — and fast.
"We had an employee who had ready-mix experience, and he put together a list of everything we'd need to be successful," said Hanson. "About a week later, he got me a list. Two weeks later, we bought a piece of property. In December, we bought six trucks. The construction crew stripped them down to the frames and made them into ready-mix trucks. We got a plant on April 10, and we were pouring concrete on April 26."
His wife's would-be garden sparked a diversification that resulted in Crow River adding two new divisions and a 160-acre aggregate pit. Today, Crow River has five dedicated divisions: Underground Utilities and Excavation, Ready-Mix, Aggregate Production, Metal Fabrication and Calcium Chloride.
As for the garden?
"We started another one, but it's only about three-quarters of the way done," laughed Hanson.
RMS Partners in Growth
At each opportunity for growth, Crow River required equipment. Road Machinery & Supplies Co. was there to help.
In 2013, Crow River needed a larger excavator to complete the $2.3 million project. RMS provided the company with a Komatsu PC490LC excavator through a rental purchase option (RPO).
When Hanson needed to process the rock in his garden, he again turned to RMS for an Astec GT205S screen plant.
Photo courtesy of RMS
"When I need something, the first thing I type into my phone is RMS, and there's usually someone's name after it that can help me," said Hanson. "They were there for us from the start. RMS is always looking for solutions for us, and we appreciate that and trust them."
The relationship has resulted in several Komatsu construction pieces and Astec crushers, screens and wash plants in the Crow River equipment fleet.
When Crow River was ready to integrate technologically advanced pieces into its fleet, it again turned to RMS for Komatsu's intelligent Machine Control (iMC) equipment. The first iMC purchase was a D39PXi dozer in 2018. The company recently purchased a PC490LCi-11 IMC excavator and two D51PXi-24 IMC dozers.
"[RMS territory manager] Mike Buchanan and [RMS technology solutions expert] Chris Potter have been great," said Hanson. "They went to a job site in North Dakota this spring to train our crews and did a quick demo to get them started. It's new to us, so that was very helpful that they came all that way to make sure we were able to get the most out of it."
"The D39PXi purchase was something we needed to make because of our project list," said Lien. "We wanted to add excavators, but we weren't sure it made sense. Mike met with us and showed us where we could recoup the cost. After that, it made a lot more sense to get the PC490LCi."
"Having GPS technology in the dozers made it easier to add the intelligent excavator," said Hanson. "Our crews understand it. They want it. It's been great."
Hanson said that through it all, RMS has been a great partner
"Our crews all have Mike's and Chris' numbers," said Hanson. "Our mechanics are in touch with their service teams. The open communication is great. We see RMS as an extension of our business. They are invested in us like they are our employees."
Continued Growth
Hanson doesn't have a plan for specific, large-scale growth in the immediate future. If the company's history is any indication, he won't turn away from any opportunity.
"Right now, we are focused on steady growth through all of our divisions," said Hanson. "We never have been too concerned with growing just to grow, but if an opportunity comes up, we'll definitely take a look at it."
*From RMS: The opinions expressed here are from the end user as quoted. The results described herein are those of these end users under certain conditions. Individual results may vary.
(This article is reprinted with permission of Road Machinery & Supplies Co.)
This story also appears on Aggregate Equipment Guide.
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