The A List - Excavators

Industry Outlook

Buried by economic times

Wisconsin excavating contractors might be buried in bills soon if slow economic conditions continue.

Tom Bondowski, executive director of the Wisconsin Excavators and Graders Association, said many excavators were in search of work this summer. Some firms are barely hanging on, he said.

“All the building industry has come way down,” he said. “There is not a lot going on down there.”

Bondowski said excavators hit hardest by the recent economic fallout are those that primarily do land development work.

Bondowski said underground utility contractors serve as the lone bright spot in the industry. Sewers are always in need of repair, he said.

The slowdown in excavation hits construction equipment dealers as hard as contractors, said Bondowski, who worked for 20 years as an equipment salesman.

He said rental business increases during slow times, though.

“People rent a piece of equipment for a short job without the monthly payments,” Bondowski said.

Excavating contractors keep busy by taking care of equipment and other in-house responsibilities during slow times, Bondowski said.

“When the economy slows down it affects us all,” he said.

Wanasek’s success is no secret

Wanasek Corp. workers prepare the future site of a CarMax auto dealership.	John Wanasek, president of Wanasek Corp., accepts the national community service award from the National Underground Contractors Association in 2003.

Family, community, leadership drive excavation firm

John Wanasek, president of Wanasek Corp., always felt like he’d settle in with the family business.

He waited until after the Burlington excavating firm survived a crunch in the late 1970s and early 1980s and until he had the proper education before he dug in though.

“I enjoyed working with my dad on Saturdays,” Wanasek said of his childhood. “I enjoyed working with my family.”

Wanasek Corp. provides specialized excavating services, focusing on utility work and site grading.

The firm completes most of its work in southeastern Wisconsin, from Lake Michigan west to the Walworth and Rock county lines, and north into Washington County.

Wanasek said he likes the diversification of the business.

“We may be on the same job on and off for a year,” he said, “So we do a lot of everything, from larger jobs to smaller jobs. The scenery’s always changing.”

Wanasek does enjoy one consistency of his job though: the quality of his coworkers.

Wanasek Corp. employs about 65.

“Our people that we have working for us are very important to us,” Wanasek said. “They are the people who are out there working everyday.”

Wanasek said his firm is a community-focused company.

“Our community’s very important to us,” Wanasek said. “We value our employees, and the relationships with our long-term customers, and the community from the United States to the state of Wisconsin to Racine County and down to the city of Burlington.”

TEC, a firm that brings business owners and chief executives together to help firms maximize potential, is part of Wanasek’s community.

Wanasek said he is connected to a group of professionals — from a variety of fields — through nine yearly TEC meetings he attends, plus TEC’s interactive international Web site, www.vistage.com.

“TEC is a sounding board for ideas,” he said “and to help others who might have problems in their business and personal life.”

TEC has a 51-year history in Wisconsin.

The firm features an executive roundtable, of an impartial board of business advisers.

“Hopefully [the roundtable] gives them reduced risk by getting candid, direct feedback on major decisions from the group,” said Michele Bernstein, TEC’s director of marketing. “It’s an exciting learning environment, sitting with 10 to 16 other presidents, CEOs and business owners. We show them ways to cut costs and save time. The rewards are that they’re a better business leader.”

Bernstein said business leaders have a need to connect with other people.

Strict confidentiality in the meetings allows everyone to speak comfortably about business and personal problems so solutions can be found, she said.

“It’s lonely at the top,” Bernstein said. “The head of a company has no one to talk to. Members can talk about anything and everything.”

Wanasek said TEC gives his small business a board of directors.

“No matter what business you’re in, all businesses relate through people,” Wanasek said. “Eighty percent of your problems in business deal with people, whether it be customers, employees, suppliers. TEC is helping me to be a better leader and, in turn, it helps my business.”