A Salute to a Komatsu Customer
Ryan Dustin, owner of Aspen Earthworks Inc., loves dirt work, says, “I have not worked a day in my life!”
R Ryan Dustin, owner/president
Greg Sutton, vice president of operations
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Ryan Dustin’s uncle got him “hooked” on moving dirt the first time he ran a piece of earthmoving equipment. “He showed me a roller during summer vacation, asked if I thought I could operate it, and said, ‘Get to rolling,’” explained Dustin, owner and president of Aspen Earthworks Inc. “I’ve pretty much been moving dirt ever since.”
A couple of decades later, Dustin still has the same passion for earthmoving. “I have not worked a day in my life!” Dustin exclaimed. “I love the profession, I love the people in it, and I love the satisfaction of seeing my work at the end of the day. There is nothing like taking on projects and doing each one better than the one before.” About six years ago, Dustin went out on his own and founded Aspen Earthworks in Truckee, Calif., — where his uncle’s business was based. Approximately 20 co-workers from the firm he left joined him in the new venture. They mainly concentrated on house pads as well as small utility and grading jobs.
“Having a staff with their experience gave us the ability to take on multiple projects right out of the gate, so Aspen got a fast start,” recalled Dustin. “Fortunately, we were based out of a fairly recession-proof bubble around Truckee and Lake Tahoe, so there was a lot of work. We continued to build on that early success, and the projects,
An Aspen Earthworks operator digs a utility trench with a Komatsu PC210LCi-11 intelligent Machine Control (iMC) excavator. “Because the excavators won’t let you dig past target elevation, we don’t have to replace and compact material or put in extra bedding,” said Greg Sutton, vice president of operations. “Our costs savings have been substantial. Add with less staking, and our profitability is even better with iMC.”
our list of services and our repeat-customer list all got bigger.”
Dustin estimated that about 70% of the 15 to 20 projects that Aspen Earthworks is working on at any given time are for clients he and his staff have built long-term relationships with. The remaining 30% are strict hard-bid jobs for new customers. In both cases, Aspen Earthworks offers a turnkey solution to customers’ sitework needs. “We now perform everything horizontal — from clearing, stripping and silt fence installation to putting down asphalt and concrete,” said Dustin. “In between, we provide mass earthwork, put utilities in and prep the base for paving. Customers appreciate that we handle such a large scope of work because it reduces their need to coordinate multiple contractors. We like it because it gives us better schedule control, and it has increased our profitability relative to when we started.”
A big move
Dustin entered the Reno, Nev., market about three and half years ago. Within a few months, he decided that would be Aspen Earthworks’ new home.
“Reno is an amazing market that continues to grow,” Dustin said. “There is plenty of work to keep us busy in town, and within about a 45-minute drive. Nearly all of it is large multifamily, commercial and industrial construction. Only about 5% of what we do anymore is private residential, which is a major shift from when we started out. He continued, “When we moved here, our revenue was around $10 million annually. It’s now about six times that.”
In order to meet demand, Dustin has steadily increased his staff. Today, he has a payroll of about 200, and he credits his employees for much of Aspen Earthworks’ success. Recent key additions include Greg Sutton, vice president of operations, who is mainly overseeing logistics, project management and equipment maintenance.
Getting to grade faster
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Dustin and Sutton both said Komatsu’s equipment and support have been crucial to Aspen Earthworks’ success. In its early
