A Salute to a Komatsu Customer
Site Services Group LLC delivers a decade of experience in design-build services
A Ken Aston, owner/director
Jim Gaidula, PE, owner/director
As a kid, Ken Aston learned from his father’s construction company that the industry required hard work and passion to be successful. When his father retired, he ran the company with his brother, Robert. A few years later, Robert tragically passed away after being struck by lightning, and Aston reevaluated his life.
“He was my partner, and it changed everything. After I fulfilled our contracts, I had a long talk with my wife, and we decided to sell everything off. Then, I went to work for a major developer, which is where I met my current business partner.”
About 10 years ago, Aston founded Site Services Group LLC with his partner, Jim Gaidula, PE. By combining Aston’s experience in the field and his business partner’s background in civil engineering, the firm took a unique approach to the industry. “We’re a design-build firm that can do everything in-house,” explained Aston. “From civil engineering, through permitting and taking a job site to final grade, we’re involved in every aspect. Not only does that make us more efficient, but it strengthens our relationships with our customers because they only have to make one call instead of dealing with multiple subcontractors.”
With an office in Moosic, Pa., the company serves private and public clients throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Aston notes that Site Services Group’s approximately 40 employees are pivotal to their success. “We’re a team,” stated Aston. “It’s important for me to be hands-on and keep projects moving in the right direction, but I trust our guys to be focused and busy. We operate in a fast-paced environment and rely on each other to reach deadlines. Our customers have been satisfied and continue to turn to us for repeat work.”
Smart machines to build a smart greenhouse Recently, Site Services Group began building a greenhouse for a sustainable agriculture company. When completed, the greenhouse will use completely automated processes, allowing a seed to grow into a head of lettuce in 28 days. The firm broke ground on the project in the spring of 2021 and are nearly finished.
“We cleared roughly 44 acres and 250,000 yards of material,” said Aston. “Approximately 80% of that was rock. Luckily, I have a background in blasting, and we were able to move the material to start foundation work by June of last year. “The greenhouse company contracted us for the foundation work because the workers building the physical greenhouse structures
At its sustainable greenhouse job site, Site Services Group utilized its Komatsu PC650LC excavator to load large quantities of material into its fleet of Komatsu HM350 and HM400 articulated trucks.
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