Site Services Group LLC

Site Services Group LLC delivers a decade of experience in design-build services

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.

Ken Aston, owner/director

“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.”

Jim Gaidula, PE, owner/director

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.

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.

“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 were from the Netherlands and were used to working in softer material, while we had more experience in the rock,” continued Aston. “We decided to precast the foundations. We were able to set 40 to 50 precast foundations 8 feet deep and 36 inches in diameter per day. In total, we set 1,124 foundations well ahead of schedule. The people that had been building the greenhouses for 20 years were flabbergasted.”

To complete the work, Site Services Group utilized its fleet of Komatsu equipment, including a PC390LC excavator with aftermarket GPS technology.

“The GPS technology on the 390 allowed us to load files into the excavator’s system to help maximize our operator’s efficiency,” explained Aston. “Without any stakes on the ground, the operator could dig a precise hole horizontally and vertically. Then they would put down subbase material, place the precast foundation and move on to the next hole. All of that was possible because of the GPS technology.”

An operator moves material with a D61PXi-24 intelligent Machine Control (iMC) dozer. “I’ve been running equipment for most of my life, and I personally feel the Komatsu D61 iMC dozer is the best grading dozer I’ve ever operated,” stated Ken Aston, owner of Site Services Group. “The slanted nose, central cab and slightly larger C frame provide excellent blade visibility.”

Aston emphasized that utilizing GPS technology, even on its older model dozers, greatly reduced the cost of labor and improved operator efficiency.

“You can’t be competitive without GPS equipment,” stated Aston. “A job site this size would have required three people on the ground constantly checking grade. Giving our operators screens and controls to know where they are on a job site and what the project is supposed to look like allowed us to remove the grade stakes and let our operators make every move count.”

Site Services Group’s fleet of Komatsu equipment helps it attack multiple aspects of the project’s scope.

“We’re using our two D61PXi dozers to push material to max efficiency,” noted Aston. “We have two PC390 excavators, a PC490 excavator and a PC650 excavator on-site to load material. At the peak of site prep, we were loading our HM400 and HM350 articulated trucks with 12,000 yards of material a day.”

For Aston, the Komatsu D61PXi-24 intelligent Machine Control (iMC) dozers outperform the competition.

“I’ve been running equipment for most of my life, and I personally feel that the Komatsu D61 iMC dozer is the best grading dozer I’ve ever operated,” stated Aston. “The slanted nose, central cab and slightly larger C frame provide excellent blade visibility. When combined with the machine’s GPS capabilities, our operators can meet tolerances within a quarter inch.”

Site Services Group owner Ken Aston (left) works closely with Komatsu sales representative Tim Reilly to find the right machines. “We’ve had so few problems with our Komatsu machines that it seems like the only time I have to talk to Tim is when I need to rent a machine or purchase a new one,” said Aston. “When my partner and I started this company, we didn’t have a lot of money. Tim was instrumental in getting us up and running. I would consider Tim (and Komatsu) a partner.”

Reliability and support

For Site Services Group, machine reliability and dealership support are crucial. That’s why the company partners with Komatsu and sales representative Tim Reilly.

“I’ve found the Komatsu equipment to be very dependable,” stated Aston. “Even more importantly, the team at Komatsu is reliable. We’ve worked with both the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and South Plainfield, N.J., shops. The people at both shops are very knowledgeable and will go out of their way to answer any of our questions.

“We’ve had so few problems with our Komatsu machines that it seems like the only time I have to talk to Tim is when I need to rent a machine or purchase a new one,” continued Aston. “When my partners and I started this company, we didn’t have a lot of money. Tim was instrumental in getting us up and running. I would consider Tim a partner because we wouldn’t be able to take on a project the size of the greenhouse job without the support from him and Komatsu.”

An operator uses a Komatsu PC390LC excavator with aftermarket GPS technology to dig a trench along the foundation for a sustainable greenhouse. “Without any stakes on the ground, the operator could dig a precise hole horizontally and vertically,” said owner Ken Aston. “Then they would put down subbase material, place the precast foundation and move on to the next hole.”

Looking ahead

The future appears to be busy for Site Services Group.

“We have a full calendar through 2022 and are filling up 2023 quickly,” said Aston. “We’re still looking to grow because all of our work comes from word of mouth and repeat business, and we want to be able to deliver when a customer calls.”

Aston says that he’s ready for a power shift.

“I’m getting older and have worked crazy hours my entire life,” noted Aston. “I’m looking to slow down a little and let the younger guys have more responsibility. I’m comfortable doing that because the company is in a good place, and we’re positioned to stay that way for the foreseeable future.” ■