Scott Morgan, the owner and the president of Ark Wrecking Co. of Oklahoma Inc., didn’t intend to get into heavy demolition when he graduated from Oklahoma State University in the early 1980s and started a home construction and remodeling business. A call from an old acquaintance, Ark Wrecking founder Tom Cody, changed his trajectory.
“He asked me if I would be interested in dismantling a hospital in Arkansas that he couldn’t do,” recalled Scott. “My dad and Tom were good friends, so I knew him well; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have said yes. I also wanted to see what doing a demo job was like. My four-man crew and I spent about three months getting it done. It proved to be a successful venture, and my guys liked doing it.”
Due to his team’s interest, Scott started his own company focused on interior demolition. For the next several years, he and his crew also performed dismantling projects as a subcontractor to Ark Wrecking, which was originally called American Razing of Kansas. The name was altered when Tom moved operations from Wichita, Kan., to Tulsa in the 1970s after getting a contract to tear down houses to make way for the Broken Arrow Expressway. When Tom sold the business in the mid-1990s, Scott figured that was the end of his relationship with Ark Wrecking.
“One of the new owners asked me if we could help with a project they were in a bind on, and we did,” said Scott. “A few months later, he asked me to buy into Ark, so I became an owner in 2000. We combined my crew with Ark’s eight guys, and things took off. Ark went from doing about $2 million to $4 million the next year, and we kept doubling our revenue every year for quite a while. The other owners left over the years, and I eventually became the sole owner about 10 years ago.”
Experts in their field
Scott leads a team of experts with a wealth of experience in their respective crafts, including Project Manager Chris Lebow and Project Manager/Estimator Brent Morgan, who is Scott’s nephew. Tasked with keeping Ark Wrecking’s fleet in top shape are Shop Supervisor Dustin Morgan, who is Scott’s son, and Chief Mechanic Huey Colbert. In total, the company has 42 full-time staff members and about 60 temps.
Ark Wrecking’s workload is fairly evenly split between interior and full demolition projects that involve complete structural teardowns. Interior projects range from selective removals to structural shoring and are exclusively done in the commercial market.
On the full demolition side, the company does everything from removing a shed and razing a single-story home to dismantling industrial facilities such as refineries and water treatment plants.
“Tanks, towers, bridges, grain silos, right-of-way clearance for railroads and the Department of Transportation, all types of buildings — you name it, we have done it,” stated Chris. “Occasionally, we do an implosion and removal as well. In addition to demolition, we also offer land clearing.”
Brent added, “Our diversity, with the ability to do interior and full demo and work in a lot of markets, is a real strength. Another is that we have a great group of versatile people who can work on any type of project.”
Razing with Komatsu
Ark Wrecking typically has 15 to 20 projects in production at any one time and mainly works within a 150-mile radius of Tulsa. It will occasionally venture out farther for large jobs such as the implosion and removal of two dorms and a common area at the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln about six years ago.
To complete that project, Ark Wrecking acquired its first Komatsu excavator, a PC290LC-11 equipped with a quick coupler to easily switch out attachments such as processers, shears, hammers and buckets. For nearly a year, operators used the excavator to tear down the common area between the two tall dorms as well as sort and load materials during that operation and after the implosion.
Scott commented, “Implosion brings a building to the ground; it doesn’t take it apart. Once we did the implosion, there was a 50-foot pile of rubble. We put the PC290 on top of it and ripped the building apart, as well as loaded trucks. We’re using earthmoving equipment to tear down buildings, which involves ripping down and cutting steel I-beams that are 24 inches thick, as well as concrete structures with beams and rebar. Our application is hard on equipment, and the PC290 stood the test and continues to do so.”
Ark Wrecking still uses the 70,000-pound-plus PC290LC-11 for heavy mass demolition projects and recently acquired a new 50,000-pound-plus Komatsu PC210LC-11 excavator as well as a 28,000-pound-plus Komatsu PC130LC-11 excavator for lighter jobs. The company uses the PC210LC-11 when taking down large houses, small commercial building and pavement removal. Small houses of less than 1,000 square feet, sheds and other small structures are razed with the PC130LC-11.
“We got our feet wet in terms of Komatsu with the PC290, and it’s been flawless as far as I’m concerned,” said Chris. “We used another brand for a long time in the PC210’s class size. The performance of the PC290 gave us confidence to go with Komatsu. The performance of the new machines has been excellent.”
Scott added, “We really like the PC130 because its size allows us to easily move it without a permit, and at the same time, its power gives us the ability to get the job done.”
Huey and Dustin keep track of the equipment with the Komtrax telematics system. Both said they appreciate Komatsu Care, which provides complimentary scheduled service done by Komatsu distributor technicians for the first 2,000 hours or three years no matter where the machines are located.
“It’s a good fleet management tool, because I can see how many hours are on a machine and know when it’s getting close to needing service,” said Huey. “I also like that I get alerted when there is a code, so we can respond to it right away if needed. Komatsu Care lets us focus on other things and not think about the services because we know they are getting done on time. It came in particularly handy when we were working on the Nebraska job.”
Ark Wrecking bought its Komatsu excavators, as well as a Komatsu D61EX dozer it uses for clearing and backfilling, from Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. (KSM) with the assistance of Territory Manager Dan Rutz. Dan also helps with rentals as needed, and he assisted Ark Wrecking with the purchase of Trail King trailers, which the company uses to move equipment.
“Customer service is a big factor in our equipment decisions,” stated Dustin. “What we do is tough, and things break. Having someone you can rely on to have parts and help with repairs as needed to minimize our downtime, so we can keep ripping, is essential. Kirby-Smith takes care of us.”
Scott added, “I have known Dan for a long time, and he’s always been good about matching our equipment to our specifications, such as getting reversing fans put on a machine or ensuring the needed hydraulics to run attachments are installed in the machines.”
Not done growing
Scott plans to retire at the end of this year, so Chris, Dustin and Brent will take ownership of Ark Wrecking. They plan to keep expanding the company and reach new markets.
“The demolition industry itself will continue to grow as the country ages,” said Chris. “That creates opportunities for companies like us, and we’re prepared to handle them.”
*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.
