North Texas contractor’s move to start his own earthwork and paving business pays off as it grows along with the DFW metroplex

    Seven years ago, Chris Harp’s wife, Penny, came across a book that he had written some ideas in, including where he saw himself in 10 years. “I’d like to have my own business,” was one he had jotted down.

“She found it about a year after I started Chris Harp Construction, so it was exciting to see,” recalled Chris. “I wasn’t far off from my target. The nice thing was I had some clients that had been asking me about going out on my own because they thought I could service them better that way. I reached out to a good friend of mine who owns a civil engineering firm about doing it, and he said, ‘Man, I’ve been waiting for you to call me.’”

Chris teamed up with his friend, and the two started doing small excavation jobs with rented equipment. The first year had exponential growth, according to Chris. His plan was to get to $50 million in revenue in 10 years. They hit that mark in four.

“It became a challenge to keep up, but we knew we could do it if we could keep our head up and keep pushing through,” said Chris. “The economy and the market were good. It was just a matter of getting our arms wrapped around everything. We did, and eventually he decided to move on. I bought him out a couple of years ago and became the sole owner.”

Today, several members of the Harp family are involved in the Nevada, Texas-based business. Penny works part time, as does the Harps’ daughter Abbie. Their son Aaron is a project manager, their son Jacob is an estimator, and their daughter Hannah is a contract administrator. Additional key personnel on the approximately 260-member staff include Vice President of Operations Clay Myre and Vice President of Estimating Brian Cottle.

Experience pays off

    Chris had plenty of experience in construction before going out on his own. He grew up around his dad’s commercial contracting business and started full time in the industry right out of high school in 1992, going to work for a company that performed sitework and concrete construction in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. After 11 years, he took a job with another company and worked his way up from an operator to the vice president of operations.

“They were very similar to what Chris Harp Construction does today — residential development that includes everything from clearing and stripping to mass excavation to final grade of lots and roads,” explained Chris, noting that Chris Harp Construction does not do utility installation. “After the first year, we added concrete paving and bought a new portable batch plant to supply concrete to our projects. Today, we have four that we move around as needed. We like that we can control the production and quality ourselves.”

The ability to deliver full earthwork packages and concrete paving has helped Chris Harp Construction develop a sizable list of repeat customers it works for in and around the DFW metroplex. Chris estimated that the company works on 45 to 50 subdivision projects annually, with the average contract size being between $1.5 million and $2 million.

“We do strictly concrete and strictly earthwork jobs, but it’s our preference to do projects that involve both,” commented Chris. “It’s our belief that it’s an advantage that leads to a better-quality product at the end of the day. Our customers tend to agree and like the convenience of dealing with one contractor to handle all of that. We have tried our best to stay in the subdivision sector for the most part, and fortunately with the DFW market the way it is, we have been able to do that. We have done some highway work and poured airport runways as well.”

Excellent products, service

    As Chris Harp Construction grew, it transitioned away from renting and began purchasing equipment. The firm turned to Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. (KSM) for Komatsu and WIRTGEN GROUP products, as well as parts and service support. Chris and Equipment Manager Jason Yager work closely with KSM Territory Managers Matt Probey and David Cucinelli as well as Product Support Sales Representative (PSSR) Karl Kumpf.

“Our relationship has been fantastic, the service is great, and most importantly, the equipment is doing what it’s supposed to be doing and performing very well,” declared Chris. “We’re able to get the pieces of equipment that we need. Kirby-Smith is a large company, but you still have that feeling that you’re being treated personally. That’s very important to us.”

Chris Harp Construction recently purchased a new Komatsu WA475-10 wheel loader to supplement a batch plant, and KSM provided classroom and on-site instruction to the company’s operators.

“It’s a little different than the WA320s that we have used for a long time,” said Jason. “With that initial training, the operators picked things up right away, and the WA475 has been a great addition to our fleet. We typically use our Komatsu loaders on the paving side, and they are pretty much bulletproof.”

Chris Harp Construction relies on Komatsu PC360LC excavators, Komatsu HM400 articulated haul trucks, and Komatsu D71 dozers to move dirt.

“They’ve been great machines,” stated Jason. “They are reliable, work all day long, and keep our downtime to a minimum. We run 66-inch and 70-inch buckets on the excavators. They are workhorses, and we have found the same with the D71s that are our latest Komatsu additions. They are excellent for moving massive amounts of dirt when needed and for finish grading too. They have a lot of power.”

Because Chris Harp Construction often must condition the North Texas soil, it uses recyclers/stabilizers. During the past several years, the company added WIRTGEN WR 240i cold recyclers/soil stabilizers to its fleet to get the job done.

“We ran another brand for a long time; we decided to compare their models with the WR 240i, and the WIRTGEN came out on top,” noted Jason. “They have excellent power to easily mix in the lime. The results have been fantastic as they have sped up our productivity and helped us finish jobs and get to the next one faster. One of the nicest features is the built-in air compressor for changing teeth. WIRTGEN really pays attention to the details.”

The KSM team helped Jason set up a My Komatsu account that he uses to track Chris Harp Construction’s Komatsu and WIRTGEN products.

“The ability to see everything we have from Kirby-Smith on one site is really nice,” said Jason. “I can check for alerts or codes, track hours, and order parts. It was easy to set up, and within minutes, I had it figured out. It’s a very simple system to operate. I can’t thank Matt, David, Karl, and everyone at Kirby-Smith enough. It’s a great group of people to work with.”

Building a legacy

    Chris is equally excited to look back on what he’s built and forward to what lies ahead. He’s hoping that the future includes the next generation taking over the business someday.

“I’m thankful for the journey and the experiences we have had along the way,” stated Chris. “There have been some ups and downs and hard knocks, but they have been learning opportunities too. What I learn, I try to pass on to the kids and others around me, so they can learn from it too. For me, it’s a legacy. This is about more than just how many jobs we can pick up and perform and how much money we can make. It’s about quality, good service, and building and maintaining long-term relationships. We have built to a point where we can do that, and I’m confident going forward that if we continue to focus on that, we will continue to be successful.”

*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.