Business Spotlight: Herion Co. Inc.

Two brothers had more than a pipe dream when it came to opening their company in 2003.

Randall and David Herion have southwest Missouri roots and work experience that dovetailed neatly into underground utility pipe construction, which they provide through Fordland-based Herion Co. Inc.

Randall Herion, a mechanical engineer, brought his knowledge and the experience he gained as a power trader for Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. to the venture, and David Herion added his years of construction and road-building to the mix.

"It was something we'd talked about for quite a while," Randall Herion says. "We got busy and did some research that convinced us there was a market for more underground pipeline construction here in southwest Missouri."

And it seems he was right: "So far, 98 percent of our work has been right here in Springfield and outlying areas," he adds.

A military tribute

Visitors to Fordland cannot miss Herion's headquarters. A big flag - one the Herions believe is the largest in southwest Missouri - flies above the city on a 135-foot pole in front of the building.

That flag was raised during an Oct. 23 ceremony honoring three military men who are close to the Herion brothers. One is their father, Bruce Herion, a Vietnam veteran. The second is Greg Rummel, also a Vietnam vet, who works in the business. The third is Christopher Herion, their 23-year-old brother who is about to be deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Army.

"We put it up for them, and we put it up because of what that flag means to us," says David Herion. "And since it's been up, we've gotten all kinds of letters, calls, and even notes stuck on the chain-link fence from people who say they really appreciate seeing it and knowing why it's there."

Steady experience

Although Herion Co. started small with eight employees, it has grown to a staff of 18.

The company's repertoire includes work on the trunk sewer and cooling lines for the James River Power Station; sewer work and asphalt street overlay for Ozark's Stonegate subdivision; gravity sewer system work for Partnership Industrial Center; sewer extension for St. John's Hospital; grading, paving and storm drain improvements for the U.S. Forest Service Lookout Road site; and utility work for Springfield-Branson National Airport's midfield terminal site.

One of Herion's biggest jobs - and one that David Herion says is "a little unusual" - is installing site utilities for City Utilities' Southwest Power Plant II.

"When this job is complete, we'll produce 300,000 kilowatts of electricity," says Rod Spence, mechanical engineer with CU. "It's a big job and requires a lot of big equipment. For instance, we had to have several different kinds of piping, and we needed 84-inch concrete pipe to circulate water to the condenser. That's big pipe, even in the industry."

Spence estimated that 20 feet of that pipe weighed nearly 50,000 pounds, and David Herion said the company had to bring in a larger crane from Kansas City to handle it.

Putting in the water and gas lines for the airport's midfield terminal required Herion Co. to do plenty of dirt work, but the company was up to the challenge, according to David Foreman, project manager for APAC-Missouri.

"Herion handled the paving as well as extensive water lines, including those out to the plane parking sites, and hydrants," Foreman says.

"We use them a lot and can always depend on them," he added.

Under the Ozarks hills

The Herions grew up in Diggins, where David Herion says they learned a lot about what lies underneath the hills and valleys of southwest Missouri - and that knowledge is helpful in their work today.

"You can tell quite a bit about what's underneath by the kind of trees that grow in the area, and the type of rocks you find on the surface, and the general location of the building site," he says. "The land in this part of the country is not very consistent. For instance, you may go through a stretch of relatively easy excavating, then suddenly hit a shelf of solid limestone. So it helps quite a bit to have a general idea of what to expect."

Core drilling is one method Herion Co. uses to learn more about what its crews will encounter underground.

"We drill down several feet and pull up a sample plug. That lets us know what to expect when we actually begin excavation," he adds.

While the Herions declined to disclose revenues, Randall Herion says the company has several projects pending, including a power plant road project in Forsyth and a 10-mile gas pipeline for CU.

"Still, we can't help but see some signs of a rocky economy," he says. "For instance, we bid on a job recently where there would normally be four or five bids. But 15 bids came in, some from as far away as Kansas City."