Digging in for the Long Haul

Third-generation excavator Jim Jolley said this year is the worst he's ever seen.

"We are bidding projects for less money than my dad bid in the 1970s and still not getting them," said Jolley, co-owner of Rogersville-based commercial excavator Jolley Excavating Inc.

Jolley, who co-owns the business with his wife, Vicki, declined to disclose revenues, but he said they've dropped by 75 percent this year.

He said the business typically has 12 to 20 projects under contract in a year, but so far in 2009, they've only contracted for five small jobs that range from $25,000 to $50,000 apiece.

The company has cut its work force by two-thirds to 10 employees.

"We're trying to keep the most loyal and hardworking employees," said Dan Jolley, Jim's brother, who does estimating and clerical work, sharing the duties with Jim's daughter, Karen Leighton.

"Most of the time when I ask (my dad's) opinion on bidding a project, he tells me to just 'Bid it fair, cover your cost and you will always be in business,'" Leighton said.

Jim Jolley said that economic pressures and fewer jobs to bid have saturated the excavating sector to the point that prices have fallen as much as 30 percent.

"Some bad apples have spoiled the marketplace ... by bidding so low," he said. "We hope that as business picks up, prices will come back to a more normal range so we can make some money. Right now, it's not so."

General contractor Walton Construction has used Jolley Excavating for several projects at Partnership Industrial Center, said Springfield division President Rick Quint. Other Walton projects featuring Jolley's excavation work include Evangel University's Riggs Hall and the building that now houses Chase Card Services at 303 E. Republic Road.

"They're very dedicated, caring, honest (and) trustworthy," Quint said.

These days, Jolley's staff is hot on the trail of new work, looking to bid on potential jobs daily.

General contractors request excavating bids and send blueprints that show existing topography as well as the new grades needed for the building projects.

By looking at how the land will have to change, the company is able to determine its cost, Dan Jolley said.

By using a computer program, they can determine the cubic yards of dirt that need to be removed to accomplish the finished grades. Variables such as trees, existing asphalt and the removal of any existing buildings also are taken into consideration, and regular site visits help mitigate any unforeseen obstacles.

"We prepare what is considered subgrade for all the other trades to come in and finish their scope of work," Jolley said.

In the Ozarks, limestone is a common obstacle - one that's not only difficult, but also expensive to work through.

"You either have to blast, or if it's by buildings, you have to use an excavator with a hydraulic rock-breaking attachment, which is very expensive to buy and to maintain due to the destructiveness of breaking hard limestone," Jolley said.

With a price tag of $300,000, an excavator is the most expensive piece of equipment in Jolley Excavating's earth-moving arsenal, and the costs of rebuilding a shattered attachment can run between $5,000 and $20,000, Jolley said.

Bulldozers, backhoes, scrapers and compactors also are among the company's 30 pieces of heavy equipment.

Modern-day equipment - and its costs - are a far cry from the days of the Jolleys' grandfather, Nugent Jolley, who in 1932 was atop a 20-mule-team-led grader that required another man to turn the wheels and blades to move dirt for New Mexico roads.

The second generation was Jim and Dan's father, James, who founded Jolley & Sons in 1972. That business excavated the site of CoxHealth's south hospital.

Jim Jolley founded Jolley Excavating in 1990. Its jobs include several Springfield Public Schools, including Cherokee Middle School and Wanda Gray and Weaver elementary schools.

Up next for Jolley crews are excavation for St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic church on South Gregg Road in Nixa, a Federal Emergency Management Agency Shelter in Seymour and an addition to the Greene County Archives building.

Still, Jim Jolley doesn't see business turning around until the middle of 2010 or 2011, based on surveys done by large-equipment companies Komatsu and Caterpillar.

Komatsu compiles industry information to plan for future manufacturing, said Jim Whitworth, vice president and manager of Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., which has had business ties with Jolley for more than two decades.

Whitworth said Komatsu anticipates industry recovery in the Midwest during the middle or the end of next year, with the Northeast leading by a few months. That recovery will hinge on home construction, commercial building, municipal business, and highway and road work, he said.