performs the best for its size," noted Langman. "This tractor doesn't stall. It's easy for the operators to operate. It has very few mechanical problems. We consider it to be a large tractor and a good one."
Langman's Komatsu D41 dozer has a six-way blade and is used for final grading touches on the company's excavation projects. "It's often used to move dirt along slopes, to build terraces and finalgrade dikes," Langman commented.
Langman uses the Komatsu D65 dozer on his company's larger dirt jobs, such as the mine reclamation projects. "It works great because it's very productive," he emphasized. "It will out-produce some of the bigger Brand X machines, so we use it on our main dirt jobs."
As for RMS, "we're very comfortable with their support," stated Langman. "We consider RMS one of the top two or three dealers. And I enjoy working with Gary very much."
Luck and good people
In addition to aggressively pursuing more difficult jobs, Chuck Langman credits his company's success over the years to good employees and some lucky breaks.
"Having a good team and keeping the team together has helped us thrive," said Langman. "We've also received some breaks. In the late 1970s, there was a big flood. It was a disastrous thing, but we did a half million dollars worth of work in a couple of weeks. We were able to put every piece of equipment we had out at a fair rate. It got us a tractor
An operator gets a full blade with a Komatsu D155 dozer at Langman Construction's mine reclamation project near Knoxville, Iowa.
that was desperately needed. So there have been some things that have just simply been lucky."
Along with bigger profit margins, the tough projects Langman Construction likes to tackle also bring bigger challenges. "When you take tougher jobs and make a mistake and it starts going wrong, I think one thing that has helped us is that we stick with it and get it done," stated Langman.
"We've had some jobs go south," he admitted. "As hard as it is, we hung in there, ran them to a conclusion, took the loss and went on. We've always honored our commitments and contracts. All you can do is get it done and then hope that you can pick up other jobs that will make money and get you back in the black."
Langman's daughter, Tara, a senior at the University of Notre Dame in business, is also planning to go into the industry. "I'd like to help her start her own business," said her father. "In fact I see her having her own business and doing OK. And I think my son would like to take over this one, so we could have two separate companies."
Langman's son Richard is just 13, so Chuck Langman will be at the helm of Langman Construction, Inc. for quite a few more years. That's OK with him.
"I enjoy getting up and going to work, whereas I know some people don't," said Langman. "I like being able to make decisions, buy equipment and make things happen, like a new development, once in a while. The business has also allowed me to offer job opportunities to family and friends."