RJK Contracting’s
Komatsu PC200LC-6 is
equipped with a
special bucket to move
boulders into position
at a jobsite north of
Minneapolis.
Kjellberg said RMS’s parts availability is “great” and service is good. “We’ve had them come out a couple of times and it was a pretty quick response,” he noted. “Working with Phil is easy. We have a very comfortable relationship.”
Best employee owns the company
Kjellberg credited hard work and determination for RJK Contracting’s success to date. “Ask my wife,” he said. “We put back in what we make to make the company grow. We’re comfortable with that. There’s also not much luck to this. Exactly what you put in is what you get out.”
“I want to add from my viewpoint as an estimator that what makes our company successful is that we have an owner who works every single day in the field with the guys,” stated Cox. “He’s in the trenches, he’s digging with a shovel or he’s on equipment. It certainly makes it a whole lot easier to bid jobs knowing that one of the best employees in the company owns the company. I know the job is going to get done and get done efficiently, because the owner is out there doing the work and not just supervising.
The operator of this
Komatsu D41P dozer is
leveling a lot at a new
housing area near
Minneapolis.
“We also have new and updated equipment, so our crew can be comfortable doing their job, which is important,” added Cox. “We have a small but talented core of people. It’s a pleasure to work for a company like this.”
Kjellberg says he loves his job and running his own
business. “I enjoy what I do,” he stated. “It’s not a drag
to work 16 hours a day if I have to. I don’t hunt or fish
— this is my hobby. My wife understands and works
with me hand in hand, but I’m sure there are some
days she would really rather do something else.”
Even though Kjellberg thrives on his job, he recently cut back his seven-day-a-week schedule to six. “I have a one-year-old daughter,” he smiled. “I wanted some family time with her. She’s going to be a backhoe operator. I’ve been digging a pond by our house, and I set her in my lap. She pulled my arm out of the way, grabbed the armrest, and sat there very seriously. She’s already made her claim on the backhoe.”