Unearthing a Gem
McDonald Excavating Inc. impresses with every opportunity
As senior project manager for McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy), Kyle Becker had a firsthand look at how McDonald Excavating Inc. (McDonald) goes about its business.
And he liked what he saw.
So much so, in fact, that when asked if he would want to work with the Washougal, Washington, company again, the answer was as resounding as it was swift.
“I worked side-by-side with them on a daily basis at the job site, and I would absolutely use them again,” Becker says. “In fact, we’re thinking now of how to write them into proposals to add value. They do great work.”
The project McDonald Excavating and McCarthy worked on was a joint effort between McCarthy’s Sacramento branch and Andersen Construction of Portland. Together, the two major companies hired McDonald to perform the excavating for the new $190 million Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. The project involved removing contaminated and hazardous chemicals, which McDonald Excavating has expertise in handling. Becker said what stood out was how McDonald’s team was constantly looking for ways to improve service and found ways to more efficiently store materials and reduce excavating time.
“We were looking up front for a firm that could help us with the design, and they were fantastic,” Becker says. “They continued to find ways to do things differently and bring in more value. In the end, they basically gave money back from their budget to the project.”
Problem Solvers in Diverse Situations
McDonald Excavating was founded by Ryan’s dad, Mike McDonald, in 1980 as a demolition and excavation firm.
It has expanded its services to include site preparation, earthwork, grading, underground utility work, demolition and remediation for residential subdivision developments as well as large commercial building projects.
These are good days for McDonald Excavating, according to company President Ryan McDonald.
Based in a suburb of Portland, the company has earned its reputation in the Pacific Northwest as a go-to excavating company for small and large projects. Besides the new Knight Cancer Institute, some of the projects the company has completed include the following:
- The McDonald team was called upon to assist with the Lacamas Lane slide repair in the city of Camas when heavy winter rains caused a landslide to cover the road with tons of slide material. It also cleared 8,000 cubic yards of slide material from a landslide on State Route 501 leading into Ridgefield, Washington, and moved 11,000 tons of stabilization rock to reopen the road to the public in just 27 days.
- It completed excavation of the first phase of the future Bond Avenue, which runs between the western abutment of the Tilikum Crossing Bridge/Porter Street and SW River Parkway in Portland, moving three ultrablock gravity walls totaling 1,188 linear feet and ranging from 10- to 20-feet tall. To complete the work, 78,000 tons of imported granular fill were placed.
- One signature project is the 119th Street reconstruction in Clark County, Washington. “We were the prime contractor for this $6.5 million project,” McDonald says. “It included a full road reconstruction for about 1 mile of roadway, including storm, sewer and water pipe installation as well as grading, sidewalks, curbs and asphalt paving.”
- The La Center, Washington, roundabout was another challenging project that involved the replacement of a busy intersection with a roundabout-style traffic management option. “This is the entrance to the city and included some artwork, as well as higher quality finishes than most public projects,” McDonald says. “The outcome was excellent both functionally and aesthetically.”
McDonald says the people are what make his company special. They enjoy working on solving problems and finding solutions as a team. David Hatfield has been the company’s office manager the past 20 years and is so dedicated, he recently showed up at work four days after having major surgery. “Of course, we sent him home,” McDonald says, “but that is the type of dedication and care for this company that our employees have. Amazing.”
Two other key employees are project manager/estimator Mike Logan, who joined in 201l, and Tom Kennon, the general superintendent. “I don’t know how to describe Mike other than he is a winner,” McDonald says. “This guy is the most genuine, honest and humble individual you would ever meet. I actually aspire to be like him. Tom, he is the muscle of our team. He gets stuff done and has built a team of superintendents who look up to him. That’s a true testament to his character and influence.”
The EOS Way
Still in its original location, the company will soon be moving to a much larger yard and building. Ryan says they purchased property about a year ago at the Port of Camas-Washougal Industrial Park, approximately a mile from its current location.
The company’s growth is reflected in Ryan McDonald’s own growth as a leader.
For years, he says, he struggled to delegate responsibility. Once he learned to trust his co-workers, he says life got easier. “Several years ago, we felt that we were hitting the ceiling as a company, and there were many areas of the business where I simply wouldn’t let the control go,” McDonald says. “We began a journey called EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). It’s a way of structuring and operating your business around a leadership team, departments and, most of all, core values. It has been quite the transition, but for the good.
“I believe everyone is involved at some level and has clarity on the directions and objectives of the company,” he adds.
Making Eutopia
Because of the changes made with EOS, McDonald Excavating is on the rise. It now has six or seven crews out at any one time, even more in the summer construction season. And Ryan McDonald sees the opportunities continuing to grow.
“My father started out creating a machine/fabrication shop, which was part of his background. He also had a background in civil construction,” McDonald says. “The company has gone from a 10-man operation, doing $1 million to $2 million annually, to 50 employees and roughly $16 million in annual revenues—and growing.”
McDonald believes in being open and candid with his staff. If a project makes money or loses money, he shares the information. He wants them to know they are all a part of the company’s success or failure.
“The biggest satisfaction I get is growing from a company with 10 people to 50 with secure and meaningful careers. I take a lot of pride in that,” McDonald says. “We feed 50 families, and we are growing. It’s a big burden to have that many families depending on you, but there is a lot of joy in sustaining that success.
“We have a saying from EOS Life that we use all the time and I preach it: ‘Doing what we love with people that we love, making a difference, compensated appropriately, with time for other passions. If we can achieve that in construction, we’ve made Eutopia.’ ”