WWhen it comes to moving dirt, there’s notmuch that Angora, Minnesota-based KGMContractors, Inc. can’t or won’t do. Roads,airports, landfills, treatment plants, commercialbuilding sites — if earthmoving is involved,KGM can do the job.

“We lay pipe, we crush rock, we can do almostanything a customer wants us to do — but it’salmost always associated with dirt work,” saidKGM president Karla Abramson. “Moving dirtand grading — that’s our specialty. It’s what welike, and what we do best. Sometimes we doother things because they’re necessary, forexample, crushing. If we can find a reliable rocksupplier, we’ll use him. But when we can’t, we’vegot the option of crushing our own. It’s just a wayto ensure we do the best job for our customer.”

“We’re very open-minded about the type ofwork we bid, and we’re not afraid to take ondifficult and challenging jobs,” said corporatesecretary and head estimator Mark Abramson.“With our own experience and the people we

KGM CONTRACTORS, INC.Quality work and integrity are the calling cards of this versatile, family-owned Minnesota firm

have, we’re going to figure out a way to get thejob done, and you can be assured, it’s going to bedone right.”

Being able to handle a wide range of projects isa necessity for KGM. “We don’t have a largepopulation base in northern Minnesota (Angorais only about 75 miles south of InternationalFalls),” Karla pointed out. “Therefore, we have tobe versatile and be willing to travel. In additionto working throughout Minnesota, we also bidjobs in North Dakota and Wisconsin.”

Family affair Karla and Mark are brother and sister. Two

other brothers, Gary (who serves as vicepresident and grading foreman) and Kerry(superintendent), are also active in the company.Their father, Forrest Abramson, has no officialposition, but is a VIP at KGM.

“Our dad had his own business, AbramsonConstruction, and in many ways, this is anoffshoot of that,” said Karla. “He doesn’t have atitle or any specific duties with KGM, but he isreally the guiding force around here.”

Forrest Abramson worked with his father,Emil, in the logging business before going off onhis own, starting Abramson Construction in theearly 1960s. “We got a contract to build the OrrAirport in about 1962 and just kept growingfrom there,” Forrest recalled.

Just as he had done earlier, Forrest’s childrenstarted their own company.

“We all learned from Dad,” Karla recalled. “Iwas the oldest and a girl, but I started on abulldozer, just like my brothers did. We startedKGM in the early 1980s, mostly as a truckingfirm. As we acquired more equipment, westarted doing some clearing and grubbing, so weincorporated in 1984.”

(L-R) Family membersForrest Abramson,Karla Abramson andMark Abramson worktogether at KGMContractors, Inc. Thediversified, Angora,Minn., constructioncompany specializesin all types ofearthmoving work.

A SALUTE TO AN CUSTOMER

Employees are keyKGM has grown considerably since those

early days. Today the company has about 60core employees and will double that numberduring its peak season.

“Our employees make this company what itis,” said Karla. “We have virtually no turnover.The people who work here are people we grewup with and went to school with. From ouroperators and laborers, to our supervisorypersonnel, to our office and engineering staff, wehave very talented and hardworking individualshere. They really are like part of our family.”

“We are totally convinced that we have thebest construction people in the state,” Markadded. “They care about quality as much as wedo. We count on them and they come throughfor us. And from our end, we don’t put anyceiling on what they can accomplish. We try togive our employees the opportunity to succeedand advance within the company.”

Key personnel at KGM include civil techs TomKvas and Heath Line; foremen Dan Radle, RickMalmstrom, Vick Phillips, Dan Lamphere,Randy Konickson and Bo Draper; crushingmanager Dan Soulta; shop foreman Earl Kaster;and bookkeeper Pauline Rutchasky.

“We also rely on Roger ‘Butch’ Lindgren, BillPurdy and Eino Suihkonen,” said Mark. “Theyworked for my dad for many years and alsoworked for KGM. Although they officiallyretired a few years ago, they all still come backwhen we need them to run jobs for us. Theyknow a lot and we consider ourselves lucky tohave them around as valuable resources.”

Top-of-the-line equipmentIn order to accomplish the quality work on

which KGM prides itself, the company turns toRoad Machinery & Supplies Co. in Virginia,Minn., for Komatsu excavators. “We’ve usedKomatsu excavators since the mid-1980s andthey are top-of-the line,” said Forrest Abramson.“We’ve tried all the brands and our operatorsprefer Komatsu, pretty much across the board.”

“The important thing for us is dependability,”Karla explained. “If a truck goes down, youmight have to haul short for a while, but you’re

still hauling. But when your excavator goesdown, production stops. With Komatsuexcavators, that rarely happens. We’ve foundthem to be very dependable and reliable.”

KGM’s current Komatsu fleet includes threehydraulic excavators; a PC600LC-6, a PC400LC-6and a new PC400LC-7. The company also ownstwo Komatsu D65PX-12 bulldozers, which are

Continued . . .

A KGM operator gets a full bucket with a Komatsu PC400LC-7 hydraulic excavator — thenewest addition to the KGM equipment fleet from RMS. “We’ve used Komatsu excavatorssince the mid-1980s and they are top-of-the-line,” said Forrest Abramson of KGM. “We’vetried all the brands and our operators prefer Komatsu, pretty much across the board.”

The operator of aKomatsu D65PX-12 dozerstockpiles material at aKGM sand and graveloperation near Biwabik,Minn.

KGM counts on a strongteam of skilled andexperienced employees,including civil techsTom Kvas (left) andHeath Line.

“very good machines,” according to Forrest, andthree Load King belly dump trailers from RMS.

“In addition to quality equipment, we like theservice Road Machinery & Supplies gives us,”said Karla. “Our salesman Ryan Milette looks outfor our needs, and Kenny ‘Jake’ Jacobsen, theirshop foreman in Virginia, is very knowledgeableand helpful. We also like the fact that RMS is ableto work on a number of different brands for us.”

“RMS is down the street, so to speak, andthey’re good people,” added Mark. “They’re likeus. When they say they’re going to dosomething, they do it. We appreciate that.”

Future is in good handsWhile some siblings might find it difficult to

work together, the family dynamic works wellfor KGM. “I estimate and bid the jobs whileKerry and Gary take care of the field work,”Mark related. “Karla handles the financials andcleans up any problems or messes that maydevelop. Forrest keeps an eye on the big pictureand advises us when we need it.”

“We work well together and that’s a credit toour dad,” added Karla. “He instilled in us theconcept of teamwork and the fact that the onlything that’s really important is doing quality

work and satisfying the customer. So each of ushas the same goal and we’re all on the samepage all the time. If there’s a problem, we don’tpoint fingers. We look for solutions.”

As a result, KGM is still growing. “We goafter work aggressively,” Mark noted. “We feellike we owe our employees that. They havefamilies and they’re counting on us to providethem with steady, well-paying jobs. It’s aresponsibility we take very seriously. Growth isalso the only way we can continue to offeradvancement to our employees, so yes, we’redefinitely still in a growth mode.”

Partnering for successAlong with aggressive bidding, Mark says

KGM also keeps its eyes open for newopportunities. “If you can keep an open mind,more things are possible. Down the road, Iwould like to see us increase our private (non-public) workload. There’s more of a teamatmosphere and more partnering on the privateside. By working closely with a client in theplanning stage, we can sometimes see potentialproblems that can be engineered out of a jobbefore work ever begins, thereby helping theowner or developer save money on the project.”

That’s the type of attitude that earned KGM the“Partnering of the Year” award from the St. PaulDistrict of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in2001. The St. Paul District covers most ofMinnesota, the western half of Wisconsin, as wellas parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.KGM was chosen from among 32 contractorswho worked on Corps projects that year.

Regardless of whether it’s private or publicwork, KGM owners say the company will alwaysdo its best and will always treat its customers theway it expects to be treated. “Our bid is our wordand it’s a commitment,” Mark explained. “If itturns out a job costs us more than we anticipated,that’s our problem. We don’t go back to theowner to make up the difference.”

“Our dad taught us that this business isn’t allabout the money,” added Karla. “A deal is adeal and the most important thing is keepingyour word and doing quality work. As long aswe continue to do that, everything else will takecare of itself.” ■

Part of the KGM team is shown below with a Komatsu PC600LC-6, the largest excavator in thecompany’s fleet. They include (L-R standing): RMS sales rep. Ryan Milette with ForrestAbramson, president Karla Abramson, bookkeeper Pauline Rutchasky, all of KGM; ToddGabrialson, a service consultant for the company; (L-R top row) KGM corporate secretary andhead estimator Mark Abramson; civil tech Tom Kvas and shop foreman Earl Kaster.

Teamwork helps KGM achieve success. . . continued