Ken reveals that he is nearing retirement age himself, and is looking forward to seeing his son John take over once that happens. John has been working for EC Construction for the past three years since graduating from college, learning the ropes and developing relationships with clients. John also worked for the company when he was younger, doing grunt work.

Ken is repeating a process with John that his dad did with him: when customers call the office looking for Ken, he sends John out on the jobs to take care of whatever comes up. Pretty soon, the customers become more comfortable with John and begin calling him instead of Ken.

Ken also has another son, Matthew, who is a practicing aeronautical/structural engineer.

EC Construction, located in South El Monte completes projects in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties. But the company does have large corporate customers, like United Parcel Service (UPS), for which they will complete projects anywhere the client needs them to.

“We’ll complete any project ranging from a small concrete or asphalt patch up to a $3 to 4 million job,” Ken says. The scope of work the company completes includes excavating, grading, commercial concrete paving, asphalt paving, stone building foundation installation, slab work and storm drain installation. Forty percent of the company’s work is public works projects, while the remainder is completed for commercial projects, some for clients the company has had for 25 to 50 years. Ken says that the company rarely works directly for general contractors; they usually work directly for project owners.

(Left) View of the graded
area ready for paving.

(Below) EC Construction
grading for new paving
with their Leeboy 685
motor grader.

EC Construction has served Paramount Studios and UPS for more than 25 years, and Southern California Edison electric company for more than 50 years. Another long-term customer for the company is Forest Lawn Memorial Parks. EC Construction has done the excavating, roads and internment site development for the corporation’s six Southern California locations.

Despite Ken’s claim that EC Construction is a “vanilla” contractor, “not flashy, but stable,” its nearly 60 years in business and the maintenance of many long-term clients speaks to the quality and consistent work the company does.

“I never try to sell somebody on a job,” Ken explains. “I find out what they’re trying to accomplish and if there’s a better way to do that, I let them know. Then I let them make an informed decision. I think that’s one reason why our clients trust me.”

In recent years, Ken purchased a LeeBoy 685B Motor Grader for use on smaller projects on sites with tighter space. Ken says that prior to purchasing the LeeBoy from Nixon-Egli Equipment, he owned several Allis Chalmers mid-size motor graders over the years. He was down to one machine that he had been “cannibalizing parts” from other machines to keep running, when it became apparent it was time for a new machine. Allis Chalmers no longer made the mid-size motor grader, so Ken found the LeeBoy and he says that it’s “just about perfect”.

When EC Construction began, Ken says that South El Monte was mostly vegetable fields. He says the company has completed 60-70% of the site work for the buildings that have sprung up there over the past 60 years. The LeeBoy 685B Motor Grader is perfect for this kind of job, Ken says.

According to LeeBoy’s website, “The 685B Motor Grader is equipped with a sliding moldboard with a total sideshift reach of 36 inches. This feature enables the operator to shift the blade in or out of hard to reach areas.”

A current job that the company has been using the LeeBoy 685B Motor Grader for fine grading is on a six-block section of street in Al Hambra. EC Construction is removing and replacing the curb and gutter, as well as the street itself. EC Construction’s crews have varied in size for the different aspects of this two-month long project. They had 8 to 10 people on the curb removal crew, 12 to 15 people installing the new curb and gutter, and 8 to 10 people excavating, grading and repaving the street. Ken says that this project is on the smaller size for the company and pretty straightforward.

One of the more challenging projects the company, which does $12-15 million in work each year, completed this year was reconstructing the entrance to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport in Burbank. Because airport officials required the airport to remain open during the construction, an alternative entrance was provided and then EC Construction was given 12 hours to excavate, grade and repave with asphalt the 25,000 square foot entrance area.

“We saw no other way to do the job, but to complete it in 12 hours,” Ken explains. “It went like a fine-tuned Swiss watch even though there was a lot of sweat.”

One of Ken’s philosophies is to make sure his employees are able to work most of the year. “I don’t want to load up on labor during the busy times and then lay people off when it gets slow,” Ken says. “I want our employees to know that they have a construction job all year. When things get slow, we always have something going on so we can portion out the work.”

The result is that many of EC Construction’s 35 employees have been with the company for many years, some having retired after 35 years with the company.

When the company gets busy, Ken says they have been fortunate enough to work with their clients in order to have a more flexible schedule for the work.

Another goal Ken has to facilitate his employees keeping busy when things are slow is cross-training them on the various aspects of the business. “Most of our men can do concrete work, grading and asphalt paving,” Ken says.

EC Construction has purposely maintained a constant size for many years. “We may be seen as a small company, but we have a niche and we’re comfortable with that,” Ken explains. “We have a good reputation in the industry. We’re the right size where we can respond to people.

“Many of our jobs are intriguing because they’re problem jobs, and we’re helping our clients solve problems,” he adds.

For more information call (626) 444-9596. Cc

“We saw no other way to do the job, but to complete it in 12 hours,”

(Top) Newly dedicated war memorial at Lacy Park for the City of San Marino.

(Second Photo) Five blocks of Granada Ave. between Alhambra Rd. and Huntington Dr. for the City of San Marino.

(Third Photo) Three ball fields and support structures at Moore Field for City of Alhambra and the Alhambra school district.

(Fourth Photo) John Walters, Ken Walters, Owner of EC Construction and operator, Sal Garcia.