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Valley
Coast Construction, Inc.- In 1981, Dave Koeberle and a partner founded Four Seasons Lawn Aerating and De-Thatching Company and moved to San Diego from the Bay Area. The partnership dissolved after a few short years because Koeberle felt that the business was only limited to lawns. He wanted to get away from what he perceived to be monotonous work and he handed his half of the Four Seasons Company to his partner and started Valley Coast. While still at Four Seasons, he started to get involved with irrigation, concrete, and masonry and decided to go in that direction. In one year, 1984, the newly formed Valley Coast Construction Company was larger than the aerating business. Koeberle involved himself and his company in a number of general landscaping efforts and he found that he liked the work. In 1987 he hired Dave Trussell as a laborer and discovered that he had an interest in masonry, or block, brick, flagstone and waterfalls, to be more specific. Trussell soon found himself at the helm of the newly formed masonry division and according to Koeberle, "he took that department and ran with it and today his crews do the best masonry work in San Diego County.
Koeberle feels that in the last 20 years it has become obvious that landscape construction companies must be multi- talented. Valley Coast has found a niche in the sense that they created a turnkey operation. Being able to do everything in-house and quality control all aspects of the job has allowed them to corner a market, so-to-speak. "We have found that those individuals who have the money to spend on landscaping a home are generally too pre- occupied with their careers or life's adventures and they do not have the time or knowledge to manage their project. They donÕt want to have to find all the different people to come in and get one project done. We micro manage their project from the beginning to the end. It is a known fact that the people who need residential work done could hire anybody to do their job, licensed or not. Koeberle feels strongly about unlicensed contractors and has even offered an inter company monetary bounty for any of his employees that turns in an unlicensed contractor. " In commercial work there is recognition of good work because there is knowledge of construction. Commercial clients know that Valley Coast is a great company because of the level of professionalism involved with the work." Valley Coast Construction is primarily a construction company, dealing strictly in construction and relying very little upon maintenance. They have performed work at residential, city, county, government, school districts, and military installations. A fortunate side note to having a turnkey operation is that there are few times that work cannot be found. "There is such a broad range of clientele and things that we are able to do for them, that we always have work," said Koeberle. In the late 80Õs there was a boom of residential work in Del Mar and Koeberle knew that the market there would not last. So they started bidding on government jobs and in the early 90Õs, when a recession hit, they had steady work to do. Koeberle said that he could not think of any other companies who were in business at that time who still exist today. Do you?
Valley Coast Construction utilizes the master equipment craftsmen at Case Construction Equipment and their dealer D3 Equipment. They use a Case 85XT, 1845C, both skid-steers with belly weights and solid rear tires, to increase lift. Koeberle stands close by his equipment as being superior in the market. "These Case skid steers, they just amaze me," said Koeberle. "IÕm a specification oriented guy and the Case machines have been great for us because we have been able to pick up 48" boxed trees. That 85XT can pick it right up and move it around. Our competitors, using other skid steers, have to rent out crane equipment to do the same job." Koeberle stated that the Case has a bigger engine, offers more power, is "super reliable," and is less expensive, making for an overall better skid steer. The machines use a 3.9-liter Cummins Diesel engine to power through almost any tough job. In addition to the Case tractors, Valley Coast employs the use of a PC45 Komatsu 11,000 pound excavator, with a thumb. The thumb makes the machine extremely versatile for the industry Koeberle is in. The staff of 50 includes individuals from management to laborers. Two years ago, things were booming at Valley Coast and growth started to get out of control. Koeberle has been instrumental in pruning the tree of expansion in order to allow the company to increase more slowly over time. "We needed to control it so that there was only as much work being done as there were managers to manage it," said Koeberle. "We always want to have a handle on things."
This past year, the company won a bid to convert concrete storm drain channels in San Juan Capistrano to a "wildlife friendly" channel. The city wanted to have natural grass grow in the bottom of the channel while leaving the structural concrete sides in place. So they excavated the channel and planted grass. Of course, the process was not as simple as that; they used an Enka Mat product that resembles a patch of half-inch thick gorilla hair. The fibers trap the seed and soil and allow the root systems to grow through the mat and permanently anchor it to the channel bottom. This application also helps clean the drainage water by "straining it" through the native grasses and it creates a wonderful habitat area. "I am kind of a gambler. When someone comes up with something weird, but logical, I am usually the guy willing to do it," said Koeberle. His own guys were telling him that he was crazy to move large and exotic plants on another project, but to Koeberle, "it is not the money as much as it is the challenge, but don't get me wrong the money does help." Apart from the ringing phones and hectic work schedules, Koeberle is a mountain man. "I love being outdoors, packing into the backcountry with the horses, fishing, etc." He does volunteer work cutting trees and clearing paths for hikers in the wilderness. Stan Lattimore, the " Cutting Edge" company sales manager is into mountain biking and has gone with Koeberle into the Sierras on more than one occasion. Stan makes things happen (good or bad), he helps push all of us to new levels and is always looking into new niches and areas of work. Trussell used to be a musician and played piano in various bands. Today, he takes that creative energy and applies it toward the creation of water fountain and rockwork masterpieces. Valley Coast is a company willing to step out on a limb to complete the task. They are risk takers who are always trying to reinvent the mousetrap, which will continue to allow them to dominate a saturated market. "We are always going after the "Problem and Challenging" stuff versus, just making money through landscaping housing tracts," said Koeberle. "We like a challenge and that makes our company stand out among others in the industry."
The future of Valley Coast looks to encompass more of the same, according to Koeberle. He stated that the company direction can change at any time with creative management in place. "They have an ability to solve problems at a mastery level," said Koeberle. There are many rumors circulating around regarding new future work in San Diego, and the management at Valley Coast has started to look into it, but their discoveries are strictly confidential. The subject matter most interesting to Koeberle is the environmental stuff. Being an avid fan and participant in fly-fishing, Koeberle jumps at the opportunities to enhance, improve or refurbish naturally beautiful sites such as streams or forested areas. " When I started this company, I hadnÕt gone to college, but what I had done was ask questions and listen a whole lot." He received information from the sources of knowledge, the men doing the work on a daily basis, the men who had been on the job for years and were known as "the old timers." As a result of this self-education, Koeberle formed himself into being a self-proclaimed "efficiency freak." He tries not to waste anything, including time, material, resources, etc., but what has resulted from his patience and persistence is a successful private and commercial endeavor, which he and his employees can be proud of. |
