Experience, Passion, and a Hands-on Approach Equals Success
Only a few short years ago, in August of 2015, Ken Grondin left his large family construction business to develop real estate that he and his wife, Carolyn owned. “All was great with partners at the family business, but after doing the same thing for 35 plus years, a change seemed imminent. Don’t get me wrong, I was getting to be one hell of a golfer,” Ken said with a chuckle. He missed being on construction sites with his boots on the ground, and realized they needed a small earthwork company to supplement their real estate projects and help pay the bills. Plus, it was logical that Ken and Carolyn’s sons, Jeff and Anthony, with their extensive experience and strong work ethic in heavy earthwork construction, would join them as supervisors and owning partners. Carolyn’s strength in the office, along with Ken’s project management and estimation experience were all ingredients that quickly turned this venture into the successful Windham, Maine, business it is today.
Early last March, Grondin Corporation began a very complicated major storm drain project in Portland, Maine that finished in late May. Immediately afterward, they began a large sewer project in South Portland that required bypassing existing high flows and tidal restrictions due to sea levels requiring them to work through the night. The powerful lighting on their Deere excavators proved to be well designed for the crew during the nighttime work. “Our John Deere 345G excavator has tremendous power, reach and stability, along with lifting capacity. The minimum swing radius was a huge plus for us while working in the congested city streets,“ quoted equipment operator, Chris Reinhard.
Most Maine companies need work in the off-season and Grondin Corporation enjoys the niche work in residential subdivisions by building out their development projects. “It’s good to have your projects in your back pocket to navigate the long Maine winters,” commented co-owner and supervisor, Jeff Grondin. These projects include complex stormwater designs that require detailed finish grading and varied stormwater ponds and ditches. “Our Deere 700K GPS equipped dozer has tremendous power. All our large Deere excavators are equipped with Topcon GPS hardware utilizing Agtek site software. The smooth hydraulics and the cleanup buckets, coupled with GPS and our talented operators, provides great efficiency. It all contributes to our success,” continued Jeff. Grondin Corporation has its share of talented operators, but every employee is a “key” employee. “They are a hardworking and very talented bunch and they give it their best every day. We depend on every one of them,” says Jeff.
Grondin Corporation is committed to high standards and takes on challenging projects throughout southern Maine. The John Deere dealer in Westbrook services the company. Their Territory Manager, Peter Sanborn, says communication is key with a customer like Grondin Corporation. “I try to offer them the best solutions to greatly improve efficiency with the complicated and vast array of projects they undertake. I hope I’m offering them solutions that maximize their productivity rather than just machines,” stated Peter. Additionally, co-owner and supervisor Anthony Grondin says, their sales and service has been great to work with. “We luckily don’t have to buy a lot of parts from them which is surely a sign of how well designed and proven Deere equipment has been,” noted Anthony.
This family of co-owners takes pride in having hands-on involvement in every job they undertake. Their passionate commitment to the industry is reflected in every project they complete. Grondin Corporation is grateful for repeat customers and are blessed with a great workforce. “Give our crew good weather, lots of daylight, reliable equipment, and we are a high production, quality-driven workforce,” said Jeff.
For more information, visit: www.grondincorporation.com