This Kansas Contractor Overcame Hardships with Honesty and 16-Hour Days

Linaweaver Construction has installed utilities or roads for nearly every municipality in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

But success hasn’t always come easy for the civil contractor.

The company nearly lost it all – on three separate occasions.

Third-generation owner Mark Linaweaver says he’s thankful for the lessons learned during the tough times because, for him, there was no other option but to keep moving forward. 

“If you can make it through the hardships, that’s something to be proud of. If you make it easy on yourself, you’re not accomplishing much,” he says.

Lansing, Kansas-based Lineaweaver Construction traces its roots back to the 1960s, and Mark has been working for the company since he was old enough to hold a grade rod. He, along with his wife and co-owner Lisa, are among the 12 finalists for Equipment World's 2024 Contractor of the Year Award.

Linaweaver ConstructionGrit and Perseverance

Mark’s grandfather, Glen Linaweaver, got his start digging basements by hand with the help of mules and laborers from the local prison in the 1960s.

Eventually, he saved enough to buy some equipment. In the 1970s, his son, Jerry, took over operations.

By the mid-80s, and around the time current president and grandson Mark came on board full-time, Jerry decided to move into commercial construction. Almost immediately, an unfavorable loan nearly wiped out the business, and the family was forced to sell their horses to make payroll.

Then, just as soon as the business got back on its feet in the early 90s, a project went south, costing the company nearly $400,000. “My dad thought we were done,” recalls Mark. “He said, ‘Take it over and just tell me where to go.’”

Mark, who was 25 at the time, toughed it out, working 16-hour days, seven days a week for the next two years to get the company back on track. He kept that hustle mentality for the next decade as he rebuilt and grew the business.

But the Great Recession dealt the company another blow, forcing Mark to downsize and sell off much of Linaweaver’s fleet.

“I was more worried about my name than failing,” he says. “And if I kept my name good, I knew it would eventually pay off.”

Mark was right. His solid reputation won him some big projects at the time, despite not being the low bidder.

“We got $6 million worth of work in 2009 by being in second or third place because the banks and cities preferred to work with us if we were in the top three,” he says. “That kicked us over the hump.”

“If you have to lose to keep your word, you lose,” says Mark. “I’ve tried to live by that.”

Customers will attest to Mark’s work ethic and honesty. Aaron Wasko, a civil engineer for the City of Olathe, says, “Linaweaver does an excellent job of customer service, not only to me as the client but also to our residents and businesses affected by their projects. When they win a job, they provide an adequate number of crews to complete the job within the project timelines and devote extra staff as needed to stay on track.”

“I appreciate their ability to negotiate and problem solve with the supervisors and owners. They will often find more effective solutions to a problem that is both cost-effective and appropriate,” adds Michael Spickelmier, public works director for the City of Lansing, Kansas.

Things started to turn around by the 2010s. Mark capitalized on good equipment deals, which allowed him to rebuild his fleet and grow the business again. Linaweaver went from six excavators in 2012 to 16 in 2013, along with dozers, trucks and everything in between.

“I just kept working at it and working at it, and finally our payments diminished, we owned all of our equipment, and here we are today.”

Today, the company averages $15 million to $17 million in annual revenues and has 50 employees, an impressive fleet of GPS-enabled equipment and an immaculate office and shop on 100 acres.

The fourth generation, which includes three of Mark and Lisa’s children and a son-in-law, is now set to take the business into the future.

Marcus Linaweaver will be the fourth generation to run the family-owned construction business.Equipment WorldBuilding for the Future

Their son Marcus has been coming to work with his parents since he was 5 and currently serves as vice president.

“He wouldn’t let me keep him at home,” Mark laughs. “Believe me, I tried.”  

Mark challenged Marcus with big assignments early on to ensure he was constantly growing his skills. He is being groomed to take over as president within the next few years.

“When he was 18, I put him on $3 million jobs and treated him like he was a 30-year-old. By the time he was 24, he was running $6 million jobs.

“He’s in the position he is because I’m still applying pressure to see if he can handle it, and so far, he has.”

Daughters Ashley and Haley both work in the office, with Ashley serving as safety project manager and Haley working alongside Lisa in accounting.

Son-in-law Drew Pruett also recently came on board as project manager.

The Technology Leap

Linaweaver’s fleet consists of 16 excavators, 16 skid steers, seven dozers, five mini excavators, four haul trucks, two motor graders, two scrapers, two track loaders, a rock crusher, a screener, a milling machine and various trucks. Two in-house mechanics and a field technician help keep all the machines up and running.

While Mark and Marcus have admittedly never been big on technology, they pulled the trigger on grade control a decade ago and have never looked back.

“It was an intimidating first step to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars when you don’t even know what’s going on,” Marcus recalls. “But Dad finally decided to make that leap, and once we tried it, we discovered you don’t need three extra guys to go rough-in a site. You can make it look better than what you could freehand.

“That was a really big deal.”

Adding Drew to the mix has taken Linaweaver’s tech journey to the next level. He has implemented iPads, digital plans and cloud-based files for all jobsites. Though some employees were hesitant to make the switch from paper, incentivizing use with weekly gift-card drawings has sped up adoption.

“It’s just more mobile – all the field logs, all the documentation of everything is much easier and more efficient,” Drew says.

“Then, you get into the equipment and are able to make it dummy-proof in a way for the younger generation to be able to learn how to run a dozer and not have a bubble in your butt to feel how you’re supposed to be grading it out. That’s helped tremendously.”

Training the Next Generation

Finding qualified labor has been difficult, but Linaweaver works to teach eager young employees. Its 100-acre campus serves as an equipment training ground.

“They can call me, and we can come after hours. We have 100 acres here at our office. You can go play around out there; you can learn – the opportunity is always there for them,” says Marcus.

“The only way you’re going to learn is to do it, so we say, ‘Get out there, screw up and don’t do it again.’”

While Marcus and Drew see potential in expanding the business to other sectors, the company doesn’t currently have the labor force to do it. Staying around 50 employees has been a sweet spot for Linaweaver from both an employee-management and profit perspective.

“You just kind of lose faith in people, so a few years ago we downsized and said, 'We know what we’ve got, we’re happy, let’s just make a living with what we have.'

“We move dirt and put pipe in the ground. We’re not going to be billionaires, but if everyone can make a good living, then that’s all we really care about.”