Herzog Contracting performs railroad construction, railroad services, transit services, and civil construction throughout the country.

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As Herzog Contracting approaches its 40th anniversary, Vice President Al Landes reflects on the many ways his business, as well as the construction industry, has changed. “I remember when we started, we did business with a handshake,” Landes recalls. “Now, you’ll get a 20-page contract before you begin a job.”

The privately owned contractor is based in Saint Joseph, Mo. and performs railroad construction, railroad services, transit services, and civil construction throughout the country. This includes work on train operations, dispatching and maintenance of equipment and facilities.

The company has worked for commuter, intercity, regional and trolley rail systems.

Landes says that he is proud to be in the construction industry because “we love building monuments every day and servicing our customers.”

It is difficult to find that same passion in a younger generation, he notes.

Like many in the construction industry, Herzog has a pressing need for younger, qualified labor. In a recent interview, Landes told Construction Today how Herzog is trying to address this issue, as well as how the construction industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Construction Today: Can you tell us about your company’s history?
Al Landes: We started out as an asphalt-paving contractor here in the Midwest. We primarily worked in Missouri and Kansas in the early ’70s. Asphalt paving projects shut down in the winter so we started to find a way to offset our overhead in the winter.

About that time, Class 1 railroads were getting out of the industrial maintenance and downsizing [that] side of their operations. We thought, ‘It doesn’t take too much to change a tie-out and put it back in.’ We started doing that, and God forbid, we started making a dollar or two at it.

That [motivated us to] create what we call our railroad division. We started then bidding actual [rail] construction projects. The first big project was the relocation of the MKT railroad. This took place in Missouri for building of the Truman Dam in the mid ’70s.

We now have four major operating divisions. One we call the national construction division – we go all over the country working on transit projects – and we have another division we call the railroad services division, which deals primarily with Class 1 railroad divisions.

We [also] have what we call a transit services division, which includes the operation and maintenance for transit agencies and commuter rail systems. Another division is our civil division; it used to be our major division, and is now the smallest one.

CT: What distinguishes company’s work from competitors?
AL: It goes back to our people. Our turnover rate is one of the best in the industry. Once we get a person we just don’t lose them.

I’ve been here 36 years and I would say the average number of years our employees in this office stay with us is between 10 to 20 years.

CT: How do you maintain enough qualified labor?
AL: We actually created a labor relation department. We’ve got two people working full-time, constantly advertising and interviewing people.

We’re doing that, plus word of mouth. If we find a good person, a lot of times we are now just immediately hiring that individual [because] they are so few and far between.

We worked in 36 states last year. Of our people, 1,000 to 1,200 are moving around all the time. The challenge gets bigger to have people who are prepared to load up and move their families. In our recruitment, we’re hitting some of the major universities around here to try to get employees and interns.

We’re getting bigger and bigger into internships all the time. We’re taking kids still in school in the summertime and putting them into [internship] employment with us, in some cases.

It gives the kids an opportunity to work in the industry and for them to make sure it’s all they think it’s going to be. It also gives us an opportunity to evaluate them.

CT: What challenges are you currently facing?
AL: Our biggest challenge as a company is continuing to transition to the next generation. We know there’s going to be a time where we need to transition out positions to younger employees.

Our biggest challenge is to get that done. The need for labor is all the way up and down the board. We’re as proud of getting a good skilled laborer as we are as getting a good engineer.

CT: How is the market changing?
AL: Projects are getting much bigger and the jobs are getting more complex. When we first started out, a low bid would win a project. It doesn’t work that way anymore. You’re now the designer and builder in a lot of respects, as well as the operator, maintainer and financier. The whole industry has changed in our lifetime.

Special Transit Services
In addition to its construction capabilities, Herzog offers extensive operation and maintenance services for transit systems. Its staff is qualified to:

• Operate – “Providing train crews, train dispatchers and support personnel to operate passenger trains is a growing part of the services provided by Herzog,” the company says. “Personnel are selected and trained to respond to passenger needs.”
• Maintain facilities – “Herzog provides maintenance of way services for its governmental, industrial, and private sector clients nationwide,” it says. “Turnkey maintenance can be provided covering all passenger access areas such as parking lots, stations, platforms and the right of way, which includes track, structures, signals and other improvements. Crews are trained to perform maintenance tasks under live-track conditions and can be scheduled to work flexible hours and days to take advantage of off-peak times.”
• Maintain equipment – “Skilled and conscientious personnel for the maintenance of rolling stock can be provided by Herzog,” the company explains. “An effective inspection program in accordance with FRA requirements and a comprehensive preventive maintenance program are performed to ensure reliability and availability above industry norms for rolling stock. Personnel are trained and qualified in accordance with FRA standards to maintain passenger cars and locomotives. In addition, overhauls and special tasks such as carpet, seat and window replacement can also be performed.
  
• Responsive management – ”We offer a complete range of services efficiently and cost effectively,” the company says. “If your goal is to provide safe, on-time, convenient and comfortable passenger rail service, Herzog offers services tailored to meet your needs and those of the traveling public.”
• Safety – “As the recipient of numerous safety awards, it is evident that Herzog recognizes the importance of safety to the benefit of the employees, communities, and passengers it serves,” the company says.