To be successful, the best companies need a solid foundation on which to build their business, and Prattco Excavating knows a thing or two about foundations and building. For the past 35 years, Prattco has been a key player in the construction industry, clearing the way so the city could develop around it. What started with one machine, one family, and an abundance of grit and determination grew steadily as Prattco Excavating established a reputation for quality work and integrity. Before long, the family-owned and operated business became a go-to company for general contractors and builders across Calgary and surrounding communities.
“My mother and father, Leslie and Doug Pratt, started the business with just him operating as a sub-contractor to local residential excavation companies in 1989. Since then, it has grown to an asset base of over 170 units servicing both our residential and commercial customers, and we’ve got about 125 employees operating out of our location,” says Jarrett Pratt, operations manager for Prattco Excavating.
Growth came steadily and organically over the years, but even as the company evolved and expanded into a medium-sized company, it never lost the small-company way of doing business. It is agile and nimble so management can react to situations quickly and pivot on a dime if necessary. The company’s customer focus demands superior service, communication, and a respect for both the client’s schedule and their budget so everyone on that job is successful.
Prattco goes the extra mile and stays up on technology to ensure the teams in the field are working efficiently and precisely to deliver the best possible results for clients. The team is accountable on every job, and management is accessible to both clients and employees, making sure nothing falls through the cracks and that customers and staff alike feel appreciated and valued. This creates a positive, upbeat corporate culture where employees enjoy the work they do as well as the people they do it with, and everyone has a good time while doing great work.
“We’re definitely a performance-driven culture where teamwork, honesty, and cooperation with each other is key,” he says. “Everybody is part of the family here.”
“We’re definitely a performance-driven culture where teamwork, honesty and cooperation with each other is key.”
It’s a family that takes care of each other. There is a large number of long-time employees on staff, and as the company has expanded over the past several years, these seasoned professionals mentor the novice employees being brought on to accommodate that growth. While Prattco is an excavation and demolition business by definition, it is a people business in practice, and the family is invested in its people, supporting them so they can advance in their careers and in their lives. As the second generation of Pratts to lead the company, Jarrett is determined to maintain the core values and culture his parents instilled in the company decades ago as he takes his parents’ place at the controls.
Prattco has enjoyed significant growth since that second generation has moved into management five years ago. The company has set down roots in residential construction by fostering long-time, strong relationships with the city’s top high-volume home builders and general contractors, paving the way for the construction of Calgary’s new communities. Prattco is a trusted partner that provides foundation excavation and backfill, trenching for utility installation, and site grading and leveling. The company delivered about 1,800 residential units for the city’s major players last year, and the team expects that there will be more of the same on tap for this year. While it predominantly deals in new home construction, the company also partners with homeowners embarking on renovation projects or rebuilds on their existing properties.
“We offer an incredible service to our client base, whether it’s for a single-family starter home, a multi-level underground parkade or a massive warehouse or anything in between.”
“Calgary has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, so our growth has come naturally with the number of new homes being built over the last decade,” he says.
The last decade also saw Prattco Excavating diversifying its service menu with the addition of comprehensive commercial and industrial excavation services in Calgary; today the company’s workload is now split almost evenly between residential and commercial projects. The talented team prepares commercial construction sites for a variety of large-scale projects, offering parkade excavation, grade beam excavation for structural support, and multi-family townhome excavation along with slab on grade prep, detailed electrical and mechanical trenching, and final site grading to ensure proper drainage. Whether they are doing large commercial projects or smaller residential ones, Prattco exceeds expectations and takes pride in a job well done.
“We offer an incredible service to our client base, whether it’s for a single-family starter home, a multi-level underground parkade, or a massive warehouse or anything in between,” Pratt says.
For 35 years, Prattco Excavating has provided the foundation of the city, and as Calgary continues to grow, Prattco Excavating is proud to grow alongside it as it continues to be a valued part of building Calgarians’ homes and commercial spaces.
PRATTCO Excavating Ltd.
403-241-1423
info@prattcoexcavating.com
Calgary, Alberta
prattcoexcavating.com
