You
could say Robb Brinkmann owner of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
based Robb Brinkmann Construction, has construction in
his blood. Both his father and grandfather were civil
engineers, building bridges for the state of Wisconsin
under the name of Brinkmann Engineering.
"I've always been around the construction
industry," Robb says. He even worked with his
father for 14 years. but when his dad retired in 1989
and moved into another field of work, Brinkmann took a
long look at bridge building and decided that it wasn't
for him. "There were two or three major bridge
builders in the area, and I didn't see a market fit for
a smaller guy."
So Brinkmann went to
work for a ready-mix firm, running a rock crusher for
five years. the job required him to fill-in as a
concrete truck driver, giving him an up-front look at
what soon would be his competition. During this time,
Brinkmann and his brother John, who now serves as his
operator foreman, built driveways on the weekends as a
sideline. This expanded into landscape work, and by 1995
Brinkmann was so busy that he was able to start his own
firm. |
Today
Brinkmann's firm works in a variety of markets:
landscaping, small concrete jobs, rough and fine
grading, retaining walls and selling 14 varieties of
decorative bark mulch. "If it is delivered in a
dump truck, we sell it," he says. In addition to
the mulch, he sells and delivers decorative stone and
landscape supplies. Last year, he started selling and
installing one-piece, in-ground fiberglass swimming
pools. Plus, when winter comes, he puts his machines to
work plowing snow for around 200 customers. "I
don't want to get stuck in a rut. Both my father and
grandfather did a variety of things, and I think that's
smart."
Brinkmann
runs a skid steer (attachments: broom and snowblower),
1-yard wheel loader, backhoe and dozer. In addition, he
usually rents equipment about five times a year,
primarily compact excavators. "We don't use them
enough to buy one," he says. "Besides, our
jobs usually require different sizes." Brinkmann
credits 70% he's seen over the past 5 years to his
ability to quickly meet the needs of a variety of
clients, plus the excellent phone skills of his wife,
Vicky. "I have a lot of people tell me how courteous
and |
knowledgeable
she is," he comments. In addition to handling the
variety of paperwork required in running a small
business, she also plows snow and loads bark on
occasion.
Brinkmann is also
aware of the power of image, putting his name in front
of the community in newspaper ads, billboards and a
website. He even painted his logo on the silo in his
residential/business complex, located just south of
Interstate 94.
"Robb always has
lots of ideas," says Bob Bratz with the Oconomowoc
Parks Department, a regular Brinkmann client. "He's
almost on our staff. He puts his name on his work, and
does a lot of things free for the community."
Brinkmann likes the diversity of his work. "We
never know where we are going to go or who will call us.
We may be grading one day and trucking the next. We've
even set totem poles and constructed baseball diamonds.
No customer is a small customer."
The Emerging
Contractor of 2001 contest is jointly sponsored by the
Cat Rental Store and Equipment World and RentSmart!
magazines. |
