Wm. D. Scepaniak growing as a contract crusher

Nearly 1 billion tons of construction sand and gravel were produced by an estimated 3,800 companies operating 9,350 pits across the United States last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Among the top 20 producers of sand and gravel nationally is Wm. D. Scepaniak, a Minnesota-based company that produces more than 6 million tons of sand and gravel each year. The company owns and leases more than 60 pits across the United States, but the core of Wm. D. Scepaniak’s business is contract crushing.

“It’s a combination of both, but the scales of those aspects are skewed heavily,” says John Scepaniak, project manager at Wm. D. Scepaniak and a third-generation employee. “The majority of what we do is contract crushing.”

Founded by William Scepaniak, John’s grandfather, following his return from World War II, Wm. D. Scepaniak has been in operation for more than 70 years. Joe Scepaniak, William’s son and John’s father, is a co-owner of the family business and helped bring John up to speed at the company.

Wm. D. Scepaniak has largely covered the Upper Midwest region throughout the company’s history. Over time, though, the company expanded beyond its home region.

“We were [traditionally] in Minnesota along with South Dakota,” John says. “But now also Wyoming, a project in Colorado this year and down in Iowa. So we’ve really broadened our horizons of where we’re working.”

Team-oriented business

Accepting contracts and projects outside of Minnesota and South Dakota, however, is not merely an upper management decision. Instead, decisions are made collectively by Wm. D. Scepaniak team members.

“You go to where the customer needs you to do work as long as the money is right and our employees are cool with us working out that far,” John says. “A majority of the people in our company are local [to Minnesota], so it’s a collaborative vote on what we’re doing and where we’re working.”

While Wm. D. Scepaniak expands into new territories, the company also continues to foster relationships with repeat customers.

“We always get excited about the pits we go back into the second, third, fourth year in a row,” John says. “A lot of that is in Minnesota and North and South Dakota.”

In addition, Wm. D. Scepaniak has expanded its equipment and technology capabilities in recent years. For example, the company is now utilizing drones on sites.

“Droning is big,” John says. “I have a drone that I fly for our stockpiles. Any way we can streamline data acquisition from the field is going to be helpful to us in the long run.”

As the company continues to grow, so, too, do production volumes across the nation. According to USGS, construction sand and gravel production has grown nearly 17 percent over the last five years, from 830 million tons in 2014 to 970 million tons in 2018.

With the 2019 production season well underway and the industry reaping benefits of the ongoing economic upswing, Wm. D. Scepaniak expects yet another strong year of demand.

“We’re in some really good markets and it seems like demand is up,” John says. “We have a good private customer base. I’m excited because we’re building a stronger team to take on bigger challenges.”