THE PAST
Our story starts over 50 years ago in 1972, when Thomas S. Haydon Jr., “Tommy”, who graduated from the University of Kentucky with a civil engineering degree in 1970, decided to strike out on his own with the incorporation of Haydon Bridge Company. In 1984, two of Tommy’s six children, Thomas and Philip joined the business and in 2007, after their father’s death, took over as President and Vice-President. In May 2020, the business was sold to the third generation, Philip M. Haydon (“Marshall”) and their Vice-President of Construction, Kevin B. Wolfe.
New owners, Marshall and Kevin decided to slowly transition into their new roles, because the ownership transfer took place during the height of the pandemic. So they decided a slow progression from employee to owners was the best way to handle the transition as the previous owners steadily took a step back. Thomas and Philip are still employed with the company as advisors and trainers slowly handing over the day-to-day responsibilities to the new owners. Philip is still playing an active role in the field operations and Thomas is on-hand for counsel and advice on administrative decisions. The goal of the progressive transition was to ensure the least amount of disruption in operations and project delivery.
THE PRESENT – The Owners
The new owners agreed that it was their mission to ensure the continuation of the core values of Haydon Bridge Company, while also being responsive to the updates in innovation and technology of their industry. This also meant needed changes to improve services, retain their labor force, and thrive amidst an ever-changing economy. The backgrounds of the new owners are a merging of skills, experience and a loyalty to the Haydon Bridge Company’s brand, as their history with Haydon Bridge Company spans decades.
Kevin B. Wolfe, President
Kevin started his career at Morehead State University, who graduated in 2001 with a Master’s Degree in Construction Management, which provided him a unique blend of construction knowledge and business know-how. In 1999, Kevin was hired by Haydon Bridge Company for a Summer Cooperative program. He continued on as an intern until his graduation in 2001, where he was hired for the full-time position of Foreman, working hands-on in the field on various construction projects throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Indiana. Nearly two years later, he was promoted to Superintendent. Four years later, he accepted the promotion of Project Manager, where his new administrative duties and responsibilities were handled in the office, rather than in the field.
Within a few years, Kevin had assumed the role of running operations as General Superintendent, where he oversaw all facets of the business, from financial analysis, sales strategies, project delegation, schedules and budget planning, customer service, employee management, and quality control. In late 2018, Kevin took on the role of Vice-President of Construction to prepare for the eventual transition as co-owner and President.
“Working over the years in the field and in the office, I have learned a great deal from Thomas and Philip, as mentors and partners. They taught me that you need to be honest, do your work with integrity and offer quality services. While the company has changed hands, those core values have not. Any change we implement carries on our long-held tradition of treating people how you want to be treated.”
Kevin Wolfe
Philip “Marshall” Haydon, Vice-President
As a young man, Marshall often accompanied his father, Philip to work, watching him in the field, and then eventually coming on as a Summer Intern starting in 2004, and working as a laborer/carpenter during the Summers until his graduation from Western Kentucky University in 2013, with a Master’s Degree in Construction Management.
His father taught him a great deal, as a mentor and teacher, thus Marshall followed his father’s footsteps and was hired full-time as a Project Manager in 2013, and then promoted in 2020, as Vice-President, when he took over ownership of his father and grandfather’s company. His uncle Thomas had been in charge of the office administration side of the business, while his father Philip was General Superintendent, much preferring to get his hands dirty in the field. Marshall, like his father, enjoys working and seeing their construction projects take shape from the planning stages through the cleanup and completion.
“My grandfather, Tommy expected his crews to construct the work per the plans and specifications. If there were issues along the way, Tommy backed up his employees 100% of the way if the rules were followed. But if anyone on his team tried to cut corners, he’d make sure his employees were reminded of their core values, to prevent any mistakes in the future. He was fair and honest with his clients but also his employees, as building a great team is an integral part of the Haydon way.” – Marshall Haydon
THE PRESENT – Our Values
Our company has a reputation, from day one to over 50 years later of being a highway and bridge construction company that produces quality work with high standards, honesty, integrity and efficiency without cutting corners. We have a good working relationship with the Federal Highway Administration, and Department of Transportations for the six states we serve, as well as local, county and state representatives who oversee and manage road, bridge and highway construction. Even though, the ownership of the company has changed hands over the years, our reputation and values have never changed, nor will they in the future.
THE FUTURE – Communication, Innovation & Workforce Development
The highway and bridge construction industry has changed a great deal in the past 50 years, so it is our goal to meet the evolving standards, needs and technologies to stay competitive while maintaining our high work ethics and standardsWe have implemented several strategies and goals to keep us on track in the aspects of communication, innovative equipment, and workforce development.
Communication & Transparency
Our website, HaydonBridgeCompany.com, went live in 2018 and since 2022, we have made a concerted effort to ensure that the content is up-to-date, informative and promotes our acquired contracts, our ongoing and completed projects. And in October of 2022, we have started blogging on our website (and this is our first blog). In 2022, we have also established a presence on various social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We hope to use our digital channels to build relationships, to establish our brand within our community, and to better communicate our core values and growing portfolio of projects.
Equipment and Technology
The industry equipment is constantly evolving thus enabling increased accuracy, improved planning and faster execution of construction projects. In the last few years, we have seen innovations with Computer Aided Design (CAD), Building Information Management software, sustainable building materials, robotic and automation equipment, energy efficient construction vehicles, as well as Personal Protective Equipment to keep our employees safe.
For example, a new roller compacted technology combines road pavement durability with low costs and easy construction. Moreover, it ensures higher road safety, contributing to 30% fewer road accidents when compared to standard asphalt roads. These are the types of innovations that we are exploring and vetting, to ensure we are staying current and providing state-of-the-art solutions for our clients.
Workforce Development
Our executive team has recently implemented training and ongoing education with the Microtraining method. What is Microtraining?
“The Microtraining method is an approach aimed at supporting informal learning processes in organizations and companies, outside of formal learning environments or training facilities. A Microtraining arrangement comprises a time span of 10–20 minutes for each learning session, which can activate and maintain learning processes for a longer period if bundled into series.”
Wikipedia
Our field leadership and executive team has engaged in these Microtraining sessions over the past few months, watching two videos each morning, of 3-4 minute in length, that are wholly focused on the topics of Leadership and Communication. Several Microtraining series will be available to all employees by the end of 2023. The appeal of Microtraining is the time and travel cost savings of attending seminars and webinars, they do not put a drain on the labor force by pulling staff out of the field for days at time, and can be digested quickly and regularly for even those with a short attention span. The micro-sessions appeal to a younger audience as the videos are delivered in a short, dynamic and engaging way, and thus the retention level for all ages has improved dramatically.
The owners have also recently begun exploring and educating ourselves about workforce development and labor management to increase retention and attract hardworking and skilled laborers. The current issues with the labor market have affected all regions and industries of the U.S., thus we saw the need to do what we can to prevent turnover, especially for our entry-level laborers and carpenters. Thus we have established a strategy to provide entry-level employees with a well-defined career path that motivates not only retention but instills motivation to progress, build new skills and develop goals for promotion.
Our career path defines the tracks of three layers of our staff: Laborers, Carpenters and Operators. In our printed Career Development Path guide we can show the progression, for example, of a Laborer to a Foreman to a Superintendent, and how increased responsibilities leads to increase benefits and skills.
To help our employees along their career path at Haydon Bridge Company, we have instituted regular Job Performance Evaluations at three months, six months, one year and then annually each year of their employment. With regular communication of managers with their employees, we can provide needed training, critique and praise to keep them motived as well answer any questions they may have. This opens the lines of communication between the various levels of the company’s hierarchal structure, including administrative, executive, supervisory and entry-level employees.
The goals of our Career Development Path are to:
- Retain employees and decrease entry-level turnover,
- Reduce time and cost of retraining new employees,
- Establish a set schedule for management to evaluate employees,
- Improve job performance and job satisfaction,
- Improve communication on employee expectations and set clear goals for promotion to the next level on the path.
IN CONCLUSION
Over the three generations and 50 years in business, Haydon Bridge Company’s mission remains unchanged, which is our commitment to quality construction and reliable service.
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