Through nearly 70 years and four generations, T & G Construction Inc. has been a mainstay in Oklahoma’s construction industry. The Lawton-based business was founded by J.T. Grayson and Pete Tuck as a material hauler with one truck that the pair used to haul aggregate.
“My grandfather and Mr. Tuck just kept buying trucks, gradually getting into the dirt business,” shared J.T.’s grandson J.C., who owns and operates T & G Construction along with his sister, Angela Reece. “They added loaders, motor graders, scrapers and other equipment. Eventually, that led to buying their first asphalt plant in the early 1970s. They added a couple more, then expanded into ready-mix in the early 1980s. Our father, Larry Grayson, helped with the expansion and eventually bought Mr. Tuck out and our grandfather as well.”
Expansion helped T & G Construction grow into a multifaceted firm that performs a wide variety of site construction-related projects mainly within a 60-mile radius of Lawton. The company offers everything from stripping to asphalt and concrete finishing, including all related earthwork and base preparation. It typically has five or six projects in the works at any one time that range from $50,000 to $10 million.
“We’re mainly highway contractors,” stated J.C. “About 80% of our work is done for the state of Oklahoma. Within that, about half is done as a general contractor and the other half as a sub with a lot of the latter involving laying asphalt for bridge contractors. From a general contracting standpoint, we mainly do asphalt overlays, but we also have the capabilities to do full highway construction.”
The balance of T & G Construction’s projects consists of private work such as building residential subdivision roadways and commercial parking lots. T & G Construction supplies its own asphalt materials with two permanent plants — one in Lawton and the other located in a quarry about 15 miles north. It also has a portable plant that’s moved as needed.
“We built really good relationships with some developers and general contractors here in Lawton and some others from out of town that bid local work and hire us,” noted J.C. “I believe they call us back and continue to use us on a repeat basis because we provide quality work. We’re also willing to work with them to do whatever they need, whether it’s a simple pad or a full site build.”
Business expansion
T & G Construction often teams up with its sister companies to complete full site projects such as subdivisions. T & G Construction provides the bulk earthwork to finish grading, while A-Plus Construction performs underground utility installation. Aggregates are supplied through the trucking company G & R Enterprises LLC. Concrete comes from Southwest Ready Mix, which has six permanent locations and a portable plant. Another company, RCJ Construction, offers general contracting.
“My dad and I started RCJ in the 1990s, and we started putting in water and sewer about 10 years ago when we found that it was getting hard to find dependable subs,” recalled J.C. “It’s helped us control jobs a little better. It’s just part of a progression of expansion.”
J.C. has been a big part of the expansion since he joined the company full time in 1985. Angela also started working for T & G Construction around the same time weighing trucks, then she did payroll before leaving to raise a family. She rejoined about six years ago. Angela and J.C. co-own all the companies with the exception of G & R Enterprises, which is owned by J.C., Angela and Angela’s husband, Jodie. J.C.’s sons, J.D. and Clayton, and Angela’s son, Grayson, represent the fourth generation of the family in the business and are part of a staff of about 150.
“There’s nothing better than all of us working together,” declared Angela. “We absolutely love it, and J.C. and Jodie have really done a great job of building things. Beyond that, we have a great extended family, which is how we view our employees. We have a lot of very good, dependable people who have been with us a long time. It’s hard for just two people to run everything, so there is a heavy reliance on our staff. They deserve a lot of credit for our success and longevity.”
Komatsu and WIRTGEN from KSM
T & G Construction and Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc. (KSM) have built a longstanding relationship that spans back nearly 30 years, according to J.C. During that time, T & G Construction and its affiliated companies have purchased several pieces of Komatsu and WIRTGEN GROUP equipment, working with Ed Kirby and other KSM representatives such as Territory Manager Kyle Cloyd.
“I got to know Ed at a fairly young age, and he was really good to me and dealt with me honestly and fairly, so I’ve stayed loyal to Kirby-Smith; in fact, everyone I’ve dealt with at Kirby-Smith has been great to work with,” remarked J.C. “Kyle is continuing that legacy. He always takes my phone calls, and he checks in on me. He and Kirby-Smith go the extra mile. If we have an issue, they come out and get us up and running as fast as possible. When we buy a new piece of equipment or rent something, they send people to train our operators.”
To maintain production at the concrete and asphalt plants, T & G Construction and its affiliated companies use Komatsu WA270 and WA380 wheel loaders, with the latter feeding the asphalt plants because they do a higher volume per hour. T & G Construction uses a compact 34,000-pound-plus Komatsu PC138USLC excavator for tight jobsites and smaller projects such as concrete patching. The company moves dirt and installs pipe with its larger 78,000-pound-plus Komatsu PC360LC excavator.
“Komatsu equipment gets the job done; it’s that simple,” J.C. emphasized. “We have had great success with it, and anytime we need to rent something, we reach out to Kyle for more Komatsu. We recently rented some Komatsu articulated trucks.”
Additionally, T & G Construction uses WIRTGEN W 200 and W 220 mills, matching those to the size of the project. The company also has two VÖGELE pavers, including a universal-class, 173-horsepower SUPER 1700 with a maximum paving width of 21 feet for jobs such as city overlays and parking lots, as well as a highway-class, 250-horsepower SUPER 2000 with a maximum paving width of more than 28 feet for highway work. Compaction is done with HAMM rollers.
“We started using the Komatsu equipment first, then we added WIRTGEN products mainly because of our relationship with Kirby-Smith to be honest,” commented J.C. “Our experience is that they are dependable machines, so we keep buying them. As with Komatsu, Kirby-Smith has the expertise to take care of any issue and limit our downtime. It says a lot that Kirby-Smith has such a diversified lineup of equipment and plenty of options. That’s important to me.”
Maintain focus
It’s also important to J.C. and Angela that T & G Construction and its affiliated companies continue to provide exceptional service and quality products. That’s what they are trying to instill in the next generation.
“We continue to train the kids, and hopefully one day they can take it over,” said J.C. “We’ve built a $40-million-a-year business on taking care of customers, and that will continue to be the path to success. We’re not looking to expand our markets now; just ensure we can do what we have always been known for.”
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