About Ron Bretz Excavating, Inc.

Ron Bretz Excavating was started in 1972. I started out by digging basements, installing septic fields, driveways and grading work. We had a tractor backhoe, a dozer and a dump truck.

In 1973 I partnered in with a road building contractor, we became Mercer-Bretz, Inc. We built over 5 miles of County Specified roads for subdivisions, plus numerous private roads. We had four earthmovers, three dozers & a roller. At the end of 1973 I realized being a partner was not for me, and decided to go it alone again.

So in 1974 I went back to Ron Bretz Excavating. I got to be a real pro at basements and septic fields, and developed a real skill for final grading. I now had 2 dump trucks, 2 tractor backhoes, and a dozer. In 1982 I decided to move into underground work installing water main, storm sewer and sanitary sewer. I needed to form a corporation so Ron Bretz Excavating became Ron Bretz Excavating, Inc. as it still is today.

The first public job I ever bid was a small water main job in the City of Linden. When I picked up the plans, there was only one other bidder. He apparently thought he was going to be the only bidder on the project and bid really high. When he saw me show up at the bid letting 5 minutes before the opening, his head dropped and hit the table. Thus I got my first water main job for $25,000.

After the Linden job I was able to purchase the first of many excavators a John Deere 690B. We had 4 employees and I would work in the field during the day, and do the paper work at night out of my house. Through lots of hard work, and by doing a quality job, the business continued to grow. In 1987 the business grew some more when I married my wife Beverly. In 1988 we bought a small rental house for an office and 5 acres to build our first shop. We continued to grow and added more equipment and employees. In 1992 we became MDOT pre-qualified. We continued to larger jobs and our reputation also continued to grow as an honest contractor who did quality work. In 2002 we built our current office and shop on Turill Road in Lapeer.

This last year we had over 25 employees working in the field, and 4 full time employees in the office. Through 33 year of business Ron Bretz Excavating, Inc. has gone through many changes. The one thing that hasn’t changed though has been the principles that I started this business with 1972, Safety, Quality, and Honesty.

Today our company works as a team, and we take a lot of pride in our work. Ron Bretz Excavating, Inc. would really like working with you, as part of your team.