BONTKE BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION Diversification and adaptability build success for nearly century-old, Abilene-based contractor
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dapting to the marketplace is often an essential element of surviving nearly 100 years in the construction industry. That’s been a hallmark of Bontke Brothers Construction Company Inc. since 1924 when the original owners and brothers A.T.,
John and August Bontke founded the company in Abilene, Texas. Now, A.T.’s grandsons, brothers Kenny and Mickey Bontke, oversee Bontke Brothers Construction as president and vice president respectively. The company was
(L-R) Brothers Kenny and Mickey Bontke are third-generation owners of Bontke Brothers Construction Company Inc. The highly diverse firm provides a wide range of earthwork and paving services to the Abilene, Texas, area. Supervisor Liz Bontke mills a street with a WIRTGEN W 200 i. “I started out operating the bottom of the machine, then moved to the top,” said Liz. “The top took about a day or so to learn. Production depends on several factors, but we can mill fairly quickly in most applications. It’s a great machine.”
previously run by their father, Eugene, as well as their uncle John and aunt Pauline. In its earliest days, Bontke Brothers Construction focused on crushing and material supply for the Abilene area. By 1930, it had 65 employees and two crushers. Over the course of 97 years, the company grew alongside Abilene and transitioned into paving and full site construction, which involves everything from stripping to finish grading, including utility installation. Additionally, the company now recycles concrete and uses the resulting product as base material. “Whatever the times have called for, we have made it work,” said Mickey. “Offering such a large scope of work, including asphalt and concrete paving, has given us the ability to do that. If one sector or market is down, we can easily move into another and basically maintain a consistent volume of work.” The shift that Bontke Brothers Construction made during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 illustrates Mickey’s point. “Our emphasis was primarily TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) — which is kind of ironic, because our offices are located in a former TxDOT building in Abilene — and municipality work,” Kenny recalled. “That slowed down considerably, so we diversified and turned our attention to commercial and banks, schools, and other projects. During the last few years, there has been a lot more TxDOT work because the state made a significant investment in infrastructure, so we have ramped back up there.”
Generational projects With about 60 people among multiple crews, Bontke Brothers
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