HAMMER CONSTRUCTION INC. Oklahoma-based contractor continues to see success by focusing on quality customer service
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ammer Construction Inc. has officially been in business for about 30 years, but its roots stretch back to when Jack Hammer founded Hammer Construction and Dozer Service in the 1950s. He focused on building roads, pits and pad sites for drilling rigs and providing roustabout services for energy companies.
Robby Moore, President and Owner
Jack retired in the late 1980s, and his daughter Shirley Hammer took over and changed the name to simply Hammer Construction Inc. She also branched out to offer site work services to the commercial market. By 2016, Hammer Construction’s projects were almost evenly split between commercial and energy.
During that same year, her son-in-law Robby Moore took full control of Hammer Construction as owner and president upon Shirley’s retirement. Moore joined the company about 17 years ago on a part-time basis working in its corporate office.
“I really wasn’t planning on being with Hammer Construction on a permanent basis,” Moore admitted. “I was just filling a gap and helping the family. As the business evolved, I realized it was a good career fit for me. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.” Other management personnel of the 100-member staff include Vice President of Operations Mark Brown and Human Resources Director
A Hammer Construction operator moves dirt with a Komatsu D61EXi-24 intelligent Machine Control (iMC) dozer. “We upload the model to the machines, do a final precheck and go,” said Foreman Matt Swafford. “The integrated GPS control of the iMC machines is extremely accurate. With no masts or cable to put up and take down, our production time increased, so we are able to finish projects faster with reduced costs."
Megan Swart. In addition to its corporate office in Norman, Okla., Hammer Construction has multiple field offices across Oklahoma and northern Texas. “We like to say that we’ve got air in our tires and will go wherever there is an opportunity,” Moore said. “In reality, most of our commercial jobs are within about an hour of Norman. Energy work takes us a little farther out, but not like several years ago when we had offices in Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. That’s when oil field projects made up the vast majority of our workload.”
Broadening services “Today, our commercial excavation and utility services make up a sizable portion of our projects,” stated Moore. “Energy services — including our roustabout, excavation and trucking departments will continue to be a staple here at Hammer. “The type of work we specialized in on the energy side, especially earthwork, translated well to commercial,” he explained. “About a decade ago, we decided to broaden our services to include commercial, and it’s paid off.” Hammer Construction’s commercial side provides complete site packages or individual services for customers, including clearing, mass earthwork and fine grading, utility installation, and concrete paving. “We, and most of our clients, prefer for us to do a turnkey project where the civil construction schedule is in our hands,” said Moore. “In those cases, we self-perform nearly everything and work with trusted partners to get certain items taken care of. We are not
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