There is a certain amount of envyus older guys get when we runacross a young guy who started fromnothing and has worked his way upto a multi-million dollar company, allbefore the age of 30. Along withenvy however, comes respect, hopeand promise. A feeling that if youwork hard and watch your financesyou can still be very successful in thiscountry, even in these trying times.Tim Greenleaf is an example of whatcan happen when an individualworks hard, smart and with purpose.

Tim Greenleaf is a third generationgrader, who worked for and learnedthe trade from his grandfather. Likeso many future successful men, Timfaced some hard times as a youthand found himself leaving highschool in order to help support hisfamily. He was just 14 yearsold when he began workingfor his grandfather as a laborer. He quickly worked his way up tooperator and by the age of 18, he was running all of the fieldoperations. Tim had hopes of one

www.calcontractor.com12 2011 Grading & Excavating issue CALCONTRACTOR

By: Brian Hoover

Tim Greenleaf finds success through

teamwork.

CC GradingEx Issue 2011_CC Book 2011 12/29/11 12:49 PM Page 12

www.calcontractor.com14 2011 Grading & Excavating issue CALCONTRACTOR

day taking over his grandfather’sbusiness, but soon learned that thiswas not going to be in the cards. In2000, and at the still tender age of20, Tim decided to go it on his own.When most men his age were stillliving at home and playing Xbox, Timwas trying to figure out how he wasgoing to be able to afford theequipment for his new venture. Timexplains, “When I first started I wentand worked in areas like Ventura,San Bernardino and Riverside, so asnot to compete with my grandfather’scompany. At first I took any job Icould get and was even happy ifsomeone would let me demo his orher driveway. During the first year itwas rocky as I was just establishingmy clientele and making a reputationfor myself. I started out renting whatI needed as I needed it, but as mycompany began to grow, I knew Ihad to find a way to own myequipment. Around this time, JeffLiebl of Quinn Company showed mea rent to own program, where I could

make 6-months of accelerated rentalpayments, with 80% being creditedback to me as a down payment. Thisafforded me a low monthly paymentand allowed me to roll right intoanother rent to ownmachinery purchase. The firstmachine was a Cat 953 trackloader and I addedanother track loader justsix months later. Today wehave used this program to procure16 Caterpillar machines including:Cat track loaders, wheel loaders,excavators, skid steers, track Catsand Caterpillar backhoes. We alsohave four Peterbilt trucks and enddumps, as well as several JohnDeere skip loaders. I am very gratefulto Jeff Liebl and the rest of the teamat Quinn Company for working withour company over the years and trulybeing an integral part of oursuccess.”

Today, with approximately 47employees, Tim Greenleaf Engineeringperforms grading and excavating

services that are among the best inSouthern California. Their servicesinclude everything from massexcavation, hillside repairs, customhouse pads, import and export dirtservices and finish grading. Inaddition, Tim Greenleaf Engineeringcan demo any site from entirebuildings to just the interior down tothe core. They also specialize indeconstruction services where theycarefully dismantle a structure and

Tim GreenleafEngineering relieson Cat equipment

to stay competitiveand responsive to

their clients needs.

CC GradingEx Issue 2011_CC Book 2011 12/29/11 12:49 PM Page 14

its contents for recycling purposes.This can help offset job costs, as wellas remaining environmentallyresponsible. Tim Greenleafcomments, “We are well known forour turnkey services where we cantake a job from complete demolitionto finish grade, saving our customers

time and money in the process. Ouroperators, laborers and techniciansare fully trained and certified toperform all of our services, includingasbestos removal and otherabatement services. Our grading andexcavating services offerings areunique in the fact that we take on thejobs that others shy away from. Wewant the jobs that drop from thesidewalk, straight down threestories. We specialize in this type ofwork and it sets us apart from theothers. We use extended excavatorsand unique tried and true methods.What keeps our job interesting is notjust moving dirt around all day, it’s

about taking on the jobs that othercompanies say can’t be done. Ibelieve our willingness to take onthese difficult jobs is what hashelped us weather the currenteconomic situation. We specialize incustom home hillside type work andwe put our men and machines onsteep hills that most people wouldnot even walk down. I am also quiteproud of our other service offeringslike the job we recently completedon the Disneyland Hotel Courtyardproject. We ripped downapproximately 7 restaurants, 13pools, and even an undergroundwaterfall and did the grading for the

www.calcontractor.com 2011 Grading & Excavating issue CalContractor 15

Above: Tim Greenleaf,

Owner.

They have completed morethan 4,000 jobs and

customer satisfactionhas always been a

top priority.

CC GradingEx Issue 2011_CC Book 2011 12/29/11 12:49 PM Page 15

www.calcontractor.com16 2011 Grading & Excavating issue CALCONTRACTOR

new water park. We started this ayear ago and just recently finished.We are also getting ready tostart a 12-acre job in BeverlyHills that includes the constructionof lagoons and ponds and even amini-golf course. Because of ourconfidentiality agreements we cannot divulge the celebrities that we aredoing work for, but they are currentlykeeping us very busy.”

A challenge that Tim GreenleafEngineering and most everyone inthis industry are experiencing rightnow is of course the economy. Timcontinues, “It is not just getting thework, it is getting profitable work. Alittle more than three years ago, Ididn’t even want to answer thephone. We just could not take on anymore work and it was not how much,it was, ‘When can you start?”.Consequently, we have invested in avery thorough job-costing program.We do this while some of ourcompetitors insist that if they havemoney in bank, they are remainingprofitable. I am here to tell you that isa dangerous way to do business andit is the reason why so manyconstruction companies are biddingthese jobs below cost. 2011 was theyear of the budget bid. Now I thinkpeople are better adjusted and thingsare a bit better. Still, much of ourprofit is in our receivables. We willget paid, but when we do, we cannottouch it. You just have to worksmarter. I was fortunate to see some

of this coming and we saved theprofits that we made when timeswere good. I did not buy that beachhouse or Harley Davidson. Mysavings account is what funded thejobs like we are doing now and I amthankful for that. I am also thankfulfor our awesome team of employees.My wife, Joanne takes care of all ofthe compliance paperwork and keepsthe office in order, while the rest ofour long time employees do whatthey do best. Right now I feel like amarathon runner with no finish line insight. I just want to remaincomfortable, without feeling like aworkhorse all the time. I will behappy to stay the same size, just notso hurried all the time. I look forwardto the future and the challengesahead.”

Tim Greenleaf Engineering worksprimarily in LA and Orange Counties,but will and have gone out muchfurther. For more information on TimGreenleaf Engineering, you can visitthem at www.tgegrading.com or call714-847-2700.

TheTim Greenleaf

Engineering team hasover 100 combined years of demo and

grading experience. They are prepared

for all types of projects.

CC GradingEx Issue 2011_CC Book 2011 12/29/11 12:50 PM Page 16