Ralph Vines started Kesser International in 1987 as a sole proprietorship while he also was serving in the U.S. Army. The company performed commercial renovation and new construction projects for city, state and other government agencies. It incorporated in 2001 and focuses primarily on heavy construction projects resulting from environmental damage.
Kesser International most recently was in the news for its repair of Arkansas Highway 23, the famed Pig Trail Scenic Byway in northwest Arkansas.
Your parents were contractors. What did you learn from them?
In addition to the technical aspect of construction, my parents taught me the importance of decision-making, money management and marketing. During my youth, they instilled in me the belief that hard work is a virtue. I often worked on weekends, nights and holidays. I firmly believe the most important lesson learned was money management and the importance of budgeting regardless of the size of the project.
How competitive is your industry? What separates your company from your competitors?
Our industry, like most, is very competitive. In general, we compete against a select group of companies that specialize in the type of work we do. Most of our work is high intensity with a short duration. This is usually caused by damage inflicted by Mother Nature, damage leading to road closures, dangerous situations or emergency projects to keep further damage from occurring. It almost always involves repairs using some form of large rocks, sometimes in excess of 2,000 pounds each, that are used to stabilize or repair damaged embankments.
We are fortunate in that we have a number of advantages to draw from in our company. We have an experienced staff that has three decades of work history in dealing with the Little Rock, Memphis, Vicksburg and Galveston districts of the Army Corps of Engineers; the Little Rock Air Force Base; the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department; the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission; and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Are there any projects that you’re particularly proud of, and if so, what are they?
We performed a stone bank paving project in Desha County for the Little Rock District Army Corps of Engineers and received the SBA’s Administrators Award of Excellence. We performed a roof rehabilitation project for the Little Rock Air Force Base where we completed a total of 124 roof replacements in 365 days and received the Prime Contractor of the Year Award and the SBA’s Administrators Award of Excellence. We also installed the first chevron dikes in the Mississippi River for the Vicksburg District of the Army Corps of Engineers and received the Certificate of Achievement Award.
One other notable project was the demolition of the Village Square Apartments in Little Rock. At the time it was supposed to be one of the largest asbestos-abatement projects in the state with a total of five buildings, with four of those containing 250 apartments each.
If you could tell your 18-year-old self some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Always be on time and show respect to others, don’t be afraid to accept constructive criticism, and never make the same mistake twice. Receiving a Harvard education without a degree is pretty expensive!
Sign up for Daily E-news
