(L-R) are Eric Hewins; Chris Reseska, of Monroe Tractor; Walter Hewins Sr.; and Walter Hewins Jr.
(CEG photo)
In 1952, Walter D. Hewins Jr. started doing some excavating work with an old Cletrac crawler tractor in the Ashley Falls area (western Massachusetts' Berkshire Mountains area) primarily doing work for local farmers cleaning up hedgerows or the occasional light site cleaning job. His company was known as Hewins Construction.
In 1969, Hewins was joined by his son, Walt, who is today referred to as Walt Sr. This was the younger Hewins' first job, and he was Hewins Construction's first employee.
At that time, the company was still doing quite a bit of farm work and some farm drainage work, but in the 1970s the economy in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut started to change. Rather than being driven by agriculture, a construction boom started that was driven by vacation and secondary homes for the wealthy from New York City and Boston.
Talking about the early days and his dad's business, Hewins Sr. said, "I still have a receipt for $750 that we charged to install an entire septic system."
That was in the early 1970s. In the mid-'90s, Hewins Sr.'s sons joined the operation, and the company — which now does commercial and residential site preparation, utility work and access road construction in western Massachusetts, western Connecticut and eastern New York State — became known as W.D. Hewins & Sons.
The construction of resort properties and high-end homes started to boom, and W.D. Hewins & Sons built its reputation on its ability to jump through hoops and meet the challenges of what could be some very challenging customers. Along with meeting those challenges it also developed a reputation for doing excellent work.
"We have had some very wealthy clientele who make some interesting decisions," Hewins Sr. said. "I've had customers walk out to us in the middle of a project and say ‘you know I got thinking about it last night, I want to add a four-stall garage and four apartments to the project' like it was absolutely nothing, and we need to have the flexibility to move on with the project and get that done for them.
"During the ‘70s we made some connections with some major developers. Gilligan Development was one of them who were landing some of the major projects in the area. They liked the work that we did for them, and we became their contractor of choice. We have prided ourselves on the quality of work that we do and as a result, we get a tremendous amount of repeat business. I'm still doing work today for people who originally had work done by my father."
Today, W.D. Hewins & Sons has a fleet of 15 earthmoving machines, employs between six to 10 people, and typically has as much work as it would like to have. A big part of the success of W.D. Hewins & Sons has been using reliable construction equipment from reliable dealers who give it support that it can count on. Since the 1990s, when the company bought its first Drott, it has counted on Case. In the 1980s, it bought a couple of Case model 880 machines and not long afterward, purchased a Case 1080, which is still in service today.
"We have been very loyal to the Case product and Case dealers over the years because the machines have been consistently trouble-free and, on the rare occasion that we need support, we get very good service. I remember an instance a few years ago we were having a problem with hydraulic pressures on a hammer. It was a complicated issue. To be honest, I thought it was going to take weeks to resolve.
"Monroe sent out a technician and had us up and running in just a couple of hours. For a period of time, we were dealing with Monroe Tractor in Albany, N.Y., which was a little bit of a distance for us, but over the last few years, Monroe has done some major expansion into New England putting a facility in Worcester, Mass., and most recently one in Hartford, Conn., which is the store that is now serving us.
"Most recently, we purchased a Case CX160D 36,000-pound machine and a CX210D 48,000-pound machine, both of which we purchased from the Connecticut store. We have already put 5,000 hours on these machines, and they have operated virtually trouble-free."
W.D. Hewins & Sons currently is involved in a one-year project at Indian Mountain School's new field house and soccer athletic field. The field house is 64,000 sq. ft.
A private, prestigious boarding and day school located in Lakeville, Conn., the new facility will include two basketball courts, a multi-use space, four international size squash courts with a viewing gallery, a fitness center fully equipped with Peloton bikes and a synthetic turf soccer field, which also will be used for lacrosse and other outdoor recreation.
W.D. Hewins & Sons is handling all of the site work, excavation, drainage, utility work, sewer and water. The excavation of the field involved a 10-ft. cut. All excavated materials are being re-used on site, and 3,000 ft. feet of drainage is being installed for the athletic field. CEG
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