River View Construction has built a solid reputation, and it all comes down to working with the right people and treating everyone fairly.
The company, based in the central Wisconsin community of Wausau, got its start in 1950 as a milk-hauling company but eventually transitioned into environmental services, working mostly in the landfill industry.
The focus on environmental services has allowed the company to have solid working relationship with other are contractors. “Smaller companies around here don’t feel threatened by us because we don’t actively pursue smaller sewer or water projects,” says owner Randy Weinkauf. “We gain a lot of trust that way and we’ve got a really good name around here because of that.”
The company, which serves primarily the upper two-thirds of the state, is also quick at paying its subcontractors. “They know they’re going to get paid. That’s No. 1,” says Weinkauf. “When we work for someone, the first thing I check out is am I going to chase this money or am I going to get paid.”
River View has also stepped in to help other area contractors. In summer 2015, a contractor reached out to the company about a problem with a waste pond. River View brought one of its hydroexcavators to help clean it up. “We took away three loads of waste from that job,” Weinkauf said.
Weinkauf is fussy about who the company works for — that way he can pay his crews well because the money is sure to come in. That goes a long way toward making sure the job is done correctly.
“I like leaving a job where they want us back,” Weinkauf says. “If there is an emergency line break or something else, we’re a first call for a lot of companies and that’s the way we want it. Our guys know that they need to leave a River View footprint on the job.”
