OLD-FASHIONED EFFORT AND INNOVATION HAVE MADE SOUTHWEST CONTRACTING LTD. A LEADER IN THE CIVIL CONSTRUCTION SECTOR.

THE ORIGINS OF SOUTHWEST CONTRACTING LTD. (SWC) can be traced back well past its 1972 inception, to when founders Lloyd and Wes Geransky were youths gaining practical skills by toiling for their father Phil on the family farm in Hepburn, Saskatchewan.

Today, SWC's staff exhibits the same tough and honest work ethic that was required to keep the Geransky farm operating smoothly throughout the decades. But SWC has evolved dramatically from its early days when Lloyd and Wes, with younger brothers Cliff and Richard, armed with a D6 dozer and a 955 track loader, created a solid client base in Greater Vancouver by excavating and moving earth.

Unfortunately, as his dreams were coming to fruition, Wes Geransky passed away in 1997. Lloyd Geransky carried on for five years as sole owner and transferred ownership of SWC in 2002 to longtime employees - and now partners - Scott MacCara, Rudy Froese and Kevin Ronning.

The trio presides over a civil construction firm that has the means to successfully undertake excavation and shoring projects as complex as the Canada Line, the new Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and the expansive Suter Brook residential community in Port Moody. SWC is also a site services and preparation specialist, and its clients are a who's who of B.C. developers, including UniverCity at SFU, Concert Properties and Wesbild Holdings, among others.

But despite the company's high-power portfolio, the partners exude a casual camaraderie as they welcome guests to their Surrey headquarters. MacCara, Froese and Ronning proudly show visitors the office containing Wes and Lloyd Geransky's desks where they developed SWC's range of activities.

"In some ways, nothing's really changed," saying Ronning. "We've always been keen to take on new challenges, and we're proud of the fact that we adapt to market conditions instead of being locked into a single type of work for a limited scope of clients. We're also proud that we have such a strong and longstanding network of companies that work for us on our projects, as well as our many long-term employees.

"Southwest has more than 35 employees who have been here more then 10 years and 20 who have been here more then 20 years. You can't over estimate the value of all that experience in this line of work."

MacCara adds another constant in his attempt to summarize the company's 35-year history. "We're loyal to the people who have helped us get to where we're at," he says. "If that's not an old-fashioned value, I don't know what is."