Paving a different road

McGarvin-Moberly VP retiring at the end of 2017

WORLAND – Worland asphalt contractor McGarvin-Moberly Construction Vice President Gary Bertsch has decided that after 47 years working for the company it is time to retire. His last official day with the company is Dec. 31 with Kevin Craft taking over his position at the start of 2018.

"It's been a very challenging job and really rewarding. I can't say enough good about the company. It's been a good company all the years I've worked for them. McGarvin-Moberly, I think, enjoys a really good reputation. I think we are tops in what we do, highway paving and crushing," Bertsch said. He added that it is going to be tough keeping his nose out of the company after he retires but that he feels that the company will still keep him involved a little bit. His main concern is making sure that things transition smoothly with no problems.

Bertsch started working for McGarvin-Moberly as a hot plant laborer in June of 1970. He worked under his brother who was the hot plant foreman at the time. Three or four years later he was promoted to hot plant operator and in an additional four or five years he was promoted to hot plant foreman. He worked as the foreman for another three or four years before he was promoted to a superintendent type position. "Probably around 2007 or so I think, I was brought into the management of the company and I think it was around 2010 I became vice president of the company," Bertsch said.

Before being promoted to management, Bertsch spent most of his time working on the road, living in a camper from one job to another and one town to another which wasn't a big deal when he was single but created challenges after he married and had two sons [Caleb and Jeremy]. In 1983 he met his wife Kristy who was a flagger, marrying her in December of the same year. "Working out of town is fun when you are young and single, but once you get a family, it's tough on them and it's a challenging thing. I've been blessed with a good and very understanding wife. When the boys were young we all traveled together at times, when we could, so that was a fun time too," Bertsch said. "There are not too many places in Wyoming that we haven't been. There haven't been too many towns that I haven't lived in for a time," he added.

Jeremy has followed in his father's footsteps and works as a hot plant foreman for McGarvin-Moberly. Caleb lives in Denver and works for a company that sells and installs equipment for hospitals around the Midwest.

Over the years Bertsch has seen many changes in the way roads are paved with technology and the sophistication of the equipment used and the challenges created. "I think most people don't realize how sophisticated the equipment is from the hot plants all the way to the pavers. The advent of technology has just been crazy. Of course, it brings a lot of challenges as far as trying to keep up with it and finding people that can work on it. It kind of forces you to have to be more dependent on yourself to make it run. It's not easy, especially in the state of Wyoming, to call someone and have them come and fix a problem. So, I have learned a lot just by having to do that kind of stuff," Bertsch said. "We started out with a hot plant that could maybe produce 1,500 ton [asphalt] a day versus now we can get 4,000-5,000 ton [asphalt] out a day. It makes for a lot more miles of road that you pave in a day," he added.

Bertsch plans on using his retirement as a way to make up for lost time. "There are a lot of things that I want to do and be able to have time to do it. Probably do a lot of traveling just to see the country, the United States. One thing about working the type of work we do it's in the summer time. You are pretty well tied to your job; you are not able to go vacationing. So I am going to make up for it a little bit," Bertsch said. "And I might swing a golf club or two," he added.

Bertsch recommends working in the asphalt business to anyone who is willing to keep their nose to the grindstone. "I think for anybody who wants to work hard, there is a lot of opportunity in this business. We do struggle to find help, it seems like it's a little bit more than it used to be, but if somebody really wants to work and get ahead, I think there is good opportunity in this kind of business."