The first of those pivotal moments was starting the business.  Steve returned from his Sacramento, CA professional skills gaining experience ready to start his own business.  The business was started in 1999 with his brother.  As with any new start-up Steve and his brother performed all the bidding, business, and building activities.  In 2000 Steve bought 100% of the shares of the company and has been the sole owner and operator with hired crews since.

Another turning point in the business was a direct result of his Sacramento, CA or big city and big project experience.  As Bison Building System projects increased, so did the need for better support equipment.  Being well familiar with pumping trucks to deliver concrete into less accessible locations on the site, Bison Building Systems noticed an unusual arrangement in the Flathead Valley with regard to pumping trucks.  Typically, concrete pumping trucks were a separate company that was coordinated to be on site just before the arrival of the concrete ready-mix trucks.  At that time, in the Flathead Valley the pumping trucks were owned and operated by the ready-mix concrete suppliers, which was unusual for the industry.

As Bison Building Systems knew the benefits of these pumping trucks, it sought a path to own one.  Before purchasing a truck, Bison Building Systems approached the concrete ready-mix suppliers to inquire about how they felt about him essentially competing with their concrete pumping operations.  To Bison Building System’s surprise, the concrete ready-mix company he approached did not have a problem with it and even offered to sell a concrete pump to him.  So just a couple of years after Bison’s Building System’s started, it bought a non-boom pump truck in 2001.  This further leveraged their job, site, and process success.  As such, each year thereafter Bison Building Systems bought another concrete pump truck with boom delivery from the concrete ready-mix supplier.  Over the years, ultimately buying the whole fleet of concrete pump and boom trucks.  In a growing pattern of innovation and calculated business growth, Bison Building Systems became the first independent concrete pumping operation in the northeast of Montana.

This additional division of Bison Building Systems thrived in the ensuing years and further established Bison Building Systems as the premier concrete construction and concrete support company in the northeast Montana area.  However, in 2007 and 2008 the downturn in the housing market and economy was impacting communities all across the United States.  That impact was noticed, but not yet felt in the Flathead Valley area.  Always being prudent, Bison Building Systems realized that it would not escape the same economic pressures and difficulties seen throughout the United States, but not yet tangibly impacting northeast Montana.  As such, Bison Building Systems sold the trucks and the liability associated with them before the full impact of the housing downturn was felt in the Flathead Valley area in 2009.  A wise and strategic action by Bison Building Systems.

This change in Bison Building System focus prompted another shift in operations.  With cash from the sale of the concrete pump boom trucks, Bison Building Systems bought more foundation forms to diversify their flat-work by more deliberately entering the residential and commercial foundation segment of the concrete market.  Again, in a pattern of wise business decisions, this deliberate action into the residential housing market proved to be an important strategic initiative.

The result of this is a concrete contractor that is positioned to provide “anything concrete.”  That is services to the residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal markets for more steady and less seasonal sales, operations, and business stability.  For instance, as government and corporation big money projects occur for highway and bridge projects, upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure, large public and industrial sites, and such; Bison Business Systems has been capable and available for that work.  As those projects come to completion and start to interface with the community, there grows a need for new and more labor.  Individuals and families move in and residential housing demand grows.  Bison Building Systems is then ready to step into that concrete construction demand.  This pattern of commercial, industrial, and municipal demand then followed by residential home building demand, then back again to infrastructure need, and back to housing has been a cycle that Bison Building Systems capitalize upon for years and is a significant contribution to their success.

An important distinction of Bison Building Systems from its competitors, and considered by the business as another pivotal moment for the firm, has been its commitment to the local area and economy.  As the 2007 housing and economic downturn was slower to arrive in the Flathead Valley area, once it arrived it was impactful and slow to leave.  The 2010 to 2018 years were lean for all businesses.  Unlike many other concrete contractors in the Flathead Valley that left the area to find other work, many to support concrete work in the flourishing North Dakota oil fields at the time, Bison Building Systems stayed to support the community.

An example of Bison Building Systems commitment to the prosperity of Flathead Valley through concrete construction support, is manifest with a significant project in the town of Libby, MT.  By remaining available to the local community, in 2010, a project bid was gained to provide concrete and construction for 150,000 square feet of flat work and supporting footing structure.  It was a technical project that required the integration of railroad tracks into the concrete slab internal to the building.  The project would require 5,000 yards of concrete.  While other bidders followed the typical bidding strategy thinking, all suggested the use of a capable concrete ready-mix supplier 90 miles away.  Building on its growing reputation for innovation and “can-do” ability, Bison Building Systems took a different approach.  Just 2 miles from the project was a small concrete ready-mix supplier overlooked by all other bidders.  Bison inquired what it would take for this local ready-mix supplier to support 300-yard pour days, something it was not at that time capable of supporting.  Within hours the needed capacity improvements, additional employees, and added trucks were identified.  Rather than haul concrete 90 miles, Bison Building Systems included the ready-mix plant improvements, trucks, and staffing in its bid for no more than the cost of hauling concrete 90 miles.  Winning the bid, Bison Building Systems brought funds to the local community, increased the future capacity of a ready-mix supplier, and bought more jobs to the area.  Given the efficiencies of this decision for local sourcing, the job was finished in just 4 months.  The ingenuity of Bison Building Systems and their commitment to the communities in which they work was further solidified at the municipality level.

The story of Bison Building Systems takes another key turn.  The project just discussed in Libby was a milestone as the first $1 million dollar plus project for the business.  Still leaning on large concrete projects of the early Sacramento, CA era of preparation, as jobs like that in Libby and other projects continued, there was increasing confidence in Bison Building Systems capability, quality, and completion reputation and trust by other municipal, commercial, and industrial projects followed. 

To emphasize this, a unique project followed, being a sewage lift station.  It was not the largest project Bison Building Systems had completed, but it was on the more technical side.  A unique feature of it was not building up as is usual with concrete construction, but was a build 30 plus feet down into the earth.  It was an enclosed vessel from which wastewater would be lifted to flow onward in the infrastructure system.  Unique engineering, equipment, and know-how were all required elements.  A key factor for winning the bid and gaining the project was Bison Building System’s reputation.  The project was successfully completed.  A second and satisfying element about this project was the increasing recognition of Bison Building Systems to meet strict municipality and government bidding criteria.  Ultimately and over time, Bison Building Systems has become fully recognized by professionals in the concrete industry as well as general contractors, governments, industrial clients, and others for their full-service concrete offerings, quality, and completion competencies.

Bison Building Systems continues today as an active, innovative, and easy to engage concrete full-service provider.  Over the years Bison Building Services have amassed the tools, equipment, and know-how that allows it to be resourced and ready for any concrete construction need.  This readiness has been recognized by the State of Montana with a “Concrete Excellence Aware.” 

Bison Building Systems is the premier, full service “Anything Concrete,” and fully resourced consistently local and Flathead Valley committed concrete construction provider.