“It’s a Family Tradition”
The Story of KAT Excavation & Construction, Inc.
It’s All in the Family
Paul Trest, Kerry’s grandfather, started in civil work in 1940 with a shovel and some land in which he recognized and understood the value of what we know as Pine Ridge Sand.
At that time, he would shovel the dirt by hand into buggies or vehicles. He eventually expanded his products to selling oyster & clam shell. Paul and his wife, Lillian had three sons and one daughter. One of their sons, Russell Trest, and his wife Jeanette, would continue the family tradition of civil work and started their business in 1963. Russell and Jeanette both purchased and drove dump trucks, loading and hauling themselves, eventually they would hire drivers & operators thru the years until their retirement in 2013. Russell & Jeanette had two sons and one daughter. Thru the years they raised their children working in and around the business.
Kerry Trest, BMT Inventor and owner of KAT Excavation & Construction, Inc.
KAT Excavation & Construction, Inc. is Born
At the ripe age of 8 years old Kerry could operate a dozer, a track hoe, work on trucks and equipment. Rusty & Kerry both continued to work for their father through their teens and into their twenties. Kerry chose to start his own business with a larger focus. Interestingly, Kerry started out with a chain saw and a dream in the year of 1989 and steadily grew.
In 1992 officially opened KAT and in 1999 he incorporated the business, and that vision grew into what is known as KATExcavation & Construction, Inc. today (KAT stands for Kerry Allan Trest). Kerry and Belinda’s son, Chris Trest, has been working at KAT since 2007. Chris works in dispatch, the shop and as an equipment operator. The fabric of this company started with Paul Trest and that legacy of hard work and determination continues today four generations later with expectations of generation 5! The belief in hard work and perseverance beats strongly in the work ethic of these men and their families.
The first Bulk Master Top was built in 2015 and started hauling in February 2016
The Tradition Continues
As with any industry all the generations have known adversity with inclement weather, fall out of the oil industry, the fall of the housing market, recessions, hurricanes, droughts, floods, unstable stock markets and other unforeseen obstacles, but choose to survive and carry on. Kerry and Belinda today carry on that very belief and the family legacy continues 79 years later.