Dirt Talk by BuildWitt
Welcome to the self-proclaimed top podcast in the Dirt World (totally made up)! Listen weekly as host Aaron talks Dirt World issues, answers listener questions, and interviews some of our favorite people, from executives to operators we've met along our travels.
Episodes
June 6, 2024 • 74 mins
Alex Anhalt is a Corporate Product Specialist at McCoy Construction and Forestry, a major US John Deere dealer. Beginning his career in engineering, he wrote product manuals for John Deere's latest machines and then helped with machine design. Alex now focuses on assisting contractors in getting the most out of their machines and technology.
To learn more about McCoy, you can check out their website here:
https://www.mccoycf.com/
I...
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June 3, 2024 • 49 mins
In this episode, Aaron is back at it again answering your questions. Some of these questions are from people who write and some are from comments on Instagram. Either way, we appreciate the feedback and the questions are as follows
How do you rate Australian mining compared to American mining?
Where do you see Buildwitt going?
What is the best life decision you’ve made?
What is your worst business decision in the last three yea...
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May 30, 2024 • 86 mins
In this episode Aaron is joined by Ben Winsor, a Managing Consultant at Aperture LLC. Ben and his team specialize in analyzing data from construction projects going through the litigation process. Construction consultants like Ben forensically analyze project data like schedules and cost reports, assist with claim preparation, write reports, and provide expert witness testimony at trials.
Ben is not a lawyer, but he is someone you ...
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May 27, 2024 • 75 mins
In this episode Aaron is joined by Jack Major (Vlog Videographer) to talk about Their recent trip to Australia. Recently Aaron, Jack, and TJ (social media expert) had the opportunity to travel halfway around the world to see what the Dirt World is like down under.
The trip was anything but uneventful. Days were filled with lots of travel to almost every state in the country. They saw all manner of earthmoving from sight work to ma...
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May 23, 2024 • 87 mins
In this episode Aaron is Joined by Nick, Matt and Marty Coppock (President, Vice President, and Vice President of operations) at Rock n Dirt excavating. As you might have guessed, Rock n Dirt is a family company. Although it’s awesome to see a family working together, as some may know it's not always the easiest to work with people you’ve known your whole life.
In this episode Aaron and the Coppocks dig into what life is like at R...
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May 20, 2024 • 51 mins
In this episode, Aaron is on his own to bring you another book report. He’s picking up where he left off in the Persistence Creates Opportunity: Building America for 50 Years, a book made for Ames Construction that periodically details their history.
In this episode, Aaron reads from the 1960’s to the 1980’s which was a pivotal time in the history of Ames. They talk about the changing business and personal life of Dick Ames and so...
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May 16, 2024 • 86 mins
In this episode Aaron is joined by Immanuel Martinez, Public Works Division Manager at Sunland Asphalt & Construction,LLC. Although Sunland does some pretty awesome work all throughout Arizona and other parts of the southwest, in this episode Aaron focuses on a project of sunland’s that he saw personally last year in the southeast. Without giving too much away, it's in Miami and features some very fast vehicles.
Aaron and Immanuel...
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May 13, 2024 • 85 mins
As the title suggests Jay Collup, President of Collup Enterprises, is an expert in the Dirt World and has plenty of experience in the seat and as a leader. In this episode, Aaron and Him sat down to catch up and talk about training and how folks can improve efficiencies on a site.
Along with a small two-person excavating and grading business, Jay’s main goal is to train the next generation of expert operators. He’s achieving this ...
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May 9, 2024 • 68 mins
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Chad Abernethy CEO of Abernethy Contracting. Abernethy is a Dirt World staple in their home state of North Carolina doing everything from utilities and site prep to concrete and asphalt paving.
Chad being the CEO gives personal insight into what it means to be a leader in the industry and balance the want and need to be in the field versus behind the scenes. He shared the lessons learned and the...
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May 6, 2024 • 33 mins
In this episode, Aaron shares some shocking figures about interstate bridges from an article published by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, by Chief Economist Allison Black. He Also Shares some numbers directly from the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Transportation, and President Biden’s Infrastructure Act.
These facts and figures paint a concerning picture of the state of our bridge and i...
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May 2, 2024 • 63 mins
If you have listened to Dirt Talk for a while you might know that Kimo, owner of Truth Excavation, is a bit of a regular at this point. Kimo has joined Aaron twice in-studio and in this episode joined him via satellite internet video call in an unfinished office as a result of the reconstruction of Lahaina and its infrastructure
In this episode, Kimo breaks down the 2023 Lahaina fires, which devastated the community and affected hi...
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April 29, 2024 • 63 mins
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Jonathan Campbell, Executive Vice President of Campbell Companies, a parent company for various businesses, including Wheeler Caterpillar, one of our favorite Cat dealers and service centers.
During the conversation, Aaron and Jonathan delve into the workforce challenge. Jonathan shows no hesitation in addressing the sometimes polarizing topics of immigration and the border wall, recognizing the...
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April 25, 2024 • 76 mins
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Ryan Sistad, Executive Director at Better in Our Backyard. Ryan is a proud Minnesotan hailing from Duluth. Minnesota is also home to essential mining and infrastructure, more specifically copper and nickel. These resources are essential to keep the lights on for Hundreds of Thousands and will be vital in creating the infrastructure for a future of emission-free energy.
Ryan and the team at Better...
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April 22, 2024 • 32 mins
In this episode, Aaron answers some questions from Instagram as follows.
-How do you find a mentor and do you/did you have one?
-Will BuildWitt ever make content for vertical construction?
-What Podcasts do you listen to?
-Will AI replace operators?
-What are your hobbies besides construction?
If you want to hear Aaron’s off-the-cuff option about a whole bunch of random stuff from people online that he doesn’t know about, this is t...
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April 18, 2024 • 67 mins
In this episode, Aaron delves into the world of asphalt paving in the Northeast. Josh, the vice president of American Paving Specialists, LLC, and Matt, the foreman/marketing specialist at American Paving Specialists, LLC and founder of Raised on Blacktop, are brothers whose extensive shared experience in the industry since childhood has cultivated their passion and expertise in asphalt paving.
The brothers began their journey an...
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April 15, 2024 • 27 mins
In this episode, Aaron discusses, you guessed it, draglines. These Mammoth machines work 24/7 and are the heart of one of America's largest coal strip mining operations at North American Coal. Aaron and the gang have had the honor to go see these machines work in person in the coal fields at the NACCO Freedom mine just outside of Beulah, North Dakota.
That particular machine “Missouri Quest” works strip by strip to clear overburden...
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April 11, 2024 • 86 mins
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Tim Schurrer, CEO of David Novak Leadership, Author of "The Secret Society of Success” and Host of the "Build a Winning Team" podcast. Tim draws on his experience from being a creative manager to his time as COO of StoryBrand, to producing the How Leaders Leaders Lead podcast with David Novak, and through experiences on his podcast.
Tim has a wealth of knowledge on leadership and what it means to...
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April 8, 2024 • 53 mins
In this episode, Aaron sat down with Dan and Randy to talk shop about BuildWitt. The Executive leadership team is in constant communication with each other and you might be wondering what the heck they talk about for all this time. Today you’re in luck because you get to be a fly on the wall for a pseudo-ELT meeting.
They discuss what we did last year, what we are looking forward to next year, and things that are still in the plan...
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April 4, 2024 • 71 mins
In this episode, Aaron is joined by Philip Sutton, a Lecturer at Ohio State University. Philip teaches three classes, estimating construction, heavy construction, and the program's capstone course. These courses cover a wide range of topics to prepare students to join the workforce as leaders in their respective fields.
Philip draws his knowledge from years of experience in the field, both directly in the field and in the office a...
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April 1, 2024 • 30 mins
In this episode, Aaron cracks open one of the many books at our office to share something that many might not get the opportunity to read themselves.
For its 50th anniversary, Ames Construction had a wonderful coffee table book made. The book titled Persistence Creates Opportunity: Building America for 50 years and details their entire history with many retellings of projects they have completed.
For this episode, Aaron focuses on...
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