MEMBER PROFILE
After a successful career in the construction industry
that has spanned more than 60 years, Austin Harlick
has decided it’s time to close up his business, A.J.
Harlick Earthmoving Ltd.,which he started 52 years ago in Eastend,
Sask.
At age 81, the energetic and dedicated businessman says he’ll
continue mentoring others in the construction industry, but that
he’s ready to begin his next adventure.
How it all began
Harlick’s ascent in the construction industry began in 1952 when he
got a job with a contractor in Medicine Hat, Alta. as a labourer picking
rocks.
“After a couple of months, I was put on an old D7R Caterpillar
dozer,” he recalls. “I gained experience on this and other equipment,
such as pull-blades and an old Adam’s motor grader.”
He worked for that company, and another, for about three years
before returning to Eastend to work for the Local Improvement
District (LID) – first as an operator and then as a foreman.
“From 1955 to ’57, we built grid roads with an elevating grader
and used Cat scrapers to cut hills and make fills. We had no engineering
services at that time, but we went on building with scrapers
and eventually employed engineering services. Things were really
getting modern,” Harlick says.
“Although we’ve had our challenges, we
have met and worked with a lot of good
people over the years and have been
fortunate to have had some dedicated
people working for our company, who
have contributed to our success.”
– Austin Harlick, Owner,
A.J. Harlick Earthmoving Ltd.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF A.J. HARLICK EARTHMOVING LTD.
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