In 1963, the LID’s responsibilities shifted to individual municipalities
and if Harlick wanted to keep his job, he would have to move
to northern Saskatchewan, something he was not prepared to do.
“So, I quit my job, drew out my superannuation, which I believe
was $700 at the time, and moved back to Eastend,” he says.
“I then found an old John Deere 740 elevating scrapper (in parts)
and persuaded the local credit union to lend me money for a tractor.
I repaired the tractor and started to do work for local farmers in the
municipality. I remember my first job with the business; I grossed
$5,200!”
That was the beginning of A.J. Harlick Earthmoving Ltd., the
company he would head for more than half a century.
Harlick went on to bid on more projects and says two challenging
ones that really stand out include building an 80-foot high fill to a
tressle bridge for Canadian Pacific Railway and another working on
a 13-mile dike in swamp land for Ducks Unlimited.
Moving to Swift Current
After a decade, Harlick relocated his business to Swift Current, Sask.
in 1973. It was also the same year that his son, Bruce, joined the
company, which would go on to employ 15 to 20 employees during
peak times and have approximately 30 pieces of heavy equipment.
With the majority of projects consisting mainly of grid roads, site
work and a variety of Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure contracts,
Harlick’s main clientele over the decades have been rural municipalities,
oil companies, railroads and developments in cities and
towns, including Hutterite colonies.
“I’m proud to say that our company has built approximately 1,100
km of roads in southern Saskatchewan,” says Harlick.
He’s also pleased that his company – which is COR certified – has
a perfect safety record and has been recognized with a Safety Award
from the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association (SHCA).
MEMBER PROFILE
Construction of a Hutterite colony
Austin and Bruce
with a long line of
construction equipment
24 Think BIG | Quarter 1 2016 | saskheavy.ca
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