Walt Johnson Takes Reins Continued from page 7


majority stakeholder since 2001 after joining the Santa Rosa firm in 1990.


The Path to a Heavy Civil Construction Career


Born in the North Bay Area,


Johnson spent the majority of his youth in Sonoma County and then went on to attend Chico State University. He initially planned to major in electrical engineering but soon migrated to construction management. Johnson credits several key mentors for influ- encing his career path, including his grandfather, an electrician who worked on the Hetch Hetchy water project, as well as the late Stuart Bartholomew, a construction industry icon and one of Johnson’s college professors who helped him land his first job after college in 1988. Johnson spent two years with Paul A. Laurence Co., discovering how


much he liked the diverse, challenging nature of heavy civil construction work. In 1990, that company


ran into financial diffi- culties and announced it would be going out of business. Johnson weighed offers from large and small companies but ultimately settled on the smaller, privately held K.G. Walters Construction Company as the best fit. K.G. Walters had


just landed a technically advanced wastewater treatment plant job, one of the first to employ reuse of tertiary treated water. Johnson had the opportunity to “basically run that job,” he notes. “As a young, ambitious guy, it’s what I was looking for. One of the things (then owner) Ken Walters gave me was rope just about long enough to


hang myself with,” he adds with a laugh. After that project,


Johnson moved with his young family to Carmel, where he managed a project designed to supply water to Pebble Beach golf courses. After approxi- mately seven years in the field, they moved back to Santa Rosa and he came into the company’s main office as Vice President of Estimating. In 2001 Walt Johnson and two


other employees put together a buyout plan, and Johnson assumed the role of company President and CEO. Over the past quarter century,


K.G. Walters has grown from a $10 million-per-year company to approxi- mately $25 million in annual volume, with a continued focus on public water


Expert Craftsmanship and a Relationship You Can Count On.


Cement Masons Locals 500 & 600 signatory contractors are among the highest profile, reputable and successful firms in Southern California. Our workforce represents the most highly trained and competent craftspeople in the concrete industry. Our relationship together can assist in your company’s value and growth. If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will.


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8 March/April 2018


California Constructor


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