Larry Jacinto Construction

In 1971, Larry Jacinto bought a used dump truck to haul local loads around the Mentone Beach, Calif., area. A year later, Jacinto started doing small grading jobs, adding a tractor to the lineup. With a little luck and a lot of hard work his namesake company, Larry Jacinto Construction (LJC), began to take off.

Since officially incorporating in 1981, LJC has become a trusted name in earth moving construction and general engineering contracting. “We hang our hats on getting in and getting out quickly and doing a job right the first time,” says Jacinto, founder and president of LJC. “We have a network of repeat customers and a great reputation.”

LJC has grown considerably over the last 43 years. “It all started with just that one truck, now we have a heavy equipment fleet of about 100 pieces, ranging from finish scrapers up to push-pull scrapers and D10 dozers,” says Jacinto. “We also have motor graders, loaders, as well as concrete machines and service equipment. It was just myself and a few others early on, we now have 100 to 120 employees, many of which are like family and have been with the company for decades.”

A clean-cut reputation

Today, LJC still performs earth moving work, but also general engineering contracting services. The company serves mainly private residential and some light commercial customers throughout southern California from its home headquarters in Mentone Beach into the Inland Empire area, the Coachella Valley and Orange and L.A. counties.

“LJC is tied more to residential work, but we also do commercial projects and institutional work for clients, such as hospitals and the local universities,” notes Jacinto. “We have also been working in the mining industry the last 10 years. In fact we just completed a huge quarry project near Corona, Calif.; this job had cut and fill slopes nearly 200 feet high and required several hundred thousand cubic yards of blasting and rock excavation.”

Jacinto goes on to note that LJC’s customers can easily spot the company’s yellow trucks throughout the region. “They’re neat and clean and so is our service and reputation,” he details.

LJC specializes in mass grading, street improvements and poured-in-place concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk contracting. “We also perform demolition but our forte is heavy grading and curb and gutter concrete,” says Jacinto.

The company completes an average of 40 mass grading jobs every year, ranging from 50,000 cubic yards to more than 3 million. From technical hillside grading to rock excavation, golf courses and flood control, LJC offers versatile in-house service.

LJC also has an in-house concrete, asphalt and rock recycling plant in Redlands, Calif., allowing the company to repurpose and resell materials. “We produce class-two base, filter rock, landscape rock and rip rap,” says Jacinto.

In the residential arena, LJC has completed many projects for most of the major homebuilders.

According to Jacinto, its repeat customers and a trusted reputation to thank for the company’s continued success, even through a sluggish economy. “Through the recession, our revenue dropped dramatically, as it did for everyone,” he continues. “But it was those long-term relationships that kept us going. Now things have bounced back quite a bit, and we’re growing again.”

Jacinto goes on to explain that within the last six months the company has invested in a significant amount of new equipment. “We are in full compliance with all the new emissions laws,” he says proudly.

According to Jacinto, 2014 is off to a great start for LJC. “We have many large projects, and everything is moving forward,” he reveals.

After more than four decades in business, Jacinto has seen good times and bad and is confident the well-established company can overcome just about anything. “I started LJC after serving in Vietnam,” he says proudly, “In the beginning it was just me, now I have more than 100 employees. And I am grateful to have what I consider the best employees in the business. But I’m still a very hands-on owner.”

Hands-on ownership, a superb staff and a dedication to fast, efficient earth, concrete, and general engineering contracting have made for more than 43 years of enduring success for Larry Jacinto Construction.