Caterpillar's Series - Part 5: The Future Belongs to Shay

This is a direct excerpt from Caterpillar’s Series — Stutsman Gerbaz Earthmoving.

Dave Stutsman remembers his middle son, Shay, regularly napping in the back of a Cat® dozer while Dave was working a jobsite in the Western Slope of Colorado. At that time Shay was just a toddler, but it was obvious then that the family business was his destiny.

“Shay has been in love with Cat equipment and excavating since the day he could walk,” says Dave, president of Stutsman-Gerbaz Earthmoving. “We had to drag him out of the machines.”

And now roughly thirty years later, Shay is poised to take the helm of the company.

Founded in 1960 by his grandfather and great uncle, Stutsman-Gerbaz has become Aspen, Colorado’s largest excavation business. The business includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and countless loyal employees over the years. So it’s no surprise that there is a great deal of pride and excitement surrounding the family history. Shay feels it too, but admits it can be at times intimidating and nerve wracking.

“Notoriously, the third generation’s the generation that sinks companies,” Shay says with a laugh, “but they have made me strive to be as good as them, because they did it right. I would not be where I am without them.”

“NOTORIOUSLY, THE THIRD GENERATION’S THE GENERATION THAT SINKS COMPANIES. BUT THEY HAVE MADE ME STRIVE TO BE AS GOOD AS THEM, BECAUSE THEY DID IT RIGHT. I WOULD NOT BE WHERE I AM WITHOUT THEM.”

As the transition begins, his focus is on maintaining the integrity of the Stutsman-Gerbaz’ brand while attracting the next generation of earthmovers and adapting the technologies that are available in today’s construction industry.

Watch how the Stutsman-Gerbaz family is preparing for the future as they turn the page and begin the next chapter.