At Mies Construction, success has always been built from the ground up, literally. Founded in Wichita, Kan., in 1988 by Earl and Kathy Mies, the company began with a truck, trailer and trencher, operating out of the family backyard before growing into one of the region's most respected underground utility and earthwork contractors.
Today, Mies Construction performs large-scale underground utility installation, mass grading and site preparation projects throughout the Wichita area while maintaining the same values the company was built on: pride, accountability and honesty.
"Our company started in the backyard of our house," said Dallas Mies, vice president of Mies Construction. "My dad would run the trencher, and my mom was the first pipe layer for the company. That's what stands out with our company — everyone has started from the bottom up."
That hands-on culture extends throughout the organization, from management to field crews and the shop. According to John Reed, Earthwork Division manager, who has been with the company since 2004, its reputation has been built on delivering exactly what it promises.
"We always strive to do what we say we're going to do," Reed said. "We take pride in everything we do, honesty in how we treat our clients and employees and always strive for excellence."
Built On Dependable Equipment
As Mies Construction expanded from utility work into large-scale earthmoving and site development, dependable equipment became increasingly critical. Over the years, the company built a fleet heavily centered around Komatsu excavators, dozers and intelligent machine control (iMC) equipment.
"Reliability has been a major factor for us," Dallas Mies said. "The equipment has held up well in the kind of demanding applications we work in every day."
Reed echoed that sentiment, noting that Komatsu machines have stood out throughout his more than 40 years in construction.
"The biggest thing that we always talk about is durability and that they last," Reed said. "They're very hard to beat."
Among the fleet favorites is the Komatsu PC400 excavator, a machine Reed said has earned a reputation for toughness and longevity.
"Their machines just go and go and go. Plus, they are comfortable and ergonomic with everything where you want it to be," Reed said, citing that operator comfort also plays a major role in the company's jobsite productivity, especially for crews spending long days in the cab. "They're just great machines."
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Integrated Machine Technology Improves Efficiency
While durability remains critical, Mies Construction has increasingly embraced advanced machine technology to improve accuracy, productivity and efficiency on the jobsite. The company has adopted Komatsu IMC equipment across multiple earthwork applications.
"We saw from the beginning that the vision was more in the work we do with grading ponds, slope work and riprap banks," Reed said. "You just turn the IMC machine loose. The thing works and cuts things to grade as we go."
According to Dallas Mies, factory-integrated GPS technology has simplified deployment and reduced downtime.
"If everything's built ready to go, that machine can be purchased and put on site," Dallas said. "All you have to do is upload the model and get it to work right away."
Machine data also has become an increasingly important part of managing production and efficiency across jobsites.
"With the data on demand that we're able to get, that helps us diagnose what's going on at the jobsite even if we can't be there every day," Dallas said. "Watching fuel consumption, idle time and machine workload correlates directly to production."
Those insights allow the company to identify inefficiencies and improve machine utilization quickly.
"If we're seeing idle time over 60 percent, we know we're not getting the work done we need to be doing," Dallas said. "We can go out, evaluate what's going on and change our process."
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Digital Platform Helps Maximize Uptime
A major part of Mies Construction's technology strategy revolves around My Komatsu, a digital platform that the company uses daily across departments to monitor machine health, streamline and track maintenance, simplify parts ordering and improve uptime across jobsites.
For Jacqui Mies, shop foreman (no family relation to the Mies Construction family), the platform has transformed how the company manages machine issues and maintenance planning.
"The best tool with My Komatsu saving time is definitely the location in near real time," she said. "I don't have to call a foreman and make sure that the machine is there. I pull up My Komatsu, see where the machine is and send our tech there right away.
"I can see codes pop up before the foreman or operator can even get to them," Jacqui said, referencing the system's near real-time fault-code notifications. "I'm already calling that foreman saying, ‘You've got a code.' I can click on it, see the troubleshooting information and have a tech on the way immediately. It cuts time in half," adding that this proactive approach helps reduce downtime and speed up repairs at Mies.
Jacqui also uses My Komatsu daily to manage parts ordering, warranty information, machine history and preventive maintenance scheduling. And, instead of relying on multiple phone calls or waiting for someone else to locate information, technicians and managers can quickly access the information they need themselves.
"It's very user-friendly," Jacqui said. "I can navigate through it super-fast and order my parts and see whether they're in stock."
Reed said that the platform has even improved communication and accessibility across the company.
"The warranty information's there. The work history's in there," Reed said. "It's all there if we have questions without tying up other people looking stuff up."
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Partnership Future
Mies Construction also credits its long-standing relationship with Komatsu dealer Berry Tractor as an important part of the company's continued success. In fact, when Mies Construction's internal shop becomes overloaded, Berry Tractor frequently provides additional support to help keep machines running and projects on schedule.
"Berry has just been a partner with us for decades," Dallas said.
"They've been outstanding for decades," added Reed. "Their shop has been a tremendous help to us."
As the second generation steps into leadership roles, Mies Construction continues to balance traditional values with the adoption of modern technology. Reed noted that younger leaders within the company have helped accelerate the company's use of machine control, telematics and connected fleet management tools.
"We've probably been part of the hesitation as older guys," Reed said. "But the next generation's coming in and embracing that technology."
For Mies Construction, the combination of equipment reliability, connected machine data and dealer support has strongly positioned the company for continued growth. Best of all, despite changing industry trends and the need to keep up with evolving technology, the Mies family and their team have remained true to the same values that built the business nearly four decades ago, giving them unshakeable confidence to continue thriving for generations to come.
"We know where construction is headed," Dallas said. "And we'll be ready for it."
(Adrian Clapp is director of digital solutions, Komatsu North America. This article is provided by Komatsu North America.)
