From an early age, Eric J. Herron, “E.J.”, seemed destined to pursue a career in the construction equipment industry. An interest in earthmoving led him to start his own excavating business, and he has worked with construction technology suppliers Caterpillar and Trimble. Herron has leveraged these experiences into an online brand that he uses to showcase and document a new technological era in the construction industry.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with heavy equipment,” says Herron, who was named an Under 40 in Construction Equipment member of the class of 2014 while with Caterpillar. “I just liked watching the machines work and playing in the dirt with toy tractors. I grew up in a small town just outside of Peoria, Illinois, which is where Caterpillar had most of their manufacturing plants. So, I was constantly seeing the yellow machines out on the highway, and I thought that was normal, that everybody had tractors being built around them.”
In 1995, Herron was working as a designer for an engineering firm specializing in machine design. His firm was then contracted to work with Caterpillar’s Cab Engineering group on 3D designs.
“I became one of the first working with Caterpillar to learn how to design wiring harness routing in 3D and create detailed drawings for suppliers to manufacture them,” says Herron. “Some projects I worked on were for the Challenger agriculture tractor, wheel loaders, telehandlers and the first 797 mining truck.”
Looking for a way to break into “digging in the dirt” to gain field experience working with the machines he was designing for, an idea for his own business came to Herron after he started building his family home.
“The reason I started my excavating business was because we built our house and thought we could do most of the work ourselves. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to do some of the earthwork, like the back filling and grading. So, I bought a Bobcat,” says Herron.
While his firm was still under contract with Caterpillar, Herron’s excavating business grew. In addition to the work E.J. Herron Excavating did on the Herron home, the company was working small projects around his community at night and on the weekends.
“I wanted to put my name out there and generate some income to pay for the machine,” he says. “One thing led to the next, and people would ask, ‘Can you do this?’ I would say, ‘I don't know anything about it, but I'll figure it out.’ I learned as I did the job.”
When the work grew from excavating small basements for homes to larger projects such as apartment complexes and nursing homes, Herron had seven to eight workers working with him using excavators and dump trucks.
In 2004, Herron left his engineering firm to pursue his business full time. It was during this time Herron gained leadership experience and an understanding of what it takes to build a successful construction business, he says.
“I talk a lot with young people that are stepping out and trying to start their own business,” Herron says. He advises them that not only do they have to know how to do excavation work, but they also have to understand business. “You need to have that understanding of that role and to work with people to learn to be a leader.”
Herron applies experience to Caterpillar engineering
The 2008 recession moved Herron to wrap up E.J. Herron Excavating in 2011 and take his experience in earthmoving and leadership with him to Caterpillar as an engineering consultant for fuel systems.
Herron began to sense how technology increasingly influenced every aspect of construction, from groundbreaking to completion. He was soon reassigned by Caterpillar to the Cat Connect technology group, where it became apparent his previous work in 3D designs could benefit himself and the company.
“My accounts have done well, and I think that's inspired me to push the next generation to be interested in this type of career because it's something that I've enjoyed. I've done well with it, and I think that other people could as well, they just might not know what’s available,” says Herron.
When asked to reflect on the most rewarding part of his career thus far, Herron’s answer suggests an eagerness to keep pushing forward.
“I would say the most rewarding thing for me is how I’ve continued to set goals and see them through,” he says. “When I started my business, I had no idea what I was getting into. But I learned as I went. I want to be able to help other people with their business, I want to make them successful however I can. My goals change as I go, but so long as I'm in the dirt-moving industry and I'm helping others succeed, that’s rewarding to me.”
