ounded in 1993 by husband-and-wife team Marc Roderick and Shanna Squires-Roderick, R/C Land Improvement began as a logging company and heavy equipment transporter, moving equipment all over the state. The company also handled small projects like driveways and house pads.
“By 2006, we had switched over to mainly gravel work, running a few gravel pits and salvaging dead spruce trees to sell for firewood,” says Squires-Roderick. “Around that time, we were hired by Herndon Construction to grub along the Seward Highway just north of Seward where they were widening the road.”
After successfully navigating the necessary changes brought by the beetle invasion, R/C Land Improvement was faced with the unthinkable. On March 13, 2019, Marc Roderick was moving heavy equipment from Seward to Soldotna when his semi left the icy roadway near Moose Pass and he was killed on impact.
“Marc was a great man, and well-liked and respected in the construction and logging community in Alaska,” Squires-Roderick says. “On the day of Marc’s funeral service, 123 trucks ran a convoy in his honor from Homer Spit to his shop on the North Fork in Anchor Point.”
“I had to downsize in order to remain in business. I sold the semis, trailers, and logging equipment to our youngest son, Ethan Roderick,” she says. Her son’s business is called Wolf Co.
Ethan Roderick helps run the day-to-day operations of R/C Land Improvement while also operating Wolf Co.
“Our two companies work closely together,” Squires-Roderick says. “I often supply the gravel material for his projects like the state road maintenance sand for the local DOT.”
This year the company helped supply Dibble Creek Rock with material for its contract with Quality Asphalt Paving for the Homer airport job.
“I really couldn’t talk about R/C Land Improvement without including Wolf Co.,” she says.
Ethan Roderick says he feels the same way.
“Mom and I work together to keep R/C Land Improvement running while I also manage my business,” he says. “We share our crews; she supplies the winter road sand for Wolf Co., and she also supplies the bulldozers and the guys to run and operate them when we go down to Homer to pull vessels from the water for winter.”
The mother-and-son teamwork has been good for business.
“After Marc passed, I typically produced less than 40,000 yards a year of gravel and screened material,” Squires-Roderick says. “This year we have tripled the normal production just for Dibble Creek Rock. Besides the material, Wolf Co. has been hauling for Dibble Creek most of the summer, moving gravel up on the Dalton Highway and moving equipment for the jobs as well, while still working for numerous other companies.”
Squires-Roderick and Ethan Roderick have each assumed vital roles within R/C Land Improvement.
“Ethan works with our crews to manage the heavy-duty work while I chase parts, run the truck scales, fill in as a pilot car and loader operator when I need to, and handle the bookkeeping,” Squires-Roderick explains.
“Membership has given us contact names and information of other companies and access to the AGC Online Plans for bidding and finding jobs or comparing bids,” Ethan says. “Even if I’m not bidding on a job, I use it as a marketing tool. I like to see who’s looking at the jobs and then I’ll give them a call to see if I can supply the trucking and materials they need.”
“Our company has been doing business with R/C Land Improvement since Marc and Shanna struck out on their own. It began with my father hauling logs for Marc and later utilizing R/C’s trucking and gravel services. My dad would say of Marc that he was ‘good as gold’—reliable and always true to his word,” Johnson says. “Ethan has filled some large boots and has become my gold. Our company relies heavily on his trucking and gravel services to keep up with our demanding schedule. He also provides a number of other services to us and is our heavy diesel mechanic. Most importantly, Ethan is a good friend, knowledgeable beyond his years, and can always make me laugh.”