With excavation products like the Fox Run Road project under its belt, Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries is ready for more work with general contractors.

The challenging repairs on Fox Run Road involved slide repair and a 200-foot magnum stone retaining wall.

Not all teachers take the summers off. Many take side jobs for extra income and, in rare occasions, those side jobs blossom into full-blown new careers and opportunities.

Tim Legarsky is living proof.

The former social studies and history teacher created Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries in 2005 as a “modest side gig,” he says, just three years into his teaching career. His vision was to build a professional, customer-friendly company that could rise above its competition in the excavation world.

It has worked out even better than he expected.

By 2011, Legarsky was no longer teaching and, today, both his Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries and his complementary firm, Pittsburgh Southwestern Trucking, LLC., are thriving entities, bundled under the umbrella of Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries.

“We’re not Amazon by any means,” Legarsky says, laughing. “But we do good work and I would like to see us grow and take on new challenges. I have a very reliable team that works hard. It just feels like now is the time to reach out to general contractors and let them know what we’re capable of. We’ve built a good reputation and do a lot of work with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). We’re ready for more.”

Grinding Start

Nothing has been a given for Legarsky in building his foundation. His advice for starting a company from scratch is to be diligent. Listen to the clients and bring something to the table. Grow piece by piece if need be, just as he did, and treat customers fairly while doing excellent work every time out.

“If you do that, you’ll get repeat business and you can grow,” Legarsky says. “Starting a company is never easy. You have to go out and find the projects, hire the right people—a lot of hours are involved, and it is hard work. But, it is worth it. When you see your company grow, you feel a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride.

“It’s also very rewarding to see the young guys who work for me get the respect and admiration from our clients and affiliates because of the work ethic and knowledge they bring to every job. They’ve earned it.”

Sean Rossi and Tylor Heathcock, both 28, are the young leaders Legarsky refers to. Rossi is Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries’ Superintendent on job sites, while Heathcock is Pittsburgh Southwestern Trucking’s Lead Driver.

“Sean works on the scheduling and deals with any issues that come up on a job site, from start to finish. He knows pipelines, slides, bridges, and I never have to worry about him,” Legarsky says. “Tylor is our go-to guy. He drives semis, flatbeds, any type of load and vehicle. Our trucking company also contracts with UPS so we’re busy. He’s delivered to some tight job sites and in difficult situations. We’ve delivered and picked up in all 48 states, but now we’re focusing on being more regional.”

PennDOT Connection

Legarsky is proud of his firm’s PennDOT work, which has been ongoing since 2012. Legarsky says the contracts have helped him grow his company.

“COVID-19 has caused some projects to be put on hold for PennDOT, but we’ve been able to do some other slide work because of it, and we’ve kept busy,” he says. “In this part of the country there are always slides and slips and drainage issues. The roads lose their integrity in heavy rains. That’s where we are contracted by PennDOT to go in and excavate loose material, install drainage, backfill with large aggregate stone and reestablish roads safely so they can come in and pave.”

His team’s most recently completed project is a road slide repair in Perry Township in Pennsylvania. The company’s expertise was put to the test when Perry Township contracted it for a slide repair retaining wall project in Greene County, Pennsylvania. They moved tons of earth in a 200-foot long, 16-foot deep excavation to reopen the South Bound lane to traffic in just two months.

“What made it a challenge was the heavy, non-ending rain with constant drainage issues,” Legarsky says. “But the project came along nicely.”

Hanging with the Firefighters

Legarsky is all about strengthening his community bond. Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries recently opened a new office in the same building as the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Company. “Our office is in the best community,” Legarsky says. “The volunteer fire department owns the building. We like that.”

Branching Out

Legarsky’s team of five has no trouble keeping busy with jobs of all sizes these days. They have two large excavators, a bulldozer, backhoe, dump truck, Gradall excavator, two semis, flatbeds and more.

With a proven track record of being able to move copious amounts of dirt and shift landscapes in a timely fashion—and within budget-—Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries’ next challenge is to expand more into the commercial real estate development world.

Legarsky plans to connect with general contractors to do the land clearing and ground development for gas stations, malls, retail stores, restaurants, condominiums and other developments in the Greater Pittsburgh region.

At 43, Legarsky feels Pittsburgh Southwestern Industries is just digging in on the potential growth of the company.

Besides earthwork and working with highways and bridges, the company is well versed in dealing with municipalities, site development and site clearing, foundations, hauling materials to and from sites for general and subcontractors, drainage issues and sand mounds. In fact, both of his firms under the Pittsburgh Southwest Industries’ umbrella are poised for growth.

Legarsky has come a long way from giving social studies and history lessons—and from buying his first piece of equipment in 2005.

“I do miss teaching, the aspect of academia, ” Legarsky says, “but it was time for a change. We are successful with trucking and excavation.”