Bartlett Construction has a new owner – Beaverton Valley Times News

Jake Adkins took ownership of Bartlett Construction at the beginning of the year

Bartlett Construction has a new face at the helm.

Jake Adkins took the reins of the company as of Jan. 1. Adkins has been in the construction industry for approximately eight years. He previously worked for another Central Oregon company as a chief estimator.

"I looked at the numbers, I looked at where I was headed and then decided it was better that I go out on my own," Adkins said.

He was a partner in another bedrock construction business venture in 2011 in North Dakota. Primarily, he has been doing site preparation and paving for most of his career. He has been away from Central Oregon for several years, and he was drawn back to Crook County to raise his children.

"Coming back to Crook County and being able to run a business in Crook County is a blessing," Adkins said. "We are growing by leaps and bounds, but that same core is still there. I can still walk into the city office and shake hands with everybody there or walk into the court, and within 15 minutes be sitting in front of any official that we have."

"When something happens in the community, we all come together," he added.

He really enjoys supporting sports events and youth in the community.

"Those are the things that I enjoy putting my money into, because it is still that small town we are still close knit," he said. "Without that closeness of a community, it's not the same as it would be in a city and there are five schools and nobody knows anybody. And here everyone knows everybody."

When previous owner Brad Bartlett decided to retire, Adkins decided to take the opportunity.

"It seemed logical," he said.

It made sense to keep the name Bartlett Construction because Bartlett owned and operated the business for 33 years, Adkins said.

"Everything just kind of fell into place," he said.

Business operations include site preparation which includes all underground infrastructure such as storm systems, as well as public and private utilities. Currently, Adkins and his business are doing all the infrastructure for Prineville Apartment Complex, a new 135-unit complex being constructed off Peters Road north of Secure Storage.

"We are the general contractor for all of the site prep up there," Adkins said.

In addition to larger jobs like the complex, his business does a variety of work for ranchers, such as cleaning ditches, removing dams, building roads and installing and maintaining septic systems. He will be soon be expanding to add asphalt maintenance.

"It's something that I have funded and am going into in the springtime," Adkins said.

Although the scope of the business is vast, his focus is on the smaller local businesses.

"I still want to take care of those guys," Adkins emphasized. "Really the focus is the ranchers and Prineville, primarily. We branch out and we go everywhere in Central Oregon."

He has added different types of work and has expanded the payroll from three to nine employees; he anticipates being up to 15 employees by spring.

Adkins brought Rod Fulton on as a field superintendent; he was public works superintendent for the city of Madras for 25 years.

"When I took this on, I looked for somebody that was going to know the ins and outs and kind of run the field," Adkins explained. "Not that I can't, but it just gets to be too much."

Adkins stressed that Bartlett had the business for 33 years, and he has built a lot of good relationships.

"Those relationships are going to continue," he said, "and I will do my best to cater and facilitate those relationships. I will do my due diligence to make sure those contacts are met. The customers in this are the primary."

He wants to make sure that he takes care of all customers not just the larger general contractors.

"I also have this community to take care of in little ways, also," he pointed out. "I want to be able to treat that $200 job the same as the $200,000 job. That is kind of my main focus here to be able to sustain just like Brad did for that amount of time."

He explained that it will be a family-owned and operated business where his door is always open. Adkins prides himself on being a hands-on business owner, and is often on the job site.

"There is not anything that I won't ask my guys to do that I won't do," Adkins concluded.

Sidebar

Bartlett Construction

Owner: Jake Adkins

Address: 1248 NW Madras Highway, Prineville, OR 97754

Business phone: 541-447-3301

Business Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Bartlett Construction has a new owner - Beaverton Valley Times News