Kennedy Excavating Inc. has grown from a small family operation to a rising force in South Carolina’s site development industry since launching in 2018. Headquartered in Greer, the company was founded by Patrick Kennedy alongside his father and his brother, Daniel Kennedy, who is the Safety Manager and a Site Superintendent. The company now has close to 40 employees and continues to expand both its workforce and project scope.
“We started the company with just the three of us,” said Patrick, President of Kennedy Excavating. “It took a couple of years to get licensed, gain traction, and transition into commercial work, but once we acquired another grading company and brought in the right leadership, it opened the door to the next level.”
With experience rooted in both business and large-scale developments, Patrick drew on lessons learned from the family business and the history of the business working with project managers on large greenfield sites in the United States. That foundation helped shape his vision for Kennedy Excavating.
"I grew up on a farm running equipment with my grandfather and father in Ohio," Patrick said. "Later, I was fortunate to have been mentored by one of the best construction managers in the automotive industry. Under his guidance for several years, I learned and applied comprehensive project management techniques that have been invaluable in the growth of Kennedy Excavating Inc."
Kennedy Excavating now covers a large territory, performing work along the South Carolina/Georgia county line and just north of Columbia, South Carolina. A wide-ranging team of experienced superintendents supports its regional growth. The company’s portfolio includes a mix of commercial, industrial, residential, and municipal work. While Kennedy Excavating is known for large-scale grading, it remains committed to a diversified approach.
“We currently provide a complete sitework package from residential developments to an industrial complex site,” Patrick said. “We offer paving, curbing, utilities, grading, and stormwater. We work closely with all of our subcontractors in providing the best service that we can. We don’t want to be pigeonholed into one market. We can take on 1 acre to 100 acres. Our flexibility has helped us get in the door with different clients, and we take pride in doing both big and small jobs well.”
Currently, Kennedy Excavating is managing a complex expansion at the Fuyao Glass facility, one of the company’s largest undertakings to date. The project includes grading a 14-acre site and constructing a 230,000-square-foot building pad to expand warehouse operations. The site presents unique logistical challenges due to the existing structure’s layout and active use.
“This job has required phasing around the current loading docks, which are right in the center of the new footprint,” Patrick said. “We’ve had to strategically build new docks, reroute operations, and then eliminate the old ones.”
So far, crews have hauled in approximately 43,000 cubic yards of material and plan to import another 30,000 before completion. The scope also includes installing a specialized stormwater management system — an ADS water quality device that will be only the second of its kind in upstate South Carolina.
As the company has scaled, so has its investment in technology and equipment. Kennedy Excavating’s fleet includes nearly all GPS-equipped machines, including many Komatsu Intelligent Machine Control (IMC) models such as D39PXi-24 through D71PXi-24 dozers, as well as PC210LCi-11 through PC490LCi-11 excavators.
“We went all in on IMC machines,” Patrick said. “Every dozer and almost every trackhoe we run has GPS. We’re running seven base and rover stations across multiple sites, so we can skip traditional surveying and give our teams exactly what they need, when they need it.”
Daniel added that the Komatsu IMC equipment also helps train new operators, keeping projects efficient and on grade.
“Even less experienced guys can succeed with these machines,” Daniel said. “Fewer operators are entering the industry, and the older generation is retiring every day. The technology on the Komatsu machines helps bridge the knowledge and skill gap between generations without sacrificing quality.”
In addition to IMC, Kennedy Excavating recently invested in several other Komatsu Smart Construction solutions — Remote, Field, Office, and Dashboard — to help manage the complexity and scale of its growing project portfolio. The solutions work together to connect equipment, crews, and project data in real time.
“Everything ties together now,” said Vice President of Construction Brian Lainhart, who joined the team to help manage the company’s rapid growth and now oversees 10 active sites, with plans to launch more. “From our project managers in the office to our operators in the field, Smart Construction lets us track production, scheduling, and costs with precision. We’re not waiting days or weeks to find out if something is off. We’re seeing it the same day. Smart Construction is an unbelievable feature we’re going to be able to utilize to become more efficient.”
One of the most impactful tools has been Smart Construction Remote, which allows the company’s in-house modeling team to upload revised site models directly to GPS-equipped machines without setting foot on the job site.
“Before, we were sending guys out with USB drives, losing half a day just updating one machine,” Lainhart said. “Now, we’re doing it instantly from the office. When a machine is idle, it’s not making money — and this eliminates that problem.”
Smart Construction Dashboard and Office have also streamlined back-end operations. Job site data now flows directly into the company’s accounting software and cost-coding tools, enabling more accurate job costing and faster decision-making.
Even the superintendents and foremen benefit from Smart Construction Field, which delivers job-specific information to their tablets and laptops. They can monitor pipe footage installed, track material moved, and adjust workflows based on real-time production benchmarks.
“It puts the power in their hands,” Lainhart said. “They know what needs to happen tomorrow because they’ve got the right data today, and that helps us hit our targets consistently.”
The decision to implement Smart Construction solutions was not made lightly, but for Kennedy Excavating, the long-term gains in productivity, cost savings, and job site visibility outweighed the upfront investment.
“We’re talking about a $6 million dirt job here,” Lainhart said. “If we run inefficiently for just a few weeks, that’s $500,000 lost. This system already pays for itself by helping us avoid that risk. Smart Construction will be one of the best investments we’ve ever made.”
When looking for a distributor to help with Kennedy Excavating’s initial setup, a happenstance meeting with sales representative Andy Chapman turned into a long-term partnership with Linder Industrial Machinery Company.
"After leaving a meeting from the BMW facility and seeing Linder/Komatsu across Highway 85, we decided to go talk with them the following week as we looked into expanding our business into another vertical in civil construction," Patrick said. “We sat down with Andy, and within two weeks, we had a deal. He’s been with us the whole way — providing machines, solving problems, and helping us grow.”
That support has extended well beyond initial equipment purchases. Linder’s service and technology teams have worked closely with Kennedy Excavating to maximize uptime and keep its fleet running.
“Linder’s team of Dustin, Ryan, Zach, and Andy understand that we can’t afford downtime, and when we call, they’re there to support us the best they can,” Patrick said.
As Kennedy Excavating looks to the future, the team is confident that its investment in people, partnerships, and technology will continue to pay dividends.
“Our goal was never to be the biggest,” Lainhart said. “We just want to be the best at what we do, and I think Smart Construction is going to be vital to that success and us obtaining that goal.”
“We’ll continue to offer the best services for our customers and our clients,” Patrick added. “The goal is to always maintain that level of quality work and efficiency, provide the owner and developer with exactly what they need, and move the project forward.”
- Location: Greer, South Carolina
- Employees: Approximately 40
- Established: 2018
- Area of expertise: Full-site development services, including grading, utilities, paving, and stormwater for commercial, residential, and industrial projects
- Komatsu equipment: D39PXi-24 through D71PXi-24 IMC dozers; D85 dozer; PC210LCi-11 through PC490LCi-11 IMC excavators
- Komatsu technology: Smart Construction solutions, including Intelligent Machine Control Remote, Field, Office, and Dashboard
- Projects can range from 1 acre to 100 acres
- Current project includes grading a 14-acre site, constructing a 230,000-square-foot building pad and hauling approximately 73,000 cubic yards of material
- Seven base and rover stations allow crews to eliminate traditional surveying across multiple active job sites Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here are from the end user as quoted. The results described herein are those of these end users under certain conditions. Individual results may vary.
