Over the years, Brett has had to rise to challenges as the company grew. In the beginning, Brett was called “boy Friday,” cleaning bathrooms, floors, trucks, and equipment. As Brett got old enough, additional duties were placed on his plate: painting, diagnosing, repairing equipment, field repairs, running deliveries, loading, and unloading equipment.
Brett helped his parents start a concrete pumping company, Planet Enterprises, in the '70s and eventually ran the pumping company until the farm crisis and construction downturn of the '80s forced Star to sell the pumps. Traveling late at night and early in the morning to get to jobs and be ready to pump concrete along with Roger Bacon, Walt McPhee, and several others, Brett and Max were part of the early history of building the vertical infrastructure of Iowa. Brett pumped concrete for virtually every major contractor in Iowa and those that visited from out of state. Brett liked the concrete pumping industry and left Star to go to work for Schwing America until the end of 1992 when he returned to run Star’s service department.
Over the years, he introduced many of the modern techniques Star uses today and continued to work as General Service Manager, growing as the company added more products. As time moved on, Brett took on additional duties, the title of Vice President and Treasurer of Star, and oversaw the move from the old service building to its present location on the adjacent lot.
A retirement party for Brett was held at the Des Moines, Iowa, branch. Friends, customers, vendors, and employees, were all invited to his retirement party to celebrate his career and the relationships that he built throughout the years.
