Midwest Mole has been a family-owned and oriented company from the beginning. Len Liotti started the business in 1982 after earning over a decade of tunneling experience. Rather than staying with his employer ― who was relocating from Indiana to St. Louis ― he decided to start his own tunneling business, with help from his wife and a business partner.
In the beginning, Midwest Mole focused on smaller tunneling projects across the Midwest. The company steadily grew as Len’s son, Dan ― who owns the business now ― joined the company and worked his way through the ranks.
The father-son duo took extraordinary care to grow meaningful relationships with not only equipment manufacturers, but also with other tunneling companies around the US. Thanks to their genuine friendships around the industry, more and more tunneling opportunities appeared on both coasts and everywhere in between.
Liotti always believed that the key to growth lies in hiring good people and trusting them to take responsibility. “Our growth is due to great employees and good friends in the industry,” he says.
One of those people is Jason Miller, whose father David worked as a foreman at Midwest Mole. Miller joined the company in 1995 and quickly demonstrated dedication and what Liotti refers to as “an ownership mentality.”
Every month, Miller learned more about the business. In 2006 he bought 10% ownership and in 2013, another 10%. Then, after 35 years in the business, Liotti felt it was the right time to retire. Various options for the transition of the business were considered. Selling the company to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) was the perfect fit.
An ESOP is a kind of employee benefit plan, similar to a profit-sharing plan. Liotti praised the retention benefits of the arrangement because the employees are invested. It also allowed for certain tax advantages and growth potential. In addition, it’s relatively seamless, allowing for the existing management team to stay in place.
Midwest Mole has capitalized on the new opportunities thanks to our decades of industry experience, unique capabilities, and relentless problem-solving. We’re proud to have a talented field team, passionate and dedicated office staff, resourceful and experienced fabricators in our shop, and reliable transport drivers who mobilize our equipment anywhere.
So why do we keep coming to work, even when the odds are stacked against us? The world of tunneling is unique and challenging. The ground conditions are king, and we never know what we’re going to encounter on each project we build. Some projects are flawless, while others require every year of experience our team members have. The challenge and excitement of our business is hard to find elsewhere. In short, we love what we do.
Today, we have projects not only all over the Midwest, but also east to D.C., and west to Arizona. We tunnel under railroads, highways, buildings, and even airports. As “America’s diggers” evolve, Midwest Mole will preserve core values that emphasize relationships with employees, equipment manufacturers, competitors, and partners, as well as quality work in the uniquely challenging industry of tunneling, where they will continue to build on decades of experience. If anything, expect even more dedication, because the employee-owners all love what they do: taking on the tough jobs and getting their hands dirty to improve lives from the ground up. We’d be nowhere without our dedicated and hard-working teams. With such a strong family and company history, we plan to proudly tunnel anywhere our expertise and capabilities fit for decades to come.
