About Us

BEI was founded in Clermont, Iowa in the spring of 1997 by brothers, Steve Baker and Mike Baker. Prior to the establishment of BEI, Steve already had several years of entrepreneurship experience with the development of Baker Lawn Care & Landscaping, and Mike had several years of experience in the concrete industry. With just a few employees, the Company focused on residential and agricultural concrete and excavation work in Northeast Iowa, before quickly expanding into the commercial sector, with Steve overseeing the excavation operations and Mike overseeing the concrete operations. Over the years, the Company continued to grow and by 2008 employed about 20 people.

In 2009, an opportunity arose and BEI purchased Happel Excavating out of Waverly, Iowa, a Company very similar to BEI at the time. With this purchase, the Company doubled in size, increased the number of services it could provide and expanded into a larger market area. The Company provided all types of concrete and excavation work in the commercial, municipal, residential, and industrial markets, all still continuing today. By 2015, the Company moved its main headquarters to Waverly, while still maintaining a small office and shop in Clermont.

In 2021, the Company outgrew its main headquarters facility at 2203 E Bremer Ave in Waverly and purchased a new property with existing buildings at 2504 E Bremer Ave in Waverly. From the fall of 2021 to the summer of 2022, the Company fully remodeled and improved the buildings and entire property into what it is today, increasing the office and shop space specifically by nearly four times of what it was. By the summer of 2022, the Company had moved its main headquarters into the new facility.

At the end of 2022 and after 25 years in business, Steve and Mike decided it was time to step back and relax a little bit, therefore deciding sell the business to sons, Blake Baker and Shawn Baker, both of which had been with the Company for 16 and 17 years, respectively. Shawn began his career with the BEI in the spring of 2005, working on an excavation crew, then eventually evolved from a foreman into a superintendent, and all the way up to an owner. Blake began his career with BEI in the spring of 2006, working on a concrete crew for a few years until 2009 and with the purchase of Happel Excavating transitioned into an estimator/project manager role, eventually working up to a vice president/senior project manager role, and finally owner in 2023.

Today the Company employs nearly 75 people and continues performing all types of concrete and excavation work in the commercial, municipal, residential, and industrial markets throughout Iowa, also extending into Southern Minnesota and Southwest Wisconsin. We continue to build our Company with hard work, dedication, and exceptional performance by all employees to maintain our great reputation of professional and high-quality standards. By doing so, we will continue to build our reputation for years to come!