COMPANY PROFILE
he sees as a good thing. “I had an amazing mentor in my
father, who was a Spanish teacher with many other jobs,
doing what it took to support his family. He’s my hero. I just
love my dad to death. While we had the important things, we
definitely weren’t wealthy.”
Dropping out of high school was a tough time for his parents,
but it wasn’t as bad for Amos. He began to discover
what he was good at and the value he could offer the world. “I
ended up going into car sales and just crushing it. Living in
my parents’ basement and doing extremely well. But I knew
I didn’t want to do that forever. I sold about 30 vehicles to a
deep foundation company. He came in one day and wanted
me to work for him. So, I did.”
Amos started working in the field and eventually became
a partner in the business. It was during this time that Amos
and his partner created a drill that attaches to an excavator,
solving a market problem and saving their clients time and
money by not having to haul in an expensive rig to do the
same job.
Just as things were looking way up, they weren’t. “The
industry handed us a tough blow and we had to let go of all
our employees on a Friday. It left me hanging for sure.” The
two drills they’d built were now Amos’ responsibility, whether
they were making money or not. He’d always thought he
could rent them out and decided to follow his own lead. “I
took one drill and went to all the big boys… and got laughed
out the door. Nobody would help me. Eventually, I went to
Doosan and anything they could do, they would. I’m a big all-
American guy, but they were the only ones who would help
me at that point, so I went with them.”
Suddenly, Amos found himself back in business – this
time, on his own. “My first yard was at a dump, with a sea
container and a tarp, working out of my home office. I was
working as everybody. I’d answer the phone in one voice, all
serious, and then put them on hold and come back as myself.
And it worked!” Being in business is a constant stream of
learning opportunities. Sometimes, learning the same lesson
more than once is necessary to really reap the benefits.
“My partner came back around and wanted me to get into
business again. He rented all my equipment in a contracting
company that we started. It was the worst and best decision
of my life.” Soon after forming his new-old partnership, Amos
was on the edge of bankruptcy and on the hook for a cool
half million.
“We ended up doing a job that ended very badly, even
though it wasn’t our fault. I was cosigned on everything; it
really turned my life upside down. I got divorced. I had to write
hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks to pay everything
I was owing. I had nine trucks that the bank owned. I thought
I’d clean them up and sell them myself, so I shined them up
and got them ready to sell. Then a disgruntled employee
came by on a weekend and put bricks through all of them.”
Talk about a low point in life. While he says he’s never been
depressed, Amos remembers being in bed for quite a while
after his trucks were ruined. He had almost lost sight of the
glimmer of light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Yet, something
inside of him wouldn’t let him quit.
“After two weeks, I got up and went down to the bank. I got
in front of anybody who made decisions; I broke down and
just said I needed to clear these trucks, as-is, and clear the
titles. I promised them I would not screw them out of the difference.
It was like $127,000. They gave it to me; it got me loyal
to local banks! And I paid them back in 11 months.”
Giving Back
Amos works with the SPCA, but he is also a proud
supporter of veterans and has combined his drive to
give back with his passion for deep-sea fishing.
“Out of Chesapeake, there’s a homeless veteran
organization. We want to take some of the vets deep-sea
fishing; just let them catch white marlin or a tuna, in a
beautiful boat, on the beautiful ocean. To let them feel
good and know that there are so many people out there
who care for them and want them to succeed even though
they have no legs or have PTSD. I want to show them
they mean something to this country and we’re proud of
them for serving. I couldn’t have what I have or do what
I do if it wasn’t for their sacrifice, first and foremost.”
REV Drill on site and working hard
52 Q4 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
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