Mike Kelleher’s journey into construction began early, sparked by a memorable experience with a dozer operator who allowed the young boy to join him in the operator’s cab when he was just six years old. 

The die was cast. When he turned 16, Mike transitioned from the family farming operation to construction, working as a cleanup boy and parts chaser at a local Grand Junction pipeline company. 

Mike quickly advanced at the company, but he had another ambition: to attend college. He planned to work a year, build his savings, and then resign to attend college full-time. Concerned that full-time work might derail his college plans, his boss, Wallace (Boots) Corn, made him another offer.  

“He gave me a $5 an hour raise so that I could work and still go to school,” Mike says. “He was a wonderful guy. He had an eighth-grade education and at one point was the eighth-largest paving contractor in the country.” 

Eventually, Mike established Skyline Contracting in 1987, starting out with a backhoe and installing farm irrigation pipelines. With annual revenues of $8 to $10 million, Skyline Construction now excels at site development, demolition, commercial excavation and utilities. In addition, the company also operates a recycling facility that processes asphalt, concrete and building demolition materials. 

Blake Kelleher, Mike’s son, joined Skyline when he was 17 and now serves as foreman and minority owner. Mike jokes, however, that Blake’s introduction to construction came much, much earlier.  

“I was keeping him when he was 6-months old, and I got a call about a job,” Mike remembers. “Back then, I had to take every job, so I strapped his basinet into the operator’s cab and went to work.” 

Over his three decades with the company, Blake has gained his father’s field skills. “I’ve been a fan of equipment my entire life,” Blake says. “And it’s always something new with construction. We can see what we’ve accomplished when we’re done, and we know that we’ve put together quality work.” 

One example of “something new” is how the Skyline team mastered geothermal system installations. “We made it all work,” Blake says, “and we have a superior product that we continue to sell.” As a result, Skyline has done about 90% of the geothermal systems at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. 

A break-even lesson 

Asked about his most challenging job, Mike has no hesitation. “We had a job near the airport several years ago that was supposed to be a balanced site,” he relates. “In other words, all the dirt for the job would be on site.”  

It quickly became apparent that the location lacked sufficient fill material, however. Further investigation revealed the site contained virgin soil with a high compression index. “When we started compacting it, the volume wasn’t there,” Mike says.  

Mike’s long-standing relationship with the job’s general contractor came into play and the two reached an agreement: the GC would buy the extra dirt, and Skyline would place it for free. “That turned a possible bankruptcy into a break-even job,” Mike says. “We learned to pay a lot more attention to soil types and compaction rates. It was a big eye opener for me.” 

Equipment WorldChange in equipment philosophy 

In Skyline’s early days, Mike would buy what he describes as “old, worn-out equipment.” He continues: “I finally figured out that If I would just buy one new piece a year, and continued doing that, it would make a ton of difference,” he says.  

Today, the company has a fleet of 80 to 90 machines that require a license plate or sticker. (Colorado requires machines over 500 pounds to have either.) The workhorses of Skyline’s fleet are excavators and compact track loaders, with each unit typically logging between 1,800 to 2,000 hours per year.  

Skyline hangs on to its machines, typically putting 18,000 to 25,000 hours on an excavator before retiring it from the fleet. “We run them hard the first few years and then put them on easier jobs,” Mike notes. The company’s versatility is aided by the size range of its excavator fleet, which runs from mini excavators up to a 90,000-pound unit. 

Mike values the insights telematics provides into his equipment’s performance. “Our dealers will let us know when there’s an issue on a unit, and it may be something the operator might not even have detected yet,” he says. Geofencing technology has also proven beneficial, enabling Skyline to discover unauthorized weekend use on a machine.  

Recently, Skyline added a tiltrotator to a 35-ton excavator. While most operators require substantial time to master tiltrotator controls, Mike says Blake took to it immediately before training several operators.  

“Our operators were fighting over who got to run it,” Mike says with a chuckle. “On some jobs, it’s eliminated two or three laborers. The next excavator we buy will have a tiltrotator on it because they are just so handy.” 

“It’s been a game changer on the labor side,” Blake adds.  

Equipment WorldKeeping things safe 

“Our supervisors keep things safe, and we do a lot of awareness training,” Mike says. With a National Trench Safety branch located a block away from Skyline offices, proper trench shoring and shielding get special attention. “If they don’t have what we need locally, they’ll ship it to you,” he adds. It’s been a real boon to our safety.” 

Skyline has won several Associated Builders & Contractors safety awards through the years.  

“We make sure all of our people are trained the same way, so it doesn’t matter which foreman is over the job,” Blake says. “Everyone knows what to expect.” 

Skyline promotes from within. “We teach people how we want to do things, so they can move up,” Mike says. “One of our project managers started here in high school and his dad is a foreman.” 

Cross-training is fundamental to Skyline’s operational flexibility. “Most of our office personnel can go into the field and operate equipment when needed,” Mike relates. This extends throughout the organization. John Chutka, Skyline’s vice president, keeps his CDL current, allowing him to drive trucks during busy periods. And Skyline’s chief financial officer, Diane Fugate, doesn’t just manage the books; she can skillfully operate dozers and backhoes, having learned these skills from her grandfather, a maintenance worker at a uranium mine.  

“GCs tell us they don’t know how we get our people to work so hard, but we take care of them,” Mike says. In addition to benefits, Skyline also offers a cash bonus at the end of the year. “We gave $500,000 to the crew last year,” he notes.  

Mike’s strong belief in giving back to the community has forged durable relationships throughout the Grand Junction area. His work for his alma mater, Colorado Mesa University, illustrates these bonds.  

“Mike combined the work ethic one expects from a young man in rural America with a keen eye for innovation and problem solving,” says Tim Foster, president emeritus, CMU. “Those two unusual characteristics have made Mike a pleasure to work with and fun to watch. One never knew when visiting a work site whether Mike would be in the trailer coordinating with the contractor and other subcontractors or at the controls of one of his machines making the dust fly.” 

“They do excellent work,” adds Shane Hass with client FCI Constructors. “We just completed our biggest-ever project with them, a $130 million high school. Mike is very involved in the field operations and cares about his people and getting the job done right.” 

Greg Motz with client Sun King Integrated Construction Services adds his voice to Skyline’s acclaim: “Skyline has an excellent reputation. They’ve become the preferred contractor for many in town.” 

About the Contractor of the Year Award

The Equipment World Contractor of the Year program has been sponsored by Caterpillar since its inception in 2000. It recognizes contractors who display the highest standards of business acumen, equipment management expertise, attention to safety and community involvement. Each year, 12 finalists receive an expense-paid trip – this year to Nashville – to participate in roundtable discussions and an awards ceremony.

Throughout the year, Equipment World will post profile stories and videos of each of the finalists on equipmentworld.com. To see who made the finals, click here.

The nomination period for the 2026 program will open this summer.