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Yutan Family Busy Building Up Boulder Business
By DeManda Arkfeld
Published: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
YUTAN - A Yutan family is taking their time to develop a business they enjoy.
Dale and Stephanie Wilson have just recently began developing the land for their business, The Rocky Mountain Boulder Company. It is located on Highway 92 south of Yutan.
The Wilson's own the business with Stephanie's sister, Beth Pavlik and Stephanie's mother, Kae Pavlik.
ENJOYING THE BUSINESS - Stephanie Wilson, co-owner of The
Rocky Mountain Boulder Company near Yutan describes veneer stone.
Wilson and her husband, Dale, are enjoying expanding their business
from their front yard to a location near Yutan.
"My husband already has Wilson Excavating," Stephanie said. "He does a lot of the deliveries and was known for his work and that is how we first had customers."
"My sister helps with the buying of products and my mom does all the bookkeeping."
The Rocky Mountain Boulder Company business idea was started by requests from existing excavation customers.
"People kept asking Dale if he could get different materials," Stephanie said. "So we started to get the materials they requested for them."
She stated that the business continued to grow through word of mouth.
They now provide customers with black dirt, clay, mulch, aggregate materials, boulders, veneer stone and bubble fountains.
They also have flagstone and wall stone products.
"Nebraska doesn't have a lot of rock except lime stone," Stephanie said. "Most of our rock is mountain rock. We do have some earth stone and granite."
She stated that they wanted to offer materials that were natural and not commonly found in the area.
"We wanted out of the box materials to help people who want rustic looks," she said.
To get their materials, Dale and Beth travel the country to get the best buys.
"There are days when Dale will fly out to a site somewhere in the country to check out materials and fly back home that same day," Stephanie said.
The materials they supply come in a wide range of sizes.
"Our business has escalated into several tons of material," Dale said. "Our largest boulder right now weighs right at 26,000 tons. We had to use a 60-ton crane to off load it."
The material isn't always delivered by truck. Sometimes the Wilsons will pick up materials themselves or it is brought in by train.
"We aren't landscapers, but if people know what they want, we can get it for them and deliver it," Stephanie said. "We have a lot of do-it-yourself customers."
One of their popular items is the bubbler fountain. They have over 300 fountains on hand.
"They are boulders, drilled for water to be able to be pumped through them," Stephanie said.
She stated that people then have to set the boulder up in some kind of a container either below or above ground and have a pump hooked up to the bottom of the fountain.
"These are really fun for people and they can be decorated in many ways," Stephanie said.
The bubbler fountains are one of the items that got the Wilsons started in their new business.
"We did one over 7 foot tall for Vala's Pumpkin Patch," Stephanie said.
The materials are surrounding the Wilsons' home and they were ready to have a place for all of it other than their front yard.
"My mom owns over 100 acres south of Yutan," Stephanie said. The land runs along Highway 92.
In 2007 the Wilsons took their idea to the Yutan City Council and were approved to put a business in that location.
"We did a six month long study to determine the best use of the property," Stephanie said. "We are planning for other businesses to move onto the land in the future."
The Wilsons now have some of their materials located in the new location and plan to continue more there this summer.
"We aren't planning on putting an office there, but a small ticket shed," Stephanie said. "There is no need for an office down there at this point."
The Wilsons are also hoping to sponsor some farmer's markets featuring area producers at their new location this summer.
"We appreciate all the local business and want to help encourage more of it," Stephanie said.
For more information about the Wilsons' services and products, visit their website at www.rockymountainboulders.com.
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