One of the keys to building a successful small business from the ground up is establishing a rock-solid support system, someone who acts as a partner in helping your enterprise reach its full potential.
L&L Contracting LLC's founder, L.J. Duncan, was able to secure just such an alliance with Power Equipment, a Knoxville-based dealership serving Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, when he began buying construction machines from the distributor. Their association has proven to be an asset in advancing the fortunes of the Knoxville site preparation business.
Duncan, as the firm's vice president, has crafted L&L Contracting into an upwardly trending company specializing in excavation, land clearing, utilities and demolition work. His wife, Donna, is the company's president and majority owner.
Since Duncan took a gamble and decided to leave his previous job as a construction manager of a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) subcontractor in March 2018 to work for himself, his work ethic — along with his faith — also have been among the reasons the company is today a thriving concern in the eastern and central areas of the state.
Make no mistake about it, though, Duncan knew at the time that going out on his own was a very risky move.
"I just got tired of traveling at my old job, and I wanted to be home more," he said on one of L&L Contracting's current projects at the site of a new forensic center in Knoxville. "One Thursday night after I had been working 14-hour days, I came home and told my wife I didn't think I was going to go back. When I told her what I was planning to do, of course, she asked what I was going to do for money and I told her that I wasn't going to borrow any cash, sell anything or take anything out of my retirement.
"Instead, I was going to see what I could do with the $400 I had in my pocket, and if it didn't work out after three months, I knew I could go back to my old job," Duncan added. "That was seven years ago and now L&L Contracting does about $10 million worth of business a year. Our aim is for 10-20 percent more annually."
When asked just how he was able to shepherd the construction firm to that kind of success from such humble beginnings, he confessed, "I'll be honest with you, if it weren't for the grace of God there was no way we could have done it because I had no college background nor any idea how to build a company. The only thing I knew was hard work and determination."
The majority of L&L Contracting's work in 2025 involves residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and municipal projects. Some of the current projects that the company has under way, he said, range from site prep for a development encompassing 72 new townhomes, to jobs at both Cove Lake and Frozen Head state parks in Eastern Tennessee.
Besides the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, which broke ground in April, his crews also are worked this past summer on a new Claxton Elementary School in Anderson County and a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) site in nearby Granger County.
"We've also got a couple more projects," Duncan said in early August, "that are either finishing up or have been completed."
L&L Contracting performs demolition on all types of site work, he said, whether they are existing houses, buildings or parking lots. Except for asphalt and concrete, the company handles everything else.
At the site of the new forensics center, with the Komatsu D39 dozer, as well as the manufacturer's D51 PX dozer and a PC390LCi excavator on hand from Power Equipment, his crew has already been busy moving approximately 23,000 cu. yds. of cut to fill and 5,000 cu. yds. of export material since the project began in the spring.
"Now, we're in the process of laying 2,400 feet of storm drainage," Duncan said. "There is also 1,400 feet of sanitary sewer line and 1,100 feet of waterline that we have to install on this project."
In addition, the specifications called for L&L Contracting to excavate a large amount of rock at the Knoxville site to prepare it for surface construction. So far, he said, his people have dug out approximately 5,500 cu. yds. of material.
To do so effectively, he said, "We've been breaking rock with excavators equipped with hammer attachments to avoid having to drill and blast at this location."
Komatsu Machines Propel Contractor Forward
In the early days after Duncan started his company, he took on small jobs that he could do by himself. Gradually, more work came his way, including the site prep for a handful of Dollar General stores.
"I subcontracted most of those projects except for the finish work, which I did myself," he said. "Then, I worked on a Tractor Supply store in Clinton, Tennessee, and that's when I purchased my Komatsu D39 dozer from Power Equipment. It was the first machine I ever bought, and I didn't know how to go about buying it, but the dealership was very helpful."
He was quick to note that the small Komatsu dozer is still running like a top today. Although it was getting a new undercarriage installed on it when Duncan spoke, he added that the machine has lately been working on the Cove Lake State Park project.
The partnership that L&L Contracting has with Power Equipment also extends to Komatsu, the dealership's leading construction equipment brand. The manufacturer is well represented among Duncan's rolling stock.
"Off the top of my head, I'm going to say we probably have 12-15 Komatsu dozers and excavators," he said. "The newest one we bought is that large PC390LCi excavator that we have laying pipe on the forensic center project. We started out talking to Aaron Dockery, their sales rep in Knoxville, about buying a mid-size PC138 excavator, but we try to buy equipment at the right time, especially when Power Equipment's machines are sometimes available interest free.
"Komatsu Financial and Power Equipment have always been willing to take a chance on us, and we always pay our bills," Duncan added. "In fact, if it weren't for Power and Aaron, we wouldn't be where we are today. They take very good care of us." CEG
