We’ve come a long way from being a one-man, one-Bobcat show, started by a 19-year-old Jake Klaassen with a vision (and possibly a mullet). Back then, we worked long hours and the budgets were calculated on good old-fashioned grid paper. But while our business has changed over 30 years, some things haven’t. The finances have gone from paper sheets to Excel Spreadsheets, but we’re still putting in the hard work and long hours to do things right with a full fleet of equipment for the biggest jobs in the province. The kind of stuff even little 19-year-old Jake could only imagine in 1991.
New era. New logo.
After 30 years of building and shaping places and completing quality projects around British Columbia, we thought it was time to build on our brand. Our 30th-anniversary logo was designed to not only show our age, but also reinforce and complement a brand that’s been established by people, focus, and undeniable hard work. It borrows from our existing wordmark that honours our history, but it offers a refreshed perspective that looks to our future—something we’ve always strived to do. We’re proud to be doing the work we do as long as we have. So much, in fact, that we thought we’d advertise our new logo and new age. Not to brag, but we think 30 looks pretty good on us.
From Jake to Jakes
The company may have started with Jake going from project to project, but there’s a reason the company name is Jakes without the apostrophe. Over the years, the one-man, one-Bobcat show has grown into a large construction leader with an ever-growing team of amazing people, managing and working on multiple high-profile projects. Our portfolio is full of successes because we have a company full of talent. They’ve built on Jake’s original vision by proving our company name is one that’s been trusted on more jobs-well-done than we can count. It’s truly a team effort.
From Service to Services
This growth is not only reflected in our staffing, but also in our continually expanding list of expert services. We’ve gone from moving earth with a skid-steer in 1991 to full-blown road construction, utility construction, earthworks, site servicing, structural projects, flood mitigation, concrete, and more as of 2023. It’s been a long journey to get here—30 years in case you missed that part—but that’s what it takes to become trusted leaders in more than one industry.
From Project Well Done to Project Well Done
But still, after 30 years of incredible growth, we believe that you’re only as good as your last piece of work. That’s why we put as much pride into these recent projects as we did on every project completed over the years:
Xchange Business Park
A 140-acre Class A industrial business park, featuring state-of-the-art spaces for lease just off Highway 1 at Mount Lehman Road. Jakes completed the land clearing for Wales McLelland a few years ago and now has been awarded the off-site and Lots 1+2. We are currently contracted for the servicing of building #1, #2, and #3, as well as additional prep for the next phases.
Slope Repair for Flood Mitigation (Multiple Projects):
CP Rail: North Bend Flood Repairs: Following the 2021 floods, Jakes created drainage systems to remove rainwater, as well as completed backfilling to reinstate the mountainside slope. Riprap protection and concrete headwalls were also added at the three pipe outfalls to protect against future erosion.
Sumas Dike Repairs: A emergency response project to a dike breach of the Sumas River spanning 100 metres. This involved closing the breach, including a sinkhole at the Barrowtown pump station, as well as reinstating a temporary bridge so residents could reach their homes. Crews also raised 8 km of dike for future flood protection.
Aggasiz Slough Floodbox Replacement: Jakes was contracted to replace an old collapsing round culvert with a long precast box culvert, on top of additional work. The new box culvert also included built-in fish baffles and fish gravels to improve the existing habitat and promote easier access for salmon.
Highway 1 Widening and 216th Street Interchange
For this substantial project, we were contracted to construct a new five-lane overpass over Highway 1. This involved widening 3.7 km of Highway 1 between 202nd Street and 216th Street and widening a portion of 216th street to accommodate the new overpass.
Tasks associated with this project included land clearing, earthmoving, pre-loading, roadworks, storm drainage work, water main installation, multi-plate culvert installation, asphalt paving, electrical work, and bridge construction.
Thank You
We want to thank everyone on our team who’s contributed to building the Jakes name and the countless other projects we’ve done over the past 30 years. It’s thanks to the hard work of our people and their shared commitment to quality that’s made our brand and reputation what it is today.
Thank you, and here’s to 30 (and many more) years strong.
