About

A Company Built On Values

Quality and Professional Service to Those Who Need It

Kelpe Contracting, Inc. is a third generation company located in St. Louis County specializing in mass excavation and underground utility work.

We’ve been installing and maintaining storm and sanitary sewers in the St. Louis area for almost 60 years.  Over the decades, we have developed a reputation for uncompromising quality and professionalism for all our services.  It’s a reputation we are proud of, and a reputation we strive to live up to every day.

Throughout the years, we have worked across nine different states serving the needs of private owners, municipalities, and utility owners in both general and sub-contracting capacities for multiple residential and commercial projects.  We have also been awarded many federal contracts and have worked closely with the following entities:

  • The Department of Energy
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • National Parks Service
  • Department of Natural Resources

Kelpe Contracting — In Service to Others
Kelpe Contracting — Case Study

 

History

Kelpe Contracting, Inc. was established in response to a growing need.

We’ve grown a lot and experienced many changes since our inception. One thing that will never change is our founding vision: “To provide quality and professional service to those who need it.”

 

1960

Claude Kelpe observed many of his friends and neighbors hand digging footings for their barns and other rural structures.  In April of 1960, Claude established Kelpe Contracting, Inc.  The mission of his newly formed organization was “to provide quality and professional service to those who need it.”

1972

Claude’s son, Tom Kelpe, joined the company from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The discipline and sense of perfectionism that Tom brought to Kelpe Contracting, Inc. shaped the culture of the company in the following decades.

1980

Kelpe Contracting, Inc. expanded its geographical area of service, as well as the types and sizes of services provided.

1986

Kelpe Contracting, Inc. purchased its first mass excavator, which allowed the company to take on substantially larger projects.

2000

A concrete division was born.  This department specialized in street and slab removal and replacement.

That same year, Kelpe Contracting, Inc. purchased one of the first mobile rock crushers in St. Louis.  This allowed the company to crush and screen concrete at the job site, minimizing waste and construction traffic.

2012

Staying true to our commitment to safety, Kelpe Contracting, Inc. entered into the SITE/OSHA Partnership Program in 2012.

With a growing company came a larger equipment fleet.

We now have over 70 pieces of machinery, including: