OUR STORY
Then and Now
About
Knutson General Contracting is a limited liability company managed by members Liz and Mike Knutson who reside in Quincy with their five children. The children are involved in local sports, 4-H, and racing quarter midgets around Washington State. Liz and Mike enjoy many outdoor activities and having our children be active.
Before Knutson General Contracting, LLC, there was Knutson Construction, which was established by Chris Knutson, Michael's father. After working for farmers in the Mattawa area Chris and his then business partner started Wahluke Concrete, a ReadyMix concrete batch plant. Then, shortly after and in 1976, Chris established Knutson Construction after recognizing that there was a need for niche general contractors, specifically steel building erectors, in the area. The partnership at the concrete company eventually dissolved and Chris sold his portion to focus on construction.
Chris met Darlene, his wife of more than thirty years, at what is now American Rock on a day he planned to complain about the concrete deliveries being late to his jobsites in late 1979. Their relationship resulted in Chris moving to Quincy and establishing Knutson Construction in the Columbia Basin where they raised their four children. He was a self-taught builder and customers appreciated his attention to detail, work ethic, and insistence on quality construction.
Chris was known throughout the construction community as a reputable builder. He completed countless projects in Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Ephrata, and Quincy. Mike first began working along side Knutson Construction employees at the age of ten. Chris and Mike had a notably close father/son relationship. They were one another's best friend, bonding over their shared desire to be exceptional builders and anything and everything that involved racing.
In 2012 Chris was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He continued running Knutson Construction while he received treatment. However, just one year later in 2013 Chris passed leaving his wife, Darlene, sons Christopher Jr., Mike, and Glenn and daughter, Pauline. While morning the loss of his father, Mike took the lead in the management of Knutson Construction for Darlene, his mom. He completed projects and fulfilled the obligations of the company as Chris would have done. Mike built his own relationships with contacts of Chris and also with new subcontractors and vendors in the area.
In 2017 Mike and his wife, Liz, transitioned to an LLC and adopted the name Knutson General Contracting, LLC. Today, KGC has seventeen full time employees and still operates with Chris' core values.
Knutson General Contracting, LLC values its employees. Projects are completed due to the dedicated and hard work of employees that show up each day to work, regardless of the temperature outside. Lack of experience is never an issue with new hires, as the KGC crew are more than willing to train those that are trainable and eager. KGC believes that the best investment and greatest asset are the people that choose to work for us.
KGC has completed projects in the following Eastern Washington counties: Grant, Kittitas, Chelan, Douglas, Adams, and Kitsap.
