As part of Summit’s America 250 campaign, we’re recognizing companies like Lyons & Hohl, a southeastern Pennsylvania site contractor whose crews help build the roads, utilities, and communities that support everyday American life.
Founded in 1978 as a utility contractor installing sewer laterals, Lyons & Hohl has grown into a full-service site contracting and paving company. Today, its Site and Paving divisions provide turnkey site development for homebuilders, commercial developers, and mixed-use projects throughout the region.
Lyons & Hohl is often among the first contractors to arrive on a project and among the last to leave.
Its crews perform bulk excavation and grading, install sanitary and storm sewer systems, and complete water main work. They also handle final roadway grading and asphalt paving. By the time Lyons & Hohl’s work is complete, the roads are in place, the utilities are underground, and the property is ready for vertical construction.
Work That Becomes Part of the Community
Much of Lyons & Hohl’s work eventually becomes so familiar that the people who use it may never think about how it was built.
Families will live in homes connected to utilities installed by Lyons & Hohl crews. Children will grow up in neighborhoods where the company graded the land and paved the streets. Drivers will travel roads constructed by people whose names they may never know.
That lasting impact is a meaningful source of pride for the Lyons & Hohl team.
“When our people drive through a finished neighborhood with their own families on a Sunday, they point it out and say, ‘We did that,’” the company shared. “That moment, as subtle and quiet as it is, is worth more than any job award. It is a connection to something real.”
Built on Experience, Family, and Skilled People
Lyons & Hohl employs approximately 130 people across its Site and Paving divisions, but the company’s story goes beyond its headcount.
The average employee tenure is more than 11 years. About one-quarter of the team has been with Lyons & Hohl for at least 20 years. More than 30 percent of employees also have a family member working alongside them.
Brothers, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and even three generations of the same family have contributed to the company’s success.
That experience creates a depth of knowledge that cannot be replicated overnight. It also reflects the kind of workplace where people build careers, develop their skills, and take pride in what they accomplish together.
Keeping More Than 100 Machines Ready to Work
Supporting large-scale site development and paving projects requires a dependable fleet.
Lyons & Hohl operates more than 100 pieces of heavy equipment, ranging from Caterpillar D8 dozers to compact track loaders. More than 80 percent of the fleet is Caterpillar equipment.
That consistency gives Lyons & Hohl’s maintenance team real advantages. It supports shared parts and streamlined training. It also helps technicians better understand how the equipment operates.
However, maintaining productivity takes more than owning the right machines. Those machines must be fueled, serviced, and ready when crews arrive each morning.
For Lyons & Hohl, equipment uptime means everything.
“When a machine goes down during the workday, there is a chance the people around it will stop as well, and projects will fall behind,” the company explained.
To help prevent that disruption, Lyons & Hohl performs the majority of its fueling and preventative maintenance during the third shift. While most crews are away from the jobsite, the fuel-and-lube truck technician prepares the equipment for the next day.
By morning, machines are fueled, serviced, and ready to work.
“No waiting. No scrambling. Just work.”
A Purpose-Built Summit Fuel and Lube Truck
Lyons & Hohl recently worked with Summit Truck Equipment on a new custom fuel-and-lube truck. It was designed to meet the daily demands of their operation.
The company wanted long-term durability. They also wanted a safer, more organized, and more efficient workspace for the operator.
Lyons & Hohl involved the truck’s future operators in the specification process. Their input helped identify improvements for demanding shifts.
Those improvements included more compartment space, better component placement, and easier access to frequently used systems.
The finished truck includes electric retracting reels for fuel and diesel exhaust fluid. It also has a heated, washable DEF compartment, larger storage compartments, and pull-out trays.
These features may seem like small details. But they are used again and again throughout each shift. They can have a major impact on operator efficiency and workflow.
Lyons & Hohl put it simply:
“The improvements in compartment layout and hose reel design will make daily tasks safer, faster, and more organized.”
A Partnership Focused on How the Work Gets Done
This is not the first Summit truck to join the Lyons & Hohl fleet.
The company continues to work with Summit because of the ability to customize each build, the quality of the finished equipment, and the communication provided throughout the process.
Lyons & Hohl has worked closely with Summit Truck Equipment sales representative Dave Thornberry on multiple trucks. Having a single, experienced point of contact helps ensure the company’s operational requirements are understood and that important details are not overlooked.
The result is more than a truck with tanks, pumps, reels, and compartments. It is a purpose-built tool designed to support the people responsible for keeping an entire fleet moving.
Building What Comes Next
For nearly five decades, Lyons & Hohl has helped transform undeveloped ground into places where people live, work, travel, and build their futures.
Its crews may not always be visible once the project is complete, but their work remains beneath the streets, behind the buildings, and throughout the neighborhoods they helped create.
As America marks its 250th anniversary, companies like Lyons & Hohl remind us that building the country is not only part of our history. It is work that continues every day.
It happens through the experience of skilled tradespeople, the dedication of long-term employees, the strength of family connections, and the pride that comes from being able to point to a finished project and say:
“We did that.”
Summit Truck Equipment is proud to support Lyons & Hohl and the hardworking crews building the infrastructure and communities that will carry America into its next 250 years.
