Business View Magazine | April 2021

37 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2021 KLJ Safety about the firm’s impressive growth, company culture, and vision for the future. The following is an edited version of that enlightening conversation. BVM: How would you describe the evolution of KLJ? Schuchard: “I just stepped into this role as CEO at the first of the year, (2021), but KLJ is really the only place that I’ve ever worked. I came here right out of North Dakota State University (NDSU) with a degree in civil engineering and have been here 38 years and it’s been a tremendous experience for me. Over that time, we have been and continue to be an infrastructure provider, providing the essentials in terms of engineering, surveying, and planning. We’re true to that in our nature; it’s like our lifeblood. “But what has changed, in my mind, is that we’ve become more problem solvers for our customers. Providing all the services is still critical but they are looking for something more. And we know we’ve really arrived when we follow up with client surveys and we hear things like: “It’s really hard for me to put my finger on this but there’s something different about working with the KLJ team.” “Yes, we get tremendous quality and things are done on time and they’re really conscious about the budgets, but it’s the extras they do.” “They’re looking out for our interests and it’s not necessarily something we get a bill for the next day.” It makes us feel really good that we’re doing all those things that are expected but we’re doing so much more. And what really makes me feel good is when that’s happening, our staff is interacting and doing that without being directed. It’s just become natural.