Company History

A.M. Cohron & Son is an experienced heavy highway contractor committed to building quality projects in the Midwest while prioritizing safety, productivity, and integrity. A.M. Cohron is devoted to providing a profitable working environment with opportunity for professional growth for all employees.

 

Our company was founded by A.M. (Arch) Cohron, who came to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1914 from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to work as a carpenter. He helped build facilities at Fort Des Moines Army Post, along with numerous homes and commercial buildings throughout the area. In 1928, Arch began his contracting career, constructing maintenance garages for the Iowa Highway Commission. His first bridge project followed in 1930.

In 1940, Arch participated in a joint venture in Washington, D.C., constructing a bridge and seawall across the Tidal Basin. That bridge remains in use today and can be seen from the Jefferson Memorial.

Arch was joined by his son, Donald P. Cohron, in the 1930s. After serving in the military during World War II, Don returned to the business and worked alongside his father on a variety of projects.

Following Arch’s death in 1951, Don assumed leadership of the company and secured its first bridge contract with the Iowa Department of Transportation in 1954.

Keith Harlan joined the company in 1957. The firm was incorporated as A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc. in 1958, and the following year headquarters relocated from Des Moines to Atlantic, Iowa.

In 1975, the company diversified into the ready-mix concrete business, eventually expanding to seven rural plants in southwest Iowa. This division was sold in 2002.

As construction activity slowed in Iowa during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the company began pursuing work in other states. Its first out-of-state bridge contract came in December 1980, awarded by the Nebraska Department of Roads for a 923-foot welded plate girder bridge over the Loup River near Monroe.

In 1981, the company was the low bidder on a 1,056-foot welded girder bridge over the Republican River north of Concordia, Kansas. These and subsequent Kansas Department of Transportation projects were managed from the Atlantic headquarters until 1987, when an office was established in Emporia, Kansas, under the direction of Rick Harlan.

In 2000, Chris Rech assumed responsibility for Kansas operations, while Rick Harlan returned to the Atlantic headquarters.

Over the past 25 years, the company has continued to expand, completing major projects in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, as well as Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. It has also constructed numerous railroad bridges throughout the Midwest.