Founded in June 2022 by Colin O’Hearn and Shane Sullivan, Kinetic Demolition & Engineering, LLC (Kinetic) has quickly emerged as a leader in the niche field of bridge demolition. What started as a humble venture with a clear goal of prioritizing employee safety and work-life balance has grown into a company poised for significant success. As of 2024, Kinetic is on track to double its revenue from $2.5 million in its first full year to an impressive $6 million, showcasing the rapid trajectory of this demolition-focused enterprise.
Kinetic’s approach to bridge demolition, a highly specialized sector, sets it apart in a competitive industry. With its unique combination of in-house engineering capabilities, lean operations, and a strategic partnership with a major general contractor, Kinetic is carving out a reputation for expertise, precision, and efficiency in the demolition world.
Colin O’Hearn and Shane Sullivan were no strangers to the heavy civil construction industry. Having worked together for over a decade at other companies, they developed a strong working relationship and a mutual respect for each other’s skills. But the seed for Kinetic was planted after a tragic accident in May 2022. Both O’Hearn’s brother and Sullivan’s son were involved in an industrial accident while working for their previous employer, sparking a realization for the founders. This event led them to create their own company with a renewed focus on safety, transparency, and treating employees with respect.
“We sat down and said, maybe we should start our own thing and have a new idea of how to properly handle a company and treat the employees, ensuring they go home at the end of the day the same way they came in,” O’Hearn explains of the catalyst for starting the company. This focus on safety remains a core tenet of Kinetic’s operations.
With help from close friends and long-standing professional contacts, they navigated the initial hurdles of forming an LLC, acquiring insurance, and securing a banker and attorney. In August 2022, just a few months after establishing Kinetic, they secured their first contract, officially launching the company’s operations.
What truly differentiates Kinetic from other demolition companies is its ability to perform in-house engineering. O’Hearn, who holds a civil engineering degree and a master’s in geotechnical engineering, is licensed in multiple states, giving Kinetic the capability to create its own demolition plans without relying on third-party engineers. This advantage allows the company to retain greater control over its projects and streamline processes, saving both time and money.
“When we get a bridge demo job, we can structure the plan the way we want to, instead of relying on another engineer. This saves us money and ensures the job is done in the way we believe is most efficient and safe,” says O’Hearn.
“When we get a bridge demo job, we can structure the plan the way we want to, instead of relying on another engineer.”
This internal engineering expertise has been a significant factor in Kinetic’s rapid growth, allowing the company to bid on complex bridge demolition projects across a wide geographic area, including New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and parts of the southern United States.
Kinetic has found its niche in bridge demolition, an area that requires a highly specialized skill set. Unlike traditional building demolition, taking down a bridge often involves working over live traffic, railways, waterways, or other sensitive areas, requiring precision and careful planning. The complexity of these projects demands a higher level of expertise, and Kinetic has proven itself capable of handling these challenges.
“Bridge demolition is a niche industry. There aren’t a lot of companies that specialize in it, and that’s where we’ve been able to make our mark,” O’Hearn explains. While Kinetic has occasionally taken on other types of demolition work, such as building and steel tank removal, the bulk of its business has been focused on bridges.
Like any young company, Kinetic has faced its share of challenges. Competing against larger, more established firms with extensive equipment and personnel posed significant hurdles in the company’s early days. Additionally, securing consistent work has sometimes been difficult, as subcontractors like Kinetic are often dependent on general contractors (GCs) and the pace at which they can move forward with projects.
To overcome these obstacles, Kinetic made a strategic move in July 2024 by merging with United Infrastructure Group (UIG), a large general contractor based in South Carolina. This partnership has provided Kinetic with the bonding capacity, funding, and equipment necessary to compete on a larger scale. O’Hearn highlights the value of this merger, noting that it has opened up new opportunities for growth.
“The merger with UIG gave us the bonding capacity to bid on larger jobs, which we didn’t have before,” O’Hearn explains. “Now we can go after bigger projects and grow the company to the next level.”
In addition to bonding, this partnership also gives Kinetic access to UIG’s extensive network, providing a steady pipeline of work that keeps the company’s field employees busy even during slower periods.
Lean operations and a partnership approach has been key to Kinetic’s success over the last two years. With only three core office staff—O’Hearn handling project management, estimating, and engineering, Sullivan overseeing field operations, and Correena Keil managing accounting and payroll—the company minimizes overhead while maximizing efficiency.
“Everyone is always busy doing something,” O’Hearn says. “We don’t have a lot of extra employees, which keeps us lean and able to respond quickly to new opportunities.”
Kinetic also utilizes union labor, which allows the company to scale its workforce up or down depending on the needs of individual projects. This flexibility has been crucial in helping Kinetic meet the demands of large-scale bridge demolitions while maintaining a streamlined, cost-effective operation.
Looking ahead, Kinetic has ambitious plans for growth. With the goal of reaching $10 million in revenue by 2025, the company is actively bidding on larger projects across a wider geographic area, from New Jersey to Maine. One of the company’s largest contracts to date is the Dutch Point Deck Removal project in Hartford, CT, valued at $2.4 million. Another significant contract involves the demolition of two bridges on I-95 in West Haven, CT, with a contract value of $2 million.
As Kinetic continues to grow, O’Hearn remains focused on executing each project with the same level of precision and care that has been the hallmark of the company’s success thus far. “It’s about making the deal, getting the project, and then executing in the field,” he says.
As he looks to the future, O’Hearn’s philosophy is simple. “If you think you have the right opportunity to start a company and make it successful, go for it. Life is short, and you never know what will happen.”
For Kinetic, that opportunity has turned into a thriving business, and the future looks brighter than ever.
Think Kinetic could help you with your next bridge demolition or construction engineering project? Fill out the contact form to get started.
