Women in Construction Week only occurs once a year, but for Laura Lutterloh, being a woman in the construction industry is her everyday life. As the Vice President of S.R. Thomas in Cary, North Carolina, no day in the industry looks the same.
“I wear a lot of hats. I could be working on a bid. I could be paying invoices. I could do my billing, ordering materials, communicating with PMs and our subcontractors on schedules,” she says of her day to day.
Photo: Laura & her family. L-R: Charlie Lutterloh (husband), Dylan Lutterloh (youngest son), Laura Lutterloh, Mason Lutterloh (oldest son), Louise Greenstock (father’s girlfriend), Stephen Thomas (father)
S.R. Thomas was founded in 1982 by Laura’s father, Stephen R. Thomas, and Laura joined the family business in 2005 after graduating from North Carolina State University with a finance degree. The grading contractor provides clearing, demolition, erosion control, storm drain, mass grading, and fine grading services in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the surrounding region.
Currently, the company has multiple ongoing projects in the Triangle area, including a new Curio Collection hotel by Hilton in the Village Distract in Raleigh, a Sam’s Xpress Car Wash in Durham, and a Kiddie Academy daycare center in Holly Springs. To bring these projects to completion, S.R. Thomas relies on a fleet with multiple pieces of Cat® equipment. The company’s fleet includes Cat D5 and D6 dozers, 420 backhoes, a 12H grader, a 906 loader, an IT28 Wheel Loader, skid steers, and multiple excavators, compact track loaders, and compactor models.
According to Laura, S.R. Thomas has used Cat equipment for “as long as” she “can remember,” and the company has prioritized adding Cat to its fleet because of the equipment manufacturer’s quality.
“We’ve always tried to take the mentality of ‘You get what you pay for.’ I mean, Cat equipment is top notch in the field, and it’s helped our operation run the most efficiently,” says Laura.
Photo: GP Cat equipment at current Village District hotel job
To get its Cat equipment, S.R. Thomas works with Gregory Poole Equipment Company and has been a customer for over 20 years. While times have changed since Laura’s father began working with Gregory Poole, she asserts the dealer’s customer service has stayed the same.
“Somebody is literally just a phone call away. There’s been different people in those roles at Gregory Poole for the extent of time that he’s been buying Cat equipment, but everyone has maintained that same feeling,” she says. “My dad has just always said how lucky we are to have Gregory Poole.”
Both Gregory Poole and S.R. Thomas are family-owned and led businesses, and Laura believes that working in a family business helps keep customer service and respect at the forefront of a company’s business mindset.
“I think that you ultimately want it to succeed. You really try hard to run a good, honest business every day for your family. You want to please your customer, and you want to just be honest and have a good business relationship from start to finish,” she says. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and my dad is a great role model for just business in general. We’ve got to do the right thing. Again, our names are on this.”
While no day at work looks the same to Laura, she thrives in the fast-paced environment and enjoys taking part in S.R. Thomas’ “everyday business.” In her role, she sees ideas transform from an introductory email to a finished project, and she is able to take part in multiple aspects of a job while working with clients and the S.R. Thomas team.
When Laura first started her career, most of the women she encountered in the construction industry worked in accounting. Over the past few years, she has noticed a shift, and now she works with women in various roles.
Photo: Laura with a Cat hat
“It’s nice to have other women with other contractors that I work with on a daily basis. It’s nice that you don’t feel like you’re riding solo all the time,” says Laura. “I think that more women are getting involved with it. I see more project managers now that are women with a lot of our clients. So, it’s been a great outcome.”
More women are joining the construction industry every day, but it is still considered to be a male-dominated profession. For women interested in a career in construction, Laura thinks that knowing how to stick up for oneself in the right way can be the key to success.
“Don’t let anybody intimidate you… don’t back down, do your research. And if you know the business and you know what you’re talking about they ultimately respect you,” she says. “It’s really important that if you’re going to be in business, you’ve got to learn how to talk to people politely. And, especially being a woman, I try to go with the mentality of ‘Be kind and be respectful to people but be firm.’”
Her other piece of advice to women interested in a career in construction is to ask questions to learn more about the industry and build stronger relationships and connections, saying, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question — don’t be afraid to ask! That’s how we all learn.”
Photo: Laura and son Mason at an NC State game
When not working at S.R. Thomas, Laura enjoys spending time with her husband and attending her two sons’ sporting events. Like Laura, her sons are growing up in the family business, and they have already started to learn about the partnership between S.R. Thomas and Gregory Poole.
Photo: Laura’s sons with a Cat D8 (GP Rental)
“My kids know Gregory Poole, and people at Gregory Poole know me and my kids’ names. So, you really feel like you’re kind of part of the family,” she says.