Some land mines in World War II packed enough force to rip the tracks off any tank. For a 27-year-old Army captain, the deadly devices nearly ended his life.
Pushing into western Germany in early 1945, Capt. Alan William Layton and his battery of 150 men faced an unnerving task — holding a position littered with land mines.
"I knew it was a mine field," Layton recalled. "There were dead cows, dead horses, dead people everywhere. . . . We found the mines. We literally got hundreds of them out and threw them down over the hill."
But one mine proved unforgiving.
As a corporal pried to free a casing, the mine exploded, instantly killing the young man. Standing just feet away, Layton also absorbed much of the blast.
"It blew off most of my clothes, broke my leg, fractured my skull, blew my eardrums out and a bunch of my teeth," he said. "I was bleeding like you can't believe. I had two big holes in my chest."
The near-fatal injuries earned Layton the Purple Heart and sent the soldier back to Utah. "The doctor that signed my release said, 'Captain, you're totally disabled. I want you to get a rocking chair and just rock. Don't ever do any hard work, and you'll maybe live a few more years.' "
That was 58 years ago. You could say Layton, now 85 years old, ignored the doctor's advice.
Taking a gamble
Back in 1953, with only two employees, a hammer and a saw, the war hero who had fought in the Battle of the Bulge and survived the bursting anti-tank mine decided to try his luck at forming a new construction company. For a man who once flunked an engineering course and never completed his bachelor's degree, the launch of Layton Construction Co., to some, may have appeared a gamble.
But as in most of his endeavors, Layton's adage, "be positive," carried his efforts further.
Today, the Layton Cos. rank among Utah's largest commercial construction operations, with more than $358 million in annual revenues and nearly 1,000 employees in four wholly owned subsidiaries.
For the past six years Utah Business magazine has recognized the company as the largest commercial builder in the state. And the company has made the Mountain West Venture Group's Utah 100 top growth company list for the past seven years.
While Alan W. Layton no longer plays an active role in the day-to-day operations of the company, knowing the forces that shaped his character offer a glimpse into how the company has unfolded into its present-day success.
The youngest of nine children, Layton was raised in Kaysville in a brick home that had no central heating. Young Alan's bedroom was a wire-screened porch. In the wintertime, canvas covers were pulled over the screens, offering a measure of protection.
"We used to heat flatirons, then wrap them up in newsprint before putting them in the covers to warm the bed," he said.
Difficulty = motivation
The challenge to stay warm helped shape an attitude toward taking on difficult assignments. It was a conditioning that would later dictate the company's approach to the type of jobs it sought.
"If there was something tough to be built, we wanted to be the ones to do it," said Dave Layton, the youngest of Alan Layton's 10 children and executive vice president of the Layton Cos. "Whether it was a complex project, a tough budget, a ridiculous schedule, we're motivated by the degree of difficulty. It seems like it's always been that way in the organization."
Alan S. Layton, president of the company and another son of Alan W. Layton, maintains that the more complex a project, the bigger the profits and the fewer the competitors.
"A building that is very simple, like a warehouse, is so simple and straightforward that many companies are capable of doing it," he said. "We want to be significantly more successful than the average provider."
That has led the company from constructing small elementary schools to erecting giant hospitals, like Primary Children's Medical Center. The company recently started construction on the Huntsman Cancer Research Hospital, a $100 million structure that will adjoin the existing institute.
Creating an 'open shop'
In the company's early years, the drive to be a cut above the competition moved Alan W. Layton to hire non-union workers. At that time, open-shop operations were rare.
During the 1950s and 1960s, more than 85 percent of the construction jobs in Utah were union jobs, according to Dave Wilson, secretary and treasurer of the Utah Building and Construction Trades Council.
"Now it's tipped back the other way," said Wilson, adding that only 5 percent to 10 percent of construction workers today belong to a union.
Layton's move was bold. Protesters soon formed picket lines at the company's job sites. Still, Layton felt an employee's allegiance should be to the company signing the paycheck. In return, Layton believed that steady work, competitive wages and benefits would secure a loyal team.
"Anybody that was doing any jobs of any consequence were union. A lot of the contractors locally said, 'You're crazy. Someone will shoot you.' And I said, 'Well, I got shot at during the war.' "
However, the company's change soon won over many of his critics as other contractors sought his advice in moving their companies to non-union.
Sound finances
When dealing with finances, Alan W. Layton held a tight rein, keeping the company profitable by being careful about borrowing money.
"I don't know of a year where we ever have lost money. We don't have any debt," Dave Layton said. "We grew up very frugally."
Wm. James Mortimer, who served as vice president to Layton in the 1960s on the Boy Scouts of America's Great Salt Lake Council, recalled how Layton turned one dire financial situation around.
"There came a point where there was not enough money to make the payroll," said Mortimer, former publisher of the Deseret News. "Alan Layton personally went to the bank, guaranteed the account and got enough money on his own initiative to make payroll. A lot of the challenge he had at that time as council chairman was to put it on a sound financial basis, which he did."
In the past year, the business has come under fire for perceived overbilling practices. Most notably, The Boyer Co., a Salt Lake-based development firm, sued Layton last year, claiming it was overbilled more than $1 million on The Gateway, downtown Salt Lake's newest shopping district.
Layton won the first round of the suit in district court. However, rather than prolong a legal fight on two remaining issues, the two sides came together and reached a settlement.
"We got a little bit crossways with them over an interpretation," said Kem Gardner, vice chairman and co-owner of Boyer. "It was resolved. I appreciated the fact that I could sit down with Alan (S. Layton) in my office and we could solve the thing. Utah is very fortunate that we have so many quality construction companies, and Layton is one of the foremost."
Building the future
The growth of the Layton Cos. has steered it past its Utah roots, bringing new jobs as far away as North Carolina, Georgia and Texas.
Ownership still rests primarily in the family, with Alan W. Layton's two sons, Alan S. and Dave, holding 90 percent of the privately held company's stock. Yet a move to an employee stock program has opened the door to ownership for a select group of about 30 of the company's key employees.
"The company is so much more today than just the Layton family," Alan S. Layton said. "We've always felt that the people who really make a difference ought to benefit from the success of the business."
In February, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Looking back, Alan W. Layton credits the company's successes to its emphasis on excellence.
"There's a great future in what we're doing," he said. "You're always going to be building. You do a good job, somebody will always be willing to hire you."
E-mail: danderton@desnews.com