Nested deep within the heart of St. Louis, the city known as the “Gateway to the West”, lives a company known as Terramac whose track carriers can be seen on build sites all over the world. This cool October morning the Manufacturing Express arrived to celebrate the work the men and women of Terramac do to build community, both through construction and the culture they have cultivated here in St. Louis.
At today’s event the bus was flanked by Terramac’s famous yellow machines on both sides, but Terramac was not the only brand on display. Tall white flags representing each branch of the CK Power family of companies were erected: Hayes Manufacturing, Consolidated Machine & Welding (CM&W), Rocky Mountain Powertrain (RMPT), & Terramac itself.
Having acquired Terramac in 2020, CK Power (owned and operated by the Costello family) has longstanding ties to the St. Louis community. John Costello, family patriarch and founder of the company, originally was the owner of the Costello Ford dealership in St. Louis. During the 1980’s, Costello took an interest in the Ford industrial engine units and decided to form his own power company.
Two generations later the company is much bigger but has stayed in the family, and is currently led by John’s grandsons: JJ, Clayton, and Clark. The steady leadership of the Costello family has been crucial to the expansion of the company beyond the power industry. Companies like RMPT specialize in diesel engine rebuilding. CM&W specializes in metal fabrication for OEMs. Terramac makes equipment to service the construction industry.
The impact of the Costello family goes way deeper than just the employees at CK Power & Terramac. Years ago, a young Mike Lehoe worked at Costello Ford cleaning cars. Raised by a single mother, Lehoe found a second family in the Costellos that taught him valuable lessons that led to his success in life. Fast forward to today, Lehoe is now the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, but never forgot what the family did for him. And he knows how important the manufacturing industry is to his home city and state.
“I tell people all the time ‘If you want a vacation home on the ocean, you’d buy a home at the beach’,” Lehoe says, “and if you want a manufacturing business that’s in the middle of the shipping and logistics avenue corridors, that’s Missouri.”
As Terramac continues to grow, expanding into parts of the European market in 2024, the Costellos are determined to keep the business in the family. “People prefer to work for a family business,” Co-CEO Clark Costello says, “It’s more intimate to work with family, people know if they have a problem they can reach out to me or one of my brothers and we will be available.”
Terramac represented a bold and exciting new opportunity for the Costello family: a gateway into the construction industry. CK Power is always looking for opportunities to diversify the customers they can provide solutions for. Terramac’s machines like the crawler carrier allow operators to move heavy loads across difficult terrain with ease. Their durability, versatility, and vast dealer network is what has made them the brand of choice on many construction sites across the country. It’s built in Missouri– and it’s clear the Terramac team is proud of what they’ve accomplishing every day.
