002 - Jordan Klassen

Playing in the Dirt

A profile of Jordan Klassen, Foreman/Operator, Parkway Construction

Portrait of Jordan Klassen in Las Vegas, Nevada at ConExpo 2026. Shot on 35mm Kodak Tri-X 400 film with Leica R6.2.

Jordan Klassen's dad started Parkway Construction in Manitoba, Canada back in 2001. Framing, concrete, the usual. Jordan grew up around all of it, the job sites, the equipment, the rhythm of the work.

"My dream from when I was a little kid was always to run an excavator. Dad wasn't running any equipment at that point, but it was just my dream ever since I was a little kid."

Now he does.

The Company

Parkway spent years in concrete and framing before making the shift to excavation. Skid steer work had been part of the picture for about a decade, a slow transition that eventually reached a tipping point.

"Eventually we just had to say no, we're not doing any more concrete work, and just cut it off. So yeah, doing more septics, basements, mostly residential stuff."

What He Loves

Ask Jordan why he was drawn to it and he doesn't reach for anything complicated.

"Playing in the dirt, I guess. I don't know. I just loved it."

What he loves about the work now isn't much different. "Working outside. Working in the sun, working in the dirt. Working with people. Building things too is fun, creating and being able to see at the end of the day what you've built. I enjoy that part of it."

What he's most proud of is simple and specific. "Running an excavator. I really love doing that, doing a really good job, making it smooth, fast, and efficient."

Keep Your Head Down

When things get hard, Jordan has a philosophy he's worked out.

"You just got to keep going. Eventually you got to realize you just got to keep going at it and it gets better. And it's fun overcoming a challenge and looking back at it. Some of the toughest times you go through, if you look back, those were the fun times in a sense. The lessons you learned from it. So if you try to keep that in mind when you're going through a hard thing, just not let it get to your head and not let it overwhelm you, but just keep on working at it."

That toughness carries past the job site. "You overcome a hard day at work, something goes wrong, you hit a sewer pipe you weren't supposed to or something like that, it carries over to other challenges in life. You just keep your head down, keep going, keep pushing through it."

What Lasts

When asked what he wishes people understood about the trade, Jordan doesn't talk about money or respect. He talks about looking back.

"I wish people understood that construction, you can learn a lot from it. Looking back, it's really fulfilling, the projects that you finished. Just seeing a job done right. It's really fulfilling looking back on that."

For Jordan, doing it right comes back to the same thing every time. "Making the customer happy, doing a good job, doing something that'll last for a long time."

Something that lasts. And after all the hard days and lessons learned the hard way, what he keeps coming back to as his favorite thing about the industry isn't the machines or the finished work. It's simpler than that. "Working with people, making friendships. Friendships with customers is a lot of fun, and doing a good job."

Jordan Klassen is a Foreman/Operator at Parkway Construction, based in Manitoba, Canada.