K&L Industries of Canby, Oregon, is one of the rare companies that believes in giving formerly incarcerated people second chances.
Many of the paving contractor’s 40 employees were once in prison.
In the video above, the owners of the company – Keith Callaway Sr., Lillian Callaway and Keith Callaway Jr. – reveal how they became a second-chance employer and what that has meant for the company as well as the employees they have helped.
Their compassion and efforts to make sure their employees meet their court-enforced responsibilities, as well as accomplish their professional and personal goals, has resulted in low turnover and plenty of job candidates when positions open. But even more, it’s brought them joy in seeing their employees – whom they think of as family members – get back on their feet.
For Keith Jr., who is seven years sober, it’s a chance to pay it forward.
“It gives purpose to the past that I have,” he says. “There's nothing more rewarding than watching someone put their life back together.”
Along with being a second-chance employer, K&L has grown from a struggling mom-and-pop operation to a $15 million company, performing commercial asphalt milling, paving, repair, residential driveway paving, and sealcoating. K&L is also one of Equipment World’s 12 finalists for the 2023 Contractor of the Year award.
