Forty Under 40: Brad Johnson

Brad Johnson started to go to law school, but changed his mind during the first semester to take a position with Scurlock Industries Inc. Johnson said he had always loved building things and when an opportunity came up at Scurlock Industries he was glad to take it. Scurlock does excavation and utility installation work.nHe believes the biggest highlight of his career has been turning around the Northwest Arkansas division of Scurlock. The Fayetteville plant was “floundering” when Johnson transferred from the Jonesboro office in January 1989, he noted. Since then, he said, monthly business is up 15 fold. n”Now, it’s our most profitable and most efficient facility,” said Johnson, a minority stock owner. nJohnson, who calls himself “the most competitive person you’d ever meet,” also owns half of Big Red Dirt Farm LLC, west of Fayetteville, and he builds houses on the side.nJohnson said he has “all kinds of goals,” but his biggest is to try to increase each one of his businesses by 20 percent every year. n”I’ve always tried to improve upon and not settle for what I’ve always done,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going.”nHe enjoys spending time with his family and “any kind of fishing.”