History

Our Founder

Carl Andrew Rasmussen was born to Peter and Ella Rasmussen in Greeley, Colorado, on Sept. 13, 1919. Carl grew up working on the family farm alongside his seven brothers and sisters – Harold, Burt, Paul, Kenneth, Gladys and Fern. His father, an immigrant from Denmark, believed a person needed to earn their place at the table, and the Rasmussen children learned the value of a good day’s work and a job well done.

During World War II, Carl served honorably in the United States Navy Seabees in Okinawa. After returning home, Carl and his bride, Hazel, moved to Southern California for the weather. They stayed for the family and the business. Together, they had five children: Dean, Larry, Charles, Ella, and James.

Carl worked as an operator and superintendent for L.M. Wilson Construction Company for 13 years before striking out on his own. More than 50 years later, the company that bears his name – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. – continues to be a leading general engineering contractor in Southern California. Carl’s tradition of maintaining a strong sense of family has endured as Carl’s grandson, Adam Rasmussen, is the third generation to join the company’s work force.

In 1988, Carl was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and he passed away in May the following year. Before his diagnosis, Carl sold his shares of of the company to his sons and was able to enjoy his retirement years raising horses and playing with his grandchildren.

Carl was a man of his word and taught his sons many of the values he learned growing up on his family’s farm: work hard, be honest, and keep your family close.

C. A. Rasmussen, Inc.

After working for more than a decade as an operator and superintendent with the L. M. Wilson Co., Carl A. Rasmussen decided to go into business for himself, and opened an office on a dusty road in Lancaster, California. Within five years, C. A. Rasmussen, Co., took over the operations of Marion Wright Construction, and Carl asked his sons Dean and Larry to join the business. Soon, the company incorporated, and Carl’s third son, Charlie, came fresh out of high school to work with his father.

Carl Rasmussen announced his retirement in 1977, and the three sons took over running the company. As the Southern California landscape changed and the housing market boomed, C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. grew with the times, moving its headquarters from Lancaster to Simi Valley, in the early 1980s.

The company expanded into Northern California when it acquired Piombo Construction in Santa Rosa. During the ’90s, C. A. Rasmussen employees and equipment could be found on jobs stretching from San Diego to northern border of California. When the Northridge Earthquake struck in 1994, C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. was a key player in cleaning up the collapsed freeways and helping Los Angeles commuters go back to work.

By 2002, Dean and Larry Rasmussen retired from the business, and Charlie became president and sole owner. Charlie decided to downsize the business and focus its operations to the Southern California region. He also brought in his son Adam, as the third generation of Rasmussen men took on the construction business.

After 30 years in Simi Valley, C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. built a new company headquarters in Valencia and opened its doors in 2007. Since that time, the company has worked on dozens of multi-million dollar contracts that continue to shape Southern California’s landscape. C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. has won numerous awards recognizing its work from the California Department of Transportation, American Public Works Association, and the Southern California Contractors Association.

1960s
1964 – After 13 years working for L.M. Wilson Construction Company, Carl Rasmussen ventures out on his own under the business name C. A. Rasmussen, Co.

1967 – Carl Rasmussen hires his sons, Larry and Dean Rasmussen, and incorporates the company.

1968 – The company acquires its “A” general engineering license with the California State License Board. Carl’s third son, Charlie Rasmussen, joins the company fresh out of high school.
1960s
1970s
1970 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. is awarded the contract to build Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia, creating a road from Interstate 5 to the newly built theme park. The project marks the beginning of decades of work with The Newhall Land and Farming Co., the developer responsible for the master-planned community of Valencia, California.

1977 – Carl Rasmussen announces his retirement, and sells his shares of the company to his three sons.

1979 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. makes history by purchasing the first Caterpillar D10 west of the Rocky Mountains.
1970s
1980s
1980 – New corporate headquarters of C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. are established in Simi Valley, California.

1986 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. moves 25 million cubic yards of dirt for Northbridge project, one of Valencia’s biggest subdivisions.

1989 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. celebrates its 25th anniversary.
1980s
1990s
1991 – Caltrans awards a contract to construct the interchange of state Routes 118 and 23 in Moorpark, marking the unofficial beginning of the company’s public works division.

1994 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. is among the first companies to respond after the Northridge earthquake strikes by demolishing a collapsed portion of state Route 118.

1995 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers names C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. its Contractor of the Year for its work on the Sonoma Baylands Wetlands Demonstration Project.

1995 – The company creates special landfill and rail divisions, performing work throughout California and as far away as Kansas and Texas.
1990s
2000s
2002 – Charlie Rasmussen becomes president of C. A. Rasmussen, Inc.

2004 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. celebrates its 40th anniversary, and in the same year begins work on the Seabridge residential development in Oxnard, California – one of the company’s most complex projects, constructing two residential islands along the coast, where it was once strawberry fields.

2004 – Charlie’s son Adam Rasmussen joins the company.

2007 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. opens its new corporate headquarters in Valencia.

2007 – The company begins work on a freeway widening project for Caltrans, along state Route 118 in Simi Valley.

2009 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. starts up a new asphalt paving division.
2000s
2010s
2010 – The Southern California Contractors Association names C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. its Contractor of the Year.

2011 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. celebrates a milestone of two years without a lost-time incident.

2011 – The American Subcontractor Association names C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. its General Contractor of the Year.

2012 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. completes a new entrance road to the California State University at Channel Islands. That same year, the company’s Springville Drive Interchange project over Highway 101 in Camarillo received top honors as the Ventura County APWA Project of the Year.

2013 – The company begins work on two major projects: The state Route 126/Commerce Center Drive Interchange for Los Angeles County, and the John S. Gibson Blvd/I-110 Freeway access Ramp Improvements & SR-47 / I-110 N/B Connector Widening for the Port of Los Angeles.

2014 – C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. celebrates its 50th anniversary.

2015 – For the second time in less than a decade, C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. marks another milestone of two years without a lost-time incident.
2010s
2020s
2021 – Adam Rasmussen becomes President / CEO of C. A. Rasmussen, Inc. Third generation of Rasmussen to assume leadership of the company.
2020s