"My name is Colby Durnin, I am the founder and CEO of CREDE and have over twenty years of experience working in the Hawaiian Islands as a Developer and Owner’s Representative.  Recently I had the pleasure of working with E.M. Rivera & Sons, Inc. on Niumalu Marketplace, a Safeway anchored 220,000 square foot retail center in Kona.  The project, while very high profile, which has become the number one Safeway in the world, was made even more complicated due to the 115’ of elevation fall over twenty acres.  When we purchased the site from the previous owner, they had assumed that they would import over 300,000 cubic yards of fill making the project economically unfeasible.  We worked with Hiram Rivera and his team and ended up balancing the site and raising the parapet walls to achieve the same result with only importing 2,000 yards of fill.  This project could not have become a reality without Hiram’s input and creativity.  He and his team are top notch and performed above and beyond what they were contractually obligated to do.  I would use Hiram again on future projects and would recommend him for any work that requires a creative skilled civil contractor.  Please feel free to contact me as a reference for any future work."

     Colby Durnin, Commercial Real Estate Development Enterprises

"Since our first Kona project in the ‘80’s, we have found E.M. Rivera & Sons to be highly knowledgeable and professional. We have used their services many times over the decades since, on large and small projects, and have referred them to others without complaints.  Their local knowledge and insights have proven extremely valuable in saving both costs and time, which is often a critical element in any project. And their understanding of the ways to get things done at the local level have helped projects avoid unnecessary “bumps” in the road. Great management; great staff; great results!!"

    Richard Wheelock, Developer

"I have had the pleasure of working with Hiram Rivera and his staff for over 17 years both on my individual lot development projects and as manager of 327 Kona, LLC. Hiram and his staff are always responsive. He works with us and our engineers to design the most practical and economical solutions for laying out our developments. His bulldozer operators are the best we have worked with in cutting pad sites for our residential lots.  Thanks for these many years of helping us deliver lots to the Kona community."

     Tom Smith, Manager - Smith & Collins, Attorneys at Law

Smith & Collins, Attorneys at Law

"Water Resources International, Inc. (WRI) has utilized E.M. Rivera & Sons (EMR) to construct numerous sites for our well drilling operations. Having been in business for many years, EMR’s team is very knowledgeable and experienced in construction regulations, permitting, and environmental Best Management Plans.  They have a great design team, state of the art equipment, and experienced equipment operators who understand “hard rock” excavation. Currently, EMR is an important team member for a design-build exploratory well drilling project on the Big Island requiring mass excavation to construct a well drilling site and access roads. WRI looks forward to working with the EMR team on current and future projects."

     Blaise Clay, Executive Vice President - Water Resources International, Inc.

"Kailua Realty has developed eight successful sub-divisions in Kona since 1986. E.M Rivera and Sons did the site work on all of our developments representing nearly $5,000,000.00. In the beginning we put our jobs out to bid; however, E.M Rivera and Sons proved to be so skilled in value engineering, we now negotiate solely with them, which saves us substantial sums on our developments."

     William G. Boyle, President - Kailua Realty, Ltd.

"E.M. Rivera & Sons did an $8.5 million site improvement contract for our 98 single-family home development on 109 acres. The scope of work included on site mass excavation, crushing, grading, water, sewer, drainage systems, underground utilities including electrical, telephone and cable and an off site sewer line and channelized intersection." "In my experience, which includes the completion of over 2,000 residential units over the last ten years and over 1,000 units currently under construction, E. M. Rivera & Sons performance and team effort has been exemplary. Their local knowledge and experience has been a contributing factor in our ability to achieve our milestone on time and under budget. Their employees are a reflection of management in their consistent conscientious 'can do' attitude."

     Stanford S. Carr, President - Stanford Carr Development, LLC