Business Banking Customer Spotlight: Grant Mackay Demolition Company
Harry Seffker has been CFO and Treasurer of Grant Mackay Demolition Company long enough to know that the most important relationships in business aren’t the ones you build when everything is going well. They’re the ones you count on when things get complicated.
“When we were in hard times, First Utah Bank didn’t even know us—and yet they took care of us,” says Seffker. “So they definitely take care of us in the good times, too.”
Grant Mackay is one of Utah’s most established demolition contractors, with a portfolio that spans the full range of high-profile projects across the valley, like the Salt Lake City International Airport, Geneva Steel, the City Creek Center site, and the ongoing demolition of the Utah State Prison in Draper. The company has also worked internationally, including in Christchurch, New Zealand, where they helped clear structures after a major earthquake.
More Than Just a Moment of Impact
The Mackay family has been in the demolition business since 1947, and Grant Mackay Company is now in its fourth generation. Their services span high-reach demolition, multi-story structures, commercial and industrial projects, and selective interior work, and they deal with project sizes ranging from a thousand square feet to over six million.
One of their most recognized local projects was the City Creek renovation in downtown Salt Lake City, where they demolished two multi-story buildings across two full city blocks while select high-rise structures remained in active operation around them. The work required precision at every stage—not just to bring buildings down, but to protect everything standing beside them.
When most people think about demolition, they picture the dramatic implosion. But Seffker has a different perspective. Only about 15 percent of any job is the actual takedown. The other 85 percent is the difficult work that follows, with hauling, cleanup, and making sure a site is ready for whatever comes next.
That kind of operational discipline has kept Grant Mackay running for decades, through changing markets and increasingly complex projects. It’s also what made finding the right banking relationship so important.
Finding the Right Bank
Coming out of the 2008 recession, Grant Mackay had a clear plan for stabilizing the business. They would finance some paid-off fixed assets long-term and use the proceeds to pay down their line of credit. But they needed a bank that was willing to give an honest look at it.
They inquired with their existing financial institution at the time and received some hard news. “They basically politely told us to go find another bank,” Seffker says.
This rejection led them to First Utah Bank without any kind of pre-existing relationship. “They didn’t know anything about us,” Seffker says, “but they listened to us. We’ve been with them ever since.”
The Deal That Tested Everyone
A few years into their relationship with First Utah Bank, Seffker and his partners decided to purchase Grant Mackay outright from the previous owner. It was a complicated transaction involving multiple buyers, layered trusts, and months of back-and-forth between lawyers, accountants, and the bank. All-in-all, it took more than six months from start to finish.
“It was like a roller coaster. Some days we thought it was going to work out, and the next day something went wrong and we thought it wasn’t.” Through all of it, First Utah stayed consistent. “The bank never gave up on it. They were more inspirational and positive about it than we were a lot of the time.”
Access When It Matters
For Seffker, the best part of doing business with First Utah Bank is the personalized access. He has worked with his representative for over a decade now, to the point that he has his number programmed into his phone. When Seffker calls, he knows he’ll either get an answer or be directed to the right person.
When Grant Mackay was exploring the purchase of a landfill, they needed a bank that wouldn’t flinch at a deal with significant environmental complexity. First Utah Bank sat down with them and heard them out. The deal ultimately didn’t move forward, but the experience stuck with Seffker. “I thought it was cool that they took us seriously enough to listen.”
For Grant Mackay, First Utah Bank isn’t just a lender but a supportive partner across more than a decade of equipment loans, SBA financing, complex deals, and the day-to-day questions that come with running a company at scale.
“They’re personable. They treat you like you’re important. They’re accessible.” And when the time comes to go after something new, Grant Mackay already knows who to talk to. “First Utah gives us a lot of confidence, like we can go out and try to do things, and we know they’re going to be there to help us if we need it.”