CRANBERRY TWP — An excavation business that has been a fixture in southwestern Butler County for several decades has been bought by a New Kensington company.

The Mashuda Corp., whose founder was World War I veteran Frank Mashuda, has been bought by a six-year-old competitor, Mountaintop Excavation.

The deal was finalized on Nov. 2, and the owner transition occurred Friday as Mountaintop’s corporate offices and employees were being moved to the Route 19 location in Cranberry.

Tim Zeglin, president of Mountaintop Excavation, said all Mashuda employees will be maintained as Mountaintop takes over the business. He declined to divulge the cost of buying Mashuda.

Zeglin said he is excited to mix Mountaintop’s young managers with the experienced Mashuda managers in the excavation business.

“All of the senior management at Mashuda is extremely valuable,” Zeglin said.

Zeglin said the burgeoning Marcellus Shale natural gas industry is the main reason all Mountaintop and Mashuda employees will be retained.

“(Marcellus Shale drilling) has afforded us the opportunity to really honor the legacy of the Mashuda family by making this transaction,” Zeglin said.

Dan Mashuda, formerly Mashuda’s corporate secretary, said he and Duane “Mike” Mashuda are the only two family members remaining at the company.

Mashuda said he is confident the hard work and stable foundation laid by Frank, Victor, Ernie, Richard and Ralph Mashuda over nearly a century will continue under the Mountaintop name.

“I hope the success of the Mashuda Corp. can continue into the future,” Mashuda said.

He agreed with Zeglin that the Marcellus Shale industry has shifted the company’s focus from highway excavation to drilling.

“It’s a concentration that will continue with the new company,” said Mashuda, who has no plans to retire.

He also agreed that the influx of new workers and ideas into the seasoned Mashuda workforce will spell success.

“The experienced staff at Mashuda will be an asset to Mountaintop going forward, and vice-versa,” he said.

Mashuda was founded in 1922 in Iowa by Frank Mashuda. His nephew, Victor, worked with Frank and eventually took over the business and moved it to Cranberry.

Victor first took on his brother, Ernie, as a partner, but after Ernie’s death, Victor’s eldest son, Richard, became his father’s new partner in 1991.

When Richard died in 1998, Victor continued at the helm alone until 2002, when his son, Ralph, took over.

Victor died in December 2009 at age 93, and Ralph took over full operation of the company. But tragedy would strike when Ralph, at age 60, died of a stroke in February 2010.

Zeglin respects the Mashuda family’s dedication to the corporation and the communities it served.

“They have a long heritage in Butler County, and that is something we want to continue,” Zeglin said.