CWR Grows Innovation in Central Florida PRODUCER PROFILE

BY SANDY LENDER

Founded in 1976, C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. (CWR), in Florida, specializes in asphalt paving. The company was acquired by Construction Partners Inc. (CPI) in 2001 and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of CPI with one terminal and 10 asphalt plants throughout South and Northwest Florida. That tenth plant started full production Dec. 19, 2022.

Bob Flowers, the president of CWR, explained the catalyst for setting up a tenth plant in the Rick Scott Industrial Park in Sumter County. “CWR has provided asphalt production services to Central Florida for nearly two decades. With a new facility strategically located near rail infrastructure, this division is now best positioned to meet the ever-growing demands of its customers for years to come. This state-of-the-art production facility is designed with robust capabilities and sustainability in mind, giving us the capability to deliver asphalt products of the highest quality.”

CWR also performs asphalt paving, milling, excavation, embankment, storm drain, stabilization, aggregate base, curb, sidewalk, grassing, signs, signals, and striping. CWR has successfully completed design-build projects with Florida Department of Transportation, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and local counties. While asphalt paving is their specialty, CWR offers a variety of services, including:

• highway and road construction;

• residential and commercial sitework;

• airport construction;

• military base construction; and

• parking lot and driveway construction/renovations.

“The Florida construction market provides a wealth of opportunity for growth and expansion for CWR, and we are eager to leverage it with our full roster of services,” Flowers said.

In fact, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced in December, Florida is the top state for the fourth year in a row for construction in its Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard, which rates state laws, programs, policies and statistics in the seven categories of project labor agreements, prevailing wage laws, right-to-work laws, public-private partnerships, workforce development, career and technical education, and job growth rate.

“We provide solutions to customers spanning a broad range of projects and contracts, including municipalities, commercial con- structions, and government contracts,” Flowers said. “It is through this effort that we have been able to make a meaningful impact in the infrastructural landscape across Florida. CWR is proud to take part in helping build strong communities while connecting the citizens of Florida.”

While CWR is committed to building communities and being an active part of the Florida citizenry, management focuses in-house, as well. The company has five core values that they believe are critical to the success of company, employees and customers.

• Safety—Safety is a top priority to ensure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day and night.

• Quality—CWR team members pride themselves on delivering unparalleled asphalt material to every job.

• Customer Satisfaction—The team consistently strives to exceed client expectations, seeing customers choose to work with the company time and time again.

• Productivity—Members of the CWR team work effectively and efficiently, using cost-effective solutions to save clients money.

• Management Information Systems—Management endeavors for accountability and ongoing performance assessment. As each department strives for continuous improvement, they employ the latest technology to produce quality results.

The safety core value listed above brought an award to the table in 2017. That year, CWR was awarded the Fleet Safety Award by the Florida Trucking Association. The company has also developed a safety committee— which is led by the president and safety director—which meets quarterly and includes representatives from all levels of the team. The CWR safety management team performs daily safety meetings and job hazard analysis reviews for each project, as well as tracks all near misses and accidents. They measure and analyze trends to continuously improve safety at CWR. CWR’s leadership team meets with its partners once a year for a two-day safety summit for continued training education and to share ideas and best practices.

Employee training is vital for maintaining a culture of safety on every project site. CWR provides its employees with the appropriate tools to keep themselves and others safe by offering continuous task/hazard-specific training both in the field and in formal meetings and seminars. New employees go through a safety orientation and training prior to entering the field. They train employees and give them the autonomy to stop work on a job if they see an unsafe working condition. Once a year, they shut down all operations and provide all employees with safety training specific to the type of work they perform.

The core value of management information systems is used to assess performance and excellence throughout the company. “At CWR, we pride ourselves on our performance-driven culture, which we refer to as ‘keeping score,’” Flowers shared. “To en- sure this is done effectively, staying up to date with the best Management Information Systems (MIS) available is essential. We are continuously investing in initiatives and using IT-powered data solutions to enhance our operations and provide accurate results. As a result, by putting an emphasis on measuring our performance, keeping score allows us to remain ahead of the competition and meet our goals consistently.”

To help meet such goals, a new asphalt plant would need to have innovations and technologies that fit the CWR culture.