Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction February 2021 by ForConstructionPros.com

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF NATIONAL PAVEMENT EXPO

MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION FEBRUARY 2021

CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR

Top Contractor Survey Form Page 50

ACI Asphalt & Concrete uses concerted efforts to overcome obstacles and become a dominant force

SWEEPER OF THE YEAR Mid-State Industrial Services is dedicated to the industry they serve › › › www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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What’s Inside February 2021

Top

Contractor Survey Form Page 50!

FEATURES 08

PAVEMENT

Contractor of the Year ACI Asphalt & Concrete uses concerted effort to overcome obstacles and become a dominant force.

Sweeper of the Year Mid-State Industrial Services is dedicated to fulfilling market needs, quality work – and the right employees.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • February 2021

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What’s Inside

February 2021 20

Pavement Hall of Fame For more than 35 years, Mike Musto has utilized his marketing insight to stand out and grow his business.

Good Neighbor

Alan Curtis Industry Service Award

Best Marketing Video Coastal Asphalt invests in creative media to share their story.

Anne LeHuray has been a tireless advocate, possibly saving the entire sealcoating industry.

Large Job

Seal-O-Matic completed a 200,000 sq. ft. job under less than ideal conditions.

Seal & Stripe: Small Job T&N Asphalt Services converted regular parking stalls to Pick-Up zones at 70 different stores.

42 Paving:

Parking Lot

For the past 55 years, Finley Asphalt & Concrete has created a culture of giving.

Tom Frederickson with Superior Striping is dedicated to professionalism and pursuit of job quality.

40 Seal & Stripe:

CAM South has implemented 2-way dash cams, tablets and other innovative practices.

Pavement Hall of Fame

Cutting-Edge Sweeper

W tim

Kansas Asphalt Inc. completed a 2-in. mill and pave on a 90,000 sq. ft. lot within 32 hours.

Best of the Web Wis-Coat reflects company values with user friendly website.

43 Paving:

Non-Parking Lot Pavement Solutions LLC was approached to pave a driveway, they didn’t expect to end up paving a tunnel.

Des are On per

You can read the full articles for all of the Pavement Award winners at www.forconstructionpros.com/21220945

Our asp adh PC • • • •

ON THE COVER The ACI Asphalt & Concrete management team (from left of sign) Todd Tillisch, Mark Anez, Evan Smith, Geoff

Pearson, Phil Vedders, Dustin Alama, Jeff Hollenback, Chad Bestul, Amy Ford, Jerod Gasper, Jim Bebo (kneeling), Jeremy Quinn (kneeling). Starting at right side of sign: Steve Stone, Sam Jordan, Justin Pomerleau, Chris Van Someren, Gretchen Krumwiede, James Smith, Sandy Van Beek, Barry Hall, Mike Picott, Roger Van Beek, Bill Halbach. Photo courtesy ACI Asphalt & Concrete, Maple Grove, MN.

Vol. 35, No. 2 February 2021

Published and copyrighted 2021 by AC Business Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

PAVEMENT

Subscription policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. only to pavement maintenance contractors, producers and government employees involved in paving or pavement maintenance; dealers, and distributors of pavement maintenance equipment or materials; and others with similar business activities. Complete the subscription form at www. forconstructionpros.com or use your company letterhead giving all the information requested. Publisher reserves the right to reject nonqualified subscribers. One year subscriptions for nonqualified individuals: $35.00 U.S.A., $60.00 Canada and Mexico, and $85.00 all other countries (payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank). Single copies available (prepaid only) $10.00 each (U.S., Canada & Mexico), $15.00 each (International). Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction (ISSN 1098-5875), is published eight times per year: January, February, March/April, May, June/July, August/ September, October/November, December by AC Business Media, 201 N. Main St., Fifth Floor, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI and additional entry offices. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Pavement, PO Box 3605, Northbrook, IL 60065-3605. Printed in the USA. PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION is proudly supported by these associations:

February 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Editorial

Dormie Roberts, Associate Editor

Exciting Year for Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction Magazine

Celebrating 35 years and welcoming new editorial staff

WHAT AN EXCITING year for Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction as it’s celebrating its 35th anniversary. And with that, we have a changing of the guard. My name is Dormie Roberts and I am your new associate editor. With guidance and assistance from editor-in-chief, Jessica Lombardo, we plan to continue providing you

with how-to information to help you run your business more profitably and deliver up-to-date industry trends, technological developments and on-the-job techniques that can improve your productivity and bottom line. In this issue, you will find the 2021 Pavement Awards. For the seventh consecutive year, we have recognized influential people, contractors and companies who have enhanced the pavement maintenance industry.

I am looking forward to carrying on the rich history of Pavement. My ultimate goal is to help you be successful, delivering information and content that you find beneficial and educational. I plan to continue covering all things pavement maintenance while introducing new ideas and fresh perspectives such as videos and podcasts to our website (ForConstructionPros.com/ pavement-maintenance) and

social media. I welcome the opportunity to get to know you and learn what troubles you encounter so we can find a solution. With this in mind, my inbox (DRoberts@ acbusinessmedia.com) is always open or connect with Pavement on social media. I enjoy conversation and would love to see pictures of your projects.

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

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CONTRACTOR O Minnesota’s ACI Asphalt & Concrete responded to timely wake-up calls and built a stronger, more-effective, and more-profitable business

“I KNEW I could sell, but I didn’t know how to manage my business.” “I knew what was best for my customers so I could easily sell, but I didn’t know how to manage my business.” What a scary realization to come to – especially after four fast-growing years in business when everything seemed to be going in the right direction. But that is the realization Jim Bebo, president of ACI Asphalt & Concrete Inc., faced after 1997. This is the story of how a concerted effort to rely on accurate job costing, focus on customer service, target specific markets, develop a turnkey CRM proprietary software system, and emphasize customer solutions instead of just bidding every opportunity, enabled the Maple Grove, MN, pavement maintenance contractor to become a dominant force in the Minnesota and upper Midwest market. This is the story of how ACI Asphalt

& Concrete became Pavement’s 2021 Contractor of the Year.

The Beginning: A Little of Everything When Bebo started ACI in 1993 he did not own any equipment. He survived by getting his general contractor’s license and focused not only on selling asphalt, but roofing, remodeling, and real estate, and he hired out subcontractors to get the work done. This, of course, brought a lot of challenges trying to juggle all the various businesses. So, in 1995, ACI bought the subcontractor that had been doing his asphalt work, and in 1996 he bought his first self-propelled paver, and focused solely on asphalt. He called his company “ACI Asphalt.”

Education Keys Awareness In 1997, Bebo quickly realized he was good at providing his customers with quality service, but he was barely staying afloat in his business. So he looked toward the National Pavement Expo to get the knowledge and networking he needed. “I remember buying the pass and

sitting in every single class and leaving NPE with a long list of what to do when I got back,” he says. “I remember listening to Jeff Stokes in class and thinking ‘Boy do I have a lot of work to do.’ I called him the Monday after the show and had him in here on Tuesday and the first two things we did were look at our job costs and start an estimating system based on job costing. “Accurate job costing is the difference between making a profit and not making it at all. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “Contractors need to realize that if you’re going to be in business today, you have to understand your job costs and bid your work accordingly. There is no room for ‘fluff’ in bids if you want to remain competitive.” When Stokes and Bebo analyzed ACI’s job costs, they learned not only why they needed to make some changes but also what some of those changes should be – including focusing on different markets and changing the sales culture from old school bidding to a new consultative customer approach. ACI realized that when they had trouble collecting payment, the problematic customers were almost always either a home

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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builder or a small general contractor. “We were at the mercy of all these other people and all these other things that we couldn’t control, and we were bidding so close that we couldn’t afford any errors on our part or on anyone else’s part. We couldn’t afford delays or anything,” he says. So ACI ran a “tight ship” for a couple of years.

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million in paving and pavement maintenance work ranging from patching and repair to overlays and construction of new driveways and parking lots. But despite the nice gross sales number, the company barely made a profit that year. However, ACI continued to grow at a successful rate, eventually reaching $5 million in sales with a payroll of 30 full time people in 2000. That same year, ACI acquired strategically located property and built a new building. The new location featured a bigger yard, enabling the contractor to add bulk storage tanks and house more equipment, meaning it could perform almost all its own services rather than subcontract them out.

2002: A “Wake-up” Year Jim Bebo says ACI’s marketing efforts focus on the fact that ACI Asphalt is customer driven. “What does the customer gain by calling us? That’s what we tell them.”

Making the Right Changes In 1997, after focusing strictly on asphalt and making those changes, ACI and its 15 employees generated $1.4

Then came 2002. “We really amped it up that year, but we lost a ton of money,” Bebo says. “We did a lot of work for general contractors, and we lost money because we were running a driveway crew and a mainline crew, and the margins were terrible. I tried to compete where I couldn’t, and we got ourselves into some real trouble.” He says he came to that realization

in June 2002. “But we had no choice but to play out the season and we did. That year was an MBA from Harvard. What I learned that year was it’s got to make sense or don’t do it,” Bebo says. “It happens to all of us. Learning to say ‘No’ was good. That year woke me up, pissed me off, and made me realize we can’t be everything to everybody. I realized I had to figure out what we’re good at and do a lot of that.”

The Turnaround So, in 2002 ACI revamped again, scaled back residential, eliminated most builders and general contractor work, no longer serviced small driveways, and started to focus on specific commercial markets, large HOA’s and large residential jobs. “We got rid of any customers who had a motive to ‘squeeze’ us, started to build a sales team, and we dug ourselves out of a hole,” Bebo says. ACI retained quality accounts and built from there, focusing on how best to serve those customers, improving job costing, and growing no less than 10% each year. Another improvement was a change in compensation for the sales team. “That was essential to our growth,” Bebo

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ACI carries very little debt, a philosophy that helped the contractor survive recent economic downturns because ACI has been able to borrow where other contractors couldn’t.

says. Compensation was now based on how well they managed the job and keeping the customer happy instead of just a percentage of the gross sale. He says this allows them to focus solely on the customer solution and meeting customer needs – not just bidding everything. ACI’s business actually shrunk the first year they implemented the change, but then business improved soon after.

main headquarters -- to help propel them to the next level. The company employed more than 40 people, with twice as many field personnel as sales or administrative employees. ACI was sending between three and seven crews into the field each day, with about 70% of revenue generated from paving and patching, and 30% from sealcoating and cracksealing.

Growth Since the 2008 Recession Like most businesses, ACI’s revenue declined and business went down 25%. So, in 2009, ACI acquired its first infrared repair machine. Bebo says that single addition to its service offering has generated constant work for the company while providing a less-intrusive, short-term solution that is more cost-effective for the customer. “The main reason we bought an infrared machine was because the economy was tough for many of our customers,” he says. “It got to the point where I couldn’t tell a property manager it was going to cost X dollars for three patches because I knew they couldn’t spend that amount of money. Now, however, we can do those same patches for one-third the price in half the time with infrared. That’s another move we made with our customer in mind.” Now ACI runs 4 infrared units. By 2010, ACI completed about 900 jobs, and the company’s growth was increasing. They bought a six-acre site in Maple Grove, MN -- now the

ACI started its concrete division with five employees; it now has 20 employees representing 15% of the business. “Managing quality control ourselves was the only way we were going to provide concrete services,” Bebo says. “If we can’t do it the right way for our customers, we’re not going to do it at all.” In 2018, as demand for ACI’s services continued to grow, ACI made the strategic decision to acquire the people and assets of Asphalt Associates of Roberts, WI, and Minnesota Asphalt Maintenance, St. Paul, MN. “You can’t just add equipment to grow, you need the right people too,” Bebo says. “We saw an opportunity to make these strategic acquisitions, and we focused on bringing the best parts of each of our cultures together to make ACI stronger and better positioned to serve our customers.”

A Change in Hiring Practice

“Accurate job costing is the difference between making a profit and not making it at all. It’s as simple as that,” Jim Bebo says.

In 2012, ACI added a concrete division and added concrete to its name, becoming ACI Asphalt & Concrete. They had been subbing out concrete work for many years but realized they didn’t have control over quality or continuity of the projects, which was not in the best interest of the customer.

“There are two big challenges in this business, as far as employees go. One is the seasonality of our business and the second is getting the right ‘can do’ people on our team,” Bebo says. “We’ve always kept a few people on during the offseason, and when the company was smaller, we were able to keep more people on. But with 100-plus employees we can’t do that anymore. We can’t keep that many employees on 12 months even though we’re only working nine months.” To balance the seasonality aspect, ACI seeks full time workers who are willing to work seven to nine months with the other months working another job or on unemployment. “Through our unions and our benefit programs, our employees are able to get year-round benefits which helps balance the seasonality of most of our jobs,” he says. “After our reawakening back in 2003, we evolved our approach to hiring and focused even more on getting the

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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right people on the team to fit our mission, vision and the skills we need to be successful,” Bebo says. He says that for years he would hire skilled people and “throw money at them and hope they work out.” Now, however, ACI hires people for cultural and skill fit and lets them work their way up in the company, promoting from within wherever possible. “This way, they learn the business the way we want to do business” he says. “It’s much less risk for ACI, offers the right people the opportunity to succeed, and it’s been much more successful for all parties,” adding that ACI’s retention rate is 85%.

In-house Technology Aids Growth Also enabling ACI’s growth has been the consistent development of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

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system. For years, ACI scheduled its jobs on a white board, but starting in 2010, ACI added scheduling to its software system, managed by a full time scheduler.

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Then in 2016, ACI developed a full-service CRM system and turned it into a turnkey software system that integrates virtually all aspects of the business including CRM, sales, management, and operations. It is more of a workflow and business operation system incorporating everything from job costing to scheduling to reporting equipment costs and even gross profit. All in realtime. This has helped ACI’s growth exponentially. The software, PROcru, is used by ACI and several customers and is also available to all other contractors across the country. Additionally, the development of the PROcru App has improved business greatly as it provides immediate job costing results. “We’ve eliminated all the job costing paperwork and we are no longer waiting on the foreman to manually enter in all of the information every night,” Bebo says. “Each field employee manages their own time and equipment costs on their own App. This gives them accountability, and no one needs to be micromanaged.”

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Bebo says ACI has always made a concerted effort to lower its operating cost and overhead so the company could be more flexible with its proposals and better able to add or upgrade equipment when needed.

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February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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In 2012, ACI started its concrete division with five employees; it now has 20 employees and generates 15% of the business.

He says tighter management of labor contributed significantly to lower direct costs of the project. When crews are in the field, ACI works to make sure crew members are being cost-effective on the jobsite, making them aware of the choices they make during the day and on the job and the impact those choices have on the job and on the bottom line. “We try to drive home the fact that they don’t work for me and they don’t work for ACI. Ultimately, we all work for the customer and the customer pays the bills and pays our salary. ACI just signs the checks,” Bebo says. “When we drive operating costs down, we can provide a better service and the same high-quality work as we always have and we do that because that’s what our customers have told us they want,” Bebo says. “We never want to be the company with the lowest price as that requires a business to cut corners and we would never do that. “We are the most cost-effective producer out there for the value given and property managers and owners understand what that means for them. Add our constant communication, professionalism, and following through on all our commitments and choosing ACI as a top vendor is a no-brainer.” Even with all its attention on reducing operating costs and job costing, ACI still carries a lot of overhead. “Overhead is tricky because you can only spend so much money on it before you get into trouble. But if you don’t have the overhead, you just can’t give the customer the service they need and want.” Bebo adds that ACI does not believe in massive borrowing to finance equipment, so the company carries very little debt. That philosophy was key to surviving recent economic downturns because ACI has been able to borrow

where other contractors couldn’t because their debt load is too high. “Our financial strength and fiscally conservative nature have enabled us to weather the storms and not miss a beat,” Bebo says. “The quality of our people, our investment in our equipment fleet, the quality of the work

we do and the way we approach our business, and our customers, help us get through. But one of the biggest things is our willingness to change. We adapt as the economy as market conditions change -- that is essential in this business.”

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www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

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Mid-State Industrial Services is dedicated to fulfilling market needs, reasonable profit, quality work – and the right employees MID-STATE INDUSTRIAL Service, which started as a very small parking lot sweeping business in Eugene, OR, decided to grow by adding broom sweeping, catch basin cleaning, and vacuum excavation to better serve the customer base they already had. Ultimately, the contractor not

only broadened its services to its existing base, but expanded that base to include property managers, contractors, developers, and public agencies. They have transitioned from a local business with limited growth potential to a statewide operation that has experienced consistent growth by identifying and fulfilling market needs, maintaining pricing and job quality, and hiring and retaining employees. “All of this transition is partly driven by the fact that the parking lot sweeping market is so competitive that the margins are very low,” says Jim Dodson, president. “We have always worked on

The Mid-State Industrial Services management team (from left) Blake Olsen, general manager, Cindi Olsen, office manager; Jim and Debbie Dodson, owners.

the principle that we have to make a reasonable profit on every job, and we had to provide a good quality product on every job. How do you tell someone to do a halfway job?” It’s difficult to find a better business philosophy, which is why Mid-State Industrial Service has earned the designation as Pavement’s Sweeping Contractor of the Year for 2021. Currently, Mid-State Industrial

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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After sweep of chip bins at a sawmill. Mid-State Industrial Service sweeps very few grocery stores and box store parking lots, concentrating instead on offices, local stores, light industrial properties, restaurants at night, and apartments, HOAs, and similar properties during the day.

Service employs 25 people and provides services throughout the state, 24 hours a day, all year round. Where parking lot sweeping used to be the mainstay of the business, it currently generates only 18% of sales. Broom work accounts for 36% of sales, catch basin cleaning accounts for 21%, and vacuum excavation, the fastest-growing service, accounts for 27% of sales. The company’s fleet includes four Tymco 435s, two Tymco 210s, one Schwarze A8000, two X Broom Street Sweepers, four Elgin Road Wizards, one Johnston ES351, two Camel jet/vac combination trucks, two Vactor excavation trucks, and one Sewer Equipment Co. jet/vac combination truck.

A Parking Lot Sweeping Startup Fred and Mary Dodson, Jim’s parents, started Mid-State Industrial Service in 1970 with one Tymco 300, several rideon sweepers and two employees. Dodson worked summers and parttime in the shop and parts department of a Mack dealership while in college. He

married Debbie in 1973 and joined MidState full time after college in 1974. The couple had two daughters and Debbie started working in the Mid-State office in 1975. “The local lumber product mills and plants were paving more and more of their asphalt and it needed to be swept. And construction companies and home builders need subdivisions swept.

Vacuum excavation has been used for construction of a new sewer.

Milling was just getting started and they needed sweepers,” he says. “The heavier duty sweeping became more inviting.” Dodson says that by 1979, Mid-State did all the industrial and construction sweeping in the area and 90% of the parking lot sweeping.

Surviving Market Challenges

Mid-State’s Equipment Philosophy: Buy New! Jim Dodson says Mid-State Industrial Service estimates that, depending on usage and maintenance costs, a parking lot sweeper will last about eight years before it should be replaced and a broom sweeper between 10 and 12 years. He says Mid-State tries to keep its equipment current, but it’s difficult. “The equipment has become increasingly expensive and because of some of the varying economic conditions there have been some gaps in our replacement process,” he says. “Almost all of our equipment is purchased new or sometimes we buy a demo unit. This is partly for the tax benefits but also to stay ahead of the competition.” He says they usually avoid buying used sweepers. “We really don’t want to take on someone else’s problems. In the past, when we did buy some used Mobils, we found that not only was the machine improperly adjusted and maintained, it cost us at least what we originally paid for it again to get it to where we would put our name on it. Even then it was not as reliable and maintenance costs were higher than on a new machine. Sweepers by their self-destructive nature are going to give you more years of reasonable service if you buy new.”

Over the years Mid-State has survived significant changes in its customer base. In the 1980s, environmental activism – concern for the spotted owl – shrunk the market. “We swept approximately 25 wood products facilities and sawmills, some as often as twice per week. Within two years there weren’t even foundations left for even half of them.” At about the same time a low-ball competitor entered the business, offering parking lot sweeping for half of Mid-State’s price. “We went from the five nightly routes down to three within several months. We maintained our price structure and high sweeping standards, and within six to eight months many of those accounts came back.”

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Sponsored by

And until 1996, Eugene was a major rail yard and maintenance shop for Southern Pacific Railroad. Southern Pacific was sold to Union Pacific Railroad and almost all operations were moved out of the area. “We went from two or three shifts per week to nothing within about a year,” Dodson says. “But we continued to grow.”

Adding Catch Basin Cleaning In the early 1980s, Dodson says they pursued catch basin cleaning because they saw a need in the market. “We were looking for ways to expand the business without going out of our service area, and there was a growing demand for taking care of stormwater systems,” he says.

All of Mid-State’s vacuum trucks and broom sweepers require a CDL, and most of the company’s CDL drivers are people Mid-State has trained and helped to get their CDL.

excavation is considered a less-invasive way of digging for construction. Air or water is blasted into an area of ground to loosen the soil, then the loosened soil is vacuumed up. The material can be disposed of or used as backfill. “Some of it is potholing before the utilities get can dig conventionally, but most is to actually do all the digging,” Dodson says. “This may be in a back yard or even inside a building. “The vacuum trucks came on because, again, we were looking to expand, but we didn’t want to spread out too much,” Dodson says. “It was the same customer base but it also got us in contact with people we weren’t doing sweeping for but who needed sweeping. It worked both ways.”

Opening a Branch

Among the innovative sweeping-related services Mid-State has developed is cleaning clay from the the University of Oregon's baseball field.

“No one else had equipment to clean the catch basins or drain lines -- except for municipal and government agencies, and some of them also needed the service. That is when we purchased our first jet/vac combination machine, again serving the same customer base.”

Adding Vacuum Excavation That continued growth, especially over the last 10 years, is because vacuum excavation has become an increasingly important part of their work. “We now have three dedicated trucks with longer suction booms and more suction,” he says. “There’s a huge amount of stuff in the ground that you don’t want to damage.” Often termed “soft dig,” vacuum

Continuing to pursue expansion within their service area and within the sweeping business, Mid-State in the early 1980s picked up its first regular city sweeping job for the city of Oakridge. Within a year, they were sweeping for Tualatin, a suburb of Portland. “Contractors were also calling us to do work in the Portland area, paying full travel,” Dodson says. “It was soon a case of ‘get in or get out’ of the Portland area market.” So, in 1985 they got in, opening a branch in Sherwood. Jim’s brother, Dan, managed the Sherwood operation, which focused primarily on municipal sweeping. In 1994 they split the Sherwood operation from the Eugene business, and ownership of Sherwood was split 50/50 between Dan and Jim/ Debbie. In 1997, Jim and Debbie traded their Sherwood stock for Dan’s MidState stock. They then purchased Fred and Mary’s Mid-State stock, becoming sole owners. (The Sherwood operation continues, being run by Dan and his family as Great Western Sweeping.)

NAPSA, CSC and 1-800-SWEEPER Mid-State Industrial Service is a North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA)-certified sweeping contractor (CSC) and member of 1-800-Sweeper. “One of the highlights of my career was being on the NAPSA board,” Dodson says, where he served as treasurer for one term. “The involvement with the industry and direct contact with others from around the country that are also in the sweeping industry has been priceless. I have called them and them me, for advice and comments on various issues from equipment, locating parts, employee issues etc. It’s nonthreatening since they are not even in my area, but we share the common interest of sweeping.” Dodson says obtaining NAPSA’s CSC designation has been valuable in several ways. “Mainly it made us a better company,” he says. “We really didn’t have to change a lot, but we had to tweak things in a couple of areas and formalize a few of our policies and procedures. Most of it was just getting into print and in the manual what we were already doing.”

Parking Lot Sweeping Today Dodson says almost all Mid-State’s parking lot sweeping is within 20 miles of the shop, so they can schedule jobs tightly. They do regular sweeps for properties outside their area – but only at normal rates, plus the customers pay full travel costs. “Unlike some areas of the country, once you leave town there is almost no parking lot sweeping for 45 to 60 miles

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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or more in any direction,” he says. “The parking lot market is still pretty tough in our area.” He says third-party vendors are getting more of that work, but he hasn’t found one he will work for. “Most of those multi-sweep-a-week jobs are being done way too cheap. How can you offer your employees any pay or benefits if you aren’t charging enough for your services?” asks Dodson. “One of Fred’s words of wisdom on how to fail was ‘I knew I was losing money, but I knew I was going to make it up on volume.’ In other words, always get your price, don’t compromise the job to get it. “One of the grocery chains that we used to work for went to a third party. They went the reverse auction-type of bid, and the ‘winner’ got the job for less than we had been doing it for 10 years before that. Of course, it doesn’t look like they are doing much there.”

Why Employees Drive Success Dodson says the company does as much as it can to assure employees are the right hires, are successful in the job, and are retained. Mid-State pays “way more” than the competition, and offers a 401(k)-retirement plan, health insurance and paid vacation. “Our employees tend to stay with us

and us with them,” Dodson says, adding that within the last two years, three people retired that had each been with the company between 26 and 35 years. “We are never looking for a shortterm employee,” Dodson says. “Part of our success is that we hire people with the intention that they will be with us for the long term, and most of them are. I would rather suffer the short-term of being short-handed than settle for the wrong employee. It never works out and is much more of a headache. And training people is expensive.” He says Mid-State has developed certain personality traits they look for in prospective employees, depending on whether it is daytime or nighttime work. He says prospects who show intelligence and common sense have a leg up on a Mid-State job, and they

Mid-State’s Impact on the Industry In 1972, Fred Dodson bought a new Tymco 300 and within 60 days the fan was completely worn out. He went to a local company that rubber-covered parts for the sand and gravel industry and had them cover the front side of the fan blades with gum rubber and balance the fan. “That fan ran for over 7,000 hours without being touched again. Those are the same sort of fans still used by Tymco,” Jim Dodson says. Another example is Mobil sweepers that were having trouble with the main broom bouncing. “Some four-wheel drive trucks were doubling up the shocks to combat the same sort of problems, so I got a set of Mobil shocks and doubled them up on the broom drive side. It worked,” Dodson says. “The next time the factory rep was by, he took pictures. The next new Mobil I saw had my shock design on it.” Dodson says the company is also known for innovative efforts at performing sweeping operations for which sweepers were never designed or imagined, including: • Sweeping a field to pick up horse droppings • Sweeping a grass seed field to pick up the seed dropped from the leaking combine hopper • Sweeping the delicate synthetic track at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field • Cleaning clay from the pitcher’s mound at the University of Oregon baseball field

need a good driving record and must pass a pre-employment drug test. “They must be able to work on their own and not be afraid to get dirty or wet. They must be somewhat selfsufficient. Nighttime workers need to be somewhat of loners and preferably worked nights before. It’s a personality thing that is almost more of a feeling that you get from them,” Dodson says. “Generally, if someone says they have sweeper experience, we don’t want them. We would prefer to train them ourselves in our ways.”

Getting the Job Done at Mid-State Mid-State catalogs all its sweeping jobs, and the one-page entry for each job includes a Google Earth photo of the site, the job name and address, where to get water, expected normal sweep time, areas to be detailed, areas to be swept -especially if they are different than the whole lot – and any special instructions. “That way any of the operators can sweep any of the lots. If they need to, they can make a copy of it and take it with them,” Dodson says. “It is also helpful on properties where there are shared lots but not everyone participates in the sweeping service.” He says operators account for their time on their written shift report, which can be compared to the GPS time and areas covered. Mid-State uses Samsona software in all its working vehicles. “We use it for the forward-facing and cab-facing cameras, live GPS tracking, vehicle maintenance prompts, and fault reporting,” Dodson says. “It has helped us not only keep track of where our people are but also of their possible availability for other jobs as they come in during the day. “We have been able to keep a lot of our core customers because of our quality and because when they are on a schedule, they know that the service will be when it’s supposed to be. We have enough people and equipment that it gets done when scheduled -- even if I have to do it myself.”

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Pavement Hall of Fame Mike Musto, 800 Pavement Network Mike Musto, 800 Pavement Network and U.S. Pavement Services is named to Pavement magazine’s Hall of Fame. ALL CONTRACTORS BRING something to their company that enables them to be successful. Some bring technical expertise. Some bring on-the-job experience and knowhow. Some bring a dollars-and-sense business savvy. Mike Musto brought a keen sense of marketing and the recognition that marketing in this industry clearly can provide a competitive advantage. His pursuit of “how to get business” has guided his career in the paving and pavement maintenance business and provided the reasoning behind acquiring 1-800-PAVEMENT. “This industry needs marketing. It’s always needed more marketing,” Musto says. “Not enough people are doing it to help them stand out against the crowd.” For more than 35 years, Musto has utilized his marketing insight and drive to stand out against the crowd. He has relied on marketing to grow his own operation, U.S. Pavement Services in Woburn, MA, and to implement a nationwide marketing campaign, the 800 Pavement Network (1-800 PAVEMENT and related toll-free numbers). The 800 Pavement Network has led the way to a recognition of the importance of branding and has developed into a network of more than 270 contractors who together generated more than $1 billion in total sales in 2019. And U.S. Pavement Services, which gets the 800

Pavement Network’s national account work, has grown to more than $50 million in sales. It is for his keen sense of marketing, the recognition that marketing in this industry clearly can provide a competitive advantage, and his development and growth of the 800 Pavement Network (and the growth of most of the companies that subscribe), that we induct him into the Pavement Hall of Fame. “I’m always and always have been a front-end type of guy,” Musto says. “I see sales as the hardest part of any company. Get the work and then figure out how to get it done because if you don’t have the work, you’re in trouble. I’m always looking at ways to get more business in the door, on ways to drive sales.”

Each year, Musto has invited hundreds of veteran to a Boston Red Sox game where a veteran throws the first pitch and another sings the national anthem. His team also distributes hundreds of yearly gifts to veterans. They distribute turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas trees for the holidays.

A Marketing Mindset

Development of the 800 Network

At 23 years old, Musto brought a marketing mindset to his first company, a small driveway sealcoating business that eventually became U.S. Pavement Services. In 1985, Musto bought his first sealcoating rig, a 550-gal. unit, then he had to find some sealcoating work. He started cold-calling commercial businesses, soon landing a contract with Papa Gino’s, a pizza place with dozens of locations. “I sold a job before I even knew how to sealcoat,” he says. That job resulted in work sealcoating another 12 Papa Gino’s locations (his company still handles Papa Gino’s today). At the same time, he started pursuing residential driveway work, investing $10 in a book of residences in Winchester, MA, a fairly well-off community with a lot of big driveways. “I started walking the neighborhood and put quotes on people’s doorways and then I called each

person that night,” he says. He quickly landed three driveway sealcoating jobs and generated $450 in one day. When he got a residential job, he’d set up his yard signs and then blanket the neighborhood with bids, letting people know what address he was sealcoating and encouraging them to check out his work. On all jobs he placed his signs, which included his company’s 800 number.

In 2005, 20 years after he started in the business, Musto made what he terms his “best marketing move” by acquiring the rights to 1-800 PAVEMENT. The 800 toll-free concept enables contractors who lease the number for a monthly fee to receive all calls directly within the area codes that they license. Contractors can “license” multiple area codes to cover all the areas they service. When a prospect calls the 800 number, the call is directed to the contractor who owns the lease for that area code. Musto acquired the rights to 800 PAVEMENT, then he says he “plastered the number everywhere,” including 12-ft. signs on each side of his dump trucks, 5-ft. signs on the rear of every truck, yard signs, and all his literature. “People didn’t need to write the number down; they didn’t need to look the

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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U.S. Pavement Gives Back Giving back to the community that has helped build U.S. Pavement is important to Musto. In 2012, Musto initiated a Buy American campaign for his company and all purchases were made with American products and services whenever possible. This initiative has totaled millions of dollars to date. “We’ve helped to create and protect jobs right here in the USA,” says Musto. He rolled this out to his 800-Pavement Network shortly thereafter. Musto and his team have also been very supportive of Veterans for many years. “We must support our Veterans in appreciation for their sacrifice and dedication to keeping our country safe and free,” says Musto. Each year, Musto has invited hundreds of Veterans to a Boston Red Sox game where a Veteran throws the first pitch and another sings the national anthem. His team also distributes hundreds of yearly gifts to Veterans. They distribute turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas trees for the holidays. The Christmas trees for Vets contribution is a part of the companies overall Pledge to Hire Veterans Initiative – started in 2014. The program was designed to “pave the way” for companies to hire Veterans, help companies create career paths for Veterans, and finally to foster growth for this highly skilled but underemployed demographic.

number up. It was a remembering game and it was a huge competitive advantage in the days before the internet,” he says. “Our local business grew from that in a big way. The number was a branding tool that definitely gave us a real competitive advantage. The number instantly tells people who you are, what you do and how to reach you. And that’s all from one phone number.” He says that he initially acquired the 1-800 PAVEMENT number for his own company. “I saw the incredible value for my company, but I didn’t see the value of all these toll-free numbers for others in the industry.” After realizing how valuable the 800 number was to his company, U.S. Pavement acquired other toll-free numbers, including 800-SEALCOAT, 800-BLACKTOP, 800-DRIVEWAY, 800-STRIPING, 800-ASPHALT and 888-PAVEMENT. He then started marketing and leasing them to contractors throughout the country. He opened his U.S. Pavement Services books to show other contractors the impact the toll-free number had on his company, and slowly the numbers gained traction.

800 as Branding Tool Musto stresses that licensing an 800 number is not a marketing panacea. “The phone number is like a marketing plan all by itself. It’s a very simple way to market in a strong way,” he says. “It’s a branding tool that gives you a competitive advantage, but it’s not a magic number. It’s how we market it. “You have to get it out there to get it to work,” Musto says, adding that a few companies have stopped using the number because they didn’t think it was effective. “But quite frankly, it wasn’t effective for them because they didn’t market it. They didn’t get the number out there.” He says the 800 number has been successful in a variety of industries, and it’s proved to be successful in the pavement maintenance industry, particularly for residential work. “The big thing about this industry is we have big trucks and a lot of trucks, and the trucks are out there on every jobsite and they’re driving all over town every day. Trucks are great roving billboards that can affect numerous people every day.” He says a tally of 800 Network members found 7500 trucks among all members. That translates into at least 15,000

truck signs marketing the numbers throughout the country.

Serving National Accounts Musto says U.S. Pavement Services always pursued national accounts for itself, and soon realized they could use the network numbers to generate even more national accounts business. In 2006 they began subcontracting national account work to some of the 800 Network members. “We decided to expand the Network and pursue more national accounts at the same time,” he says. “Using 1-800-PAVEMENT we were able to access national account work throughout the country and pass it along to some of our members. That became part of the pitch, that they could have access to work they otherwise probably wouldn’t reach,” he says. “So, members not only got the 800 number they were leasing, but if we got national work in their area, they’re going to get some work. And that was work that most of those contractors wouldn’t be able to get because they weren’t pursuing national accounts. The national accounts work is a bonus and can be huge.”

Creating a Buying Group Musto says expansion plans for the 800 Pavement Network include expanding into markets they’re not currently serving and pursuing more national accounts. “We’re working to increase our national account work,” he says. “We don’t get work in all areas of the country so network members who work in those areas don’t get national accounts work from us and that’s something we’ll push for. It basically rounds everything off.” He also says they are developing a buying group for members. “We realized we had a billion-dollar network, many of whom used the same types of products,” he says. “A billion dollars is the basis for a big buying group and we’re now in the process of putting together sponsors to give network members access to discounts.”

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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A D T

W wa dir Co Co she pri Fir org to gro mo im me by ide

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Anne LeHuray, Executive Director, Pavement Coatings Technology Council (RTS) as detrimental to WHEN ANNE LEHURAY the environment and was hired as executive the public’s health was director of the Pavement accurate. Coatings Technology She accomplished both Council (PCTC) in 2008, tasks exceedingly well, and she was tasked with two she accomplished more primary responsibilities. than that, possibly savFirst, to bring ing the entire sealcoating organizational change Anne LeHuray industry. So, as she steps to the very small industry back from her position with group so that it could become PCTC after more than a dozen years, more effective. Second, and most she is a 2021 inductee into the Paveimportant, to determine for the PCTC ment Hall of Fame. members whether research conducted “My primary task was to determine by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) whether the USGS was right, and the identifying refined coal tar sealer

ng hat

answer is ‘No’. Not only were they not right, but we have demonstrable evidence that they fudged the data and that the science on which all these bans have been passed is flawed,” LeHuray says. “We’ve actually been able to hold off bans and convince people it’s not the right way to go.”

Development of the PCTC Organization With a PhD in geochemistry, LeHuray’s road to her PCTC success was, as she describes it, “long and winding.” She was an environmental consultant for 10 years during the 1990s. At

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the time, PCTC was a lightly funded research organization based at the University of Nevada-Reno. But because environmental and health advocates were using the USGS information to try to ban RTS, a decision was made to transform PCTC into a lobbying group, hence the change from Center to Council.

Debunking the USGS Research After she and a host of experts examined the USGS research and determined it was flawed, LeHuray added a new responsibility. She became the sealcoating industry’s foot soldier, traveling constantly throughout the country, often with other PCTC members, fighting proposed RTS bans. To be the effective face of the industry she had to learn the science surrounding sealcoating and regulatory efforts, the environmental impact of sealcoating, the business and economic impact of such regulations, and she had to have a handle on the regulatory climate at the federal level at the Environmental Protection Agency and for each state. She learned so she could converse with ban advocates, the lay public, and local officials. “We focused on coal tar-based sealants initially because that’s what the USGS research focused on. But it became clear through their statements that eventually they were going to try to ban all sealants, so we broadened our efforts to cover all sealants, because that’s what our members make,” she says. Initially there was a great deal of information available on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the named culprit in RTS of advocates who seek sealer bans. PAHs are a complex of chemicals that can be found all over – in petroleum, in auto exhaust, in foods, shampoos etc. But while there was a lot of information on PAHs in general, early on there was very little specific information about PAHs in pavement sealants. So PCTC began sponsoring and co-funding research on a broad variety of subjects related to pavement sealer. The results of that research enabled PCTC to counter the arguments of those who advocated RTS bans.

Early on, Washington, Minnesota, and Maine instituted statewide bans on RTS, and a number of local communities also instituted bans. But what seemed like it might be a snowball effect of RTS bans rolling throughout the country -- and even at the federal level -- has slowed significantly as a result of PCTC’s efforts. “When I started a dozen or so years ago, a lot of our members anticipated the bans would spread throughout the nation very quickly. That has not happened,” LeHuray says.

A Stable of “Go-To” Experts As she defended the industry, LeHuray worked to develop a stable of individuals – scientists, engineers, lobbyists and lawyers – expert in a variety of areas of importance to PCTC and its members. These go-to experts are versed on issues such as risk assessment, toxicology and environmental forensics – all of which can come into play when fighting a sealer ban. “The goal was to have experts throughout the country who were familiar with the problems PCTC was facing and who could address the sealer-industry issues as they came up,” she says. LeHuray says the 20-member PCTC has been able to get more bang for its membership buck because they now have these experts in place throughout the country to speak on PCTCs behalf. She and other PCTC members not only don’t have to travel to each hot spot, but they don’t have to spend time bringing new people up to speed on the industry, its issues and PCTC’s concerns. “We have been able to do a lot with not very much money. The development of our stable go-to experts familiar with our issues means our up-front costs are less until we have to bring someone new in,” she says. “We’re very fortunate we’ve picked good people.”

Educating the Industry and End-user In addition, LeHuray worked with PCTC members to develop a mechanism for reaching out to these experts – and

to sealcoating contractors who might be affected by bans. These customers – sealcoating contractors – often found themselves unable to use RTS in their market or in parts of their market as a result of local bans. With the help of PCTC members, LeHuray developed a system making it easier for contractors or their suppliers to communicate with the organization about proposed regulations. And she and PCTC worked to educate contractors on RTS and on how to address potential bans. Twice, PCTC bought out 90-minute seminars at National Pavement Expo, then offering the sessions free to sealcoaters to explain the RTS issues and seek local help. PCTC upgraded its website, developed a video explaining the RTS issue and provided the video on the website and in a DVD free to contractors to help educate local officials. “It’s fairly easy to track what is happening in a regulatory way at the state level, but finding out what’s happening at the local level is difficult,” she says. “We often say that we find out about proposed regulations ‘too late or a day before it’s too late,’ in which case there’s not much PCTC can do. But the mechanisms we now have in place to make communicating with us easier have helped. Local sealcoaters are much more aware than they used to be, and they really help alert us.” In addition to slowing the expansion of RTS bans, LeHuray says a by product of PCTC’s efforts has been the increased research and development among sealer producers. “Even companies that aren’t PCTC members have increased their R&D efforts to find alternatives to either reducing PAHs or developing other materials,” she says. “There have a been a lot if improvements made to all of the sealants used in the industry.” And the industry is still standing and thriving, in no small part to Anne LeHuray’s tenure as executive director of PCTC.

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Sponsored by

GOOD NEIGHBOR

Jessica Lombardo, Editor-In-Chief

Finley Asphalt & Concrete Creates a Culture of Giving The company has donated over $50,000 to local community service efforts and for this we present them with the 2021 Good Neighbor Award OVER THE LAST year, many communities were hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic and people relied on each other and their neighbors for help. Luckily, the people of Manassas, VA, and surrounding communities have been able to rely on the generosity of Finley Asphalt & Concrete for the past 55 years and 2020 was no different. Each year, the company chooses a host of charities to make donations of both

time and money to, and this year they contributed $50,000 among local school systems and food banks in their community. "Every year brings different challenges to our communities and with each year comes greater needs in a different area. As Finley is performing work in the community; we can see the needs of others and we find charities to help the community where we see the greatest need," Erick Finley, owner of Finley Asphalt & Concrete says. "We aren’t sure what the future has in-store for our fellow community members but we could see the effects COVID-19 was

taking on our communities and Finley Asphalt felt fortunate to assist families where we live and work." The company knows that their employees live in these communities and makes sure to listen to the needs of the employees when deciding what charities to donate to. In all, Finley donated to 20 different charities where they saw the greatest need. These efforts have created a culture of giving at the company that can be felt throughout the entire organization and have helped the company to maintain their deep and long-lasting roots in the communities they serve.

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www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Alan Curtis Industry Service Award:

Tom Frederickson, Superior Striping RUNNING A “PROFESSIONAL” business has been a goal of Tom Frederickson’s since he and Jeff Gustafson started Superior Striping, Ramsey, MN, in 1991. In his 30 years in the industry he’s done that and more, which is why he receives Pavement’s Alan Curtis Industry Service Award for 2021. The award is presented annually to someone “whose pursuit of excellence, dedication to professionalism, pursuit of quality and spirit of achievement have contributed significantly to the growth, development and professionalism of the industry.” Frederickson meets those criteria in some “normal” ways – his dedication to professionalism, his pursuit of job quality, and a respect for employees, customers, and competitors, for example. But he meets the criteria in a way that is uncharacteristic of most contractors: he encourages and supports the occasional employee who wants to start their own competing business or even move to a competitor.

Running a Professional Business “Professionalism means we try to do as much right as possible,” Frederickson says. Part of Frederickson’s idea of running a professional business is to maintain a professional workforce. Clearly, he’s done that as the four people who recently left the company had a combined 110 years with him – and the current six employees have a combined 125 years with Superior Striping. “Tom works very hard at keeping his employees employed and making a good

living,” says Jim Schroeder, engineering manager for pavement products at Graco. “He provides good benefits many contractors don’t provide and he’s there to help his employees when they need it.” Today Superior Striping runs six one-person “crews,” with two part-time workers. “We’re all one-man crews because with today’s technology one guy can pretty much handle everything,” Frederickson says. “Each person has a truck that is outfitted the same way with everything a person would need to do a striping job, and every time I buy a new piece of technology, I buy one for each truck. Once they’re out there it’s like their own business and they treat it that way. I just give them the job and they go out and do it.” Frederickson’s reliance on oneperson crews lets his workers know that he trusts them to do the job the right way and to interact with customers the right way. And they know the right way because he trains them and he’s out in the field with them, doing the same work they’re doing. “We’re like a team and we’re all equal. They see me doing things on the job, moving stencils or whatever, they don’t have any problem doing it themselves because they see I’m doing it too.” And Superior Striping provides benefits that help retain employees. In addition to schedule flexibility, Superior Striping subsidizes health insurance and has a retirement plan that contributes 15% of each employee’s pay to a SEP retirement account. “I value all the employees I ever had

and the ones I have now,” Frederickson says. “If they need something, I’m happy to help them out if I can.” Superior Striping also takes a professional approach to its customers. “We want to be a customer’s striper for life, not just for one time.” He says, for example, that most sealcoating contractors don’t include curb striping in their bids. “But when we’re out there on the job we just stripe the curbs for them. It makes the whole job look good and that sealcoating contractor looks great to his customer. We want to make our property manager customers look good and our blacktoppers look good and our sealcoaters look good. We’ll do what we need to do to make you look good.”

Supporting Employee Startups Over the years, Frederickson has supported numerous employees who wanted to start their own business, and he’s assisted others who leave when they wanted more responsibility than his business could give them. “These guys were key guys for me and over the years they just proved they could handle things on their own,” Frederickson says. “Sure, I wanted them to keep working for me, but I can understand that after a while they’ve got an itch to try it on their own. These guys are ready for it, they’ve helped me out for years. So if they want to go out on their own, I’m happy to help them out. No problem at all.” And helping means a lot of different things, including providing equipment,

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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startup loans, prospect lists and some of customers to provide a customer base. In addition, Frederickson offered management tips, including insights on training employees, DOT and OSHA regulation reminders and what kind of insurance coverage to carry. But perhaps most importantly, he gave employees starting their own business the bid sheets his company uses, which he says have been a key to his success. As Superior Striping employees, they ran their field part of the business, but Frederickson did all the bidding. He knew that when they started out, they would need to learn how to bid. The bid sheets, which were developed by his wife and office manager, Joan, would make that easier. “They are real professional looking. I don’t think anyone in the area uses bid sheets like ours,” he says.

Testing for Graco

“The Best Competitor”

Frederickson also volunteers his crews to do equipment testing. Schroeder and Frederickson were striping competitors before Schroeder joined Graco 28 years ago. Frederickson relied on air equipment until Schroeder dropped off a Graco striper and asked Frederickson to use it and provide some feedback. For almost 20 years Superior Striping has been a go-to test site for Graco, including helping fine-tune Graco’s Auto Layout software and advancing the laser that many stripers now rely on instead of snapping chalk lines. “Just about everything we looked at potentially developing and going to market with, his employees would get first shot at,” Schroeder says. “They’d take it into the field, use it, and then give us the feedback we needed to make sure the equipment or updates were what contractors needed.”

Frederickson says he can run his business in his own “professional way,” because he never has worried about competitors. “I never worry about getting work – we’ve got plenty of work,” he says. “I’ve never worried about the competition. I worry about my own company.” In fact, Frederickson is known throughout the market for even talking up the competition, passing jobs to competitors and helping them out. “If a competitor wants help with something, Tom helps him,” Schroeder says. “Stencils? Tom helps. Paint? Tom helps. Equipment? Tom helps them out. He’s always believed that there’s plenty of work for everyone so he’s the best competitor you could have.” “And that works both ways,” Frederickson says. “There’s plenty of work to go around.”

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www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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“Cutting-Edge Sweeper” Award –

Taking an All-Encompassing Approach to Technology

CAM South’s move from paper-based process helps employees and customers FROM DASHBOARD CAMERAS to real-time GPS tracking, to payroll efficiencies, CAM South has taken an allencompassing approach to how technology can improve the company’s productivity, job quality and profitability. Their efforts have earned the Pavement’s “Cutting-edge Sweeper” Award for 2021. Since purchasing CAM South, Birmingham, AL, in 2014, owner Andy Coolidge has implemented technology and innovative practices to the sweeping business to help them gain a competitive edge. With an emphasis on parking lot sweeping, portering and pressure washing, CAM South also offers trash and debris removal as well as pavement maintenance services including striping, crack sealing and infrared pavement repair. After the acquisition took place, Coolidge began rolling out new technologies, starting with a payroll service. With the addition of the service, CAM South could say goodbye to the manual paper timecards and switch to an appbased service, where employees could clock in and out from their smartphone. “It’s really to simplify our payroll process,” Coolidge said. “If employees

do as they’re trained it’s a seamless process from start to finish.”

doesn’t do the job for us, but it helps us do it easier, faster, more efficiently and with the least amount of expenses.”

Tracking the Fleet

Professional Development

CAM South has five trucks they operate nightly, with an extra one on standby. In order to keep track of what truck is where, Coolidge implemented GPS in each sweeper which allows tracking, time on property, route management and efficiency. As technology advanced, so did CAM South. “We are tracking the trucks with GPS, we know who is driving based on their key fob, and we have a hardmounted dash camera in each vehicle to monitor the operator’s driving habits,” Coolidge said. Coolidge says being a paper-based organization, including for work orders, is a labor-intensive process. So, CAM South’s most recent addition to technology is workflow management through tablets in each truck. “By implementing the tablets into our process, our operators are able to check in on every step, from scheduling to navigating each property and the duties on that site,” Coolidge said. “The operator is able to check out when finished, and the tablet populates with driving instructions to the next site. It’s a standardized process where we can onboard employees, train them and roll them out on any truck, any night.” He says this technology has come in handy when he talks with his clients. “I can show the property owner we were on the property; I can show the pings across the map. I can even show them the camera footage that we were driving around,” Coolidge said. “The technology

Despite 2020 bringing its own set of challenges, CAM South remained dedicated to training every employee on their job and in using the company’s technology. “When we onboard a new employee, we understand it’s a lot of information being thrown at them fast, but we don’t want them to feel like they are trying to drink from a firehose,” Coolidge said. “We have a professional development onboarding that really covers everything from safety to on-the-job training. We also believe in checking in with each employee after their shift or training to see how they are doing.” Coolidge believes in incorporating quarterly staff meetings into the mix. Topics at these meetings range from SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound) to 10 things that require no effort and other development topics. Along with those touch points, Coolidge has sent his entire management staff and operators to the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) sweeper school, to make sure they are getting the industry education to keep their edge and the professional certificate of completion. “Sure, we sweep parking lots, but my goal is to keep our employees engaged,” he says. “We want to be more than just a paycheck.”

RUNNER-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Louisville Pavement Sweep, Crestwood, KY

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February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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2021 “Best Marketing Video” Winner:

Popular Restaurant Project Perfect for Showcasing Services Coastal Asphalt awarded Best Marketing Video PRODUCED OVER A six-month period, Coastal Asphalt created a twominute marketing video that shows many aspects of the services they offer; milling, paving, patching, sealcoating and striping. Online voters selected this video as Pavement’s “Best Marketing Video” Award recipient for 2021. Company founders Matt and Sherry Winburn started Coastal Asphalt in 2008 offering a select number of services. Since then, they have grown to roughly 90 employees and offer all aspects from start to finish on a project. Producing marketing videos is fairly new for Coastal Asphalt, as they have introduced videos to their marketing plans in the last five years.

Captain George's - Mill, Pave, Patch, Sealcoat and Stripe Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant has been a customer of Coastal Asphalt for a few years. Coastal Asphalt was first called to do some small asphalt maintenance on their parking lot. Since that first job, they have been an existing customer. As seen in the video, the most recent project was one that encompassed everything. The crew went out and completed the mill and pave and then waited for the asphalt to cure. They then went back out to sealcoat and stripe the lot. “Captain George’s is on a major highway in our area in Myrtle Beach,” said owner Matt Winburn. “They are seen by thousands of cars every day as it is a very popular restaurant spot.”

Planning and customer convenience was top of mind for the crew when completing the work. The restaurant doesn’t open until 4 p.m. daily, so the Coastal Asphalt team was able to complete a lot of the work in the morning and midway through the afternoon, so they didn’t disturb their customers coming in or deliveries the restaurant was receiving. Ten hours of footage was shot on a series of different cameras including drones and cell phones over the sixmonth period. Once back in the office, editing took about seven days to complete the final video. The music overlay on the video is a catchy, upbeat rock tune. When the music provides a slowdown, that is when the images change and a new service is showcased. “When we produce a project profile video, we like to showcase our employees working,” said Keith Anderson, creative director. “We utilize our marketing videos on social media, play the video on a loop during company meals and even send videos to property managers to help them understand the process we go through.” This is not the only video Coastal Asphalt has made. “We invest time and money into videos because they are a creative media to share our story and

our services, both to our customers and our family of employees,” explained Anderson. Outside of profile videos, Coastal Asphalt has a series called ‘What We Have Here’ where Chris Jones, salesperson/estimator, shares the jobs the team has completed and how Coastal Asphalt’s services can benefit your business. “Videos touch our audience in unique ways that other avenues do not.” “What we have found is that consistency is key,” said Anderson. “Even if it’s a short video, or a picture we post on social media, we constantly put things out there to get in front of our customers.” View the award winning video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBaLv8DVhI

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ADC Paving, Louisville, KY DC Construction, Indianapolis, IN Eosso Brothers, Farmingdale, NJ

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Dormie Roberts, Associate Editor

User-Friendly Site Brings Vision to Life - 'Best of the Web' Award Winner RE-DESIGNED AND re-launched in 2017, Wis-Coat LLC updated its website (https://wis-coat.com), making it mobile-friendly, easier to navigate, reflecting company values and improving search engine optimization (SEO). As a result, online voters selected the website as Pavement’s “Best of the Web” Award recipient for 2021. In 2004 with one truck and tank, Marvin Joles began Wis-Coat LLC. Located in Lone Rock, WI, the company has grown from just sealcoating and crack sealing, to encompassing everything from start to finish.

“Since we are in a rural part of Wisconsin, it’s an added benefit to our customers that we can provide anything from crack sealing to asphalt installation,” said Joles, owner of Wis-Coat. As the company grows, Joles’s goal is to continue to live by his brand standards.

SEO Helps Drive Traffic SEO is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website from a search engines like Google. Re-evaluating the keywords people search for that are tied to the website is crucial to the success of

SEO. “I talk with my website designer once a month to discuss what I want to update, change or move around,” Joles stated, “We want to make sure things are changing and moving so we make a little bit of noise, that way the search engine, like Google or Bing, keeps us on top.” Along with SEO, Joles wanted to make sure his website was mobilefriendly and easy to navigate. According to a survey conducted by Statista, mobile users account for 50.81% of global website traffic. A visit to Wis-Coat’s website lands you on the home page with a white background adorned with photos, a pop

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February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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of red in the company logo and a call-toaction button ‘Free Estimate.’ “I wanted to keep the site very simple,” Joles said. “We are located in a rural area, and I want the website easy to navigate, right down to the point and have customers be able to contact us easily through it.”

Taking Social Media to the Next Level Utilizing social media can expand your reach and attract new business. Owners know the importance of networking, and with social media you can easily connect with your employees, customers, prospects and others in the industry in real-time. “Social media really allows us to give a personal touch in an industry where a lot of times, it’s very crisp and cut. Customers can click on those links and see where we are that day,” Joles said. “It’s very important to me that

our customers know how transparent Wis-Coat is. Social media allows us to showcase our work.” Joles takes advantage of social media not only to show his company projects, but he is also considered a social media influencer, showcasing the pavement industry through podcasts and videos at industry events such as National Pavement Expo. Joles says incorporating fresh content and pictures to social media and the website is a key to success. Joles uses his crew leaders to snap a photo on a job or asks to give a brief description of their projects. Another way Joles stays on top of industry news and trends is a group of contractors he meets with. “We brainstorm ideas on how to market ourselves and businesses.

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We discuss things that will grab and keep the attention of our customers,” Joles said. “We have contractors not only in our industry, but some from landscape, roofing and other industries as well.” Joles says that it took him awhile to make his website successful and that other business owners can make their sites successful if they persevere. “What has worked for me and my company is making sure the website and social media reflect my business culture. Define what your marketing plan is and run with it,” Joles said. “Keep at it, don’t give up. You’re going to have some form of success if you develop your plan and sick with it.”

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Asphalt Maintenance Systems, South Beloit, IL Blackjack Paving Sealcoating & Striping, Fairburn, GA

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Hitting on All Cylinders SEAL & STRIPE: Large Job Award Winner

Seal-O-Matic works in phases to complete challenging project and accommodate customer needs, winning them the Seal & Stripe: Large Job Award for 2021 THE END OF the season is fast approaching, a key employee gets sick, and you have three days to complete the job, and it is no ordinary job. It requires cleaning, crack sealing, applying two coats of asphalt and striping a 200,000 sq-ft parking lot, all the time keeping the client, Kansas City-based Dairy Farmers of America, operational. “We received the project go-ahead in late fall, around Halloween, just when our season normally comes to end,” explained Miles Jaben, president of Seal-O-Matic Pavement Solutions in Olathe, KS. “Temperatures were unseasonably cool, but fortunately they still reached the mid-60s during the day and hovered around 50 degrees during the evening hours when crews did the layout and re-striping. Shorter daylight hours added to the challenges. “To best accommodate the customer, we decided to do the project in three phases. Each phase was completed by 6:00 a.m. in time for me to re-locate the cones for the next section.”

Long Days The tight schedule kept the company’s seven employees “hitting on all cylinders,” said Jaben. They started early prepping, cleaning and filling the cracks, followed by two applications of pavement sealer. The first application was done with a ride-on squeegee, the second was sprayed on again employing the ride-on machine. Adding a trailer and truck, both equipped with spray wands, helped speed up the job. “We find we get better coverage using a squeegee for the first coat even though it is more time-consuming versus spraying on both layers,” Jaben added. “Wheel stops six to eight inches off the curb line created another challenge. Helping to save some time, team members took four-inch border brushes and worked in the sealer around wheel stops instead of having to remove and replace them.” He noted for heavy-run areas, crews applied a third coat of sealer. For material, the company used a coal tarbased sealer with latex and dry-lock additives.

Additional Challenges The first morning on the job, one of Seal-O-Matic Pavement Solutions’ key employees called in sick. A CDL driver and equipment operator, he would have acted as a supervisor on the job.

The job required cleaning, crack sealing, applying two coats of asphalt and striping a 200,000 sq.-ft. parking lot, all while keeping the client, Kansas City-based Dairy Farmers of America, operational.

Instead, he spent a couple weeks in the hospital and the company president donned his work boots to help out. Another challenge, albeit not directly related this project, was a 2,000-gallon seal coat job on the backside of the parking lot. The job, which required even more precise planning, logistics and execution, was completed simultaneously with the parking lot sealing and striping. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused a bit of a squeeze, too. As Jaben related, instead of the season progressing along as planned, business dropped off during the spring and early summer months but picked up later. “By the end of October, thanks to some big projects like the one for the Dairy Farmers of America, we had caught up, but not without our guys doing what they had to do to get this job and others completed in a timely fashion. “We finished this job on time. In fact, it only took us 2 1/2 days to complete it and a walk-though by the client indicated they were beyond pleased with the finished product our team delivered.” In addition to thanking his entire crew for a job well done, Jaben has special recognition for two employees: “Estimator and project manager Skyler Stuke, responsible for obtaining the project through the competitive process and crew foreman Michael Bringus, who kept this project rolling along despite unforeseen challenges that arose.”

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ADC Paving, Louisville, KY Roads & Runways Striping Service, Daytona Beach, FL

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Sponsored by

Jessica Lombardo, Editor-In-Chief

Helping Business Rapidly Adapt to COVID T&N Asphalt Services upgraded parking stalls at 70 Kroger stores to help them better serve their customers during the pandemic WHEN THE WORLD shut down in the spring of 2020 and people were told to stay at home, essential businesses were busier than ever providing households with the goods and services they needed to shelter in place. Fortunately the paving and pavement maintenance industries were also considered essential and work continued with little to no interruption. T&N Asphalt Services located in Salt Lake City, UT, begin their season earlier than usual to complete a massive striping job that helped another essential business better serve their customers. Their work, completed at 70 different locations in seven states over 45 days, won them the 2021 Seal & Stripe: Small Job award.

An Immediate Need COVID created a huge demand for contactless shopping convenience and stores around the country had to adapt quickly. Smith’s Food and Drug, a division of the Kroger Companies, needed to immediately expand pick up packing stalls at their locations and turned to T&N for help. "They were rapidly expanding their “Pick-Up” parking stalls at each store due to the rising demand from the COVID-19 Lockdowns," T&N president Nick Howell says. "The entire project consisted of converting regular parking stalls to Pick-Up zones, with custom stenciling, layout changes and crosshatching. Howell immediately contacted his crew to bring them back to work earlier than normal for the season in order to start the work.

SEAL & STRIPE: Small Job Award Winner

"We don't normally start our season until May, or mid May," Howell says. "This initially started in April with one store and over the period of just a couple of days, it just grew, grew, grew. So we were trying to get our guys back and get our vehicles added back to the insurance and get everything prepped, because normally we've got a couple of weeks of ramp up time which we didn't have the luxury of due to this project." Next Howell and his team began the difficult challenge of planning out how to logistically complete the work at all of these locations across the region and get the supplies they needed to their intended locations.

Logistics Prove Challenging With the scope of the project changing and expanding everyday, T&N had to keep precise spreadsheets to ensure they were meeting the needs of the client at each location. "We would get a list and the company would say what stores needed expanding and it grew every day," Howell says. "First, it was just the painting. And then it quickly progressed to installing the sign posts as well. We couldn't get information on exactly what needed to be done at each location so it was a challenge determining exactly what we needed and we wanted to be prepared." As a result, many of these installs took the crew a few trips. One trip to

T&N Asphalt completed striping at completed at 70 different locations in seven states over 45 days and won the 2021 Seal & Stripe: Small Job award for their work.

plan what was needed for each location and to complete the striping and another to actually bring the signpost supplies and complete the work. "We had a general idea of how we were going to lay the stores out. And as we went along it was easier. But we would just show up and try and make the best of it," Howell says. "We lived in spreadsheets and did a ton of legwork at the office to coordinate materials." T&N deployed three crews to complete the work, changing layouts at each location and striping the stalls to add more pick up spaces. In all, the T&N crew striped 498 stalls and installed nearly 180 posts. "I could not have been happier with the way the projects all came together,” Howell says. “There were a lot of positives and in the eyes of Smith's or Kroger we were able to really shine and strengthen our 20-year partnership with them. I'm proud of this job and our team."

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Synergy Pavement Group, South Beloit, IL Wis-Coat, Lone Rock, WI

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Sponsored by

Jessica Lombardo, Editor-In-Chief

A Challenging Timeline and Expansive Scope Wins Paving:

Parking Lot Award workers inside the distribution center finished their shift. We had two crews working non-stop from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon and our equipment was demobilized and moved out by 2:30 Sunday afternoon."

High Profile Project

KAI Total Pavement Management milled and paved a massive Home Depot Distribution Center… within 32 hours THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC has caused distribution centers like Home Depot to be busier than they have ever been. Home Depot’s supply chain relies on distribution centers remaining functional, so though Kansas Asphalt Inc. (KAI) was contracted to complete a 2-in. mill and pave on their 90,000 square foot lot at their distribution center in Lathrop, CA, they had to work with extremely tight time constraints as to not disrupt operations and to keep engineers happy. The company had two crews working 32-hours non-stop on this complex job, winning them the Pavement Paving: Parking Lot Award for 2021. KAI initially bid the job in February with work to begin in March but due to COVID-19 concerns, work was pushed until late July in the California heat. "It was 90 degrees out at 10 o'clock at night when we began milling the pavement up," Andrew Jeffries, chief operations officer at KAI says. "Our crews mobilized our equipment in that morning and we were able to get in to start work on that Friday night after the

No stranger to adversity, KAI, which is a national Woman Owned Business, certified through the NWBOC, has five offices in California, Texas, Iowa, Kansas City and Cincinnati, OH. Jeffries went in to this project knowing it would be challenging for their California team. Jeffries said this was not the typical mill and fill job their crew was used to, but called it a very high profile project since the Home Depot team was watching to make sure mistakes were not made and the tight deadlines were met. "We found out that the contractor who was hired to complete the first half of the job in 2019, the front of the distribution center, left a catastrophe," Jeffries said. "They took two months to complete the work which caused the facility to be hampered for a while during peak distribution so the engineer wanted to make sure everything was done right this time, hence the tight deadline and additional testing that was done for our portion of the lot." Throughout the project, their work was also being tracked by three independent testers who conducted volumetrics and thickness measurements throughout the paving process. "Because the microscope was on us, everything was double the mills, double the pavers and double the rollers in case there were any breakdowns we knew we were double covered," Jeffries says. "We definitely wanted to make sure we overironed the project."

Details Equal Success In order to meet the strict 32-hour deadline for project completion, the KAI crew planned out every detail in advance and was sure to stick to the plan as much as possible. Friday night, KAI worked to mill up 120,000 square feet of pavement but found that additional full depth milling was needed in some areas. "There were a few soft spots that the engineer found that were really alligatored and we went down to the to the base rock on them in a couple of areas," Jeffries says. "The crew also encountered 18,000 square feet of soft clay subgrade, which required an additional 12-in. of excavation that was replaced with 6-in. of recycled asphalt and 6-in. of asphalt to stabilize the lot." The crew used a Wirtgen 207 Fi and a Wirtgen W 200 to complete the milling portion of the project. 20 trucks were on hand to remove 1900 tons of material from the lot. Milling was completed and the lot was swept clean by 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning when the second crew could come in and pave. Ten trucks delivered 1,875 tons of mix that the crew put down in two lifts. KAI used a Caterpillar AP 1055 to complete the paving and had three Caterpillar rollers and two BOMAG rollers on hand for compaction. The crew finished paving by 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. "The project had us all running pretty ragged," Jeffries concludes. "But overall, I think it turned excellent. I was pretty happy with the project."

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ACI Asphalt & Concrete, Maple Grove, MN DC Construction Services, Indianapolis, IN

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Sponsored by

Rod Dickens

PAVING: NON-PARKING LOT

“Rock Tunnel” Provides Unique Challenge Pavement Solutions group worked tirelessly towards the end of the season to make this asphalt driveway blend into the surrounding stonework seamlessly, winning them the Paving: Non-Parking Lot Award WHEN A BUILDER first approached Pavement Solutions, LLC, to pave a drive, little did the Richmond, IL, based company expect to end up paving a tunnel. “This was a very unusual job,” explained Pavement Solutions field supervisor Joe Wundsam. “The builder had dug through a wall of dirt to provide access for a new scenic lake home, and then constructed a stone wall to help give the drive and the property a more rustic look.

“The greatest concern and challenge for our crew was to blend the pavement seamlessly into the stonework that surrounded both sides of the new drive, to make the drive look flat and uniform throughout. To give the wall a more natural look, the stones jutted in and out creating little angles and edges and was embedded with moss. It became a finesse project requiring the field workers to get down at eye level and meticulously work the mix in by hand.” The drive measured 20 feet wide at the base of the hill and widened to 30 feet at the top. The Pavement Solutions crew prepped the stone and base and then put down two lifts with a small paver, the first was a binder course followed by a surface coat together totaling 4-in. of paving material. Again, Wundsam emphasized, the biggest challenge was to work the asphalt into the nooks and small crevices created by the hardscaping,

ending up with a flat and uniform surface. “To accomplish this, we modified a cement trowel and a tamper that workers used to tuck in the material and then pull it back to make it look uniform with the rest of the job. The material was heated to allow it to be more easily worked. “Paving the drive required approximately 45 tons of asphalt and took seven crew members eight hours to complete the job. The client was adamant that everything look uniform and he was very pleased with the end result.” Founded in 2001, Pavement Solutions provides construction, maintenance and repair services for asphalt and concrete on both commercial and residential projects.

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ACPLM Inc. Sun City Center, F Garrett Paving Co., Athens, GA

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Classifieds

Contact Tadashi Soma Print and Digital Advertising

(800) 538-5544

tsoma@ACBusinessMedia.com

Belt Driven Generator 3KW – 4.5KW e t the electric ho e pplic tor on our cr c fill m chine

DRIVEWAY CARE BOOKLETS Call 610-489-PAVE

Hydraulic Generator 3KW - KW

www.asphaltpress.com

Spray Tips

Power for your pavement equipment

Steel Spray Tips

www.fabcopower.com

1/4”, 3/8” & 1/2” NPT 80/10, 80/20, 80/30, 80/40, 80/50, 80/70, 80/100

Liberty Supply (800) 397-9907 www.libertysupply.biz

845-469-9151 Heat Treated, Hardened for Longer Tip Life

Chester NY

¼, ³⁄ 8 and ½ Inch Threads Price Break On Quantities

800-433-9840 Visa or Mastercard Accepted

Maintenance Systems

Family Owned for over 50 years

Billings, Montana (406) 248-2463 New & used performance engineered pavement marking, removal & saw cutting equipment - truck mounted & palletized.

Competitive pricing

Paint & epoxy stripers in stock & ready to stripe!

Parts, service & retrofits

www.arrowstriping.com

With time & money on the liline – A Arrow ddelivers. li 44

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Classifieds

Depreciate the full purchase price of your Bensink Rotary Broom this year!* * see IRS section 179 for details

Check out our online video!

High Tensile Strength Steel Bristle Broom

3 Models Available Hydraulic Model RBHGX

Preps the area for Sealcoating or Striping Crack Cleaning Option Now Included! Cleans tight places where Sweepers can’t Helps to Prep crankcase oil spills

Dealer Inquires Welcome

www.bensinkrotarybroom.com www.bensinkmfg.com

503-580-0183

 

     

MAKING THE HARD PART EASIER!

              

             



                              



   

  





          

SAVE WITH PALLET PRICING ON CRACK FILLER, TACK COAT, COLD PATCH & ADDITIVES

CALL TOLL FREE

877-767-4NAC (4622) SHOP ONLINE

WWW.NACSUPPLY.COM Find us on Twitter and Facebook www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Classifieds

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Classifieds

Call us for any Used Striping Equipment needs:

770-331-2550

Check out our website at www.usedstripingequipment.com

2004 GMC Grinder/Groover Truck Ready to Work

2006 Freightliner Thermo Longliner

With 4-3000 LB Arrow diesel-fired melters. Unit has been thoroughly checked out and is ready to stripe.

$155,750

Energy Absorption Attenuator Trailers $15,750 EA with Arrow Board $12,250 EA without Arrow Board

$197,000

2001 Volvo MRL 3-4000LB Melter Thermo Longline Striper, Ready to Stripe.

$174,750

2006 GMC C7500 Crew Cab

With Scorpion and Cone bed, Gasoline engine, Auto, 33,000 GVW, 105,000 miles. Legal in California, Excellent Condition

2006 GMC LDI Air Atomized Paint Truck Only 44,000 miles and great condition.

$62,750

$39,750

2011 Dickson Road Vac Trailer Ready to Work

$25,750

2002 Freightliner MB Longline Thermo Striper

70,000 miles. Ready to Stripe.

$124,750

1999 GMC MRL 2-4000 LB Thermo Longliner

Only 73,000 miles and in great condition

$165,000 Reduced to $147,750

2007 Condor with 2008 JCL Waterblast Unit

2008 Isuzu JCL Air Atomized Paint Truck

Diesel, Auto, under CDL and Excellent Condition

$78,750

2005 Mack EZLiner Airless Paint Truck 73,000 miles, Excellent Condition.

$124,750

Caterpillar C11 ACERT, engine brake, Allison A/T, dbl differential lock, dual steering, Hendrickson Haulmaxx suspension, 20,000 lb front, 46,000 lb rears, 222 inch wheelbase, 24 ft flatbed, Caterpillar C9 ACERT, 275 hp, Husky 55K PSI pump, 93,000 miles. Very Nice Condition.

$257,500 Reduced to $197,750

We buy used equipment and will take trade-ins.

Please call for used parts for most striping equipment and save! www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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Classifieds

SQUEEGEES, SEALCOAT TRAILERS, SEALCOAT SKIDS, HOT TACK SKIDS

200 GALLON HOT TACK

500-700 SEALCOAT TRAILERS

350 GALLON SKID

DISTRIBUTORSHIPS AVAILABLE

VISIT SEALMATE.COM METRO DETROIT AREA BUSINESS FOR SALE: Metro-Detroit area asphalt paving/sealcoating business for sale by owner. Over 50 years of respectable brand recognition in areas of Asphalt Paving and Repairs, Hot Rubber Crack Filling, Sealcoating, Striping and other related services. Reliable customer base with established accounts and dependable work force generating annual revenue in excess of 1.2 Million USD. Owner open to structured purchase contract or cash asset sale. Owner also open to a short term consulting contract with new owner as part of deal to support new owner through transition period. This is a great opportunity for a new entrepreneur seeking a turn-key business with an established book of business or for an existing business looking to expand its customer base and/or expansion of services. Brokers not welcome; Seller will not pay Broker fees. Interested parties should inquire through their legal counsel.

Please inquire through Asphaltcompanyforsale@gmail.com 48

February 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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PAVEMENT Published by AC Business Media.

201 N. Main Street | Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 800.538-5544 • www.ACBusinessMedia.com www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement Editorial Office: Dormie Roberts, 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 800-538-5544 ext 1299 droberts@ACBusinessMedia.com

Index Advertiser Index

PAGE

B&E Seal Coat Products, Inc.

Buffalo Turbine LLC

Carlson Paving Products Inc.

Cimline, Inc.

Crafco Inc.

Dynapac North America

Elgin Sweeper/Federal Signal

PUBLICATION STAFF: Publisher: Amy Schwandt Editor-In-Chief: Jessica Lombardo Associate Editor: Dormie Roberts Contributing Editor: Allan Heydorn Art Director: April Van Etten Ad Production Manager: Cindy Rusch Audience Development Manager: Angela Franks

EZ-Liner Industries

GIS Dynamics

Graco, Inc.

Keystone Plastics

KM International

ADVERTISING SALES: (800) 538-5544 Tom Lutzke, Eric Servais, Sean Dunphy, Amy Schwandt, Tadashi Soma, Kris Flitcroft

LeeBoy, Inc.

Limntech Scientific, Inc.

FORCONSTRUCTIONPROS.COM WEBSITE: Editor: Larry Stewart Managing Editor: Kimberly Hegeman

MRL Equipment Company

N I Wilson Mfg

Neyra Industries of Ohio

Odra Road Sweepers

CHANGE OF ADDRESS & SUBSCRIPTIONS PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257, Phone: (877) 201-3915 Fax: 847-291-4816 • circ.pavement@omeda.com

Procru

REPRINTS Denise Singsime at (800) 538-5544 ext. 1245 dsingsime@ACBusinessMedia.com.

RAE Products & Chemicals Corp.

SealMaster

LIST RENTAL Bart Piccirillo, Sr. Account Manager, Infogroup Media Solutions (soon to be Data Axle), O: 402-836-2768, Email: bart.piccirillo@infogroup.com

Skip-Line, LLC.

TYMCO

Unique Paving Materials

United Rotary Brush Corp.

Vance Brothers Inc.

Vanguard ADA Systems

Weiler Products

Wirtgen America Inc.

AC BUSINESS MEDIA INC.: Chief Executive Officer: Barry Lovette Chief Financial Officer: JoAnn Breuchel Chief Digital Officer: Kris Heineman Chief Revenue Officer: Amy Schwandt VP Audience Development: Ronda Hughes Director of Digital Operations & IT: Nick Raether Director of Digital Strategy: Joel Franke Group Content Director: Jon Minnick ADVISORY BOARD: Agua Trucks Inc., Wickenburg, AZ, Scott Duscher Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI: Robert Kordus Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems, Orlando, FL: Connie Lorenz Brahney Paving, Hillsborough, NJ: Steven Brahney Eosso Brothers Paving; Hazlet, NJ: Tom Eosso Maul Paving/Concrete/Sealcoating, PLainfield, IL: Chris Maul Pacific Sweeping, San Marcos, CA: Lee Miller Parking Lot Maintenance, Lake St. Louis, MO: Todd Bruening Petra Paving, Hampstead, NH: Chris Tammany Pioneer Paving, Albuquerque, NM: Don Rooney Robert Liles Parking Lot Service, Tyler, TX: Robert Liles Roberts Traffic, Hollywood, FL: Lisa Birchfield Roccie’s Asphalt Paving, Stamford, CT: Vincent Engongoro Show Striping Inc. (SSI), Wisconsin Dells, WI: Amber Showalter T&N Asphalt Services, Salt Lake City, UT: Nick Howell The Rabine Group, Schaumburg, IL: Gary Rabine Young Sealcoating Inc, Lynchburg, VA: Steve Young ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES: Pavement Coatings Technology Council: Anne LeHuray, Executive Director

Get fast, relevant product information in the Buyers Guide at

ForConstructionPros.com

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • February 2021

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PAVEMENT 2021 Top Contractor Survey WELCOME TO THE Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction survey of paving & pavement maintenance contractors. Our hope with this survey is to develop verifiable Top Contractor listings in each of five industry segments: Paving, Sealcoating, Striping, Sweeping and Pavement Repair. To do that we need to know: • Gross Sales Volume for your fiscal year 2020 (regardless of the date that fiscal year ended) • A breakdown by percentage of the type of work that generated those 2020 sales

• Third-party verification of that sales total (see additional explanation at the end of the survey) To determine whether a company qualifies for one (or more) of our five lists we will multiply your total 2020 sales dollars by the percentage of work done in each industry segment. For example, if a contractor reports $1 million in 2020 sales and generated 40% of those sales from striping, the number used to determine qualification for the Striping Top Contractor List would be $400,000 ($1 million x 40%).

Name & Title of Person Completing This Form *First ______________________ Last ______________________________

CONTRACTOR

TOP

2021

Top Contractor Survey

2019

TOP

CONTRACTOR

Note: No sales figures will be reported or published; sales figures will be used only internally for determining each list. Also, no contractor will be eligible for the list without third-party verification of your Fiscal Year 2020 Gross Sales Volume. There are 3 ways to complete and submit this form: • Online at https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/ TopContractor2021

• Complete a hard copy and fax (920-542-1133) or mail it to: Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, Top Contractor Survey, 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538; Attn. Dormie Roberts. • Complete a hard copy, scan and e-mail to droberts@ ACBusinessMedia.com Thanks very much for your participation. We do appreciate it.

DEADLINE: April 23

5. * What percentage of your fiscal year 2020 Total Gross Sales is generated by working as a subcontractor for other contractors? __________________

E-mail ______________________ Phone ____________________________

6. * Do you self-perform more than 50% of your work?

*Company Information Company Name (as you would like it to appear on the magazine) ______________________________________________________________ Street Address _________________________________________________ City State Zip Code ____________________________________________ Phone Number with Area Code __________________________________ Website ______________________________________________________ Years in Business ______________________________________________

7. What was your overall company-wide profit margin in FY 2020? (Not for publication; results will be presented for the industry as a whole.) ______ Less than 3% ______ 5%-10% ______ More than 15% ______ 3%-5% ______ 10%-15%

Please indicate your number of employees at peak season (If employees fulfill more than one function please include them in the category they perform most often): ______ Management ______ Field Supervisors ______ Laborers ______ Office Staff ______ Sales May we contact Your Company by e-mail? ___Yes

___No

1.* What is your company’s Total Gross Sales for your Fiscal Year 2020?

___________________________________________________________

___Yes

___No

8. How many different customers did you work for in FY 2020? ______ Fewer than 100 ______ 151-200 ______ 301-400 ______ 101-150 ______ 201-300 ______ More than 400 9. How many different jobs did your company complete in FY 2020? ______ Fewer than 100 ______ 151-200 ______ 301-400 ______ 101-150 ______ 201-300 ______ More than 400 10. What is the estimated replacement value of your equipment fleet (including trucks)? ______ Less than $250,000 ______ $1 million - $2 million ______ $250,000 - $500,000 ______ More than $2 million ______ $500,000 - $1 million Signature _____________________________________________________ Title (please print) ______________________________________________

(This figure used internally for listing purposes only; it will not be published.) Please round to whole dollar amounts. (Example: 1,548,222; note: when entering online please omit commas.)

Date: ________________________________________________________

2. * What percentage of your fiscal 2020 Total Gross Sales is represented by each of the following areas (must total 100%):

IMPORTANT! SALES VOLUME VERIFICATION

______ Paving ______ Sealcoating ______ Striping ______ Sweeping ______ Other (explain) ____________________________

______ Pavement Repair ______ Concrete ______ Surface Treatments (Micro, Slurry, Chip, Fog, etc.) ______ Hot mix asphalt plant operation

3. * What percentage of your fiscal 2020 Total Gross Sales is generated from work done on each of the following (must total 100%): ______ Highways ______ Driveways ______ Streets/roads ______ Other (explain) ____________ ______ Parking lots 4. * What percentage of your fiscal 2020 Total Gross Sales is generated from each of the following types of customers (answers must total 100%). ______ Commercial/Industrial ______ Municipal (state/local agency) ______ Multi-family residential (apartments/condos/HOAs) ______ Single-family residential ______ Other (explain) _____________________________________

PVM0221_50-52_TopContractorSurvey_DJ.indd 50

To qualify to have your Top Contractor application considered, third-party verification of your FY 2020 Total Gross Sales is required from your company’s CPA, an independent CPA or your accounting firm, or a copy of the appropriate page from your tax return. Verification must be on the CPA or accounting firm letterhead (no photocopies) and must include a statement to the effect that “I have reviewed the company’s Top Contractor application, and the FY 2020 gross sales response to question Number 1 is accurate to the best of my knowledge.” The letter must be signed and dated and include the person’s name, title and telephone number. No financial information will be revealed; it will be used only internally to determine qualification for each listing. Send verification to:

droberts@ACBusinessMedia.com Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction 2021 Top Contractor Application 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 Attn. Dormie Roberts Questions? Dormie Roberts, Associate Editor; Phone: 920-542-1299; droberts@ACBusinessMedia.com

1/26/21 1:59 PM

T T

d fax to:

ate it.

erated _____ __No

t for

15%

400

__ __

any’s page head (no d the onse er umber. mine

THE KNOWING THAT YOU CAN TAKE ON ANYTHING It’s driveways one day to county roads the next, and why you require a paver as versatile as your jobs are varied. That is why the Carlson CP100 II goes beyond what a commercial paver can be, setting the standard for versatility, component lifecycle and mat quality. With a powerful 100hp Cummins® engine, array of configurations and the class-leading EZCSS single slide screed, it’s time to see why the CP100 II has fast become the contractor’s choice for heavy-duty commercial paver platforms.

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EQUIPMENT SP 300

The Sealcoating & Crackfilling Equipment That Helped Build an Industry No Payments for three months and flexible financing for qualified buyers!

TR 575

SP M ODE LS SPRAYMAS T ER CRACK PRO MAST IC MACHI NES CRACK PRO ME LTER/A P P LI CATO R S MASTIC MACHINE

Discover the full line of SealMaster pavement maintenance equipment at sealmaster.net MELTER/ APPLICATOR

sealmaster.net 800-395-7325

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