Construction Equipment Owner

The 2008 Inc. 5000 list was recently published online. A subsection of this list is the Top 100 Construction Companies.

There is a great snapshot of each company with short descriptions of why the company is growing and what is noteworthy. There are different reasons for why the company has experienced such large growth from exploring new markets to its overall vision and structure:

This is a good list to see how other construction businesses are succeeding. You might also want to make special note of anyone in your area. There may be a market you are overlooking or other element that is making you less competitive.

Did your company make the list? What are you doing to continue to grow you company?

Veteran commercial construction manager Joe McCarthy joins the construction business podcast to discuss common problems of commercial and industrial construction projects. McCarthy, who’s new book is “Choosing Project Success: A Guide for Building Professionals” also addresses the biggest challenges facing today’s contractors.

 Finding Success in the Construction Industry [10:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (28)

The Labor Day just past is set aside to honor the men and women of the United States for all their hard work, but in many industries it serves another purpose. For many in the paving and pavement maintenance industry, for example, Labor Day is the unofficial break-even target date for their business each year. It functions similar to Tax Freedom Day, which changes every year (April 23 this year), indicating the point at which the nation as a whole has earned enough money to fund its annual taxes. And just as Tax Freedom Day changes based on a variety of economic issues, a contractor’s break-even point also moves.

Contractors who plan and budget in the offseason usually have a target break-even date for the year. If they hit their break-even point before Labor Day they know they’re in the midst of a good year — and the farther in front of Labor Day they hit that break-even, the better year they’re having.

The opposite is also true, and unfortunately this year, based on conversations with a number of people, many contractors are looking to break-even dates near the end of September — or later. Contractors I’ve talked with point the finger not at the amount of work but at the tighter profit margins they are working under. I guess that’s a good news/bad news situation but nobody wants to work harder for less money.

But whenever you hit your break-even point, it represents at least one very good thing: Everything you earn from that point on is profit. So here’s to a long and warm autumn, to break-even dates that are (or soon will be) in the rear view mirror, and to a profitable run up to National Pavement Expo West.

If you want to share your break-even date, and let others know which way it’s moved this year — and why — we’d sure like to hear about it.

I made a trip to Northern Wisconsin over the Labor Day holiday weekend and couldn’t help but make a quick stop at the Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, Wis. The park is home to more than 200 concrete sculptures by self-taught artist Fred Smith. Smith built his sculptures out of wood frames wrapped with wire then covered with hand-mixed concrete. He added broken glass, mirrors and other found objects to decorate his art. The sculptures tell stories of local, national and world history. It’s a fun place to explore folk art and nature, and a unique way to look at concrete.

Concrete artists of today, such as Buddy Rhodes, Fu-Tung Cheng, and the countless other concrete contractors creating beautiful decorative concrete in bathrooms, kitchens and outdoor living areas across the country, have a different take on concrete as art.  But like Fred Smith, today’s concrete artists appreciate the versatility of concrete, it’s connection to recycled and found materials, and it’s ability to transform an artist’s dream into reality.

Jeff Wittenberg, Chief Leadership Officer with Kaye/Bassman International Corp. is our guest on this construction business podcast. Jeff discusses how businesses can avoid hiring the “least worst” candidate as well as resources to tap to find the next superstar hire.

 Identifying Top Talent [6:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (96)

Take a few minutes to check out this podcast ForConstructionPros.com Editor Sam Simon conducted with Buddy Rhodes of Buddy Rhodes Artisan Concrete. The two discuss emerging trends in decorative concrete for both residential and commercial applications.

 Talking Decorative Concrete with Buddy Rhodes [4:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (55)

Concrete has been instrumental in the building of many beautiful and architecturally progressive structures, such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The construction world’s latest concrete masterpiece comes in the form of Chicago’s Trump Tower, the city’s second tallest skyscraper and North America’s tallest concrete-reinforced building. If you want to learn more about the construction of Trump Tower and read some interesting facts — such as how many cubic yards of concrete were used in building the behemoth – read this article about the completion of the building.

We’ve been sending out survey’s as of late to better gauge the issues that are most important to our audience and one response that keeps popping up is equipment utilization. Which makes sense. If you’re paying for a unit and its sitting around you’re losing money.

But does it have to be operated on a jobsite to make money? Have you thought about other ways that your underutilized construction equipment can make you money? How about charging $200 an hour to let “citizens” dig holes and “play” with life-size Tonka Trucks? Check out the video below as one man is trying to establish a business around this idea.

Les McKeown, CEO of Predictable Success, is the latest guest on the construction business podcast. Les examines a couple of points from his series “The Eight Most Common Mistakes Managers Make.” He also gives some insight on how to manage the daily overload of information and how to create a common understanding of business goals throughout the company.

For more information on “The Eight Most Common Mistakes Managers Make” or Les McKeown’s Predictable Success system, visit www.getpredictablesuccess.com

 Common Mistakes Managers Make [13:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (141)

Contractors who install speed bumps and speed humps might have to take up pavement marking if they want to keep that part of their business. That’s because a new effort being tested in Philadelphia (after being tested semi-successfully in Phoenix two years ago) relies on pavement markings to slow drivers down.

The new markings are designed to look like 3-D pyramids sitting in the middle of the road. To approaching drivers the “pyramids” are perplexing and cause drivers to slow down — at least for a while. In addition to initial effectiveness, cities like the cost — reportedly $60-$80 for the markings vs. as much as $1500 per speed bump.

But maybe we should put the brakes on switching from speed bumps so quickly. The early research shows that while effective initially, the effect of the “pyramids” is short-lived. Drivers who take the road regularly revert to their former level of speed as soon as they realize the “pyramids” are just an optical illusion. Speed bumps, on the other hand, are effective as long as they’re there, and as much as many drivers don’t like driving over over them, they do their job.